草莓社区

From left, Cloverdale Traditional School, McLeod Road Traditional School and Surrey Traditional School

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Letter to Parents

December 12, 2024

Dear parents and guardians,

In October and November, 草莓社区 engaged parents in a consultation process to explore converting Surrey Traditional School, McLeod Road Traditional School and Cloverdale Traditional School into catchment area elementary schools, to manage enrolment and school space in those neighbourhoods.

The consultation report gathered 530 survey responses, feedback from two community forums with 265 attendees, three PAC executive meetings with 18 members, and three student forums with 23 students. Parents, students, staff, and community members expressed a strong attachment to traditional schools and significant concerns about converting them to catchment schools.

The Surrey Board of Education received the report at its December 11, 2024, public board meeting, and at the recommendation of district staff, the board voted unanimously to make no changes to the Traditional Schools program.

The district recognizes this consultation was a significant undertaking and staff appreciate the feedback provided by the school communities. Much thought and care has gone into deliberating the future of traditional schools and the district would like to thank all parents and community members for their feedback on the Traditional Schools program. Your valuable input continues to guide our process of reshaping our growing school communities.

Sincerely,

Jacob Sol, Assistant Superintendent
草莓社区

Feedback

Now through November 12th, 2024, the district is gathering feedback on the future of Traditional Schools and the consideration to convert them into elementary catchment schools. There are several ways to provide your feedback, including an online survey, email, paper feedback form and traditional mail.

• Online Survey ()
• Dedicated Email: consultations@surreyschools.ca
• Paper Feedback Form (see the office at Cloverdale Traditional School, McLeod Road Traditional Schools or Surrey Traditional School to fill out and return the form)
• Traditional Mail:
  Traditional Schools Consultation
  Attn: Planning and Demographics Department
  School District No. 36 (Surrey)
  14033 92nd Ave., Surrey, B.C., V3V 0B7

Information

Surrey schools are facing enrolment challenges across the district, fueled by fast-paced growth and extensive development bringing more than 5,000 students to Surrey and White Rock in the last three years. The district’s three traditional schools – Cloverdale Traditional, McLeod Road Traditional, and Surrey Traditional – are in neighbourhoods that are particularly impacted, resulting in the need to manage enrolment and school space in these areas.

The is a Ministry requirement for planning for the growth of 草莓社区' capital infrastructure. In developing the LRFP, the district gathered more than 8,200 responses, leading to a recommendation for assessing the Traditional Program's capacity and site utilization throughout the district in relation to school seat shortages. At present, the district is short more than 6,500 student seats and anticipates this shortfall to exceed 13,500 by 2032.

Board Policy 9200 (School Catchment Areas) states that school catchment boundaries for district and community-initiated programs are district-wide, not site-specific. Programs of Choice will be provided only in surplus space at neighbourhood schools.

Due to the rapid enrolment growth and student capacity shortages in Cloverdale, South Newton and City Centre, the Surrey Board of Education has directed staff to engage in a consultation process to explore converting Surrey Traditional School, McLeod Road Traditional School, and Cloverdale Traditional School into catchment area elementary school. Staff will bring a report to the Board on the implications of converting these schools into catchment area elementary schools no later than December 11^th, 2024.

We want families to know that if Surrey Traditional, McLeod Road Traditional, and Cloverdale Traditional schools become catchment area schools, all current students can stay, and their siblings can also join.

The district seeks input from parents and guardians of Surrey students in traditional schools to help decide on future enrolment management. Please review the information in this package and fill out the online survey to provide your feedback.

In addition to the online survey, an in-person evening forum will be held. Families are invited to join the community forum to give feedback and ask district staff questions. The forum is scheduled from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on:

• November 6, 2024 at the Resource & Education Centre (14123 92^nd Avenue, Room 304)

The consultation period runs through November 12, 2024. Staff will compile community input and comments into a report for the superintendent, to be presented at the Surrey Board of Education meeting on December 11^th, 2024. Please share your feedback during this time.