Wild Rose School Division is in the process of building a replacement school for Evergreen Elementary in Drayton Valley. We are currently very close to completing the planning stage of this project with Alberta Education, Alberta Infrastructure and ONPA Architects. The new school is on schedule for completion by January 2021.

Prior to its opening, Wild Rose School Division trustees need to make some decisions regarding the new school as well as some of our other schools in Drayton Valley. Due to Alberta Education requirements regarding utilization rates, we know that Frank Maddock High School will continue to offer instruction to all of our grade 9 to 12 students in the region. This means H.W. Pickup will continue to be a middle school. However, it is likely that we will not have enough space in the future to offer instruction to all students from grades 5 to 8. As such, H.W. Pickup may need to become a grade 6 to 8 school. Drayton Christian School is an alternative program of choice that will continue to offer instruction to students in grades K-9. Drayton Valley Community Outreach School will continue to offer high school instruction in a non-traditional and flexible learning environment that is personalized to individual student needs.

The main decision left is what grades should be offered at Aurora Elementary (483 students max), Eldorado Elementary (200 students max after older modulars are removed) and the new Evergreen Elementary (250 students max):

• Should each school have just 2 grade levels i.e.) a grade K-1 school, a grade 2-3 school and a grade 4-5 school?
• Or, should all 3 elementary schools consist of grades K-5 and if so should we develop attendance boundaries that will determine which school students are assigned to based on where they live?
• Or should it be some combination of the above two scenarios?
• Should the new Evergreen School have a new name?
• Should WRSD consider offering any kind of special or unique programing in one or more of its schools in Drayton Valley?

Before the Board of Trustees makes these important decisions, we would like to host a public meeting in order to get feedback from the school community. There will be two components to this meeting: (1) A thorough discussion of the above issues and time for questions from the public and (2) A survey where members of the public can submit their thoughts and view the thoughts of others on these issues. You will be able to use your mobile device to participate in the survey portion of the meeting.

This public meeting will be held on November 1, 2018 at the Max Center in Drayton Valley starting at 7:00pm. We look forward to the very important conversations that will take place and will assist Wild Rose School Division with their decision making process regarding our schools in Drayton Valley.