It was the first Portage la Prairie School Board meeting of the 2016-17 school year last night.

The Strong Beginnings Program was discussed, and Assistant Superintendent Mike Mauws says the program could be getting a lot bigger.

"We are going to be expanding that as a pilot in Grades 4, 5 and 6's in two of our schools, North Memorial and Fort la Reine. I think it benefited from the introduction of that program, and I would certainly like to look at expanding it because of the benefits it's had for students and teachers in preparing for the year, and getting to know kids and where they're at."

Mauws says they decided to expand it after all the great feedback from teachers and parents.

Mauws

"(The feedback) we've received about the program -- whether it's from parents, or teachers, or administrators -- has been very positive. We've heard nothing but good things about it, and really it's about giving teachers that opportunity to know their kids on more of an individualized basis."

He feels there's a chance it could be seen across the division.

"We'll see how it goes. We're thinking we're going to get very positive feedback, and if that's the case, we'll certainly look at expanding that across the division in 1 to 6 for the 17-18 school year."

Mauws says they spread the student evaluations out over 4 days, to give teachers a little time to let things sink in. The Strong Beginnings Program runs September 16th and 19th.