This is first week of online registration for kindergarten in the Prince George school district and parents are getting the message loud and clear.
If you want to get your kid into a choice program, don’t delay it.
On Tuesday, when School District 57 opened its website - www.sd57.bc.ca - to receive online registration forms for kindergarten next fall, the names of more than 660 students who will turn five on or before Dec. 31, 2020 were received that day.
Parents are required to submit proof of age with a birth certificate, proof of address and a BC Care Card/BC Services Card by Feb. 4 to complete the registration process.
School District 57 board of education chair Tim Bennett said the district is on track for at least 1,000 kindergarten students in the 2020-21 school year.
“We had 660-plus kindergarten registrations on the first day and that is about on par with what we normally receive, but if the last few years are any indication that number is going to continue to grow right up to September 30th when the final count happens,” said Bennett.
“(The first day of registration) is big rush for families or those who perhaps are choosing one of our choice programs because French immersion spaces at Spruceland Traditional and Polaris Montessori are all capped at 40 to 60 students, depending on the school.”
The other schools that offer French immersion beginning at kindergarten are École Lac des Bois (maximum of 60 students) and College Heights Elementary (maximum of 40 students).
The catchment area of all choice schools is the entire school district. Priority will be given to families who already have siblings attending the choice school. The names of the other applicants who register before the Feb. 4 deadline will be placed in an envelope and randomly drawn in a lottery until all classroom seats are filled.
Those whose names are not drawn will be placed on a wait list. Parents will be informed soon after the draw as to whether they’ve been accepted into the school or if they are on the wait list. They are then required to register their child at their catchment school and if they want to attend an out-of-catchment school they must then go through the district’s transfer process.
Several Prince George elementary schools – Edgewood, Glenview, Hart Highlands, Heritage, Malaspina, Southridge, Springwood - expect their kindergarten classrooms will be close to full enrolment capacity and won’t likely be accepting students from out of the catchment area.
After years of decline in the early 2000s, when schools were closed due to low enrolments, the student population of all grades combined in the Prince George district - which includes Mackenzie, McBride and Valemount - has grown in each of the last four years.
This year there were 12,894 students, up slightly from 12,792 in 2018-19, 12,610 in 2017-18 and 12,423 in 2016-17. Of that current school year total, registered 7,807 are attending elementary schools and 4,783 are in secondary schools.
“I always say we’re really excited to see our student numbers grow because it means our community’s thriving and more kids are coming to School District 57,” said Bennett.
“Saying that, catchment and capacity remains the Number 1 priority of the board.”
Three of the five high schools in the city are currently operating at more than their enrolment capacity. Duchess Park, which has 702 students in regular program and 305 in École Duchess Park French immersion, has 107 students more than its 900 capacity. College Heights Secondary has 944 students, 86 more than its 850 capacity. D.P. Todd is 53 students beyond its capacity of 600.
Prince George Secondary School has the most breathing space with 1,313 students, well below its 1,550 capacity; while Kelly Road Secondary, with 792 students, has a capacity of 1,150. A new $44.3 million school is being built on the adjacent property at Kelly Road and it’s slated to open in September, built to accommodate as many as 900 students.
Heather Park, with 555 students, is the largest elementary school in the district. The school includes Heather Park Neighbourhood (376 students) and École Heather Park French immersion (179 students). Next in line are École Lac des Bois (469 students), Heritage (412), Southridge (370) and Hart Highlands (363).
The smallest schoolsin the district are Hixon Elementary and Giscome Elementary, each with 28 students
**** At Tuesday’s public meeting the board clarified a recommendation made at its Dec. 3 public meeting and imposed a time limit for Grade 7 students at Spruceland and Edgewood elementary schools transitioning to Duchess Park Secondary School to reflect changes in the catchment area approved by trustees in the fall. The amended recommendation will allow graduating students from either of the two feeder elementary schools to attend Duchess Park for the 2020-21 school year provided they have a sibling already enrolled at Duchess Park as of Jan. 28, 2020.
The grandfathered clause only applies for students who want to attend Duchess Park for next school year. Students from the Spruceland/Edgewood catchment areas who do not have a sibling currently at Duchess Park are required to follow the secondary school catchment boundary changes approved in the October 29 meeting and will attend D.P. Todd Secondary.
**** Trustees granted authorization for three new courses to be offered in the fall – Fly Fishing 12, HOPE (Hope, Opportunity, Positive mentorship and Education) For Boys 11, and Cultural Connections 12.
