New Topic: Surrey Schools—A Vision for the Future
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Surrey Schools has launched a new topic!
Surrey School District: A Vision for the Future
The Surrey School District is looking ahead. What programs and opportunities do you want for your children in the future?
Introduction
Surrey School District is the largest school district in British Columbia and one of the largest in Canada. They are home to 73,000 students in 130 school sites. Their population is highly diverse and Surrey is one of the fastest growing municipalities in the nation with a growth of over 18% in the past 5 years. Surrey has a young population with their median age being 37.5 years compared to a provincial average of 41 years. The city is are growing fast and they are growing young.
With such rapid change, the school district has become one where change and adaptability are the norm rather than the exception. Surrey Schools are one of the very few districts in British Columbia with a growing student population base. In the past 20 years, Surrey has built or significantly renovated 19 secondary schools. Many of their schools are still over capacity and this is a significant pressure for their district which is home to an extremely diverse population.
Surrey is rich in the variety of programs they offer and in the quality of their programs. However, with their rapid growth and diversification, there also is a risk that Surrey Schools lose sight of their long range vision. The timing is right for us to look ahead. Specifically, they want to focus on their programs of choice and their current status. Some questions that come to mind are:
- What programs do they offer?
- Is the public clear on what is a program of choice and what is a district program?
- Where are they looking to expand?
- Where do they have waitlists for programs and where are they seeing declining enrollment?
These are but a few of the many questions that emerge. Their Board of Education is supporting a reach out to the community to engage in a process of consultation about the future of their programs of choice. The process will include four phases:
1. Analysis
- The facilities, their capacity and the demographics of the district.
- Their programs, their enrollment trends and locations
2. Community consultation online
- Sharing information about programs
- Gathering feedback about programs
3. Public forums
- An opportunity in public to gather additional information
- Sharing themes from the online consultation
4. Recommendations
- Senior staff bring forward an analysis of the process and public input
- Recommendations are made to the Board of Education
- Decisions are considered in public
Surrey Schools look forward to the process and the engagement of their public. Ultimately they look to how your voice can shape the decisions of the district and the Board.
