LAKELAND - Enrolment numbers for the 2023-24 school year have increased for the majority of schools within the Conseil scolaire Centre-Est (CSCE), the local francophone school division.
The CSCE includes five schools across the area located in Plamondon, Lac La Biche, St. Paul, Bonnyville and Cold Lake.
While most other regional school boards have seen consistent enrolment this fall, CSCE enrolment has increased by 11.5 per cent, which represents an increase of just over 80 students across the region.
École Voyageur in Cold Lake and École du Sommet in St. Paul saw the greatest changes with increases of 20 per cent and 23 per cent respectively, according to information from the school division.
The majority of the CSCE increase in enrolments were in younger grades, namely from pre-kindergarten to Grade 7. Pre-kindergarten represented the highest enrolment category for the 2023-24 school year with 82 students enroled in the four-year-old category.
The next highest was Grade 4 with 77 students. Grade 11 had the smallest number of registrations with only 25 students across the board’s four high schools, with cohorts ranging from four to eight students, according to the francophone school division.
The only school within the CSCE to see a decrease in enrolment was École Sainte Catherine in Lac La Biche, which is a relatively new school in the community, currently serving pre-kindergarten to Grade 6 students. The school saw a decrease in 10 students, which represents a 25 per cent drop in enrolment.
The CSCE central office is located in St. Paul. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Oct. 30 at 5 p.m.
Provincial and national enrolment
Every Canadian province except Alberta has experienced a decline in the number of both their school-aged population and their student enrolment during the past 10 years. Alberta, however, has seen consistently ascending enrolment numbers over the past decade. The province experienced a slight decline for the 2020-21 school year, but the loss was not permanent.
Numbers for the 2021-22 school year returned to their 2019-20 levels and have since increased, overall.
