NEWS RELEASE
SD62 Doubles Projected Enrolment and Lauches Robust Strategic Plan
LANGFORD – You plan for 4% growth, but what happens when you are suddenly faced with a staggering growth of nearly 7%? That is what the Sooke School District is faced with as they manage to add a middle school-sized population to their 2021/2022 school year.
“It’s no secret that the Westshore and Sooke regions are growing, but this year certainly took us by surprise,” says Ravi Parmar, SD62 Board Chairperson. “This growth adds to the excitement in our District as the Board of Education launches its new Strategic Plan, which provides robust guidance for our district to meet the needs of our staff and students through long-term planning, not only for the success of students, but for the school communities as well.”
SD62 anticipated growing by 400-450 students in the 2021/2022 school year, or the size of a larger elementary school. As enrolment calculations wrapped up in October, SD62 realized it had doubled its projected amount. 827 students joined the district this year, bringing the total student population to approximately 12,000, a growth of 6.9% - the largest growth in at least 30 years.
Growth is a large part of the Board of Education’s new four-year strategic plan, including objectives for the district such as, striving to support society and protect the environment, building and maintaining spaces and resources for the growing community, and strengthening organizational practices to ensure equity, diversity and inclusion.
“We are a rapidly growing school district,” says Scott Stinson, SD62 Superintendent of Schools and CEO. “We continue to focus on learning as the core element of our work and engagement across our community, while at the same time pursue ongoing work with partners and municipalities to plan growth in the region. It will really be a group effort.”
The renewal of the strategic plan aligns with the District’s vision where student voice and choice are honoured through engaging, purposeful and experiential learning in a safe and respectful community. Through multiple objectives, Strategic Plan 2021-2025 will focus on three goals:
- Develop and support adaptable learners who are creative, critical and social thinkers with the capacity to be educated citizens.
- Create a culture of belonging.
- Pursue organizational excellence to support a vibrant school district.
With two new schools openiNg next year, and with diversity, equity and inclusion at the forefront of Strategic Plan 2021-2025, SD62 is on a great path continuing to support students, staff and families throughout the Western communities and Sooke. “Pexsisen Elementary and Centre Mountain Lellum can’t open quickly enough,” says Parmar.
Find Strategic Plan 2021-2025 here.
For more information, visit SD62’s growth page.