To:        
CBE Acting Chief Superintendent, Gary Strother
CBE Superintendent of Facilities and Environmental Services, Dany Breton
Trustee Susan Vukadinovic (Wards 8 & 9)

We request an urgent meeting with you and parent representatives to discuss the enrolment process for Western Canada High School. It is important we meet prior to February 13, 2024, when we understand a decision will be made regarding whether a lottery will be necessary for the regular program students, in advance of a potential lottery on February 14th.

We were alarmed, and greatly concerned, upon receiving a CBE notification on January 16, 2024, indicating “the school will not be able to accommodate all new students who live within the designated school boundary …  we will be maintaining a cap on enrolment at Western Canada High School and will keep the overflow to Crescent Heights High School in place for new, regular program students in Grades 10 to 12” (emphasis added).  The notice further stated that a “lottery process will be followed for incoming Grade 10 students for the 2024-25 school year and beyond.”    

We have since learned the following projections for Grade 10 enrolment at Western for 2024-25 (data provided by Mr. Breton, CBE Superintendent of Facilities and Environmental Services):

• Regular Program:  280 or 36.5%
• IB Program: 300 (190 Eng; 110 Fr) or 39.2%
• French Immersion: 186 or 24.3%

It has been shocking for parents to learn that only about 1/3 of the space at Western is allocated to the regular program, and these are the students subjected to the lottery system.  Further, we understand that the imposition of a lottery system for regular program students is contrary to the “Three-Year System Student Accommodation Plan 2023-2026” (the “SSAP”) that was presented to the CBE Board of Trustees on June 13, 2023. 

In the SSAP, the CBE says Western has a “Plan in Place” to address over-capacity: “There is a cap in place for the IB Program in order to manage enrolment, which will remain in place moving forward.”   There is no mention in the Western enrolment plan for a lottery to be imposed on the regular program.   If the IB program cap in place is too high to accommodate the other programs in the school, i.e., regular program and French immersion, then it seems rather obvious that in keeping with the SSAP plan, and common sense, the IB cap must be lowered – rather than resorting to a lottery process for regular program students.  

We expect the CBE to determine a workable cap for the IB program that does not jeopardize the regular program and ensures enrolment for all students residing in the attendance area.  Such IB cap must take into consideration a growing student population; it must be a realistic and sustainable cap for 2024 and beyond, with flexibility to account for any unexpected CBE enrolment growth.  

Prioritizing core education and community should be at the forefront of decision making. This appears to have been reflected in the SSAP presented to the Board of Trustees just over six months ago and should be implemented to address enrolment at Western Canada High School.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this meeting request so that we can further voice the concerns of the undersigned parents and seek to understand the course of action of the CBE.

cc:        
Minister of Education, Honourable Demetrios Nicolaides
Minister of Education Chief of Staff, James Johnson
Board of Trustees Chair, Laura Hack (Wards 3&4)
Board of Trustees Vice Chair, Charlene May (Wards 12&14)
Board of Trustees Corporate Secretary, Patricia Minor
Trustee Dana Downey (Wards 1&2)
Trustee Marilyn Dennis (Wards 5&10)
Trustee Patricia Bolger (Wards 6&7)
Trustee Nancy Close (Wards 11&13)
Principal Darren Whitbread, Western Canada High School