Montreal West’s Edinburgh School gets modular classrooms amid overcrowding

After bursting at the seams for years, an elementary school in Montreal West has some new space to accommodate its growing student population.

Edinburgh School is introducing four modular classrooms to deal with overcrowding as the academic year begins.

“We wanted to keep the school together,” said Michael Rodger, chair of the school’s governing board. “We wanted to keep the community spirit.

“And these modulars answer that short-term need of keeping everyone together and trying to have the most number of students at the school.”

READ MORE: Overcrowded Edinburgh elementary school in Montreal-West to get modular classrooms

A lack of space has been plaguing the west-end school, which has a capacity of 330 students, for a long time. In 2018, there were 400 students enrolled at the school.

In February, commissioners at the English Montreal School Board voted in favour of creating the four temporary structures. While the board initially suggested the school use a nearby former elementary school as an annex, parents were concerned about splitting up the students.

“This is a game-changer for the Edinburgh School,” said Rodger.

Parents like Kate Archer are both thrilled and relieved. She called it a big victory for the community.

“People really didn’t want to split up siblings. It creates a lot of chaos in their lives and complexity,” she said. “Now we can stick together and we have more space.”

The modular classrooms arrived on Thursday. The first day of school begins on Tuesday.

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— With files from Global News’ Brayden Jagger Haines and Elysia Bryan-Baynes