May. 14, 2019
PDF of Media Release
CALGARY — The Calgary Board of Education is kicking off its multi-year high school engagement with a survey for parents, staff, students and community members. The survey will be open from May 15 – June 9 at cbe.ab.ca.
The engagement will focus on how student enrolment can be balanced among 20 high schools across the city. Within the next five years, 10 high schools will be operating between 100 and 150 per cent of their capacity, while seven schools will be operating between 50 and 85 per cent of their capacity. The CBE aims to have high schools within a 85 to 100 per cent utilization rate and only three schools will be within that range.
“When enrolment at a high school is too high or too low it affects access, flexibility and choice in terms of programming, options and extracurricular activities,” says Carrie Edwards, Director Property, Planning and Transportation.
Possible changes to high schools could include adding or removing programs, changing the communities that are designated to a high school, or changing the grades offered at an individual school.
There will be a variety of opportunities between May 2019 and May 2021 for people to share their thoughts and ideas, and provide input and feedback on how the CBE can balance enrolment among schools and implement changes.
The CBE plans to communicate decisions in the fall of 2021 with the implementation of those decisions happening in the fall of 2022.
“We aim to provide all students with similar opportunities for an overall high school experience that leads to success both in and out of the classroom regardless of the high school they attend or the community they live in,” says Edwards. “We hope that people will get involved and stay involved throughout the high school engagement.”
With the longer timeline of this engagement, students who are currently in Grade 6 will be entering Grade 10 in 2022 when changes are implemented, so it’s important for parents of students who aren’t in high school right now to get involved and have their voices heard.
More information on the high school engagement is available on the CBE website at cbe.ab.ca.
