New school good news for district
Editorial appeared in Fort McmUrray Today August 18, 2006
Fort McMurray's first new school in 13 years opens its doors to students this fall -- terrific news for a desperately overcrowded education district.
Because of the overcrowding, it's perhaps fortunate that the growth of the school system has not kept pace with the population growth of Fort McMurray. Enrolment in the school systems has grown at about two per cent a year, less than the general population. The question is why.
One possibility -- the common-sense answer -- is that few children are accompanying the adults moving to Fort McMurray, either because these adults don't have children, or they're leaving family behind for temporary work.
If it's the latter, that's not good news for anyone -- not the workers forced to leave their children behind, nor for the workers' families themselves. It's not the workers' fault; either they don't see Fort McMurray as a place they want to settle in, or the miniscule vacancy rate combined with sky-high rents means it makes little financial sense to try to find anything other than a single room with a single bed.
But if we want workers to bring their families -- to help shed Fort McMurray's image as a largely transient town -- we need more amenities, more attractions ... more schools. And that's why the opening of St. Martha is such good news. A new school in a new neighbourhood inceases the chances of families settling there, especially since schools, as well as residents, have started migrating from the downtown area; downtown used to have five schools, and now has two.
Settled families mean longer-term residents, and a populace more invested in the future of the city.
Teachers are excited, too. As Today reported earlier this week, St. Martha staff have showed up earlier than usual to get the ball rolling for fall, which speaks volumes about their commitment to educating our children.
Now, the public school division needs a new school. The district is so anxious for funding for one that they've already got a name picked out. Why hasn't the government recognized the need?
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
Fort McMurray's first new school in 13 years opens its doors to students this fall -- terrific news for a desperately overcrowded education district.
Because of the overcrowding, it's perhaps fortunate that the growth of the school system has not kept pace with the population growth of Fort McMurray. Enrolment in the school systems has grown at about two per cent a year, less than the general population. The question is why.
One possibility -- the common-sense answer -- is that few children are accompanying the adults moving to Fort McMurray, either because these adults don't have children, or they're leaving family behind for temporary work.
If it's the latter, that's not good news for anyone -- not the workers forced to leave their children behind, nor for the workers' families themselves. It's not the workers' fault; either they don't see Fort McMurray as a place they want to settle in, or the miniscule vacancy rate combined with sky-high rents means it makes little financial sense to try to find anything other than a single room with a single bed.
But if we want workers to bring their families -- to help shed Fort McMurray's image as a largely transient town -- we need more amenities, more attractions ... more schools. And that's why the opening of St. Martha is such good news. A new school in a new neighbourhood inceases the chances of families settling there, especially since schools, as well as residents, have started migrating from the downtown area; downtown used to have five schools, and now has two.
Settled families mean longer-term residents, and a populace more invested in the future of the city.
Teachers are excited, too. As Today reported earlier this week, St. Martha staff have showed up earlier than usual to get the ball rolling for fall, which speaks volumes about their commitment to educating our children.
Now, the public school division needs a new school. The district is so anxious for funding for one that they've already got a name picked out. Why hasn't the government recognized the need?
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
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