If any changes are coming to programs of choice in the New Westminster school district, they won’t take effect before the 2024/25 school year.
School District 40 is carrying out a capacity review to help it figure out how to maximize use of schools, given a severe shortage of classroom space — particularly in the city’s core.
With both École Qayqayt Elementary School and Lord Kelvin Elementary School substantially over capacity and enrolment at both growing rapidly, the district is looking for ways to accommodate students while it awaits construction of a new elementary school on the Fraser River Middle School site. (That project is at the concept plan stage and not yet funded by the Ministry of Education.)
One of the areas coming under scrutiny in the review is programs of choice.
Right now, the district has two programs of choice in its elementary schools: Montessori, offered at Skwo:wech and Connaught Heights; and early French immersion, at Herbert Spencer, Qayqayt and Lord Tweedsmuir. There’s also late French immersion at École Glenbrook Middle School. Registration for those programs is on a lottery system.
The district also offers a Home Learners Program, based out of the former Hume Park Elementary School building.
Jason Howe, with Canadian Parents for French, appeared in front of the school board at its Oct. 4 operations committee meeting to raise his concern about the possible impacts on French immersion.
Secretary-treasurer Bettina Ketcham said that, if the capacity review recommends any potential changes to programs of choice, those changes wouldn’t take effect for the 2023/24 school year — only for subsequent years.
“We’ve got a lot to do before we even get to that place,” she said.
Capacity review also looking at child care, community programs, NWSS space
Ketcham told trustees the review will be driven by the educational needs of the programs, with support from the district’s facilities team to help determine where best to fit them into district schools.
There are multiple other pieces involved in the capacity review, including taking over community space at Qayqayt currently occupied by New Westminster Family Place; a proposal to move infant-toddler daycare spaces out of Fraser River Middle School and Qayqayt to other sites; and a review by an external consultant to determine how best to maximize space at New Westminster Secondary School.
With all of those interconnected pieces in play, district staff are proposing to bring back recommendations related to programs of choice by March 2023 — once some of the other related decisions have been made.
Trustees stressed they want to ensure families are consulted about potential changes to programs of choice.
“I think families are definitely going to want to be included,” trustee Maya Russell said. “Montessori, the French programs, the home learners — these are all programs that families are really passionate about, that there’s a lot of interest and need for. They’re really, really valued.”
District staff will report back to the board in November with a framework for the scope of the review and how consultation will be carried out.
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