Rocky View Schools (RVS) is continuing to advocate for additional modular classrooms, and new school approvals to keep up with student growth.
Superintendent of Schools Greg Luterbach presented RVS trustees with a mid-year enrolment update during the Jan. 26 school board meeting.
“The reality is, we grew by 990 students, we see that growth happening all throughout the year, and that has impacts on schools in different ways,” Luterbach said.
In September 2022, RVS had 27,612 students, nearly 4 per cent more than in 2021.
Although the September enrolment count is important for government funding, the count fluctuates as students join RVS throughout the entire school year.
RVS current enrolment is 27,825 students, 213 more than in September.
“That’s a large amount of students, 213 students, that’s all of Indus School,” Luterbach said. “Those students come, we accept them with open arms, and we intergrade them into our schools as they come along.”
When students joining RVS are spread out over various schools, it reduces the impact on classes, Luterbach explained. However, in some cases, schools need to adjust the configuration of classes if a single school has a significant number of new students in one grade.
“The tricky spot is when multiple students join the same grade, trying to fit the students into classrooms,” Luterbach said. “Our team works hard in September, trying to put a few spots in most classes, but sometimes the classes are within our limits at the end of September, and now they are higher than our guidelines into the fall.”
Luterbach anticipates nearly 200 more students will join RVS during the remainder of the school year.
“Growth in Rocky View is continuous, it’s happening all the time, new neighbourhoods are being built, and with that typically means new kids,” Luterbach said. “Schools do a fantastic job of intergrading students into the schools, but our school division is rapidly growing and demonstrates the need for additional modular classrooms, and approvals for new schools now and in the future.”
Ward 3 RVS trustee Melyssa Bowmen explained that having the enrolment update is a helpful way for trustees to highlight the growth in RVS, and will help trustees with advocacy to communities about the challenges RVS is facing.
“We can go out to communities to share, and remind, that we’ve grown by a significant amount of students within the school year, and the work there is to ensure those students have the space they need, and the challenges that can be at the school level,” Bowmen said.
“We track the growth in our communities, and we’re always trying to be vigilant about students in schools, keeping our numbers as reasonable as we can,” Ward 2 RVS trustee and Vice Chair Shelley Kinley said. “Growth and enrolment is an ongoing process.”
