New west Edmonton school deals with overcrowding
By Craig Fraser
EDMONTON — A new school has already breached its capacity for students, as communities continue to grow along Edmonton’s western edge.
Sister Annata Brockman Catholic School is one of four new schools that are already too full. The school is at 355 Hemingway Rd., in the newly developed housing areas near 62 Avenue, on the west side of Anthony Henday Drive.
The school serves 725 students in elementary and junior high programs. The school’s population is made up of students that live in surrounding residential areas of the Hamptons, The Grange, Lewis Estates and Secord, as well as areas of Parkland County.
- Sister Annata Brockman, a west Edmonton elementary and middle school, is a member of the Edmonton Catholic School Division. The school opened last year and it is already overcrowded. Photo by Craig Fraser.
For Annata Brockman principal Suzanne Szojka, the experience can be frustrating.
“We opened last year, and even with that population of 560 students, we were over the capacity,” Szojka said in a phone interview. “Six years ago, the district had an idea what the demographics would be, but there really wasn’t a way we could predict this back then.”
Szojka was officially appointed to the school in 2009, the year before Sister Annata Brockman opened. To handle the overpopulation issue temporarily, the district set up four heated trailers for three Grade 5 classes and one Grade 3 class, Szojka said. For a longer term solution, the school has ordered eight permanent modular classrooms to supplement the vast population of students.
“The modular classrooms coming in aren’t portables… it is literally an extension of the building,” Szojka said.
The land is to be leveled and pilings will be placed in the ground. When the classrooms arrive they will sit on those pilings, Szojka said. It will be possible to walk from the main building into those modular classrooms, and they are expected to last about 30 years, she said.
Despite the need for a building extension, the community has remained positive around Sister Annata Brockman’s predicament. The parent council is working on getting help build a playground for the new school. The students themselves are still excited about the new school, and have been well behaved, Szojka said.
Even with the frustrations of overpopulation and the modular expansion, as well as having to turn more families and their children away from registration, Szojka remains optimistic for the future of the school. “It’s hard. You want to be welcoming. It’s in the Catholic faith to be hospitable, but the community is strong here.”
The modular expansions are expected to arrive in November.