Living Waters shares its successes—and its challenges

 

By Laura Bohnert

 

From February 6 to February 10, the Living Waters Board of Trustees held meetings with Minister Carlier and MLA Eric Rosendahl to discuss the successes and challenges its communities are facing.

“On February 7, the Living Waters Board of Trustees had the opportunity to meet with Minister Carlier to engage in conversation and to share the successes and challenges of Living Waters Catholic School Division,” Jo-Anne Lanctot, Superintendent of Living Waters Catholic School Division, describes.

“The goal of Living Waters Catholic Schools is that every child who enters our doors graduates from a faith-filled, safe, and caring environment, prepared for future success,” she adds. “This is well-defined in our Vision 2020 document and our Blueprint for the future.”

The Division serves the communities of Edson, Slave Lake and Whitecourt.

“To achieve our Living Waters goal,” Lanctot explains, “the Board of Trustees’ area for emphasis and advocacy is focused on ensuring that our instructional space is safe, and that it provides optimal learning environments for all students and staff in all the communities it serves.”

However, with increased enrollments at both École St Mary School and École St. Joseph School, the Board of Trustees is concerned that current infrastructure isn’t providing the optimal learning space it should.

“According to Alberta Infrastructure formulas for instructional space,” continues Lanctot, “École St. Mary is well over capacity.”

“Recently, Alberta Infrastructure approved the application for two modulars to arrive in the fall of 2017,” says Lanctot. These would “[allow] École St. Mary School to accommodate for the need for more instructional space”; however, “this response will provide a very short term solution to the continued growth that École St. Mary School is both experiencing and anticipating based on future enrollment projections.

“A priority of the Living Waters Catholic School Division Capital plan is for a new school in the Whitecourt area to accommodate the continued growth it is experiencing.”

The new École St. Joseph School is scheduled to open for the 2017/2018 school year.

“The Board of Trustees provided Minister Carlier with an opportunity to tour both Whitecourt Schools. On February 8, the Trustees also met with MLA Rosendahl in Edson to share the similar space challenges that Vanier Catholic Community School is experiencing. Their enrolment also continues to grow,” says Lanctot, adding that “The division experienced a 5 percent increase in enrolment this school year.”

While addressing the need for more instructional space was at the top of the Trustees’ priority list, it wasn’t the only thing they had to discuss.

“Topics of discussion also included the new carbon tax and its impact on school operations,” Lanctot explains, listing “funding for full day kindergarten programs, the need for a concerted effort to ensure wrap around services for all students, the need for dual credit opportunities, and the focus on the success of our First Nations, Metis and Inuit students” as direct impacts of the new fee.

The meeting was a positive one for Living Waters, providing the Board of Trustees with an opportunity not only to voice concerns, but also to open the doors of communication.

“The Board of Living Waters appreciates all opportunities to meet with their local MLAs in the communities the Division serves,” Lanctot concludes. “The conversation with Minister Carlier was positive and encouraging. He invited school staff and Trustees to contact his office at any time and to share in writing our Living Waters successes and challenges [so he can] respond to the issues as they emerge.”