Fransaskois community hopes for new northwest school
Busing of students to Ecole du Parc a temporary measure, says CEF official
The Saskatchewan francophone school division says its new Ecole du Parc, to open in south Regina in September, is a stopgap until a brand new school can be built in the city’s northwest.
With 475 students attending Ecole Monseigneur de Laval elementary school, the Conseil des ecoles fransaskoises (CEF) saw a need for a second elementary school to alleviate the pressure.
The existing elementary school accommodates children up to Grade 6. Due to lack of space, students attend the CEF high school in north Regina beginning in Grade 7.
“Our intention is not to spend more than three years in (Ecole du Parc). We want a new school by then,” said Ronald Ajavon, director of business affairs for the provincial French-language school division.
“I think the next step is action, and hopefully we will have some action pretty soon.”
Students who live north of Dewdney Avenue would ultimately attend a new northwest school.
Until then, they will be bused to Ecole du Parc, which will be located in the Regina Catholic school building that formerly housed Ecole St. Andrew.
Jean de Dieu Ndayahundwa’s seven-year-old daughter Maeva is one of those students.
Ndayahundwa, a member of the school community council, the Collectif des parents inquiets et preoccupies, said a new school is needed for the Regina community.
At Ecole Monseigneur de Laval elementary, the library and staff room have both been converted into classrooms, he said.
Ndayahundwa said the parents group has advocated for a new school since 2015, and learned in April that the CEF would temporarily obtain the St. Andrew building. Education Minister Gord Wyant agreed that there is “significant need” for additional teaching space, but said his ministry has “made no formal commitment with respect to the construction of a new school in Regina.”
No new schools were allocated in the 2018-19 budget, and the Ministry of Education’s Top 10 capital priority list makes no mention of a CEF school.
“When it comes to building new facilities, we have a lot of demands in terms of capital and so the needs for the Conseil in Regina certainly will be assessed against the needs of the other school divisions,” said Wyant.
However, that does not necessarily mean a new school is out of the question.
Ajavon pointed to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees minority language educational rights.
“So the way we will be ranking for example majority school projects won’t be the same way we will be ranking minority projects,” said Ajavon.
Wyant also acknowledged the government’s constitutional responsibility.
“So while you might not see those schools on the Top 10 list, that doesn’t mean that the province isn’t going to give due consideration to the needs of the conseil,” he said.
Ajavon believes a new northwest school would increase enrolment in CEF schools in Regina.
Only about 58 per cent of eligible students are enrolled in CEF schools, he said.
There are 1,005 potential students in Regina, but many of them attend French immersion schools that are located closer to their homes.
CEF has never had a brand new school in Regina. In the early 1990s, Laval moved to Cowan Crescent, taking over the former St. John School building. Previously, Laval had been located at 2272 Pasqua St., in what is now the Saskatchewan Express studio.
The CEF gained a Regina high school in 2010, moving its older students into the former Robert Usher Collegiate on Ninth Avenue North. In 2011, it was named Pavillon Secondaire des Quatre Vents.
The CEF currently operates 14 schools across Saskatchewan, in communities including Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, North Battleford, Gravelbourg, Ponteix, Bellegarde, Zenon Park, Vonda and Bellevue.