The announcement of a new elementary school opening in Inglewood in September 2017 means Red Deer Public Schools will make changes to elementary boundaries.
The new school in Inglewood, located on Inglewood Drive and Irving Crescent, will accommodate 500 students with room for up to 600 students through use of relocatable classrooms. Construction is expected to begin in the late fall.
“We are delighted to be opening a new school in Inglewood to meet district needs. The project is going to tender right away, we expect construction to begin in the late fall and the school opens in September 2017,” said Stu Henry, superintendent of schools for Red Deer Public. “The new school created the opportunity to look at our facility needs for schools as well as programs for not only September 2017, but well into the future. We want to hear what the community has to say to ensure we make the best decision.”
Open houses were recently held in order to gain feedback from the community regarding the changes to elementary school boundaries.
Four scenarios were put forward and include Scenario A as having the Inglewood School serving current Mountview English students. Mountview School would become a duel-track French Immersion/Spanish bilingual school. Christian Alternative students (Grades 9-12) would have a dedicated space at Lindsay Thurber and students in Vanier Woods/Vanier East would move to the Inglewood School with students in Laredo being placed at Mattie McCullough.
Scenario B would also see the Inglewood School serving current Mountview English students with the Mountview School becoming a duel-track French Immersion/Spanish bilingual school. This scenario would also see Grandview School re-purposed as a Christian Alternative School (Kindergarten to Grade 3) with current Grandview School students relocating to other schools. As well, Fairview ESL students would be redirected to neighbourhood schools for programming. Students living in Vanier Woods/Vanier East would move to the Inglewood School with students in Laredo being placed at Mattie McCullough.
Scenario C would see the Inglewood School serving current Mountview English students with Mountview School becoming a single track French Immersion school which would also consolidate Barrie Wilson and Mountview programs. Grandview School would be repurposed as a Spanish Bilingual school (Kindergarten to Grade 8) and current students at Grandview would be relocated to other schools. As well, Fairview ESL students would be redirected to neighbourhood schools for programming, Christian Alternative students (Grades 9-12) would have dedicated space at Lindsay Thurber and students living in Vanier Woods/Vanier East would move to the Inglewood School, with students in Laredo being placed at Mattie McCullough.
Scenario D would see the Inglewood School serving current Mountview English and French Immersion students with Mountview School being re-purposed as a Spanish Bilingual (Kindergarten to Grade 8) school. Grandview School would be re-purposed as a Christian Alternative school for students in Kindergarten to Grade 3, while students at Grandview School would be relocated to other schools. Fairview ESL students would be redirected to neighbourhood schools for programming and students living in Laredo would go to Mattie McCullough.
The Accommodations Committee will review the information that was given at the open houses and review technical information in order to develop a recommendation to the superintendent. The superintendent will then recommend a direction to the Board of Trustees in November or December.
The Board is then expected to receive the recommendation and give initial approval on Jan. 13th. Following that, there will be a two week period for further public feedback and review.
A final decision regarding the changes is expected on Jan. 27th. The decision will be made public and implementation plans will be developed between January 2016 and September 2017. efawcett@reddeerexpress.com
