Airdrie will eventually be home to a second Francophone school, after funds for the future facility's design were allocated in the Alberta government's recently tabled budget.
The funding commitment comes after a string of advocacy efforts from Le Conseil scolaire FrancoSud, the Francophone school district for southern Alberta.
Proponents of the future school, which will service upper grade levels, believe it will help alleviate the strain on Airdrie’s only current Francophone academy – École francophone d’Airdrie, which includes a preschool, and Kindergarten to Grade 12 academy located in the southeast community of Ravenswood.
According to Marco Bergeron, chair of FrancoSud, the Ravenswood school is currently operating at 81 per cent of its enrolment capacity. He said the French-speaking community has, in recent years, voiced a demand for a Francophone high school in Airdrie.
“The community asked for a Francophone school because we have no more room, no more space,” he told the Airdrie City View in a recent interview.
A press release issued by FranoSud on March 1, following the tabling of the Alberta government's budget the day before, stated construction will one day begin on a French-language high school in Airdrie. An announcement by Education Minister Adriana LaGrange earlier that morning confirmed as much.
“We are delighted with this announcement, it is excellent news for Francophones and all residents of Airdrie,” said Bergeron in the press statement.
He noted FrancoSud’s three-year capital plan for 2023-26 defined an Airdrie-based Francophone high school as the school district’s top priority.
“Construction of a French-language high school in Airdrie was the first priority of our school board’s capital plan,” he said. “We are pleased that the Government of Alberta today recognizes the need to provide our students in grades 7 to 12 with a true high school tailored to their needs.”
The new school will be located in the northwest community of Reunion and will welcome students from grades 7 to 12. The school will feature a dedicated facility for vocational and technological studies (PTS), science, fine arts, music, and sports.
“It will allow [students] to live a real secondary experience with their peers, in a stimulating Francophone environment,” shared the press release.
According to FrancoSud, the release of 2021 census data on instruction in the minority official language indicates there are 1,815 children aged 18 and under who are eligible for Francophone education in Airdrie. Additionally, 2021 census figures indicate Airdrie boasts the second highest population growth in Alberta since 2016.
“[Airdrie] is the third city in Alberta with the largest number of children eligible for Francophone education,” read the press statement.
“In light of those numbers, we can confirm that Airdrie has a very large Francophone population and that there is a genuine need for a dedicated Francophone high school.”
On Feb. 6, Airdrie City council was asked to provide a letter of support to the Minister of Infrastructure demonstrating that Airdrie has a large Francophone population and indicating a need for a dedicated Francophone high school in the community.
“The City of Airdrie supports us to have another school and they voiced their support as well with a letter to the minister of education,” Bergeron shared.
He added the school district has also met with various MLAs and representatives from the City to obtain their support in advocating the provincial government for a lcoal Francophone high school.
The school district chair said land has already been procured for the construction of a new school, but confessed the building of a facility could take approximately two to three years. Complicating matters, according to FrancoSud's capital plan, is that the current site in Reunion has not been approved by Alberta Education yet – likely because of a higher-than-average natural occurrence of Arsenic.
FrancoSud stated its teams are ready to begin planning work in collaboration with Alberta Education, Alberta Infrastructure, and the City of Airdrie.
“We are not in a position to say at this time when the future French-language high school in Airdrie will open,” read the release. “We will keep our community informed of developments.”
