'I'm super excited for the students': New high school opening in southeast Edmonton this fall
A new high school is opening its doors in southeast Edmonton just in time for the new school year.
The Elder Dr. Francis Whiskeyjack High School is named after a community leader who acted as a cultural advisor and an elder who provided guidance to many educators and students in Edmonton Public Schools (EPS).
"It feels amazing, exciting, daunting, a little bit," said Tammy Tchir, the principal for the school. "I'm super excited for the students in this part of the city to have this opportunity for a new high school."
The school offers design studies and communication technology classes and features flexible spaces where classrooms open up to provide extra space for students to work on collaborative projects.
The school has enrolled nearly 850 students for the school year, but is built for a 2,400 student capacity. Class sizes range from 24 to 36 students per class.
Julie Kusiek, the board chair of EPS, said opening the new facility will help relieve the growing student population over the years.
"We have 6,600 new students coming into our classrooms this year since last fall … we had a hundred new students coming in every single week into Edmonton Public Schools," Kusiek told the media on Monday morning.
"Over the next 10 years, we expect to need 50 new schools," Kusiek said. "If you look at our three-year capital plan, we have 12 priorities, nine are for new construction."
Kusiek said by 2033 there will be approximately 176,000 students at EPS. In order to meet those demands, the nine projected schools need to be funded for construction by the end of spring.
Elder Dr. Francis Whiskeyjack High School is located at 2410 17 St., NW and the first day of classes and student orientation will begin Aug. 29.
More information about the school can be found on their website.
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