Just a few years ago, École Cedardale, a small French Immersion school in West Vancouver, was struggling to boost its enrolment of about 200 students.
École Cedardale had sometimes been overshadowed by the much larger and more established French Immersion school, Pauline Johnson.
But when the school decided to apply to become the first French Immersion school in the province that would also offer an International Baccalaureate program, interest in the school began to climb.
It also didn’t hurt that the school was one of only two public schools to receive the highest rating this year on the controversial Fraser Institute’s report card on schools.
Partway into its IB accreditation process, École Cedardale is now at capacity with 240 students and has a waiting list of between 30 and 40 students for its kindergarten class, as well as waiting lists for other grades.
To deal with some of the space pressures, a $2-million renovation project was recently completed at the school, creating two classrooms and a library in a space previously used as an undercover play area.
Grade 6 and 7 students now have their own “wing” of the school downstairs with sofas, bean bags and better Wi-Fi service. “The classrooms are bright and airy,” said principal Michelle LaBounty. The expansion means the after-school care program also no longer has to share space with a classroom.
The addition of an elevator has also made the school accessible for students with disabilities.
The school began taking formal steps to become an IB school two years ago, following consultation with parents at the school.
The IB program - also offered at Cypress Park and West Bay schools in West Vancouver - stresses global citizenship, problem solving across different academic subjects and strong social responsibility as well as more student-directed learning.
“It’s a more inquiry-based approach,” said LaBounty. “Kids are asked to take what they’ve learned and apply it.”
The IB program has proved popular with families throughout the North Shore. Many schools that offer the program end up with waiting lists.
At Cedardale, the inclusion of an IB program has sparked renewed interest in the school from West Vancouver families. Previously, about one-third of the school’s enrolment came from outside of West Vancouver.
But the sudden boost in the school’s popularity has also resulted in some unintended consequences.
A number of families from outside of the school district whose older children attend Cedardale were told this year there was no space for their younger children in a kindergarten class.
Fabiola Malagoli, a North Vancouver mother whose daughter attends Grade 3 at the school, is one of those affected.
Malagoli, who lives near Edgemont, said her daughter has attended the school since kindergarten. At the time, the school was looking to boost enrolment and was happy to have students from outside the district attending, said Malagoli. Registering a child’s sibling in the school was never a problem, said Malagoli “until this year.” Nor were parents warned it could become one when they voted to approve the IB plan, she said.
“It feels like we shot ourselves in the foot,” she said.
Because West Vancouver students take priority, Malagoli said this year, she has had to register her son at Pauline Johnson – which will involve more driving and logistical issues with after-school care.
“I’m not the only frustrated parent,” she said. Attending Cedardale means “being part of a community,” she said. “It feel like we’re being kicked out.”
LaBounty said the school has done its best to address the issue. This year, siblings of students at Cedardale who live outside West Vancouver have been offered spaces at other district schools, she said. Next year, the school will offer a one-time grandfathering of families whose older children attend, allowing many of those students back into the school.
“It doesn’t happen very often,” she said. “It’s been a unique situation.”
“It’s been heart-wrenching for some of our families.”
LaBounty said it can be equally difficult to tell families who live within the catchment area that they can’t attend their local school because it’s full with students from other areas. That’s a scenario that has happened at some other IB schools on the North Shore.
