Elk Island Catholic Schools (EICS) will have to take a look at populations within schools, as the number of junior high students attending Madonna Catholic school has dropped significantly.
The 2011-2012 school year has seen Grade 7, 8 and 9 diminished to one class each. Certain Grade 7 and 8 subjects are also being taught as combined classes for the year, including subjects such as physical education and certain areas of math.
The EICS board of trustees has not yet addressed the issue, with the first board meeting of the school year having taken place on Sept. 14.
"What the board has directed administration to do is to pay close attention to those anomalies at the beginning of the year," Tony Sykora, chairperson of the EICS board of trustees, said. "What they do is take a very close look at groupings that might be a little too high and others that might be lacking. With that information, they try to address those items and look at ways to provide the best educational experience possible."
While the board of trustees has not yet had the opportunity to identify whether the situation at Madonna is a problem, Sykora said it is a well-known fact that students float freely between the Catholic system and Elk Island Public Schools.
"Certainly, there are students who leave from our district, who opt to go to one of the public schools for one reason or another, but we experience the same thing from the other side," he said. "The reasons for that are varied. Is it programming? Is it friends of students? Is it a situation where they've run into a personality they may not see eye-to-eye with? There's a list of possibilities as long as your arm."
The beginning of the year also leaves many student population questions left unanswered, according to Sykora, with numbers not set in stone until funding is determined.
"School numbers, these days, do change between the beginning of September and the end of September," he said. "Funding is determined on the last day of September, when those numbers are submitted to Alberta Education. That kicks off based on the number of students at the end of the month, and that determines the amount of funding received for the rest of the year."
However, optimism can only last as long as statistics prove it is in order. Unfortunately for the local school systems, numbers have been dropping.
"Typically, over the last number of years, we, and Elk Island Public Schools, have experienced a decline in student population — maybe one or two per cent a year," Sykora said. "That certainly does take its toll on the amount of funding you get when it's based on students who show up at your schools."
However, this year may provide a fighting chance for the schools to stay positive, with Sykora saying, despite the potential situation at Madonna, there has been an increase in EICS student population by approximately 40 to 45 students.
Sykora also said there are numerous reasons for the average decline in student numbers.
"I think one thing that's probably pretty important to pay attention to is that the community of Sherwood Park is not the most inexpensive place to live," he said. "Typically, when your clientele is young students, they typically come from young families. I think it's difficult for new, young families to move into this area with the cost of housing. Can you pin it on one thing in particular? Probably not."
At this point, when all is said and done, the numbers are still unofficial, as final tallies are waited upon with the end of September approaching.
Until then, questions surrounding Madonna's decreasing population are also left unanswered.
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