Board Chair Christine Light says 2024 was a great school year for the Lethbridge School Division.
The Division is excited for the opening of the West Coulee Station Elementary School in west Lethbridge in the fall of 2025. “This year saw the Boundary Realignment Committee putting forth some robust boundary engagement with our stakeholders and trying to decide where the boundary configurations are going to be, as well as where our Spanish bilingual program was going to find its home,” notes Light.
After collecting data over the course of several months, Light adds, it was recommended the program move to West Coulee Station Elementary. “In November, that decision was ratified by the board. We’re certainly hoping that moving our Spanish bilingual families to West Coulee Station will help alleviate some capacity pressure at Coalbanks and allow that school to utilize its spaces, as they were originally intended.”
Another big piece of 2024, Light says, was the announcement of the school accelerator program from Alberta Education. “Lethbridge School Division is continuing to work with the City of Lethbridge for new school sites. We’re in need of a new high school, as well as a second new elementary school on the westside of Lethbridge. It’s definitely a booming and quickly developing side of the city. We’re trying to be proactive and finding sites for the new families that are going to be moving into the westside.”
“As we engage with our capital plan, our Board is prioritizing accessibility. We’ve noted a few accessibility concerns within some of our schools and we believe it’s imperative staff, students, families and community members have full accessibility to all areas of the school. Our capital plan is recognizing that, as well as our request for funding to the province,” says Light.
Right now, on the Division’s website, the Division’s annual Education Results Report is posted for the 2022/2023 school year. “It’ll showcase a lot of celebrations for that year. Moving forward, we’re going to be prioritizing academic achievement. We’re going to have a renewed focus on how we can strengthen the academic success of our students and build capacity of our staff,” Light notes.
In the past year, Light says, the Division was recognized with a Spirit of Reconciliation Award at the Lethbridge Business Awards. “We’re very proud of that achievement and the work of Joel Tailfeathers, our Indigenous education coordinator and his team in building capacity in our division community and the community at large with the calls to Reconciliation. We will continue forward in that work, as well.”
