Guiding Our Future

Peace Wapiti Public School Division (PWPSD) serves many different students, families, and community members and is continually looking to improve and provide the best possible education experience. A student's school experience is impacted by many things including how school grades are arranged, how many students are found within each school, what programs are available, and how long they travel to and from school each day.

 

In 2020, the PWPSD Board of Trustees received a request from the Beaverlodge Elementary School Council to create a junior high program (Grades 7-9) in the community of Beaverlodge. The addition of a junior high program in the community requires the Division to assess current programming in the following schools:

 

Guiding Our Future is a project and conversation about working together to map out a sustainable path forward for junior high programming and ensure a positive experience. Any decision we make will have an impact on students, staff, and families. We need your voice as part of this conversation to ensure our Board of Trustees makes informed and thoughtful decisions.

 

This conversation launched on Tuesday, January 24 and concluded on Friday, February 24, 2023. All input and feedback will be collected, analyzed, and shared with Administration, the Board of Trustees, and all participants before the end of the 2022-2023 school year.

 

Any corresponding change in school offering requires review and approval by the Board of Trustees, and subsequent implementation. Depending on the magnitude or scale of the change this process may take significant time to complete.

 

This is our question for you. This is a question for all students, parents, staff, and community members who want to see opportunities and change that helps all students realize their full potential.

 

PWPSD and Dialogue Partners engaged with parents and community members, staff, and students on this topic. 

 

To support a constructive and effective discussion, we identified three possible approaches for you to review. Each approach has a variety of implications, opportunities and challenges. We asked you to consider each approach along with the pros, cons, and trade-offs for each possible path forward. Each scenario has a more in-depth view that can be viewed by clicking the link provided below.

 

SCENARIO 1	SCENARIO 2	SCENARIO 3	SCENARIO 4
Realignment: BES K-7 & BRHS 8-12	Realignment: BES K-8 & BRHS 9-12	Leave school configuration as it is	Open to alternatives
Add Beaverlodge Grade 7 students to BES Add Beaverlodge Grade 8 & 9 students to BRHS HRS remains K-9	Add Beaverlodge Grade 7 & 8 students to BES Add Beaverlodge Grade 9 students to BRHS HRS remains K-9	No change to the current school configurations and/or possible teaching assignments.	Is there another way to think about the future? Are there ideas we haven't mentioned? Tell us what the future might look like to you by participating in any of the engagement opportunities listed below.
Additional Information	Additional Information	Additional Information	-

How do I participate?

• Participate in our online survey between January 24 and February 24, 2023. The survey is now closed.
• Brainstorm ideas with us online on All Our Ideas. As you head into this online conversation about junior high programming in Beaverlodge and Hythe, we invite you to practice care, kindness, and respect so that everyone has a safe and productive conversation. This tool closed on Friday, February 3. For more information click here.

• In-person community conversations were held at:
  • Beaverlodge Elementary School on Tuesday, February 14, 2023 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  • Hythe Regional School on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  • Horse Lake First Nation Arena on Thursday, February 16, 2023 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.