Hamilton public school board officials are reviewing the scheduling of half-day teacher development sessions in response to complaints they create childcare headaches, increase absenteeism and short-change Kindergarten students.

Introduced in 2005, the "learning community days" are held on six afternoons through the school year and intended to develop teaching strategies to raise student scores on provincial reading, writing and math tests.

Unlike the six, full-day professional activity days each year, they are not officially sanctioned by the province.

But despite supporting the goal of the extra sessions, several trustees said the board must do a better job of explaining their purpose to parents who must make special child-care arrangements -- or sometimes choose to keep their kids home for the entire day.

Ward 5 Trustee Ron English said parents of Kindergarten students who study French immersion in the afternoon complain the existing schedule is unfair.

"The parents' perception is that their children are trying to learn a second language and because of this the afternoon French immersion class is losing six days compared to their morning counterparts," he said.

Mountain Trustee Laura Peddle said she also receives continual complaints from parents of Kindergarten students and questioned why at least some learning day sessions can't take place in the morning.

"I'm sure the high school students would love that," she said with a laugh. "In fact, they'd like high school to start every day at 11 (a.m.), I'm sure."

Flamborough Trustee Karen Turkstra said she'd like to see full-day sessions, perhaps in conjunction with professional activity days, to help minimize the childcare concerns.

But she said the board must also dispel perceptions the sessions are a half day off for teachers as well.

"It's an assumption that it's another lunch," Ms. Turkstra said, suggesting learning-day topics be publicized through school newsletters.

"They write about everything else in the newsletters, but they don't talk about the agenda topics often."

Dundas Trustee Jessica Brennan also urged the board to develop "consistent messaging" to the public about the purpose of each session.

Some schools refer to the sessions as "early dismissal days," which doesn't convey teacher efforts that have seen some positive results at the Grade 6 level, she said.

"We really need to demonstrate for each event the value added to the school community and their child," Ms. Brennan said.

"We need to explain what this is all about and the difference it has already made."

Associate director Chuck Reid said the suggestions "are food for thought" and require more study.