LAKELAND – The number of students enrolled in Alberta schools is growing and much of the Lakeland is no exception to that provincial trend.
Lakeland Catholic School Division (LCSD) announced a four per cent growth in student numbers compared to the 2022-23 school year, during its Oct. 25 board meeting.
Conseil scolaire Centre-Est (CSCE) enrolment has increased by 11.5 per cent, which represents an increase of just over 80 students across the region.
Northern Lights Public School Division (NLPS) is touting a return to pre-pandemic enrolment numbers also.
But Alberta’s growing student population is the exception, not the norm in Canada, according to a 2022 study by the Fraser Institute, released in April 2023.
Every province except Alberta, which saw a growth of 24.1 per cent, recorded a decline in their school-aged population from 2000 to 2020. This is according to the study Where Our Students Are Educated, Measuring Student Enrolment in Canada (2022).
Alberta has seen consistently ascending enrolment numbers over the past decade, other than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lakeland Catholic School Division
This year, Lakeland Catholic seats have been filling up with more students.
“Our official enrolment for this school year is 2,701 students in Kindergarten to Grade 12, as well as 139 pre-Kindergarten students for a total enrolment of 2,840,” said LCSD Superintendent Joe Arruda.
Assumption Jr/Sr High School in Cold Lake has seen the most growth, with an increase of 88 students, noted Arruda.
In addition, Lakeland Catholic has welcomed five international students and 19 PUF (program unit funding) students.
Of the 2,701 students, 617 are enrolled in French Immersion programming.
Conseil scolaire Centre-Est
Enrolment numbers for the majority of schools within the CSCE, the local francophone school division, have increased for the 2023-24 school year.
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.
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 enrolled 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.
St. Paul Education sees lower-than-expected enrolment
In schools that make up the St. Paul Education region, a drop in enrolment has been seen this year.
“We did project an overall decrease in enrolment, however the actual decrease is greater than what we anticipated,” said Secretary-Treasurer Jean Champagne, following the October board of trustees meeting where numbers were presented.
“One factor in our projection was the opening of a new school in Saddle Lake and the associated changes to transportation, and that was mostly on target,” said Champagne. “In reviewing numbers with schools, it would seem that decreases are mostly related to families relocating,” he explained.
A brand new Onchaminahos Elementary School opened its doors in Saddle Lake Cree Nation this fall. Saddle Lake Education also has decided to stop busing students to schools outside of the community, beginning with K-3 students in the 2023-24 school year.
Champagne also pointed to “a trend of urbanization with more individuals migrating to cities, farms getting bigger, families getting smaller and some specific local economic conditions. Alberta overall is growing but much of that growth is due to immigration which tends to mostly be in the cities.”
“With respect to the budget impact, there is still some movement on enrolment due to priority school confirmations that will be sorted out in the next few weeks, but at this time we are forecasting an impact on revenue of a little more than $400,000 less than projected,” said Champagne on Oct. 11. “We did recommend to the board that we explore options to reduce expenses by $300,000 this year if possible.”
In Ashmont School, the division projected 511 students, but as of Oct. 6, that number was sitting at 522. Last year’s enrolment at the K-12 school was 576.
Glen Avon School, which is a K-6 school located in St. Paul, saw an unexpected decrease in enrolment this year. Last year, there were 476 students at the school, and this year there are 422. The enrolment projection was set at 460.
Most schools across the division saw slight decreases in enrolment. The only schools that have reported increased enrolment is Racette Jr. High School in St. Paul with 277 students this year compared to 248 students enrolled last school year; and Heinsburg School with 116 students enrolled this year, compared to 102 last year.
Last year, there were 3,824 students enrolled in St. Paul Education schools. This year, the school division projected 3,698 students, but the actual number is sitting at 3,625.
