French immersion and Logos students will be on the move in a couple of years as the St. Albert Public board opens two new schools, the public learned last week.
The St. Albert Public school board received a report last week on how the board’s new Lois E. Hole and Joseph M. Demko schools would affect student populations in St. Albert. The schools are to open in the Riverside and Jensen Lakes regions in the next two years.
Administration had to determine which students and programs would go where once these schools opened, superintendent Barry Wowk said in an interview. The intent is to have the new schools relieve overcrowding at places such as Leo Nickerson and Elmer S. Gish while also housing students from these new areas.
While these decisions would normally involve a formal public consultation, Wowk said staff quickly realized that they didn’t have a lot of options to consult upon.
“With our schools so full, there were just no choices.”
Lois Hole Elementary was supposed to open this fall, but it was delayed, Wowk said. Administration had to decide if it wanted to open it in January or September 2017.
“When we consulted with all the parents, they said, ‘Let’s let our kids finish in the school they’re at’” instead of switching schools mid-year, he said.
Administration has decided to open Lois Hole in September 2017. That means enrolment restrictions will remain in place at Gish, Nickerson, and Muriel Martin next year – all schools that will eventually divert students to Lois Hole. Nickerson may need to convert one of its offices into a classroom to handle the student load.
Once Lois Hole opens, it will take in all the French immersion students from areas north of the Sturgeon River and east of St. Albert Trail, Wowk said. This will mean transferring 150 to 200 students from Nickerson (with a few from Muriel Martin) to Lois Hole. Nickerson will then take all immersion students from south of the Sturgeon, while Muriel Martin will take those from north of the Sturgeon and west of the trail.
Lois Hole will also be the home for English language students in Erin Ridge and Erin Ridge North, Wowk said. Anyone in Erin Ridge that currently goes to SAM will be allowed to stay at that school if they choose.
The next big move comes in 2018, Wowk said. Administration plans to put all of the district’s Logos Christian program students (of which there are currently about 250 split between Nickerson and Gish) into the Demko school, which should open that year. The board will talk with Logos parents about whether to move the students all at once or in two chunks over two years.
Administration will roll out these changes to parents over the next few weeks, Wowk said.
Local leaders say they’re confident that the province and the teachers will hash out a new deal on wages this year despite the state of Alberta’s economy.
Alberta’s teachers will negotiate a new contract with the province and local boards this year. While these deals used to be hashed out between local boards and unions, the province stepped in during 2007 and 2012 to negotiate deals for all teachers. The 2012 deal expires this Aug. 31.
Bill 8, passed last fall, sets up a new negotiation process for teacher deals. Instead of local boards and unions deciding everything, some issues will now be negotiated province-wide between the ATA and the new Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA), which includes representatives from every school board and the province.
TEBA is set to work out which issues it will handle starting this month. Wages are widely expected to end up on its plate.
Ellen Snaith, president of the St. Albert Public Teachers Local No 73, said she was excited about the possibilities.
“The element of co-operation that I am seeing in the framework is very heartening,” she said.
These talks will need to address many issues besides wages, including class sizes, classroom conditions and demographics, Snaith said.
When asked if teachers would be asking for a raise, she said that while teachers were well aware of the province’s economic and fiscal context, they also agreed to a three-year wage freeze under the last deal.
“I just want to be fair and I’m not exactly sure what fair looks like at the moment.”
St. Albert MLA Marie Renaud said she had faith in this new bargaining process, given that we have a receptive government and smart teachers who know well the state of the province’s finances.
“I’m hopeful they’ll find an agreement.”
