Enrolment projected to rise for second straight year
It’s almost back-to-school time in B.C. — students have just one more week to enjoy the freedom of summer before it’s time to hit the books. Here’s what’s in store this fall:
529,000
The estimated number of fulltime students expected in B.C. public schools this fall, up about 2,900 from September last year. Enrolment overall has fallen for about 20 years, but rose last year. The increase of about 5,000 students last year was because of families moving to B.C. from other provinces, students returning to the public system from private schools, and higher than expected international immigration, the ministry of education said. The provincial average per-pupil funding is $8,963.
60,359
The number of English Language Learning students expected in B.C. this year, which is 461 more than last year. The number of aboriginal students is also up by 345 to an estimated 57,351. The number of students eligible for supplemental funding for special needs is also up by 627 to more than 27,260 students.
69,700
The number of students who took at least one online course last year. That number has doubled in the past decade.
1,581
There are 1,581 public schools and 350 independent schools in B.C. This includes 67,107 K-12 classes with class-size averages of 19.7 students for kindergarten, 21.8 students for grades 1-3, 26 students for grades 4-7, and 23.4 students for grades 8-12.
9,800
Nearly 9,800 full-time educational assistants work in schools, a number that is up by 48 per cent since 2000-01. Educational assistants work with special-needs students. About one-third of all classes in the province have an educational assistant.
83.9%
The percentage of students in B.C. in 2014-15 who completed high school six years after starting Grade 8. That includes a six-year completion rate of 63 per cent for aboriginal students, a rate of 86.2 per cent for English Language Learners and a rate of 65.9 per cent for students with special needs.
82,000 $5.1 billion
School district funding is $5.1 billion for the upcoming school year. That includes $52 million in Community Link funding, which supports breakfast and lunch programs, innercity and community school programs, as well as school-based support workers and counselling, all for vulnerable children and youth.
$560 million
The amount the provincial government plans to spend on seismically upgrading schools over the next three years. Since 2001, 153 schools have been seismically upgraded, but there are 128 schools that remain at high risk for damage in an earthquake.
$100 million
The size of the Learning Improvement Fund, which is designed to “address complex classroom needs.” Districts used this fund to hire 313 full-time teachers, 848 new parttime teachers, 44 new full-time support staff and 198 new part-time support staff and to bump up other teachers and staff from part-time to full-time.
The number of students enrolled at independent schools in 2015-16. That number is up by about 21,000 since 2000-01. About 13 per cent of all students in B.C. attend independent or private schools.