Vancouver School Board

Last updated

Vancouver School Board
Vancouver School Board 2022 Logo.svg
Vancouver School Board headquarters, Vancouver, BC.jpg
Location
1580 West Broadway, Vancouver, British Columbia
British Columbia
Canada
District information
SuperintendentHelen McGregor
Schools111 [1]
Budget$735 million
Students and staff
Students52,428 (2023–2024) [2]
Staff7,000
Other information
Website www.vsb.bc.ca

The Vancouver School Board (VSB), officially the Board of Education of School District No. 39 (Vancouver), is a school district based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A board of nine elected trustees governs this school district that serves the city of Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands.

Contents

Board of education

Vancouver Board of Education
Type
Type
Leadership
Chair
Victoria Jung, ABC Vancouver
since November 2022
Vice Chair
Preeti Faridkot, ABC Vancouver
since November 2022
Structure
Seats9 trustees
1 non-voting student trustee
VancouverSchoolBoard.svg
Political groups
  •    ABC Vancouver (4)
       Green (2)
       COPE (1)
       Independent (1)
       OneCity (1)
Elections
Plurality at-large voting
Last election
October 15, 2022
Next election
October 17, 2026
Meeting place
1580 West Broadway, Vancouver, British Columbia
Website
www.vsb.bc.ca/District/Board-of-Education/Pages/default.aspx
Constitution
School Act

The Vancouver Board of Education is composed of nine elected trustees and a student trustee. [3] Trustees of the Vancouver School Board are elected under an at-large system.

Since 2022

As of November 2022, the trustees of the Vancouver School Board, listed by number of votes received during the 2022 Vancouver municipal election, are:

NameParty
Victoria Jung ABC Vancouver
Alfred ChienABC Vancouver
Josh ZhangABC Vancouver
Christopher JK Richardson Independent [lower-alpha 1]
Preeti FaridkotABC Vancouver
Jennifer Reddy OneCity
Suzie Mah COPE
Lois Chan-Pedley Green
Janet FraserGreen

2018–2022

As of November 2018, the trustees of the Vancouver School Board, listed by number of votes received during the 2018 Vancouver municipal election, are:

NameParty
Janet Fraser Green
Estrellita Gonzalez Green
Jennifer Reddy OneCity
Oliver HansonIndependent [lower-alpha 2]
Fraser BallantyneIndependent [lower-alpha 2]
Carmen ChoIndependent [lower-alpha 2]
Lois Chan-Pedley Green
Barb Parrott COPE
Allan Wong Vision

2017–2018

All positions on the school board were vacated on October 17, 2016, when the elected board was removed by provincial Education Minister Mike Bernier for failing to pass a balanced budget. [6] A by-election was held on October 14, 2017, for all trustee seats. The trustees elected during that by-election, listed by number of votes received, were:

NameParty
Janet Fraser Green
Judy ZaichkowskyGreen
Estrellita GonzalezGreen
Joy Alexander Vision
Allan WongVision
Lisa Dominato NPA
Fraser BallantyneNPA
Carrie Bercic OneCity
Ken ClementVision

2014–2016

The trustees elected during the 2014 Vancouver municipal election served until they were removed by Education Minister Mike Bernier on October 17, 2016, for failing to pass a balanced budget. [6] Listed by number of votes received, they were:

NameParty
Patti Bacchus Vision
Joy AlexanderVision
Fraser Ballantyne NPA
Allan WongVision
Mike LombardiVision
Penny NobleNPA
Janet Fraser Green
Stacy RobertsonNPA
Christopher RichardsonNPA

Demographics

The Vancouver school district is a large, urban and multicultural school district. As of 2019, the district provides programs to 54,000 students in kindergarten to grade 12, as well as over 2,000 adults in adult education programs. [7]

In 2014, there were 1,473 international students in Vancouver public schools. [8]

Seismic upgrading

The Ministry of Education launched a seismic upgrading program in March 2005 to upgrade schools all over British Columbia. The program is quoted to cost a total of $1.5 billion. The following schools in the Vancouver School Board are supported to proceed with seismic mitigation in 2015: Killarney Secondary, David Thompson Secondary, Maple Grove Elementary, Lord Tennyson Elementary, Dr. Annie B. Jamieson Elementary, Eric Hamber Secondary, Point Grey Secondary, Renfrew Community Elementary, Sir Alexander Mackenzie Elementary, Waverley Elementary, Edith Cavell Elementary, Prince of Wales Secondary, Templeton Secondary, General Wolf Elementary, David Lloyd George Elementary, and Bayview Community Elementary. [9]

Elementary schools

David Lloyd George Elementary School

David Lloyd George Elementary School is an elementary school in the Marpole neighbourhood. [10] It holds approximately 427 students in grades K through 7. [11] The school opened in 1921 and was named after David Lloyd George, the British prime minister from 1916 to 1922. The sports teams are called the DLG Hornets and wear purple.

David Oppenheimer Elementary School

David Oppenheimer Elementary School opened in 1959 and was named after one of the early mayors of the city, David Oppenheimer. [12] It is located at 2421 Scarboro Avenue, in the Victoria-Fraserview neighbourhood. As of 2016, the school principal is Rosie Finch; the school's sports teams are called the Orcas. [13]

General Gordon Elementary School

General Gordon Elementary School is an elementary school that opened in 1912. It was named for British general Charles George Gordon, who was killed at Khartoum in January 1885. It is located at 2268 Bayswater Street. In September 2008, it was selected as one of three schools in a pilot provincially supported "Neighbourhoods of Learning" program. [14]

Lord Tennyson Elementary School

Lord Tennyson Elementary School is a French immersion school opened in 1912, named after 19th-century British poet Alfred Tennyson, The 1st Baron Tennyson. It is located at 1936 West 10th Avenue. As of 2022, the school principal is Bruce Salle. Lord Tennyson is a feeder school for Kitsilano Secondary School, where graduates can continue their education in French Immersion.

Nootka Elementary School

Nootka Elementary School opened in 1959 as Lord Beaconsfield Annex, but a growing student population led to school status being granted in 1963. [15] [16] It is located at 3375 Nootka Street. As of 2016, the current school principal is Monika Sanft and the vice-principal is Megan Davies. [17]

Queen Alexandra Elementary School

Queen Alexandra Elementary School opened in 1909 and was named for Alexandra of Denmark. It is located at 1300 East Broadway, at the intersection with Clark Drive. [18] It is near Vancouver Community College's Broadway campus, and is easily accessible from VCC–Clark station and Commercial–Broadway station on the SkyTrain. As of 2018, the school principal is John MacCormack.

Queen Mary Elementary School

Queen Mary Elementary School opened in 1915. It is located at 2000 Trimble Street at 4th Avenue in the West Point Grey neighbourhood. As of 2020, the school principal is Megan Davies. [19] The school has a population of about 450 students from grade K-7. Queen Mary Elementary School is on a hill close to Locarno Beach. It has two buildings, a gravel field and two playgrounds. The main red building was a former town hall for the city of Vancouver. It is named for Queen Mary, the wife of George V.

Shaughnessy Elementary School

Shaughnessy Elementary School Shaughnessy-elem.jpg
Shaughnessy Elementary School

Shaughnessy Elementary School opened in 1920 as Prince of Wales Elementary and Secondary School. In 1960, the current Prince of Wales Secondary School was opened nearby, and the school was renamed after the surrounding Shaughnessy neighbourhood. The school is located at 4250 Marguerite Street, near King Edward Avenue and Granville Street.

χpey̓ Elementary School

χpey̓ Elementary opened in 1906 as Sir William Macdonald Elementary School in honour of the Canadian tobacco manufacturer and major education philanthropist. Macdonald was unofficially rechristened "χpey̓" on October 24, 2017, following a 2-year VSB initiative to rename the school to better reflect "the Indigenous heritage and education history of the area" as well as "the District Aboriginal Focus School program". [20] [21] The name, which means "cedar" in the henqeminem dialect of the Musqueam nation, was nominated by Chief Wayne Sparrow and Musqueam council members. [21] The change became official following a Musqueam renaming ceremony on June 1, 2018. [22] Because of its low enrolment and high seismic risk, χpey̓ was shortlisted for closure in 2015, but Vancouver City Council elected to keep it open until at least 2020. [23] χpey̓ is located at 1959 East Hastings Street in East Vancouver's Grandview-Woodland area, but since becoming a First Nations focus school in 2012, its catchment area has switched from local to district. [22]

List of elementary annexes

  • Champlain Heights Annex
  • Charles Dickens Annex
  • Collingwood Neighbourhood (Bruce Annex)
  • Garibaldi Annex (Nelson Annex)
  • Henderson Annex (not enrolling since September 2016.)
  • Kerrisdale Annex
  • Maquinna Annex (not enrolling since September 2015.)
  • McBride Annex
  • Queen Elizabeth Annex (Jules Quesnel Annex)
  • Queen Victoria (Secord Annex)
  • Roberts Annex
  • Selkirk Annex
  • Sir James Douglas Annex
  • Sir Wilfrid Laurier Annex (not enrolling since September 2016.)
  • Tecumseh Annex
  • Tillicum Annex (Hastings Annex)

Secondary schools

The VSB operates 18 secondary schools within Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands. Secondary schools in the district begin at Grade 8 and continue to Grade 12, where students graduate with their Dogwood Diploma.

List of secondary schools
School NameCapacityEnrolment (2007) [24] Notes
Britannia 1025572
David Thompson 15501410
Eric Hamber 17001589
Gladstone 1600965
John Oliver 17001106
Killarney 22001895
King George 375485
Kitsilano 15001371
Lord Byng 12001284
Magee 12001089
Point Grey stəywəte:n̓ 1050975
Prince of Wales 11001043
Sir Charles Tupper 15001013
Sir Winston Churchill 18502000
Templeton 1400801
University Hill 950757
Vancouver Learning Network – Secondary VLN is an online school
Vancouver Technical 17001641
Windermere 15001009

Alternative program education sites

[25]

Special programs

Mini-schools

Mini-schools are enriched programs for highly motivated students. Mini-schools begin at grade 8, with approximately 500 total spots available. Each year over 1400 students apply for mini-schools, with admission based on district assessment results, grade 6 and 7 report cards, applications, and interviews. [27]

Mini-schools in the district include: [28]

Transgender policy

In June 2014, the Vancouver School Board adopted a new policy regarding transgender children. It intends to support transgender and LGBTQ in allowing them be called by the name they identify with. They will also be able to use whichever washroom they feel most comfortable in. [29]

Notes

  1. Richardson was ejected from ABC Vancouver after the ballot deadline. The party has said he will not sit in their caucus. [4]
  2. 1 2 3 Elected as part of the Non-Partisan Association but left the party to sit as an independent on April 23, 2021. [5]

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References

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  2. "School District: Vancouver (39)". Information to support parents and student learning. B.C. Education. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  3. "Board of Education". VSB website. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  4. "ABC Vancouver drops school board candidate over involvement in failed charity". vancouversun. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  5. Crawford, Tiffany. "Three Vancouver school trustees resign membership with NPA to sit as independents". Canada.com. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
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  7. "Our District". vsb.bc.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
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  9. "School District Profile" (PDF).
  10. "For School Data, Source: BC Schools Book Archived 12 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine ." Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Education January 16, 2006.
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  12. "School Overview - School Profile". www.vsb.bc.ca. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007.
  13. "Home". oppenheimer.vsb.bc.ca.
  14. "Provincial government chose to upgrade school in premier's riding". Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
  15. "School overview". vsb.bc.ca.
  16. Teen swarmings [ dead link ] CTV.ca, (July 15, 2005)
  17. "Home". nootka.vsb.bc.ca.
  18. "Home". go.vsb.bc.ca.
  19. "Queen Mary Elementary School". www.vsb.bc.ca.
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  21. 1 2 CBC News (October 24, 2017). "Sir William Macdonald Elementary renamed χpey̓ Elementary". CBC News. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  22. 1 2 Kurucz, John (June 1, 2018). "χpey̓ Elementary becomes official with Indigenous naming ceremony". Vancouver Courier. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  23. Sherlock, Tracy (October 27, 2015). "Vancouver school to stay open, get new name". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  24. Long Range Facilities Plan 2019: Appendix G (PDF) (Report). May 29, 2019. p. 1. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  25. "Schools – Vancouver School Board". www.vsb.bc.ca.
  26. "Aboriginal Education". Vancouver School Board. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  27. "Mini School Application Process". vsb.bc.ca. Vancouver School Board. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  28. "VSB Grade 8 Programs Brochure" (PDF). vsb.bc.ca. Vancouver School Board. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  29. "Transgender Policy Adopted by Vancouver School Board" . Retrieved January 29, 2015.