Kindergarten registration had one Greater Victoria school looking like a concert line-up as parents camped out overnight to secure their kids spots Monday.
Registration for English students in the Greater Victoria School District kicked off at 8 a.m. at Willows Elementary, but fearing they might not get in, some parents queued up as early as eight hours prior.
“We completely by fluke woke up around midnight, looked out the window, saw that somebody was already lining up, so my husband got geared up and went out there to get in line,” said Alicia Jones, who lives across the street from Willows. “Us not getting into this school was not an option. All of our child care and everything sort of revolves around us being able to walk across the street and drop our kids off.”
Other parents were stunned to see the line, complete with folding chairs, when they arrived to the school early Monday morning.
“It was pretty busy. When I got here, there were already camping chairs lined up outside and that was around six o’clock in the morning, which I didn’t really realize you had to get there this early,” said mother Chelsea Pichor.
Pichor lives half a block away from Willows, but says that’s no guarantee her son will get a spot in kindergarten. The process is first-come, first-served for kids in the catchment area who don’t have siblings in the school.
“It seems crazy, people having to camp out to get into an elementary school. It’s not a concert,” said Pichor. “People seemed stressed out. There were about 30 more people who got here before me who still didn’t know if they’d be getting in, and they had siblings in also, so it seems like nobody really knows.”
By 9 a.m. Monday, some 42 students had registered for Kindergarten at Willows, but they’ll all have to wait and see if they landed a coveted spot.
This school year, there is expected to be two classes of 22 students each at the school – but that could change.
The principal of Willows Elementary, a dual-track French immersion school, said the classes will most likely be full when all is said and done.
“That’s the new reality. We’ve had such a turnover of our homes in this area, and they’re going to young families which is really exciting, but it’s putting pressure on the school to try and make sure that we can get them all in,” said Wendy Holob.
The Greater Victoria School District says even though demand is high at Willows and the district is growing for the first time in years, new schools do not need to be built.
“We have a mix of growing families as well as individuals wanting to choose their schools, and so those issues are coming up against each other,” said SD61 Secretary-Treasurer Mark Walsh. “District-wide, we’re pretty good. It's just where the pockets of demand are that we're facing a little bit of those challenges.”
The district gives registration first priority to students with siblings in the school, then to those who live in the catchment area, followed by students living within the district.
The lower priority is given to out-of-district registrants.
Parents should find out whether they landed their spot in the coming weeks, according to Walsh.
With a report from CTV Vancouver Island's Louise Hartland
