In teacher Holly Penman's afternoon kindergarten class at Mulvey School, there are 15 students.
The small class size isn't an anomaly.
In 2011, the then NDP Government announced it would cap kindergarten to Grade 3 class sizes at 20 students
Parent Rica Copiaco said the smaller class sizes are working.
"It's great. The teacher can really focus on each student,” she said.
However, those smaller class sizes could be on the way out. Manitoba Education Minister Ian Wishart said data from the Grades 3 and 4 provincial assessments in reading and numeracy showed no significant improvement in student achievement since the smaller class program began.
As a result, the government is lifting the cap.
"The prescriptive approach just wasn't fitting," Wishart said. "It's not a one size fits all business. I think we have to trust the teachers themselves to know what is best for their class and their students."
Meanwhile, the Manitoba Teachers Society said the cap was the best solution.
"Would you rather have your child in a class of 30, orr your child in a class of less than 20?" asked President Norm Gould. "It's a no brainer. So, it doesn't make any sense, this decision today."
Still, the Winnipeg School Division is welcoming the new policy.
Chair Sherri Rollins said the cap created more classes, sometimes requiring schools to shift a science, music or french teacher into the younger years program.
"It meant over time that we were borrowing from Peter to pay Paul in a school, so to speak," Rollins said.
The province said the initiative will include an evaluation component to measure province-wide progress annually after a four-year implementation timeframe.
