At the June 19 board of trustees meeting, Rocky View Schools (RVS) board of trustees approved the establishment of a Community Resource Centre to be located at the new W.H. Croxford High School on Chinook Winds Drive.
According to information in the Superintendent’s Report, the new centre is expected to open prior to November of this year and will function on a “shared service desk” concept with agencies and organizations and will act as a means of collaboration among educational authorities, community services and post secondary institutions serving Airdrie.
“It would provide a common location for a range of wraparound services for children, youth and families,” said Superintendent of Schools Don Hoium.
He said the centre has been something RVS has been interested in developing for several years and the division has met with a number of Airdrie organizations and agencies to discuss the concept.
He said the centre would likely include three to five agencies and would provide a meeting place to support service delivery and programming.
“We’re going to have people (and resources) in a place where they can be accessed by people in the community,” said RVS Board Chair Colleen Munro.
Trustee Sylvia Eggerer said she had been involved in the committee developing the centre since the beginning and was “very pleased to be making the motion” to approve the centre plan and placement in W.H. Croxford.
“It’s not as big as what we wanted but it is a step forward,” she said.
She added the small scale of the centre could also provide an advantage for the program.
“It could be expanded into other schools and other areas because it’s not so big,” Eggerer said.
W.H Croxford High School is expected to open by September.
The centre is expected to be open prior to November 2014, but Hoium cautioned, “we do know we’re opening a new school and there will be plenty of work that will need to take place there first.”
Once the centre opens, the RVS Community Learning Branch will relocate from the RVS Education Centre to the new school and the RVS Community Learning co-ordinator will have a regular presence at the centre.
Area agencies and organizations that have previously expressed an interest in the centre will be approached by RVS in the following months to determine which agencies will have a shared desk presence at the centre.
The Superintendent’s Report outlines the types of service agencies the centre will be looking for and include providers supporting child and family needs such as parent counseling, immigration settlement services and various child supports.
The centre is also looking for health services providers to support child and youth health and wellness; child and youth service providers to support personal, social and recreational needs of children and youth; and advanced education providers to offer career counseling and linkages to post secondary training.
Hoium said the estimated costs of the new centre are minimal and will likely not exceed $75,000. The funding is expected to come from donors who will be recognized on a donors plaque.
“We have long felt as a board we are part of the community,” Eggerer said.
