Public school district in British Columbia, Canada
This article is about the public school district in Vancouver, British Columbia. For the public school district in Vancouver, Washington, see Vancouver Public Schools.
The Vancouver School Board (VSB), officially the Board of Education of School District No. 39 (Vancouver), is a school district based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A board of nine elected trustees governs this school district that serves the city of Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands.
The Vancouver Board of Education is composed of nine elected trustees and a student trustee.[4] Trustees of the Vancouver School Board are elected under an at-large system.
All positions on the school board were vacated on October 17, 2016, when the elected board was removed by provincial Education Minister Mike Bernier for failing to pass a balanced budget.[7] A by-election was held on October 14, 2017, for all trustee seats. The trustees elected during that by-election, listed by number of votes received, were:
The trustees elected during the 2014 Vancouver municipal election served until they were removed by Education Minister Mike Bernier on October 17, 2016, for failing to pass a balanced budget.[7] Listed by number of votes received, they were:
The Vancouver school district is a large, urban and multicultural school district. As of 2019[update], the district provides programs to 54,000 students in kindergarten to grade 12, as well as over 2,000 adults in adult education programs.[8]
The Ministry of Education launched a seismic upgrading program in March 2005 to upgrade schools all over British Columbia. The program is quoted to cost a total of $1.5 billion. The following schools in the Vancouver School Board are supported to proceed with seismic mitigation in 2015: Killarney Secondary, David Thompson Secondary, Maple Grove Elementary, Lord Tennyson Elementary, Dr. Annie B. Jamieson Elementary, Eric Hamber Secondary, Point Grey Secondary, Renfrew Community Elementary, Sir Alexander Mackenzie Elementary, Waverley Elementary, Edith Cavell Elementary, Prince of Wales Secondary, Templeton Secondary, General Wolf Elementary, David Lloyd George Elementary, and Bayview Community Elementary.[10]
χpey̓ Elementary (formerly named Sir William MacDonald from 1906–2017)
David Lloyd George Elementary School
David Lloyd George Elementary School is an elementary school in the Marpole neighbourhood.[11] It holds approximately 427 students in grades K through 7.[12] The school opened in 1921 and was named after David Lloyd George, the British prime minister from 1916 to 1922. The sports teams are called the DLG Hornets and wear purple.
David Oppenheimer Elementary School
David Oppenheimer Elementary School opened in 1959 and was named after one of the early mayors of the city, David Oppenheimer.[13] It is located at 2421 Scarboro Avenue, in the Victoria-Fraserview neighbourhood. As of 2016, the school principal is Rosie Finch; the school's sports teams are called the Orcas.[14]
General Gordon Elementary School
General Gordon Elementary School is an elementary school that opened in 1912. It was named for British general Charles George Gordon, who was killed at Khartoum in January 1885. It is located at 2268 Bayswater Street. In September 2008, it was selected as one of three schools in a pilot provincially supported "Neighbourhoods of Learning" program.[15]
Nootka Elementary School opened in 1959 as Lord Beaconsfield Annex, but a growing student population led to school status being granted in 1963.[16][17] It is located at 3375 Nootka Street. As of 2016, the current school principal is Monika Sanft and the vice-principal is Megan Davies.[18]
Queen Mary Elementary School opened in 1915. It is located at 2000 Trimble Street at 4th Avenue in the West Point Grey neighbourhood. As of 2020, the school principal is Megan Davies.[20] The school has a population of about 450 students from grade K-7. Queen Mary Elementary School is on a hill close to Locarno Beach. It has two buildings, a gravel field and two playgrounds. The main red building was a former town hall for the city of Vancouver. It is named for Queen Mary, the wife of George V.
Shaughnessy Elementary School
Shaughnessy Elementary School opened in 1920 as Prince of Wales Elementary and Secondary School. In 1960, the current Prince of Wales Secondary School was opened nearby, and the school was renamed after the surrounding Shaughnessy neighbourhood. The school is located at 4250 Marguerite Street, near King Edward Avenue and Granville Street.
Sir Richard McBride Elementary School
Sir Richard McBride Elementary School opened in 1911, named after 19th-century politician Richard McBride. It is located at 1300 East 29th Avenue, near Knight Street. The school was built on a hill near a nursery and orchard known as Henry's Farm.[21] As of 2024, the current school principal is Carrie Sleep.[22]
χpey̓ Elementary School
χpey̓ Elementary opened in 1906 as Sir William Macdonald Elementary School in honour of the Canadian tobacco manufacturer and major education philanthropist. Macdonald was unofficially rechristened "χpey̓" on October 24, 2017, following a 2-year VSB initiative to rename the school to better reflect "the Indigenous heritage and education history of the area" as well as "the District Aboriginal Focus School program".[23][24] The name, which means "cedar" in the henqeminem dialect of the Musqueam nation, was nominated by Chief Wayne Sparrow and Musqueam council members.[24] The change became official following a Musqueam renaming ceremony on June 1, 2018.[25] Because of its low enrollment and high seismic risk, χpey̓ was shortlisted for closure in 2015, but Vancouver City Council elected to keep it open until at least 2020.[26] χpey̓ is located at 1959 East Hastings Street in East Vancouver's Grandview-Woodland area, but since becoming a First Nations focus school in 2012, its catchment area has switched from local to district.[25]
List of elementary annexes
Champlain Heights Annex
Charles Dickens Annex
Collingwood Neighbourhood (Bruce Annex)
Garibaldi Annex (Nelson Annex)
Henderson Annex (not enrolling since September 2016.)
Kerrisdale Annex
Maquinna Annex (not enrolling since September 2015.)
McBride Annex
Queen Elizabeth Annex (Jules Quesnel Annex)
Queen Victoria (Secord Annex)
Roberts Annex
Selkirk Annex
Sir James Douglas Annex
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Annex (not enrolling since September 2016.)
Tecumseh Annex
Tillicum Annex (Hastings Annex)
Secondary schools
The VSB operates 18 secondary schools within Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands. Secondary schools in the district begin at Grade 8 and continue to Grade 12, where students graduate with their Dogwood Diploma.
Mini-schools are enriched programs for highly motivated students. Mini-schools begin at grade 8, with approximately 500 total spots available. Each year over 1400 students apply for mini-schools, with admission based on district assessment results, grade 6 and 7 report cards, applications, and interviews.[30]
In June 2014, the Vancouver School Board adopted a new policy regarding transgender children. It intends to support transgender and LGBTQ in allowing them be called by the name they identify with. They will also be able to use whichever washroom they feel most comfortable in.[32]
Notes
^ abJung resigned from ABC Vancouver following a motion from ABC city councillors to suspend the Vancouver integrity commissioner despite an ongoing investigation.[3]
^Richardson was ejected from ABC Vancouver after the ballot deadline. The party said he would not sit in their caucus.[5]
^"For School Data, Source: BC Schools BookArchived 12 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine." Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Education January 16, 2006.