In 2010, the Vancouver School Board considered closing Sir William Macdonald elementary at 1950 East Hastings St. due to dwindling enrolmentregistration had dropped from 239 in 2000 to 70 in 2010.
Less than two years later, the inner city school remains open and its fate has taken another turn. Macdonald might be the site of the VSBs new aboriginal-focused school, possibly opening as early as September 2012, based on a recommendation going before the education and student services committee April 11.
The recommendation, by the steering committee for the aboriginal school, envisions beginning the school just over four months from now with students in kindergarten through Grade 3. Macdonald was chosen over several other potential locations such as Queen Alexandra and Britannia.
The education and student services committee will discuss the recommendation Wednesday, after which it may be sent to the next board meeting for approval, or the committee could seek more information before sending it to the board for a vote.
VSB chair Patti Bacchus said Monday that Macdonald is an attractive option for the location of the aboriginal-focused school because it has space for the school and for aboriginal community services without displacing existing programs. One of our goals is to use surplus capacity to bring in other complementary service providers and other users in all schools to offset operating costs and vitalize the schools and their communities, she told the Courier.
While proponents have long cited September as a potential start date, that target may be overly ambitious, Bacchus conceded.
Bacchus doesnt speak for the aboriginal school steering committee, but has attended several meetings as a liaison from the board. She noted this years teachers job action slowed the committees progress. September 2012 was an optimistic target date but start up of the school could be delayed due to the need to come to an agreement on staffing issues. Its accurate to say that the consensus at the committee has been that it would be better to delay the start of the school and get it right than to rush for the 2012 opening and make mistakes, she stated.
Families have been surveyed about whether theyd sign up for an aboriginal-focused school and there has been interest, but some of those interested want more details.
Bacchus said it would be a challenge to recruit and register students at this late date. While Macdonald has a high proportion of aboriginal students, its expected students from other catchments would also apply. School district staffing decisions are also usually made soon, Bacchus added.
Its exciting. We know there will be an impact if and when it moves ahead and starts drawing students. It may draw from other schools, which can create enrolment challenges [elsewhere]. That is a concern but if we can find a way to vitalize Macdonald elementary and provide better supports to the community by co-location of service agencies in the school that provide expanded support to families and community members, that would be a real positive for the community, she said, adding, It would hopefully breath some more life into Macdonald and use that space more effectively to support its community.
Once the board approves the location, more community consultation is expected. A forum is being planned for mid-May at the school.
Twitter: @Naoibh
