Grades get complicated

Some Grade 9 students could be headed to high school on the Westside this fall, while others stay behind in middle school for another year.

The Central Okanagan school board is moving toward changing the grade configuration of all schools in the district, and the Westside will likely be the next area affected by the changes.

The board will hear recommendations from the planning and facilities committee at Wednesday’s board meeting.

In 2015, all schools in Rutland were changed to the new grade configuration, making elementary schools kindergarten to Grade 5, middle schools Grades 6 to 8 and secondary schools Grades 9 to 12.

“The Westside will be a more complicated situation, however, because of overcrowding at Mount Boucherie Secondary, the only high school on the Westside,” said board chairwoman Moyra Baxter.

The recommendation before the board is to change the grade configuration of elementary schools on the Westside to kindergarten to Grade 5 and Mount Boucherie to Grades 9-12.

The main pressure will be on Mount Boucherie (Secondary), said Baxter. Mount Boucherie can’t accommodate more students, so you’d have to put portables on site.î

It is proposed Const. Neil Bruce Middle change to the desired 6-8 format, but Glenrosa Middle would add Grade 6 and keep Grade 9, making it a Grade 6-9 school.

In this case, only Grade 8 students from Const. Neil Bruce would move onto Boucherie in Grade 9, while Glenrosa Middle students would go to the high school in Grade 10.

“It would be like that until we get a new school built on the Westside, either a new middle school . . . or a new secondary school,” said Baxter. “We need more space on the Westside, there’s no doubt about that.”

If approved, the changes to grade configuration on the Westside would take effect this September.

“I’m concerned that with the Westside growing so fast, even this won’t actually solve any problems,” said Baxter.

At Wednesday’s board meeting, the planning and facilities committee will also be recommending the board approve grade reconfiguration in the Mission, effective upon the opening of Canyon Falls Middle in 2019.

Canyon Falls will be the first middle school in the Mission, and it will accommodate students in Grades 6 to 8.

Lake Country has also been approved for a new middle school, and its grade configuration will change to the same format as Rutland and the Mission upon the opening of the school in 2021.

Grade reconfiguration for the rest of the schools in Kelowna will likely not happen until a new secondary school is built to serve the Glenmore area, said Baxter.