New schools may not please every family
Thousands of young families are facing the stressful prospect of seeing their child moved out of their existing community schools because of complex capacity issues.
Over a dozen new school openings this year, thousands of new suburban classroom spaces, and dwindling capacity in the inner city is resulting in a major overhaul of school designations within the Calgary Board of Education.
And many parents fear their kids, many of whom can now walk to school, will be forced to attend schools that are more than a 30-minute bus ride away just to fill classrooms that are sitting empty.
Community engagement sessions are being held this week and next, asking for parent input on a number of complicated scenarios which could see their children shifted to different schools.
Students in special programming like French immersion and Spanish bilingual are particularly vulnerable as their programs are listed in a variety of scenarios that see them moving out of existing schools.
“It’s a very stressful time for a lot of families, and things are getting heated, and very emotional,” said Elsa Campos, chairwoman of the parent school council at Canyon Meadows Elementary School.
“When you can maintain a learning environment in your own community, that is definitely what is better for kids.
“And we know from the existing research that maintaining a strong community is a huge buffer from stress, isolation, vulnerability and poverty.”
Campos says junior high students in the community of Canyon Meadows, for instance, where schools at all three levels are thriving, may be moved to Woodman Junior High School, which is now only half full.
Similar changes are also being examined in other parts of the southwest where schools like Maple Ridge, R.T. Alderman and David Thompson are “under-capacity” while others are “capped” or “oversubscribed.”
All of that changing capacity comes at a time when the CBE just opened eight new schools this fall, and plans to open another six after Christmas, creating thousands of new spaces in suburban areas and shrinking populations closer to the city core.
“We’ve never had a time like this when there has been so much available learning space in our schools and that means spaces will be freed up in existing facilities,” said Carrie Edwards, director of planning and transportation for the CBE.
“This is about a system-wide use of space. We continue to grow, and we have to ensure all of our spaces are being used.
“This is about shuffling the deck chairs.”
But parent groups argue that decision-making around moving kids out of community schools needs to be about more than just efficiency and cost-savings.
Althea Adams, spokeswoman with the Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils, says the board needs to be better at looking ahead and understanding that all communities go through cycles.
“Where is the long-term planning? Can’t they look at the numbers, talk to the city, see what’s expected,” she said.
“Why do we have to go through this process every couple of years, where programs are moved, grades
This is about a system-wide use of space. We continue to grow, and we have to ensure all of our spaces are being used.
are shifted, and it doesn’t benefit the kids at all.”
But Edwards argues student development is a priority for students being moved to different schools, particularly if a student is moved out of a school that is overcapacity into a school that is new or undercapacity.
“That is definitely a better learning environment for those students that will result in better learning outcomes,” Edwards said.
“It is our intent to create balance and ensure all learning needs are being met.”
After dealing with south schools this week, CBE will hold meetings affecting north schools next Tuesday. Parents will also be asked for input through an online survey in the next few weeks.
Go to cbe.ab.ca for more information.