The new Grande Prairie Composite High School will be open for the 2022-23 school year (Photo: Shaun Penner / EverythingGP staff)

By Shaun Penner

School Boundaries

GPPSD looking to revise boundaries ahead of new Composite High School opening

Nov 3, 2021 | 4:03 PM

The Grande Prairie Public School Division is looking at shifting some of its schools’ boundaries ahead of the new Composite High School opening in September 2022.

Among the proposed shifts are the boundaries for both GP Comp and Charles Spencer High School, with the main proposed changes seeing the Swanavon and Patterson neighbourhoods move into the Composite catchment, while Countryside South would move to the Aspen Grove catchment, therefore feeding into Charles Spencer.

The high school boundaries as they stand for the 2021-22 school year (Courtesy of the Grande Prairie Public School Division)

This image shows the proposed changes to the boundaries for the 2022-23 school year (Courtesy of the Grande Prairie Public School Division)

Associate Superintendent at GPPSD Norm Guindon says the main factor behind the change is to re-balance the student population at both schools.

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“With the opening of the Composite High School next year, it’s going to be opening at a 1,600-student capacity. Currently, we’re well under that at the existing Comp,” Guindon explained, adding Charles Spencer is currently operating at near full capacity, with no more space to add modular classrooms.

“So, we had to rebalance that and make sure we didn’t have a brand-new school of 1,600 capacity opening at 64% or such, while we have Charles Spencer operating essentially at full capacity.”

Along with redrawing the high school boundary lines, the division is also proposing redrawn catchments for several K-6 and K-8 schools, including Alexander Forbes, Aspen Grove, Derek Taylor, Isabel Campbell, and Riverstone.

Guindon says as they redraw the high school boundaries, they want to do their due diligence and create a sustainable balance for all its schools for the near future.

“We want to make sure that once we take an opportunity to touch the high school boundaries, that we’re looking at all the boundaries of other K to 6 and K to 8 schools as well to ensure that we do this in a fashion that it (creates) the least amount of disruption to our families in the community and in the city.”

Guindon adds there are several other factors that went into the decision-making process to produce the new boundaries, beyond just re-balancing the student population.

“We want to make sure that the boundaries follow the neighborhoods as closely as possible so that it makes sense so that we’re limiting the distance that students get bused and make sure they’re as close to their neighborhood school as possible,” Guindon said.

“And then making sure that we have room for the schools to grow with enrolment so that we’re not always operating with the school at full capacity.”

The division will be holding two virtual information sessions on the proposed changes, the first of which goes from 7-8 p.m. Wednesday, November 3. A repeat session will be held from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, November 4.

A link to find the virtual sessions can be found here.