Lindale will become first school in Moose Jaw to move to alternate calendar

Lindale School will become the first school within the City of Moose Jaw to adopt an alternate calendar for the 2026-2027 school year.

The switch to the alternate calendar was approved by the Prairie South School Division board on Tuesday.

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The calendar will be similar to what has been adopted for K-9 rural schools and Assiniboia schools, with 14 four-day school weeks with Fridays off.

In order to reach the Ministry of Education’s mandatory 950 instructional hours, school days will be about 25 minutes longer.

Central Butte, Eyebrow, and Bengough schools went to the alternate calendar in 2017, and Mossbank, Craik and Chaplin switched in 2018. Assiniboia schools switched for the 2024-2025 school year.

Community support drives proposal

The move comes after a series of consultations with the school community, including discussions with student-led conferences and a community information night in early December.

Families and staff were given the opportunity to vote on the proposed changes.

Director of School Operations PreK-8 Jennifer Prokopetz said nearly 80 per cent of families participated in the vote, with 75 per cent supporting the transition.

“So, they had quite a bit of conversation… and then held a vote,” Prokopetz told trustees. “They’re hoping that the board would approve them moving for the 26-27 school year.”

The process for moving to an alternate calendar follows the division’s guidelines in administrative procedure, Prokopetz said. It begins with discussions at the school community council level, followed by community consultations and a formal vote.

Review built into process

Board members asked about how the new calendar would be evaluated.

Prokopetz explained that after two years the school community council would revisit the decision whether to continue with the alternate calendar or revert back to the regular calendar.

“There is a bit of an engagement process,” she said. “We have some engagement from the community and we have some conversation about whether or not they’d like to continue on the alternate calendar or revert back to the regular calendar.”

Attendance and student engagement were cited as benefits

Trustee Shawn Davidson noted the success of alternate school calendars elsewhere, and attendance data at Lindale School reinforced the value of the new system.

“It was very interesting to see that the attendance rate at Lindale School is the worst on Fridays,” he said.

“The existence of the alternate school calendar is part of what drives our success in promoting student attendance, which is a key strategic initiative for us.”

Open boundaries and future enrollment

Being the first school in Moose Jaw to switch to the alternate calendar, the board also discussed what would happen if families wanted to change schools to Lindale because of the alternate calendar.

Prokopetz explained that families outside the catchment area would need to apply for a boundary exemption, the same process used for any out-of-catchment enrollment.

Trustees support decision

Trustees voiced their support for the decision. Trustee Robert Bachmann said the decision reflects local community input.

“We let the local community decide what they’d like, and we’ll evaluate going forward if it works well for that school and for the community of Moose Jaw as well,” he said.

The motion was passed by the board.

Lindale School will implement the alternate school calendar beginning in fall of 2026, with a follow-up review scheduled for the spring of 2028.