Airdrie Changes to Attendance Areas and Grade Configurations for 2025/26
The Balancing Airdrie Student Spaces community engagement launched in November 2023 in response to the critical space shortage in our Airdrie schools. The community provided valuable feedback through in-person information sessions and an online survey for the Board of Trustees to consider in its decision to better balance enrolments across Airdrie.
In April 2024, the Board of Trustees decided on a school-by-school approach to changing grade configurations and attendance areas where necessary while attempting to keep neighbourhoods together. This honoured what was heard in the engagement and balanced the existing Airdrie student spaces with the greatest improvement to utilizations overall.
Changes will occur at the start of the 2025/26 school year.
Summary
- No changes until the fall of 2025.
- All high schools in Airdrie become Grades 10 – 12.
- Multiple Airdrie communities are redesignated to other schools to address the pressure in various schools and maximize every possible space. Details of the communities redesignated can be found here.
- All schools except for Cooper’s Crossing School adjust by one grade level.
- No attendance boundary changes for French Immersion or Christian programs. Christian program extends to Grade 9 (currently ends at Grade 8).
- A small area in central Airdrie is now designated to specific high schools discontinuing a historical choice area.
Frequently Asked Questions
To balance the student populations in RVS Airdrie schools and improve the learning environments for all Airdrie students we needed to make changes to some attendance areas. Unfortunately, if all students stayed in their current school and/or on their current school path we would not be able to improve utilizations of our full to over full schools. It becomes very challenging for students and staff when there is no more physical space for learning in a school and we continue to grow the student population. We recognize this will impact families who will now be designated to a new school in the future. We can reassure you that all our schools have wonderful staff who will welcome your child/children and make the transition as smooth as possible.
RVS presented three potential scenarios for feedback and asked the community for new ideas to consider. Administration conducted a thorough school-by-school review of how utilizations could be improved considering what we heard during the engagement, the new certainty of school approvals from the provincial government and the modular classrooms approved for funding. After carefully considering all available information, the Board believes a school-by-school approach to changing grade configurations and attendance areas where necessary and keeping neighbourhoods together, honours what we heard and best balances Airdrie student spaces with the greatest improvement to utilizations overall.
Unfortunately, we cannot keep everyone in their current school. If we leave everyone at their current school, it means we will not balance the school populations. The only exceptions that will be considered for the 2025/26 school year includes those students who in the fall of 2025 when moved to their new school would be in that new school’s final grade.
Example:
Child lives in Key Ranch and is at Bert Church in Grade 10 now, next year (2024/25) in Grade 11 at Bert Church, fall of 2025 they are to move to W.H. Croxford and would be in Grade 12. That child could stay at Bert Church because they would only be at their new school for one year. If they are currently in Grade 9 at Bert Church today they would need to move to their new designated school in 2025 as they will attend that school for more than one year.
Example:
Child lives in Cooper’s Crossing and is at Northcott Prairie in Grade 7 now, next year (2024/25) in Grade 8 at Northcott Prairie, fall of 2025 they are to move to Muriel Clayton for Grade 9. That child could stay at Northcott Prairie because they would only be at their new school for one year. If they are in Grade 6 at Northcott today, they would need to move to their new school in 2025 as they will attend it for more than one year.
Out-of-Attendance Area application approvals must be considered annually. Those families who have approval for their child to attend a school that is not their designated school will need to re-apply in the spring of 2025 for consideration in the 2025/26 school year if they do not wish to go to their designated school.
While middle and high school offerings can differ, a wide range of programs and options are available at each RVS school to connect students to their interests and explore career paths. Career discovery programs of choice such as the Mechanics Training Centre and Building Futures are located in Airdrie and students from any of our high schools can apply. More information about options will be communicated by your new designated school as part of your child’s transition next year.
Out-of-Attendance Area Applications for the 2025/26 school year will be considered in spring of 2025. Applications are only considered for the current or upcoming school year and not for future years.
The only exceptions that will be considered for the 2025/26 school year includes those students who in the fall of 2025 when moved to their new school would be in that new school’s final grade. Students who would attend more than one year in their new designated school will need to move to that school. Out-of-Attendance Area Applications consider the rationale provided by the parent/guardian (details on the educational, psychological/emotional, or medical needs and why the requested school would be better able to meet those needs than their designated school) and school factors including utilization rate and resources available at the requested school.
Due to attendance area changes RVS anticipates receiving more out of boundary attendance area requests than usual. It will not be possible to approve many of these requests. Parents/guardians should prepare for the likely outcome their child will be required to attend their designated school.
A school-by-school approach to balancing student populations was taken and changes were only made to grade configurations and attendance areas when necessary. With Prairie Springs students redesignated from Windsong Heights School to Cooper’s Crossing School the utilization rate became more balanced; a grade configuration change was not needed.
RVS administration will work with each school to support them in this transition. Schools are already very experienced with supporting students coming from or moving to different schools as they do this every school year. Specifics about your school and your child or children will take some time as planning begins next school year.
Bus planning takes place in the late spring and summer of the previous school year. RVS Transportation needs to understand how many riders we will have and where they live to plan bus routes and stops. Bus stops are then communicated to families in late August, provided students have registered before the deadline. Transportation fees are approved by the Board each spring for the upcoming school year. The fees for 2025/26 school year will not be known until they are approved by the Board in spring of 2025.
As our student population grows and we prepare to open two new Kindergarten – Grade 9 schools in the coming years (fall of 2027 and/or fall of 2028) and a high school soon after, RVS will consider utilizations and how to best populate the new schools in the best interests of all Airdrie students. Every time a new school opens we require some redesignations and plan to seek community feedback on future changes.