This is a big topic, and one I’m getting many questions and comments about. THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to reach out to me. I really appreciate hearing from you. I will be posting information in at least a couple of blog posts to help cover the key points about how student enrollment growth is putting pressure on our infrastructure capacity at Edmonton Public Schools…and what we can (and can’t) do about it.
Many families have phoned or emailed me about the lottery for Lillian Osborne High School this September. For all the families frustrated with the lottery system, I see you.
Here’s what I understand of the situation:
- The Division doesn’t yet know how many students will be impacted by the lottery, as that number will depend on the number of students who apply to attend Lillian Osborne School.
- Work between Division staff and ETS is ongoing. ETS typically plans schedules in the summer to be ready for the September start of school, so commutes today might not be what they will be in September.
- Trustees before me have advocated tirelessly for high school space in the Division. One example is moving up in priority the request for a 7-12 school at Glenridding (not yet funded by the province).
- Unfortunately, funding for new schools has not kept pace with population growth. The province funds school buildings and decides where they will be located, not Edmonton Public Schools. We need to keep pushing for provincial funding for schools!!!
- After broad consultation with families across Edmonton, Division administration decided on a growth control model that includes a lottery system as the most transparent and equitable solution to respond to enrollment growth. This system has been in place since about 2019/2020.
As your Trustee, I’ll continue to advocate for families. Here are some things I’ll be working on with my colleagues:
- Continuing to ask lots of questions to a) understand the current situation better and b) ensure we’re doing all we can for families in the short term
- Providing input on the Board’s Three Year Capital Plan to the province, which outlines a list of priority requests for capital funding
- Ongoing work as Chair of the Infrastructure Committee and a member of the Advocacy Committee on issues related to space for students
- Continuing to listen and learn from families
- Working hard to provide information to families to help build understanding of the processes around capital planning, including requested new school construction and deferred maintenance.
Useful Info:
- Lottery Process: https://epsb.ca/lotteryprocess/
- Student Transportation: https://www.epsb.ca/ourdistrict/departments/studenttransportation/
- Growth Control Model: https://epsb.ca/schools/register/growthcontrolmodel/
- Capital Planning: https://epsb.ca/ourdistrict/results/capitalplanning/
Have questions or comments? Please send me an email at trustee.julie.kusiek@epsb.ca or attend the next Ward F Conversation on January 20th at 7 pm (RSVP here).
I certainly understand the frustration that parents feel regarding lotteries for their designated/neighbourhood school. I do hope that in-area and neighbourhood students are prioritized over out of area students, including siblings of current students from out of area. This is absolutely important when we consider equity in transportation access as well as the environmental footprint of transportation options. Thanks Julie!
Hi Miep. Thank you for the question. Yes, students from within the designated catchment area are given priority. Here’s how it works with siblings:
SIBLINGS AND THE LOTTERY PROCESS
If both siblings will be attending the same lottery school for 2022-23, and both have registered or pre-enrolled by 4 p.m. on April 14, the following applies for siblings who are new to the school:
1. siblings who are resident students and live in the attendance area are given priority, but are not guaranteed to attend if there is not enough space at their grade level
2. resident siblings who live outside the attendance area can only attend if there is space in planned classes AFTER resident students LIVING IN THE ATTENDANCE AREA are enrolled
If the school can tighten the admissions with chekcing students address by looking at property statement for past 3 years or tax paper address it would eliminater lottery itself ,as lot of students from south east silverberry area is in the school.
I am living in the neigbourhood and its upseting to see my son needs to go thru lottery.streamline Admission process so that out of area cannot be in before residents in the school.
will the lottery be happining for the 2024 school year?
and if are siblings are in grade 11 and you are in grade 8 will you get in or will you have to put your name in the lottery
how does the lottery work?
Thanks for the question, Ethan. If you could send me an email to trustee.julie.kusiek@epsb.ca, along with your phone number I can have a staff member in planning get back to you on their thoughts for 2024.
I should also clarify the piece around siblings.
First priority for space goes to siblings living in the attendance area and who have a sibling who will be attending Lillian Osborne at the same time. If there are more siblings in this category applying than spaces available, it goes to lottery. If there are enough spaces, then they are admitted.
Second priority for spaces goes to resident students (without a sibling attending at the same time as they would) who live in the Lillian Osborne attendance area. If there isn’t enough space to accommodate all these pre-enrolment requests, it goes to lottery.
Third priority, if there are still spaces after the steps above have been done, go to siblings of Lillian Osborne students who will be attending that year but who do not live in the attendance area.
Fourth priority goes to resident students who do not have a sibling attending Lillian Osborne at the same time as they would and who do not live in the attendance area.
I hope that helps answer your questions.