Grade changes will be made at two public schools in the Peterborough, Ont., area to accommodate “significant” student enrolment pressures at both Crestwood Secondary School and Crestwood Intermediate School.
On Tuesday, trustees with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board approved program changes for Kawartha Heights Public School and Westmount Public School.
Beginning in September 2024, Grade 7 students from Kawartha Heights and Westmount (English stream only) will attend James Strath Public School for Grades 7 and 8.
Students will then transition neighbouring Cavan-Monaghan Township for Grades 9 to 12 at Crestwood Secondary, Grade 7 students currently attending Crestwood Intermediate will remain at the Cavan school.
The changes were based on a recommendation from the school board’s resource committee to address “significant” accommodation pressures.
The board reports that in September, Crestwood Intermediate is predicted to be at 174 per cent of its capacity with 320 expected students and space for only 184.
Crestwood Secondary is forecasted to be at 101 per cent of its capacity with 769 expected students.
“We sincerely appreciate that change can be challenging for students and families, and we appreciate the respectful conversations we had with these school communities as we worked toward addressing the accommodation pressures we’re experiencing at these schools,” said school board chairperson Jaine Klassen Jeninga.
“We continue to experience significant growth in schools across our board, and our planning to accommodate and manage available space within our schools is ongoing.”
The board also anticipates that by 2025, space utilization within KPR elementary schools will be over 100 per cent of available capacity. By 2030, space utilization in the secondary panel will also be over 100 per cent of available capacity.
“We want to acknowledge the feedback we received from families as part of our discussions, including identifying the desire to have Grade 7 students remain at their home schools, exploring the further use of portables, and consideration of transitions for other school communities,” said school board director of education Rita Russo.
“After reviewing all planning, cost and educational programming perspectives, administration believes this proposed plan is the best and most supportive option.”
Russo said the administration continues to identify and plan for long-term strategies to manage growth in the City and County of Peterborough.
Last month, the board announced program changes beginning in September at Kaawaate East City Public School in Peterborough also due to surging school enrolment.
“We will be moving forward this spring with a detailed review of both elementary school boundaries and family of school groupings to develop and identify long-term strategies to manage growth in these school communities,” said Russo. “As part of our ongoing planning, we will review all regions of the board in turn.”
— more to come