Black Gold School Division
780-955-6025
Leduc Schools Boundary and Grade Configuration Review
A big thank you to all Leduc residents who attended the in-person Public Information Open House for the Leduc Schools Boundary and Grade Configuration Review at the Leduc Composite High School on May 24, and to everyone who provided their comments in the second online public feedback opportunity by June 7.
The feedback opportunity is now closed.
We received over 190 responses through the second feedback opportunity. Your comments will be collected and included in the final recommendation report, which will shared with the the Board of Trustees for consideration as it works to make the final decision on the new Leduc schools boundary and grade configuration this fall.
Introduction
On February 22, 2023, the Board of Trustees passed a Notice of Motion, based on Board Policy 15 – Appendix: School Reconfiguration, to begin a reconfiguration process – inclusive of public consultation – on the proposed school boundary and grade configuration review for schools within Leduc (excluding Covenant Christian School and the Leduc Outreach School).
Why are we doing this?
With the anticipated opening in September 2024 of Ohpaho Secondary School – with an opening capacity of 1,100 students – there is a need to establish attendance boundaries and grade configuration for the new school, and conduct a review of the impact of these additional student spaces on other Leduc schools as the community is growing at a significant rate.
Over the last two years, East Elementary School, Caledonia Park School, Leduc Composite High School, Ecole Leduc Junior High School, and West Haven Public School have experienced their highest enrolments, leading to very high utilization rates. In fact, four of our nine schools in Leduc are above the 100 percent utilization rate (see map below), which creates an urgent need for extra student spaces across the community.
What are our project objectives?
The Division’s overall goals are to ensure continued quality programming for all students through equitable school utilization. In addition, we’re seeking to:
- To maximize the boundary and grade configuration effectiveness and minimize the amount of disruption to achieve this.
- To enable viable enrolments at all schools.
- To permit Division programs (e.g. French Immersion) and services at the appropriate schools.
- To continue to accommodate Inclusive Education.
- To ensure all schools work within their capacity, in terms of “permanent” school facilities and portable/modular classrooms.
- To support a successful transition of students and families from current attendance boundaries and maximize school utilization.
- To respect the City of Leduc residential neighbourhood boundaries as closely as possible.
- Consider transportation efficiencies
What are we doing?
To address the above concerns, the Division contracted the services of Edmonton Public Schools Planning Consultancy to submit the Leduc Student Attendance Area Study, which was presented to the Board on February 22.
The study’s goals include proposing attendance area options for Ohpaho Secondary School, and reviewing Leduc school boundaries (excluding Covenant Christian School and Leduc Outreach School) to accommodate as many students as close to home as possible.
This comprehensive study provides a number of concepts to help address the capacity challenges, which will be further investigated through a public engagement process. It is through this public engagement process that a final recommendation will be generated and presented to the Board for consideration this fall.
So, what’s next?
The next steps in this review process involve Administration forming working and advisory committees to review the concepts as presented by the consultants, and to develop and implement a multi-phased public engagement process.
Over the coming months, Leduc school communities will be provided opportunities to review and provide feedback on the various boundary and grade configuration proposals. More information and updates on this project, including timelines for public engagement opportunities, will be provided in the coming weeks.
