The K to 8 Cochrane Christian Academy will be moving to the Powell St. school, and a French Immersion (FI) middle school program will be established at the Mitford School for the start of the new school year in September. 

Parents were notified of the decision today and Rocky View Schools (RVS) issued a press release on the decision.

It states the board considered multiple scenarios for determining which students should move to the school located at 129 Powell St. in East Cochrane.

Taken into account was feedback received through a four-month public consultation process following the re-acquisition of the school building from the Calgary Catholic School Division. The stakeholders input included two in-person engagement sessions, RVSengage.com submissions, and delegations to the board. Presented were a broad range of opinions on which students should attend the school with a strong preference to keep current school communities, siblings, and school friends together. 

The board believes moving all CCA students to the new school and creating a new FI middle school program best serves all Cochrane students and the utilization of Cochrane schools.

“We know there will be mixed reactions to this news as we received a broad range of opinions, ideas, and preferences from families. We are committed to supporting all students through this transition and creating a positive learning environment at the brightly renovated school,” states RVS board chair Norma Lang in the release. “Ensuring siblings and friends can remain together on one campus under one administration is something CCA families told us was important to maintaining the faith-based culture the school has developed over the years.”

The FI middle school program will be created at Mitford with FI students who currently attend Glenbow Elementary School in grade 4 moving to Mitford in September 2023 for grades 5 – 8.

Even with the much-need space provided by the Powell St. school, enrolment in Cochrane schools continues to rise by about 300 new students annually, and new schools are urgently needed.

The current utilization rate of schools in the Town of Cochrane is 96 per cent.

“While we are excited to add another school to our division – especially in Cochrane where there’s a critical need for more space for students – we recognize that as the town continues to grow, we will need to look at other solutions to accommodate RVS’ rising enrolment in Cochrane,” said Lang. “The reality is enrolment in Cochrane is going to continue to increase and without approval for new schools, RVS will continue to experience student space issues for the foreseeable future.”

The board says it will continue to aggressively advocate for construction approval of new schools in Cochrane.