Feb 10

Written by: jcambridge
2/10/2012 9:57 AM 

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
February 10, 2012


Langford, B.C. – Following the announcement by the B.C. Ministry of Education of support for two new secondary schools, the Board of Education of Sooke School District will be conducting stakeholder consultations and public workshops to discuss the project over the coming weeks.

“We have been successful in securing support from the provincial government, but now our work begins to develop the programs for the new schools and the community services that may be part of the project through the Ministry’s Neighbourhood Learning Centres,” said Chair Wendy Hobbs, on behalf of Sooke Board of Education.

Input is being sought from the community in three key areas:

•   School Programs - The two new secondary schools provide the opportunity to consider a variety of programs for students. The School District is seeking input on the types of programs the schools might offer.

•   Neighbourhood Learning Centres (NLC) - These new schools create the opportunity to bring the innovative NLC model to the Sooke School District. NLC programs in other communities include adult learning centres, community theatre, welcoming centre for new arrivals, health offices, family counseling, child care, early learning centres, gymnastics, and post-secondary programs. With sufficient community support, similar programs could be established in the Sooke School District.

•   New names - the Board of Education will solicit input from the Westshore communities on the name for each of the schools.

“We will start off the consultations speaking to a broad base of key stakeholders in the community including educators, social services, arts and culture and sports and recreation,” said Hobbs. “These conversations will help inform the public workshops that we are scheduling for March which will be followed by Open Houses in May where we hope to go back to the public with a proposed plan for the schools based on their feedback.”

This plan and the process to develop it follow guidelines set out by the Ministry of Education for the completion of a Project Development Report setting out the projects’ scope, schedule and budget, which constitutes a necessary prerequisite for the funding process to move forward. The Board of Education expects to make a decision on the final report that will go to the Ministry in June.

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For more information contact:
Kim Van Bruggen, APR
Acumen Communications Group
250-727-7464