So it is decided.
Starting in the fall, Stawamus Elementary School will no longer be a traditional elementary school.
The board of Sea to Sky school district voted Wednesday night to discontinue the school in its current configuration and try to grow enrolment by offering two programs of choice: Cultural Journeys and Learning Expeditions.
The district will be in touch with parents at Stawamus in the coming days, according to superintendent of schools Lisa McCullough.
The parents will be given two options.
“Your options are to register for the program of choice or go to new catchment school or transfer to a different school, and we are going to help you with that,” said McCullough. “We really want to help the families get what they are hoping for.”
In light of the changes, school catchments were also adjusted. The Valleycliffe Elementary School catchment areas are expanded to include Hospital Hill, Smoke Bluffs areas and the Valleycliffe area south of Maple Drive. The Squamish Elementary School catchment area boundary was changed to include the Stamish Reserve.
March 16 parents of current Stawamus students and any other parents interested in enrolment in Cultural Journeys in the fall can register at a meeting to be held at Howe Sound Secondary at Eagle Eye Theatre.
The Squamish Nation-inspired Cultural Journeys for students in kindergarten to Grade 6 had been approved by the board but needed a location to operate come fall. The outdoors-based, academically rigorous program is open to all students regardless of their cultural background and aims to reinvigorate First Nation’s culture, according to McCullough.
The majority of Learning Connections School, currently housed in portables behind Howe Sound Secondary, will eventually be relocated to Stawamus, thus potentially saving the district about $96,000 in operational costs from the reduction in clerical and custodial needs by having the two programs operate in one building.
Stawamus Elementary has faced declining enrolment for years. This year there are only 76 students total; the capacity of the school is about 195.
With the new programs of choice, the district is hopeful Stawamus will thrive.
“We are really hoping we can build something there that makes it a sustainable kind of school,” said McCullough.
According to a report to the district, 64 students are currently enrolled at Stawamus for next year. About 65 parents surveyed showed interest in attending the Cultural Journeys program in the fall. The district predicts 73 to 106 students will be enrolled in the program by 2016. The Learning Expeditions program is predicted to attract about 48 students by 2016.
District staff will complete an enrolment review of both programs in February 2018.
