The North Vancouver School District
is considering changing the catchment areas for Lynn Valley Elementary
School and Eastview Elementary School to balance enrolment
between the schools.
Lynn Valley Elementary School is currently operating at 133% capacity. Every area of the school is currently utilized. Enrolment projections demonstrate that enrolment will continue to rise at Lynn Valley Elementary, reaching 140% capacity by 2025.
Enrolment pressure at Lynn
Valley Elementary School needs to
be relieved.
Eastview Elementary School is currently operating at 62% capacity and enrolment projections demonstrate that enrolment will remain relatively steady.
Current catchments
| Catchment change option
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 Lynn Valley_Current.pdf
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Lynn Valley_Study Option.pdf
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The catchment change option being considered would move a small portion in the southern section of the current Lynn Valley Elementary School catchment area into the Eastview Elementary School catchment area. The area of consideration for the move is located between Lynn Valley Road to the north-west, Kirkstone Park to the south, and Mountain Hwy to the east. It encompasses Fromme Rd, Whiteley Crt and E 27th St.
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Current enrolment and capacity in the Lynn Valley area:
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Eastview Elementary: - Enrolment: 270, Capacity: 433, Capacity percentage: 62%
Lynn Valley Elementary: - Enrolment: 365, Capacity: 275, Capacity percentage: 133%
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Current catchment areas - projected enrolment and capacity in the Lynn Valley Area:
| Revised catchment areas - projected enrolment and capacity in the Lynn Valley area:
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Considerations
To determine potential courses of action for managing capacity pressures in the Capilano area, and the potential impacts of these options on families and staff, the following options were considered.
Considering combined versus single grade classes
There are times when single grade classes are not full, and by combining grades into one class extra classroom space can be made available in a school.
Combined grade classes are already in place at all schools in the lower/central Lynn Valley area.
Restricting cross-boundary placement
By restricting cross-boundary enrolment, space at schools is reserved for in-catchment students.
Enrolment pressure already exists within the current catchment area for Lynn Valley Elementary School. The school cannot accommodate all catchment area students. The school currently does not accommodate cross-boundary enrolment unless it is because of a sibling placement.
Moving district programs/external program in the school to other schools
If a school district program (ex: literacy centre) or external program (ex: daycare) is located at a school and that school now needs more classroom space for catchment students, then the programs can be moved out of that school.
There are no external programs or daycares operating at Eastview or Lynn Valley elementary schools.
StrongStart operates at Eastview Elementary. At Eastview, the school utilization is fairly low and they have room to grow internally, so the StrongStart program does not impact their ability to house classrooms.
Portables and/or renovations
To increase space at a school, renovations can sometimes be done to create more space (ex: changing two large classrooms into three smaller classrooms) or portables can sometimes be installed.
Typically the only rooms left to consider for modification to add classroom space at schools are computer rooms, multipurpose rooms and reducing libraries into half their footprint. To date, across the entire school district no libraries have been modified and only one multipurpose room has been converted into a classroom. While adding portables might be a possibility at each school, the Ministry of Education does not fund portables unless it is absolutely necessary. Since there is space for students within the geographical area at Eastview Elementary, it is unlikely that the Ministry of Education would fund additional portables for Lynn Valley Elementary School.
Lynn Valley Elementary currently has four portables (two from 2013/14 and two from 2017/18) that are all used for classrooms. The only internal opportunities to create space at Lynn Valley would be to repurpose the computer room and the library.
Change to catchment areas
School Districts are expected to regularly assess catchment areas to ensure balanced enrolment at schools. If a school is over capacity and a neighbouring school has space, it is expected that catchment areas will be reviewed to determine feasibility of changing the catchment areas to balance out enrolment between the schools. When reviewing catchment areas, the following considerations are taking into account: 1. Walking distance to/from school; 2. Proximity of schools to one another; 3. Public transit and active transportation routes; 4. Family of schools transition (ex: groups of elementary schools feed to secondary schools); 5. Major roads; and 6. Physical terrain, such as major hills, waterways, parkland pathways.
Lynn Valley Elementary School is currently operating at 133% capacity and by 2025 will be operating at 140% capacity. Meanwhile, neighbouring elementary school Eastview Elementary is only operating at 62% and has space available. A catchment area review in the lower/central Lynn Valley area will assess the feasibility of balancing student enrolment among neighbouring schools via changing catchment areas.
New buildings/expansions
There is space at Eastview Elementary available and it is difficult to receive capital funding from the Ministry of Education to build a new school or expand a school if there is surplus capacity in the area and catchment areas are not adjusted to balance the student capacity between schools.
Frequently asked questions
When will the revised catchment areas come into effect?
The catchment area changes would come into effect for the 2020/2021 school year.
What if my child is currently attending Lynn Valley Elementary School and our address becomes out-of-catchment?
The catchment area changes will be phased in. Current students, along with their younger siblings, who become out-of-catchment due to the catchment area changes can remain in their current school.
What if I have a child currently attending Lynn Valley Elementary School, our address becomes out-of-catchment, and I have a younger child yet to enter kindergarten?
The catchment area changes will be phased in. Current students, along with their younger siblings, who become out-of-catchment due to the catchment area changes can remain in their current school.
Have Ross Road Elementary School or Boundary Elementary School been considered as options (to move students from Lynn Valley Elementary to Ross Road Elementary or Boundary Elementary)?
Ross Road Elementary School is currently operating at 124% capacity and is projected to continue to operate over capacity. Boundary Elementary School is currently operating at 99% capacity with enrolment expected to increase, pushing the school over capacity to 113% by 2025.
Will students in the catchment change study area that is moved from Lynn Valley Elementary School to Eastview Elementary School also change secondary school catchment areas from Argyle Secondary School to Sutherland Secondary School?
Yes, students who live in the study area that would be moved from Lynn Valley Elementary to Eastview Elementary catchment will become part of the Sutherland Secondary School catchment area.
If my child currently goes to Lynn Valley Elementary and our address becomes out of catchment, will my child then to go Argyle or Sutherland?
Secondary school catchments are based on the elementary school the student is currently in. Thus, current students attending Lynn Valley Elementary will be in the Argyle catchment, regardless of where they live.
Feedback
Staff, parent, student and community feedback is essential so that an accurate feasibility assessment can be undertaken.
Community consultation evening
Thursday, May 9, 2019
7 - 9 p.m.
Eastview Elementary School (1801 Mountain Hwy, North Vancouver, BC, V7J 2M7)
Email feedback
Feedback will be gathered at the community consultation evening. Feedback can also be provided via email to feedback@sd44.ca. Deadline for providing feedback is Sunday, May 12, 2019.
