Edmonton Islamic school unveils expansion plans amid high enrollment demand

Rendering of the new school building being planned by the Edmonton Islamic Academy. (Credit: Edmonton Islamic Academy)

Fatima Adeboye spends a lot of time driving to and from school.

With four children attending three different schools, the Edmonton mother's day typically begins as early as 5:30 a.m. "to get themselves all prepared for school," she told CTV News Edmonton on Friday.

One of her kids attends the Edmonton Islamic Academy.

Adeboye is trying to enroll all three of them in the kindergarten-to-Grade-12 school.

"The school has always ranked among the first three schools in the whole of Edmonton, which is a big plus for it, but more importantly, the school offers Islamic education, which aligns with our belief system," she said.

Adeboye is one of many parents looking to register their children at the north-side educational institution, which — with an enrollment of more than 1,800 students — is over capacity.

There are more than 1,000 families waiting to get their children in, assistant principal Walaid Zahra said.

"Parents have been on our waitlist for a number of years to get into our school," Zahra said. "The demand for Islamic education is at its highest. Now parents are telling us we need more."

Soon, the academy will be able to accommodate the demand: It's building an $80-million state-of-the-art building for 1,600 elementary students close to its campus on 127 Street.

The new facility will also help alleviate pressure on other schools in the city, Zahra said.

"By building (it), we're relieving some pressure on Edmonton Public and Catholic (schools) as we are serving the needs of our community," he said.

Because the academy is a private school, the province does not provide money to it. The school will be working to fund the project through fundraising as it did for the current school building.

The academy's target date to open the new facility is the fall of 2025, with construction to start this spring.

"All of the money comes from our community, so we need to provide opportunities for our community to be involved," Zahra said. "There are many people who want to be involved and want to help out."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Craig Ellingson