Webber Academy is a non-denominational, co-educational, university preparatory, private school located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Webber Academy offers academics spanning from junior kindergarten through grade 12. It was founded in 1997 by Dr. Neil Webber, a former teacher and professor at Mount Royal University, who also served as an Alberta Cabinet Minister in the Hon. Peter Lougheed and Hon. Don Getty governments.[1]
The campus consists of a junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten facility, a main building with elementary and senior school wings, third floor science centre, two full-size gymnasiums, an outdoor sports court, several playgrounds and a 400-meter running track. The school is situated on a 47-acre campus in southwest Calgary, currently home to 977 students (as of Oct 2016). Recently, an arts centre was built for the drama and music programmes, and its 500-seat theatre and dressing rooms can be rented out for public events.
Criticism
In 2012, two Muslim students were denied the right to privately pray on campus grounds.[2] The students continued to conduct their prayers outside the building, but were repeatedly interrupted and questioned by campus staff.[2] After a filed complaint, a human rights tribunal decided that "despite [Webber]'s specifically stated goal of making people of all religious backgrounds feel welcome, its actions, objectively viewed, were not welcoming." Webber Academy refused to re-enroll the students the following school year, and the students were awarded $26,000 in damages by the Alberta Human Rights Commission in 2015.[3][4]
In 2018, Alberta Education discontinued an online resource that included a question regarding positive effects of residential schools.[5] Neil Webber, president of the academy, noted that "[Webber's Staff] want our teachers to discuss both positive and negative aspects of [residential schools]." In the same interview, Webber also mentioned "Whether it's slavery in the U.S. or Canada's relationship with Iraq or Iran, I think...you need to consider both the positive and negative benefits.[6]"
