Global junior high to end?
Akinsdale parents were up in arms this week over reports that St. Albert Public planned to end the Global junior high program at Elmer S. Gish School.St. Albert Public officials met with Gish parents Nov. 26 to discuss the future of the school’s Global program.
Gish is currently a K-to-9 school of about 950 where students can enrol in the Global (standard), Logos (Christian focus), or Cogito (academic focus) programs. Parents learned Monday that the board plans to end the Global grade 7-9 program starting next school year. (The Logos program is set to move to Joseph M. Demko once it opens.)
It’s an enrolment problem, said board spokesperson Paula Power. There are just 48 students in grades 7-9 now, and 20 more coming up through Grade 6. Since not every Grade 6 student will stick with Gish, it’s likely that there will be fewer than 50 kids in the junior high next year.
“A junior high program of 50 students is just not sustainable,” Power said.
The board previously proposed this change back in 2015 due to a space crunch and low enrolment, but decided to keep the program after the school got more portables.
The plan is to have Global Grade 6 kids go to Lorne Akins for Grade 7 starting next year, Power said. The school’s grade 8 and 9 students will be able to finish junior high at Gish if they like.
Gish parent Michelle Thomson said she and many other Akinsdale residents were upset by this proposal, especially since only those with kids in grades 6 to 8 were informed about Monday’s meeting. She had three kids in the Global program and moved to Akinsdale specifically so they could spend elementary to junior high at one school.
Thomson said the board was pushing local kids out of Gish in favour of Edmontonians enrolled in Cogito, of which she said there were about 300.
“Now we will all have to pay for busing whereas we could walk our kids to school.”
Trustees will debate the proposed change to the Global program at Gish at their Dec. 12 board meeting, Power said.
More school solar
St. Albert could cash in on a new $15-million provincial fund meant to put more solar panels on Alberta schools.Alberta environment and education ministers Shannon Phillips and David Eggen announced the new $15-million Solar for Schools program Wednesday.
The province started a program to fund solar panels on new schools and school renovations back in 2016, said Alberta Environment spokesperson Matt Dykstra. About 83 schools will be getting panels because of it, including Vincent J. Maloney and Joseph M. Demko in St. Albert and the upcoming Four Winds and St. Kateri in Morinville.
The program lets any public, Catholic, francophone or charter school that had yet to receive a solar rebate from the province apply for one to put up solar electric panels. The rebate amounts to $1 to $1.50 per watt installed and will cover up to half of a system’s cost. The cash comes from the province’s carbon levy.
This cash, which will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, will likely help put up panels at about 70 Alberta schools, Dykstra said. Those schools will be required to use the panels for educational purposes as part of the grant.
Speaking at a press conference, Eggen and Phillips said these panels would help schools cut costs and carbon footprints while also teaching people about climate change and the economic opportunities of renewable energy.
Power said the public board was definitely interested in doing more solar and was working on an application to this program.
Details are available at www.mccac.ca/programs/SFS.
