Black Gold Regional Division No. 18’s Beaumont Family of Public Schools Configuration Finalized

On December 14, 2016, the Black Gold Regional Division No. 18 (BGRD) Board of Education reviewed and approved the configuration recommendations for BGRD’s Beaumont Family of Public Schools that were brought forward by the Configuration Review Committee.

Both the Review Committee and the Board of Education recognized that while there was no universal, optimal solution, the process did provide an opportunity for BGRD and its community stakeholders to thoroughly examine the use of the Beaumont Family of Public Schools and encourage the most viable educational decisions.

December 2016 – Board of Education Approved – Beaumont Family of Public Schools Boundary and Grade Configurations

Next Steps: Transitioning the Plan

With Board of Education approval, the Review Committee will now begin to develop transition plans related to the grade and boundary configuration changes and how they will go about phasing the changes into the BGRD Beaumont Family of Public Schools.

The Review Committee was unable to present transitions as part of the December 2016 recommendations to the Board of Education due to the uncertainty of the timelines associated with the construction of École Champs Vallée School and of the modernization of École J. E. Lapointe School. Prior to late February, transitions will be prepared, reviewed and released to the general public.

Both the Board of Education and the Review Committee valued the community feedback it received throughout the configuration review process. As the transition development phase begins, the Review Committee will continue to refer to the feedback with the intentions of alleviating pressures and concerns where possible to do so. As a result, parents are asked not to submit a School of Choice request until transition plans have been completed and families can fully evaluate the entire impact that the configuration changes may or may not have on them.

Important Note: Parents should be aware that school of choice requests will not be considered in BGRD’s Beaumont Family of Schools prior to the transition phase plans being released to the public.

Designated Schools & School of Choice after the Transition Plans

The Division recognizes its obligation to accept as an enrolled student a student residing outside a defined attendance boundary area, if sufficient resources and facilities are available. After the transition plans are released, families that are impacted by the decision may wish to explore their School of Choice options with the Principals.

Parents may request that a student attends a school outside of their attendance area. It is a joint decision of the Principal of the designated school and the Principal of the requested school as to whether the student should be accepted at the school outside of the student’s attendance area. The Principal of the requested school will contact the Principal of the designated school to discuss the request and confirm that the requested school has space and resources available to accept a student outside of their attendance area.

School of Choice Transportation may be available in some cases and can only be confirmed by contacting the BGRD Transportation Department. A School/Program of Choice fee will apply, and meeting a bus may be required.

Parents/Guardians considering such a request should familiarize themselves with the following BGRD Administrative Procedures:

What the Finalized Configuration Means for BGRD’s Beaumont Family of Public Schools

The recently completed configuration has allowed BGRD to review student capacities in all of its Beaumont Family of Schools and utilization of its school space. The configuration has also allowed the Division to enhance programs. For example, with the approved configuration, Kindergarten programs will return to all BGRD Beaumont elementary schools. The changes will also allow K to Grade 6 dual-track English and French Immersion neighbourhood programming to continue.

Change has been and will continue to be a constant in Beaumont. As the Town of Beaumont continues to change, enrolment configuration reviews will be a certainty that residents will be presented with. However, growth and a new school is a great problem to have. Configuration reviews will continue to assist the Division in finding new ways to take advantage of change and become more efficient and effective in its goals of inspiring success, providing supportive environments and managing its resources responsibly.