Elementary and Secondary School Education in Calgary

From Calgarypedia

1 Overview
2 Calgary Board of Education
3 Calgary Catholic School District
4 Calgary Francophone Education
5 Private Schools
6 Charter Schools in Calgary
7 External Links
8 Sources

Overview

The Calgary region is served by four school boards that offer education from kindergarten through grade 12. The Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District supervise curriculum taught in English. The other two boards specialize in Francophone education; they are the Greater Southern Public Francophone Education Region No.4 and the Greater Southern Separate Catholic Francophone Education Region No. 4.

There are four distinct types of schools available in Alberta: public and separate schools, Francophone schools, private schools and charter schools.

Calgary Board of Education

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) is the largest school board in Alberta. The board is governed by seven trustees, each representing two wards within the board. Each trustee is elected to a three-year term, which began for the current trustees in 2007.

Calgary Board of Education Ward Map

The school board encompasses 214 schools in the city of Calgary, 126 of which are elementary schools (grades K–6). There are 29 junior high schools (grades 7–9) and 16 senior high schools (10–12). The school board also presides over combination schools, where junior high and either elementary or high school programs are taught.

In 2007, 97,795 students were enrolled at various grade levels within CBE-governed schools. The annual operating budget of the school board for 2007 was $905.5 million. The school board employed 10,726 people during the school year ending June 2008, 6823 of which were teachers. The remaining comprised support staff and other school workers such as caretakers and management.

Calgary Catholic School District

The Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) is the second largest school board in Calgary. Its mission is to provide a fully immersive learning environment while also incorporating the teachings of Jesus Christ and the gospel. The CCSD uses "pillars" to combine faith with learning, morality and responsibility.

Calgary Catholic School District Ward Map

The CCSD is separated into 14 wards presided over by a trustee. Each trustee is elected to represent two wards and serves a three-year term, which began in 2007. The CCSD oversees 103 schools in the Calgary area, with roughly 44,000 students enrolled. The board includes schools from elementary through senior high and employs over 4,100 people, including over 2,580 teachers. The total operating budget for the Calgary Catholic School district in the fiscal year 2007-2008 was $376 million.

Calgary Francophone Education

The two school boards that offer Francophone education in the Calgary area are the Greater Southern Public Francophone Education Region No.4 and the Greater Southern Separate Catholic Francophone Education Region No. 4. The former is a secular public school, while the latter school emphasizes Catholic values in their school programs. The Greater Southern Public Francophone Education Region had 876 K-12 student enrollments in 2007. The Greater Southern Separate Catholic Francophone Education Region had 902 K–12 enrollments in 2007.

Private Schools

Private schools operate outside the realm of public administration and are funded largely by tuition fees. Public schools can be selective in who they admit to their school, and some have a religious affiliation.

There are currently over 50 private schools in Calgary made up of a wide variety of institutions. Private schools in Alberta fall into one of two categories: registered private schools or accredited private schools. Registered private schools do not receive government funding, while accredited private schools can.

The schools cover a wide range of programming, from studies for gifted students and English as a second language to athletics and faith-based curriculums. The tuition for these schools range from $3000 - $14,000 a year and often feature smaller class sizes and one-on-one interaction between teachers and students.

Charter Schools in Calgary

Charter schools are a special type of public school, exclusive in Canada to Alberta. They have greater autonomy than regular public schools, which allow them to offer programs that deviate from the provincial curriculum. Charter schools report directly to the province rather than a school board and do not charge tuition, as they are publicly funded. They receive their name from the set of regulations the school must abide by in order to keep their charter status. There can only be a maximum of 15 charter schools in the province at one time. Five are located in Calgary: