Midwestern

Local school board tracking growth

The Avon Maitland District School Board is tracking growth in some areas.

Superintendent Cheri Carter says the Listowel area has seen significant growth over the last few years.

There has also been growth in the Stratford area and in the Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh area, which has seen about 8.5 per cent growth in the last few years.

Other smaller pockets of growth include Bluewater and Central Huron.

Carter says the numbers suggest that AMDSB has suddenly become a growth board.

“Elementary, overall, is expected to increase by about 7 per cent in the next ten years and secondary is about 11.5 per cent over ten years. So obviously that growth that we've seen in the last few years in elementary is going to move into secondary,” said Carter.

Carter points out the secondary level has been a challenge for the past few years because a decline in the elementary system started moving through the secondary system.

Now that enrollment is starting to stabilize, Carter says there is space in secondary schools that they'd like to see fill up.

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