Young mothers living in and around the Cranberry Portage area might have an easier path to obtaining their high school diploma in the not-too-distant future, since the Frontier School Division (FSD) is looking to establish a program that caters to their specific needs.
“We see young people, particularly young females, who are at home looking after their babies and not having an opportunity to get their high school education,” said FSD chief superintendent Reg Klassen. “We want to change that.”
According to Klassen, the division wants to try and fill this gap by squaring away some living space for these young parents on the Frontier Collegiate campus, so that they don’t have to make a choice between looking after their child and going to school.
“What we’re looking to do is change one of the barracks we have here, basically gut it, and put in a dorm for single moms,” he said. “Young mothers … who don’t want to leave their babies behind and who, in this particular instance, could now bring their babies to school with them to attend classes. And we would also set up a daycare.”
Right now, the superintendent thinks they can reasonably set up 10 apartments for this purpose at Frontier Collegiate, although the building they have in mind for the project will require a lot of renovations.
As such, Klassen said they are applying for government funding to make this program happen and are in the process of collecting data about young mothers in the area to help bolster their case.
Even though they still have to clear a lot of hurdles, Klassen said he would like to have this program set up and ready to go by September 2020.
“Frontier School Division is constantly looking for solutions to ensure that our young people in Northern Manitoba have equitable access to getting their Grade 12,” he said. “We just have to be creative in how we provide those opportunities.”
To find out more information about this single mothers program, please contact FSD directly at 204-775-9741.
