Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education offers free literacy checkups

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on March 29, 2025.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

In April parents of children aged three to five who have registered or plan to register in Medicine Hat Catholic schools have the opportunity to receive a free child speech and language development checkup.

The development checkups allow parents to discuss their child’s development with members of the MHCBE’s early learning team.

“We want to ensure that each child receives the best possible foundation for future academic success,” reads a press release.

The school division explains the primary purpose of the speech and language screening is to assess various aspects of a child’s communication skills, including their speech clarity, as well as language comprehension and expressive language skills.

Children participating in the screening tests will take part in activities designed to be fun and interactive.

“Our specialists will observe and assess different aspects of communication in a supportive and nurturing environment.”

Before the screening process parents will be asked to sign a consent form, and all information collected during the process will be treated with the “utmost confidentiality.”

Results will be shared with parents and can be used to develop an appropriate education plan with the collaboration of any available supports within the school division.

No dates in April have been released but the division is welcoming questions from parents that can be directed to the Learning Services department.

For more information call 403-502-8365, or email earlylearning@mhcbe.ab.ca.

MHCBE has also added useful online resources for parents to perform their own screening on their children between the ages of three to five that can be found on the division website.

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