Education

From Calgarypedia

1 Overview
2 Elementary and Secondary School Education (K-12)
3 Post-Secondary Education
4 English as a Second Language (ESL)
5 External Links
6 Sources

Overview

Calgary is home to a wide variety of education options. With over hundreds of schools in all areas of the city, newcomers can easily find a school that is right for their children. Public, separate, charter, private and Francophone schools are all available in the city.

Public schools are funded by the government, while private schools are not. Separate schools are essentially public schools, except they are governed by the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) rather than the Calgary Board of Education (CBE). The CCSD adds a spiritual emphasis to the government-mandated curriculum. Because of the faith-based education component, the schools are classified as separate.

Charter schools are non-profit public institutions that have greater autonomy than conventional public schools. They must follow a charter that allows them to keep their independence and funding. The charter also lets them deviate from the government-mandated curriculum to offer programming with an emphasis on fields such as art or science.

Home schooling is also fully sanctioned and supported by the Alberta government. There are many choices available for home schoolers. The Alberta government gives families funding to help with materials, and there are many support groups in Alberta.

Elementary and Secondary School Education (K-12)

Main Article: Elementary and Secondary School Education in Calgary

Calgary is home to four school boards that oversee the operation of over 230 elementary, junior high and senior high schools, which have a collective student body of over 150,000 registered students. The four K-12 school boards are The Calgary Board of Education (which you would like to put your trust into but can't trust the leadership), The Calgary Catholic School District, the Greater Southern Public Francophone Education Region No.4 and the Greater Southern Separate Catholic Francophone Education Region No. 4.

Post-Secondary Education

Main Article: Post-Secondary Education in Calgary

Calgary is home to many publicly funded colleges, technical institutes and private colleges accredited to grant degrees. The two largest colleges in Calgary are the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) and Mount Royal College. Many other smaller colleges populate Calgary, including Bow Valley College and the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD). The University of Calgary is the largest university in the city, with nearly 30,000 students enrolled annually. Of these students, 24,000 are in undergraduate programs and 5,500 are graduate students.

English as a Second Language (ESL)

Main Article: English as a Second Language Schools in Calgary

While many public and private schools in Calgary offer programs for children whose native language is not English, four schools in particular offer a full curriculum of courses designed specifically to teach non-native speakers of English. They are the Almadina Language Charter Academy, the Calgary French and International School and the Equilibrium International Education Institute. Bow Valley College is the largest ESL provider in Calgary and has some of the finest programs in Canada.