Penhold's explosive growth, particularly with young children pouring into town at an unprecedented pace, has forced the Chinook's Edge School Division to make major grade reconfigurations at its three learning institutions.
The move, approved by Chinook's Edge's Board of Education on Oct. 8, is especially designed to relieve the increasing pressure currently confronting Jessie Duncan Elementary School, where space shortages are so acute for the town's youngest students, the staff room is being as the library. The school was built in 1983 for a capacity of 175. There are currently 209 students at Jessie Duncan.
“They are now almost falling out the windows at Jessie Duncan,” said Penhold mayor Dennis Cooper, adding the town has been working with Chinook's Edge to address the overcrowding issues at the three schools. “We've had rapid growth, including those at young ages, and it has definitely put pressure on the school system, as well as on our community services.
“At this present time we have been working closely with the schools to try to give them assistance in after-school care and working programs right out of their schools,” added Cooper. “I think we have to send the message very strongly to the provincial government and that we need help.”
Following the Oct. 8 board meeting, Chinook's Edge announced changes to the grade configurations for all three Penhold schools that will begin at the start of the 2015-16 school year.
Jessie Duncan Elementary School, which now serves students from pre-kindergarten to Grade 2, will be home to just pre-kindergarten to Grade 1 next school year. Penhold School, which is currently the home for grades 3 to 6 students, will serve students in grades 2 to 5. The new Penhold Crossing Secondary School, which began operations this school year to serve students from grades 7 to 12, will be home in 2015-16 for students from grades 6 to 12.
“We spend a considerable amount of time consulting with administrators who are really in touch with the realities and complexities,” said Kurt Sacher, Chinook's Edge's superintendent of schools. “We didn't go a lot further because really there was only the one option at the moment we had in the sense that we simply could no longer house the Grade 2 students in Jessie Duncan.”
Sacher said the grade reconfiguration move is a short-term solution to combat Penhold's rapid growth. He added the long-term plan is to create additional classroom space at Jessie Duncan.
However, any request to the province to spend more money on school infrastructure could be a problematic issue as many other jurisdictions across the province are going through the same growth challenges, which Chinook's Edge is already facing in Carstairs and Sylvan Lake.
Last week the provincial government announced it is building 55 new schools across the province and modernizing 20 more, which is in addition to the 50 news schools and 70 modernizations announced last year by former premier Alison Redford. However, Chinook's Edge is not included in last week's announced new plans by the provincial government.
“The province has a real challenge on its hands across the province with the accumulating needs in the area of school infrastructure. Chinook's Edge is an example of that where we are concerned in all three of those communities in particular,” said Sacher, noting Olds may soon be another Chinook's Edge jurisdiction where growth will become a troublesome issue.
“What matters the most with parents is that we maintain quality learning environments and that we have the best teachers possible, and we feel very, very comfortable supporting our teachers.
“We got great staff in all those schools,” he added. “The young people will be looked after even if we don't have a perfectly ideal configuration set up.”
For more information on Chinook's Edge's grade reconfiguration plans at the Penhold schools, parents and other citizens can contact Shawn Russell, the division's liaison superintendent for the Penhold area at 403- 227-7070.
