Jump in enrolment could land siblings in different schools

Balancing act: Which kids go where is up for discussion as the Greater Victoria district looks to change the rules

Keeping siblings together in the same school is a big issue for many Greater Victoria school district parents, and they’re worried they might lose that option if proposed changes to enrolment rules go ahead.

The changes are being considered in response to an expected jump in enrolment of about 2,000 students over the next decade — to 21,000 from 19,000.

Space is already becoming tight at some of the district’s 47 schools.

Current rules allow returning students into a school first — whether they’re from inside or outside a school’s catchment area — followed by their siblings and then catchment-area students.

Anticipated growth in student numbers prompted a survey by the district, with 61 per cent of those responding saying catchment students should be favoured over siblings.

The survey prompted discussion of changes to the enrolment process, but some parents have questioned how representative the findings are.

For Drea Prizeman, siblings losing their current enrolment status could have a big impact, since her oldest child is in Grade 1 French immersion at Campus View Elementary and she has two younger children aged three and one-and-a-half.

The family lives in the school’s catchment area, and the Grade 1 son got into French immersion, considered a district program, through a lottery system.

“What we were told was that you ‘lottery’ for your first child and then your second and subsequent children would be prioritized in their entry year,” Prizeman said.

But when the possible changes to enrolment rules came to light, “it really felt like the rug was being pulled out from under us,” she said. “Because really what that means is we will have to go through that lottery with every child. And potentially, because our children will all be at elementary school at one time, we could have kids in three different schools.”

That would be logistically impossible with two working parents, she said.

She said the enrolment issue is not just about French immersion. “Really, it’s an issue of not enough spots in certain school areas.”

Kerri Shaw, also a Campus View parent with a child in Grade 1 French immersion, has another child registered for the program in September and a third child who faces the lottery system to follow the same path.

She said the proposed rules won’t improve anything.

“It will only cause more problems, and cause splits and divides within families.”

And it could mean an “educational disparity” for families with some siblings able to take French immersion and others not, she said.

District superintendent Piet Langstraat said there is still plenty of time for people to voice their opinions on enrolment rules. He said the committee formed to address the issue has been active and the school board will talk about it at a Tuesday meeting.

“We continue to welcome input from the public, and we certainly are considering all of that input,” Langstraat said. “Nothing’s carved in stone until the board makes a final decision.”

A decision is not expected until the end of June. If changes are approved they will not be implemented until the 2018-19 school year.

Langstraat said he understands the concerns of parents troubled by the sibling issue, and also those who want to ensure they can get their children into the closest school to their home. “The answer is both points of view are valid, but we have to make some determinations because we don’t currently have room in our schools to accommodate everybody.”

One measure could be the reopening of schools that were closed in past years, Langstraat said. Seven elementary schools were closed from 2003 to 2007 during a period of declining student numbers.

The board will vote Tuesday on whether to form a committee to look at opening schools, Langstraat said.

“The long-term aim is to be able to create enough space within catchments to accommodate all catchment kids, whether they’re siblings or not siblings,” he said. “Having to choose between the sibling and the other catchment child I’m hoping actually won’t end off having to be a decision, that we’ll be able to accommodate both.”