The Holy Spirit Catholic School Division is excited about its latest enrolment figures.
The division says currently, there are 5,363 students enrolled in its schools. That is an increase of 234 students over the last year, which represents a boost of 4.35 per cent.
“In so many ways, this growth in our division represents an increase of one full elementary school – this adds to the growth of last school year, where we also grew by more than 200 students which equals another elementary school,” says division board chair, Dr. Carmen Mombourquette. “We are pleased that parents want to provide faith-based education to their children while we also look forward to actually opening another elementary school to help accommodate some of this rapid growth.”
The division says the jump in enrolment is due in part to surges at its schools. Officials listed increases at schools including:
- Trinity Learning School – Lethbridge (up 47 per cent)
- St. Paul School – Lethbridge (up 16 per cent)
- St. Francis Junior High School – Lethbridge (up 12 per cent)
- Ecole St. Mary School – Lethbridge (up eight per cent)
- St. Patrick Fine Arts Elementary School – Lethbridge (up six per cent)
- St. Teresa of Calcutta School – Lethbridge (up six per cent).
Additionally, Catholic Central High School in Lethbridge saw an increase of seven per cent, breaking the 1,000 student threshold for the first time in the school’s history.
“I believe all of our district administrators are thrilled to see the incredible growth within our beloved Holy Spirit Catholic School Division. Our divisional staff has worked extremely hard to offer safe, caring, and inviting environments for our students and families,” says Ryan Myndio, principal at St. Paul School.
“The collaborative efforts of our Parishes, Student Support, Learning and Assessment, Religious Education, and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Teams have gone above and beyond to help our teachers and support staff deliver the best education possible. The eagerness to assist all members of our community in a Christ-like manner is why this division has fully embraced the motto of ‘All are Welcome, All Belong.’ Like other schools in our division, St. Paul is building a reputation that Holy Spirit Catholic Schools celebrate the diversity of our students while providing an inclusive faith-based education.”
PROJECTED DEFICIT
Holy Spirit adds that thanks to funding and projected enrolment growth adjustments, the division reduced its projected deficit by half from $1.1 million to $550,000. Officials say the reduction happened while hiring half-time teachers at six different schools.
“Recently, the Minister of Education noted that he has been tasked by the Premier to develop a school financing strategy to replace what has become known as the Weighted Moving Average,” says Dr. Mombourquette. “For the past two years, our school division would have been without a deficit and would have been able to hire even more teachers and support staff to accommodate such a rapid rise in student enrollment if our schools would have been funded under the traditional method of providing school resources based on actual enrollment. We look forward to a more appropriate funding formula and one where we can more immediately meet student needs.”
Early registration for new students in the 2025-26 school year starts in February 2025, while re-registration for current students starts in January.
