High School Designation Feedback Needed ASAP

URGENT REQUEST FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE SUPPORT

Families in Royal Oak and Rocky Ridge,

For those who may not have been able to attend the Area 1 High School Programming meeting hosted by the CBE at Tom Baines School June 1st, there was some important news presented regarding designation of our community’s high school students in 2013.

The current CBE plan identifies Sir Winston Churchill as the designated public high school for our students starting in 2013. This plan, identified by CBE as "Scenario 1", will force our students to travel past 4 communities to get to school (including passing right by the new Area 1 High School in Arbour Lake, currently named, North West High School). However, last evening the CBE presented a "Scenario 2", which would see RRRO students attend the new Area 1 NW High School.  To accommodate RRRO students at the new Area 1 School , students from Tuscany would not go to the new NW High School, but would continue to go to Bowness High School (their currently designated school).

YOUR HELP IS URGENTLY REQUIRED:   All parents and students in support of SCENARIO 2 are asked to provide their immediate feedback to the CBE by submitting a feedback form located at: http://www.cbe.ab.ca/Schools/ceop/feedback.asp. Please provide a reasonable, respectful explanation for why you support Scenario 2. You may also want to identify your concerns with Scenario 1.  Some points you may wish to consider are listed below. 

Please Help!  If our community does not provide enough feedback, the CBE will have no reason to opt for Scenario 2.  A final decision is likely to be made soon on this issue.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Karen Beagle

RRRO Community Association, Director of Schools

Scenario 1 RRRO students go to Sir Winston Churchill

Scenario 2 RRRO Students go to New Area 1 High School

·   RRRO would be the only bordering community to Arbour Lake, not designated to the school there. ·   RRRO is closer to Arbour Lake than Tuscany is. If immediate proximity to the new school is the argument for Hawkwood and Ranchlands to go there, then the same rational should dictate RRRO getting priority over Tuscany. ·   Commuting distance is excessive for RRRO to Sir Winston Churchill: up to 20 km one way ·   Travel time for RRRO students to Churchill school may be in excess of 45 minutes one way ·   Poor road conditions during winter months increases risk for RRRO students due to extensive commuting distance ·   RRRO students may need to take 3-4 bus transfers to get to Churchill school. ·   RRRO students attending Churchill will be at a disadvantage to participate in extracurricular activities and sports (due to extensive commuting challenges). ·   Bowness High School will be underutilized and may as a result, become at risk for closure. ·   Having their school friends in disconnected communities will increase social challenges for RRRO students. ·   The $17M pedestrian overpass crossing Stoney Trail was developed with the expectation RRRO students would be going to the school in Arbour Lake. ·   RRRO students may feel like the “odd man out” for being a random island of students bussed into Churchill school without a neighboring community cohort.

·   This is the most logical and fair scenario for students in both Tuscany and RRRO because all students would get the benefit of going to a school within reasonably close proximity to their community. ·   Tuscany is just as close to Bowness School as it is to the new area 1 school. ·   RRRO is a bordering community to Arbour Lake, whereas Tuscany is not.  ·   Tuscany has a larger population than RRRO, so there is greater risk of overcrowding the new school, whereas Bowness school has far more room for the expanding Tuscany population. ·   Tuscany students already go to Bowness School, so this would keep their cohorts and siblings together without disruption and additional administrative costs. ·   Bowness high school will be better utilized. ·   This scenario is significantly less distance to travel for RRRO students which puts them at less risk than scenario 1. ·   Scenario 2 supports a more natural dividing line (Crowchild Trail is a major dividing artery), and more closely aligns with sports/association boundaries in the NW. ·   In communities where students go to school close to home, there are less incidences of vandalism and students develop a stronger sense of community. ·   The $17M pedestrian overpass crossing Stoney Trail would be better utilized by RRRO students being able to ride bikes or walk to high school.