The French Catholic School Board is setting up three before and after school programs in Hearst and Mattice this fall. Two will at Notre Dame Pavillion and Ste. Anne schools in Hearst and the other at St. Francois-Xavier in Mattice.
Director of Communications Rene Gaudreau says the new services were added after extensive consultation with parents.
“We will have kids show up as early as seven in the morning and they will be able to stay there until six o’clock at night,” he said. “From sunrise to sunset on days they will be at school prolonging their school day and really providing a service for parents who are in need.”
He adds the board offers similar services that are operated by other providers.
“In the case of Hearst we didn’t have an external provider to work with currently so we decided to go ahead and set something up for us,” he said. “We are not there to compete against them. We are going to be offering similar programs to what they are offering. We are just there to provide a service because we understand there are waiting lists and we want people to be able to access.”
Up to six jobs are expected to be created that the board will start filling in the summer.
