For many schools in Prince George, you have to actually live in the school’s catchment area in order to enrol your kids.
The school board has restricted catchment and kindergarten enrollment at a number of schools for the upcoming 2019-20 school year.
“It’s no secret that we have a real challenge on catchment and capacity in the district,” said Trustee Ron Polillo at School District No. 57’s (SD57) regular public meeting on Jan. 30.
He said the Education and Services Committee felt restricting catchment would help address some short term capacity issues within the district.
Catchment will be restricted at Southridge Elementary, College Heights Secondary, Heritage Elementary, Edgewood Elementary, Harwin Elementary, Ron Brent Elementary, Duchess Park Secondary (English Track only), Glenview Elementary, Hart Highlands Elementary, and Springwood Elementary.
Kindergarten enrollment will be limited at College Heights Elementary (no more than 40 students for French immersion), Spruceland Traditional Elementary (no more than 40 students), Polaris Montessori Elementary (no more than 40 students), and Ecole Lac de Bois (no more than 60 students).
While some of these restrictions already existed in the district, Harwin Elementary and Ron Brent Elementary are new additions to the list, which caused some disagreement between the trustees.
“I am concerned that we have so much movement of students in that area in that Duchess Park family of schools,” said Trustee Sharel Warrington. “I worry that by restricting catchment at those schools, I worry about how students feel they are welcomed in the school or how families feel they can be moving in and out of neighbourhoods.”
SD57 Secretary-Treasurer Darleen Patterson noted that if a student moves neighbourhoods, the student has the choice to either remain enrolled at his or her current school, or move to the new one.
Polillo said that capping Harwin and Ron Brent Elementary was intended to curb the capacity problems at Duchess Park Secondary, in the short term.
“We are having students registering in grade six and seven at those school so they can transition into Duchess Park,” added Patterson.
Board of Education Chair Tim Bennett said he didn’t see transition between neighbourhoods being impacted with the inclusion of Harwin and Ron Brent Elementary in the catchment restrictions.
“Because of the work that we are doing with our veteran schools that [child’s] profile will move to the new school so we could try and create those wrap around supports with them,” said Bennett. “I believe we are going to get to the position in the near future that the list of schools that we are capping is significantly greater.”
The new catchment restrictions were approved, but Trustees Sharel Warrington, Trent Derrick, and Shuirose Valimohamed opposed.
