(file photo)

By Sheldon Spackman

several reasons cited

Red Deer Public Schools sees lower student enrolment

Oct 2, 2020 | 1:41 PM

COVID-19, changes to provincial funding, and families leaving Red Deer are all contributing factors to a nearly four per cent reduction in student enrolment at Red Deer Public Schools.

District officials say there are 426 fewer students for the start of the 2020/21 school year when compared to last year. A total of 10,803 students are registered this year compared to 11,229 students the year before.

Included in the overall count are 906 students registered in the At-Home Learning program as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials say the district has seen a reduction in the number of students in pre-kindergarten programming as a result of changes to provincial funding. Last year, Red Deer Public offered 13 pre-kindergarten programs, where as this year there are only eight.

There are only 14 international students registered at Red Deer Public Schools this year, well down from 103 last year as a result of the pandemic.

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The pandemic has also led to more families choosing to do traditional home schooling where parents are fully responsible for their children’s learning, and are not connected to any school division.

As schools followed up on registrations, Red Deer Public Schools officials say it is clear that families are also leaving the community for a variety of reasons.

“Declining enrolment is always a challenge,” says Chad Erickson, Superintendent of Schools. “I think this speaks to many of the challenges we’re facing with the pandemic but it also points to a decline in population in our city.”

Board Chair Nicole Buchanan suggests this will have long term implications.

“With the new provincial funding model, these reductions will have funding implications not just this year but the next two years as well,” she points out. “This is yet another challenge we’re facing in an already difficult year. We are hopeful the province will reconsider its funding model given the anomalies of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Normal routines are in place and we are focusing on teaching and learning,” continues Erickson. “We all know that 2020 is a year unlike any other, but we are getting through this together and doing our very best.”

At Chinook’s Edge School Division, Superintendent Kurt Sacher says enrolment has declined by 314 students to 10,803 – down from 11,117 the year before.

“Given what’s happening with COVID and the economy, we’re very pleased with that,” says Sacher. “Out of those 10,803 we have 550 in remote learning from K- 8 and around 150 in the high school grades. So we’ve got some new staff in place and we’re just totally impressed with how they’re supporting the needs of those students that are unable to get in and get the benefit of face-to-face learning.”

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) won’t have final enrolment numbers available until next week. However, the district has noted that there are 950 students that have chosen at-home learning for the first semester. As a result, additional staff was recruited to split some larger cohorts. Federal funds were used to support those costs.

Final student enrolment numbers are also anticipated in the coming days from Wolf Creek Public Schools, Wild Rose School Division, and Clearview Public Schools.