Schools hope survey offers direction
Greater Victoria district asking for input on enrolment
More than 2,000 parents have responded to a Greater Victoria school district survey on student-enrolment issues.
With long-term projections indicating a 2,000-student increase in the district over the next decade — from the current 19,000 to about 21,000 — district officials felt the time was right to gauge parents’ opinions.
Views expressed by parents and the public will be used to help in the creation of a new enrolment policy. Existing rules give priority to current students at a school, regardless of where they live, followed by their siblings and students who are new to the school-catchment area.
School board vice-chairman Tom Ferris said the level of interest so far has been “very impressive.”
“We want input,” he said. “We want to know what people want.”
There are sure to be some modifications to the way things are done, Ferris said.
“We know we have to make changes because the district is growing, and certainly in the long run we’ll be opening schools, no doubt,” he said. “But in the short term, we really do have to think about where we place children to make it equitable for everybody.
“There are so many things to consider.”
Ferris said that includes programs of choice like French immersion, which is available at only a limited number of schools.
“We provide as much of it as we can provide.”
Superintendent Piet Langstraat said the district should be able to accommodate the rise in student numbers in its 47 schools, but not all students will be able to attend a school in their own neighbourhood.
Audrey Smith, president of the Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils and one of four parents who helped design the survey, said the survey’s topics include the concept of “pathways,” the connections that link the elementary, middle and secondary schools that students attend.
Like many other school districts around B.C., the Greater Victoria district had a much different situation to deal with in past years due to a decline in enrolment. Dropping student numbers at the time led to the closure of seven elementary schools from 2003 to 2007.
The main survey, available at sd61.bc.ca, began in mid-March and continues until Monday at 4 p.m. Print copies are available at schools in English, Punjabi, Arabic, Filipino, Spanish and Mandarin.
There is a separate survey for students.
A summary of the input received will be distributed in May, while recommendations emerging from the process will be presented to the school board on May 23.