Program’s fate down to students

The choir program at Yorkton Regional High School is not going to be offered for the 2016-17 school year due to a lack of student interest. Quintin Robertson, Acting Director of Education for the Good Spirit School Division says that it was purely student numbers that led to the program not being offered to students this year.

“We had eight students out of 800 select that as a course offering. The administration from the school, the three administrators, as is their responsibility, made the decision that it was not feasible to offer that course.”

While this means that the course will not be offered in this school year, Robertson says that it has the potential to return if student interest also revives. He notes that it’s on the list of potential classes for the 2017-18 school year, and if the number of students can justify offering the course in the future, it could return to the schedule. All students are required to take two credits in arts or practical and applied arts, and Robertson says they want to respond to the needs of the students, but also respond to the courses they are selecting to achieve those credits.

“That’s exactly why we survey the students throughout the school division to see what courses meet their credit requirements and also their areas of interest, and we try to offer as many as we can to try to pique their intellectual engagement.”

Overall, the number of schools at the elementary level are also offering fewer choir programs, and Robertson says there have been suggestions by administration to offer more extracurricular programs to build interest, and they are currently investigating that option for the future, though he cautions that it is still very early in the process.

“All of our schools in Yorkton and area offer a large number of extracurricular activities and currently this would not be one of interest, but that doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t look at it in the future.”

In terms of the outpouring of support for the program, from parents and former students, Robertson says he appreciates the enthusiasm of people who responded to the program not being offered.

“At one time, this was a very important program to them. I appreciate that, and it’s part of the democratic process where people can voice their concerns and we will certainly listen to it. If our students were asking for choir, and they select it as an option, I’m sure, with great certainty, that the administration at the school would have made that happen. Unfortunately, eight out of 800 would suggest a lack of interest at this time. It doesn’t mean it can’t come back.”

Robertson says that they hope for the rest of the school year, they can celebrate the success of the programs offered to students, noting that students from YRHS will soon head to Abu Dhabi to compete in the The Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge.

“It’s an incredibly rich environment for learning, and they are not underserved by the staff in this region.”