Public Meeting: Consideration of Closure of Varsity Acres School Regular Program

1
Public Meeting Consideration of Closure of
Varsity Acres School Regular Program

• Wednesday, March 1, 2006
• 7 10pm

2

• The Calgary Board of Education
• Welcomes You

3
Review of Written Notice

• No decision has yet been made
• You will have the opportunity to address any
  questions arising from the Written Notice after
  the presentation
• All information presented here is contained in
  the Written Notice in greater detail copies are
  available at the back

4
Identifying the Issue
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Key Issue

• In 2006/2007, Varsity Acres Elementary
• will lose approximately 52 of its Regular
• Program student population when Citadel
• and Tuscany students are redesignated to
• the new K-4 schools being constructed in
• those communities

6
2006 Varsity Acres Elementary Regular Program
Projections

• 81 students from the
• Varsity community are
• projected to remain in the
• Regular Program at
• Varsity Acres Elementary
• in September 2006
• The enrolment per grade
• can be seen on the chart

7
Enrolment breakdown

• Comparative to the regular program projections,
  546
• students are projected to be enrolled in the
  French
• Immersion program for September 2006. 40 of these
• students live within the Varsity Acres Elementary
• School attendance area.
• With these numbers combined, Varsity Acres
• Elementary School is at its maximum rated room
• capacity for 2006

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Related Issue

• As such, the low enrolment numbers of
• Kindergarten to Grade 6 in the Regular program
• make programming and class configurations
• problematic

9
Background
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Past Enrolment Trends at Varsity Community
Schools

• 3 Elementary Schools in Varsity Community
  Varsity Acres Elementary, Jerry Potts School,
  Marion Carson School
• Recurring enrolment dilemmas facing this area
• Strategies needed to revitalize utilization and
  student enrolment rates

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Enrolment at Varsity Acres Elementary School

• Varsity Acres Elementary School student
  designation
• Enrolment projection
• Significant decline in Varsity Acres Elementary
  student population

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Enrolment at Marion Carson Elementary School

• Marion Carson School student designation
• Enrolment projections
• Marion Carson proposed to accommodate all
  Varsity community students

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Section A

• Implications for
• Affected Attendance Areas

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Current and Proposed Attendance Areas
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Implications on Student Designation

• Proposed student accommodation plan in the event
  of closure
• For students in the Varsity Acres Elementary
  Regular Program
• Student accommodation plan regardless of closure
• For students in the Citadel and Tuscany
  communities

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Section B

• Long-Range Capital Plan

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Implications Relative to CBEs Long Range Capital
Plan

• CBEs goal is to increase utilization in all
  sectors to 85 by 2015
• Why utilization?
• Strategies to maintain utilization rates

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Section C

• Busing

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Implications with Respect to Busing

• In the event of closure, busing considerations
  for
• Varsity community students attending Varsity
  Acres Elementary
• Out-of-attendance area students currently
  attending Varsity Acres Elementary

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Section DEducational Impacts
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Educational Impacts of Non-Closure

• 60 Kindergarten to Grade 6 students projected
  for September 2006 in the Varsity Acres
  Elementary Regular Program
• Limited programming and extra-curricular/co-curri
  cular opportunities

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Educational Impacts of Closure

• Accommodation of current Varsity Acres
  Elementary Regular Program students at Marion
  Carson School, providing they live within the
  Varsity Acres Elementary School attendance are
• 21 out-of-attendance area students would have to
  return to their designated schools
• Continue to access quality programming at Marion
  Carson School

23
Implications of Closure for Teaching Staff

• Resource allocation
• Reflect student enrolment and profile
• Deployed at Principals discretion
• Surplus to need teaching staff

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Implications of Closure for Support Staff

• Support staff and the CBE Staff Association
  Collective Agreement
• Facilities Operations staff and CUPE Collective
  Agreement

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Section E

• Financial and Capital Implications

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Financial and Capital Implications of Closure

• Limited cost savings
• Factors of Financial Impact Assessment
• Capital funding and School capacity

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Section F

• Future Facility Plans

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Future of Varsity Acres Elementary School Facility

• French Immersion program continuation and, where
  possible, expansion

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Summary

• Consideration of regular program closure
• Construction of new schools impact enrolment
• Students would be designated to another Varsity
  community school, Marion Carson

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Responses to Previously Submitted Questions
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• Questions?

32
How did you calculate the enrolment projections
for the next five years?
33
City of Calgary population community
population preschool census data housing
redevelopment school enrollment data by grade
and program current and emerging trends
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We have two children at Varsity Acres School.
One is in the English program and one is in the
French program. Has consideration been given to
keeping siblings together in the same school?
35
How many students who live in the Varsity
Acres School attendance area are registered in
French?
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Kindergarten to Grade 6 131French Immersion
40Regular Program 63 Other schools/programs
28
37
What is your contingency plan in case there are
more English students in the communities of
Varsity and Tuscany than Marion Carson School can
accommodate?
38
Unknowns- of Tuscany (Gr. 1 to 3) will
remain at Marion Carson?- Grade 4 at new
Tuscany school?
39
How many children live in the Varsity area
(including Village, Acres and Estates)?
40
Varsity Community Students

• Kindergarten to Grade 6 467 students
• Regular program at Jerry Potts, Marion Carson or
  Varsity Acres /-300 students (65)

41
How many K-3 children reside in the Tuscany area?
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Tuscany (K to 3)(Based on September 30, 2005
enrolment)

• Kindergarten to Grade 3 476 students

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How many of these are accommodated in the new
Tuscany school, and how many will overflow to
Marion Carson?
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• Opening day capacity of Tuscany school 550
• 2006
• Projected enrolment for 2006 340 (K to 3)
• Overflow to Marion Carson 286 (1 to 6)
• 2007
• Projected enrolment for 2007 500 (K to 4)
• Overflow to Marion Carson 230 (2 to 6)

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How many children in Tuscany, including aged 2, 3
4 (entering the school system in two to three
years)?
46
(No Transcript)
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How many students can each Varsity school
accommodate?
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School Capacities

• Provincial Capacity
• Marion Carson 504 student spaces
• Varsity Acres 580 student spaces
• Jerry Potts 391 student spaces
• F.E. Osborne 780 student spaces
• Rated Room Capacity
• Marion Carson 590 student spaces
• Varsity Acres 625 student spaces
• Jerry Potts student spaces
• F.E. Osborne 715 student spaces

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How many families are actually moving to Varsity
because of the French program?
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(No Transcript)
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How many children in the French Immersion program
at Varsity Acres School are Varsity community
students?
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Given that French represents about 5 of the
provincial population, why is the English program
not a priority?
53
Youve mentioned subsidized transportation. Is
not all CBE bussing subsidized?
54
Can revisions be made to these considerations
after theyve been voted on?
55
Marion Carson is not wheelchair accessible
whereas Jerry Potts and Varsity Acres are. How
does the CBE plan to accommodate students
requiring barrier free access at Marion Carson?
What costs are involved?
56
Do the Written Notices for Varsity Acres School
and Jerry Potts School each include data from the
other school when calculating enrolment at Marion
Carson?
57
Two Distinct Processes

• Administrative Process (Administration)
• Long Range Student Accommodation Planning Process
• May lead to a recommendation that Trustees
  consider closure
• Regulatory Process (Board of Trustees)
• Closure of Schools Regulation, pursuant to the
  School Act

58
Have you considered busing in students from other
Areas?
59
If the English program is closed and students are
designated to Marion Carson, elementary age
children will have to cross Shaganappi Trail.
What has been done to address safety concerns?
60
(No Transcript)
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Why does Area I have only one French Immersion
elementary school while Area II has six?
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Children from outside Area I are attending French
Immersion at Varsity Acres School. With the
demand for French Immersion increasing, why isnt
the CBE creating new French Immersion schools in
both Areas I and II?
63
I understand that French Immersion students from
Sherwood will be designated to Varsity Acres
School in 2006. Why are they not being
designated to an Area II school?
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Has administration considered1. Marion
Carson School as an overflow school for
Tuscany?2. Varsity Acres School as the
community school for all of Varsity?3. Jerry
Potts School as the designated school for the
French Immersion program?
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Is the administrative recommendation being driven
by financial considerations?
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Question and Answer Period
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• Thank You for Attending