New Wonowon school will be a modern space for K to 9 students
Since 2018, the Board of Education in School District 60 has been working towards getting funding to replace Wonowon Elementary School. Just as the new school year started, the Ministry of Education and Child Care announced that it is providing $16.8 million for this long-awaited project.
“We’ve made do for a lot of years,” said Board of Education chair Helen Gilbert. “The kids in our rural schools need to have the same opportunities, and the same kinds of buildings as kids in our urban schools.”
Gilbert says they’re calling the new facility a partial replacement, and that the only part of the existing facility that will remain is gymnasium.
“The gymnasium is actually more of a community hall, that was built by the Wonowon Horse Club,” she said. “The community was advocating right from the get-go for a better educational facility out there, and the concept was to to get us going on something. We can live with what we have for a gym, but we need some modern, updated classroom spaces.”
Enrollment is growing at Wonowon, and Gilbert says they need more space to be able to accommodate all the students, as well as new program that’s starting this year.
This new program is in recognition of what the community of Wonowon desires for their kids, Gilbert explained. Currently, the school has Kindergarten to Grade 6 students in it. Students in grades 7 to 9 are bused 90 km into Fort St. John each day to attend middle school.
“Can you imagine putting your kids in grade 7 on a bus into town, that far away from you – if something happens at school, it’s an hour and a half into town,” Gilbert said. “We’ve been losing kids in that grade 7 to 9 range, in the sense that they either move to homeschooling or some alternate program, and they’re not completing and going on to graduate.”
“The community has really wanted us to take some steps that will help increase the graduation rate.”
To that end, the school district moved a portable out to Wonowon over the summer, which will house the grade 7, 8 and 9 students in a blended program. The program will see on-site adult support from staff from the Key Learning Centre.
“That’s going to be trialed out for this year. We hope to build that into a 7 to 9 program that’s offered out there consistently,” said Gilbert. “That’s our plan.”
When construction begins on the new school building, next summer, there will be no disruption to classes, as the site is large enough to simply build the new facility on the opposite side of the gymnasium/community hall building.
“We’re lucky that the site is big enough for that footprint,” she said. “Once the new part is open and connected to the gym, the older structure will be removed. We will have to move the playground, but that’s basically the plan.”
Gilbert, who was the principal of CM Finch Elementary for 13 years before retiring and running for a Board of Education position, says she feels nostalgic every year when school opens again, and the Ministry’s annoucement comes at an opportune time.
“I think it’s good karma to have the announcement come out on opening day.”