The South East Cornerstone Public School Division and the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School division have released their official enrolment numbers for the 2018-19 school year.
The official numbers for school divisions in Saskatchewan are finalized on Sept. 30 each year. This year’s numbers show an increase for both the public and separate school divisions.
South East Cornerstone had 8,312 students, compared to 8,261 on Sept. 30, 2017. Several schools in the Estevan area also had an increase.
The Estevan Comprehensive School had 724 students, up from 713 a year earlier. Hillcrest School enjoyed a significant increase, jumping from 113 students last year to 130 this year.
The other schools in Estevan declined. Spruce Ridge School dropped from 424 to 406 students, Westview School slipped from 193 to 186, and Pleasantdale School slid from 202 to 200 students.
Total enrolments for the five Cornerstone schools in Estevan, including ECS, was 1,646 students, up from 1,645 a year ago.
As for those in the Estevan area, Lampman School dropped from 207 to 196 students, Lyndale School in Oungre increased from 56 to 67, Macoun School grew from 53 to 55, Midale Central School was up from 154 to 156, and Bienfait Weldon School went from 135 to 139 students.
Holy Family had an increase from 1,322 students, as of Sept. 30 a year ago, to 1,370 students this year. They have 654 students in their Estevan schools, up from 637 one year earlier.
Sacred Heart School/École SacréCoeur remained stable at 367 students, while St. Mary’s grew from 270 students last year to 287 this year.
“We didn’t expect the numbers to come in quite so high, but we were certainly pleased, and obviously it’s always a challenge when you look at making sure that schools are staffed accordingly, and that we can meet the needs of all our students,” said director of education Gwen Keith.
St. Mary’s is a school with a large percentage of English as another language students, she said, and that played a role in the increases at the school.
The division is aware of its needs caused by more students, and schools have been staffed accordingly. Some students have special needs and have to be accommodated.
“We have strong teams in the schools, and we certainly have ways to address the unique needs of students as we move along,” she said.
There will be adjustments made to staffing due to the increase in enrolments.
The year has started with lots of support and professional development for staff, and proper orientation has occurred from administrators to instructional assistants.
