Enrolment is up in Avon Maitland schools this fall.
Superintendent of Education Jane Morris says enrolment numbers from October 31 indicate the board has an increase of about 400 students. About 300 are in the elementary grades and around 100 are in secondary schools. That is about what trustees were expecting but they like to wait a couple of months to have those numbers confirmed. Morris said there are three factors that they believe contributed to the increase.
“First and foremost we're seeing more families coming back into public education from home schooling," explained Morris. "The pandemic certainly created situations where there were many families that just didn't feel comfortable having their children in school, so we've had quite a shift this year.”
They've also noticed is a significant increase in what the Ministry calls newcomer families. Across Huron and Perth counties, Morris says they're seeing a lot of students who were born outside of Canada and are new to Huron and Perth, arriving in their schools. They've had 130 students arrive in their schools this fall that were born outside of Canada, which she said is about three times the number they would normally see.
"So across Huron and Perth counties we are seeing a lot of students who were born outside of Canada and are new to Huron and Perth counties, arriving in our schools,” she said.
The third factor contributing to the rise in the number of students is the changes they've made to their Alternative Education Program, allowing students who had left school or were at risk of leaving and were only taking part-time courses to now take full courses.
The board is also seeing an increase is in international students. Morris noted it was very difficult to predict last spring and they were expecting an enrollment of about 45 and they've ended up with 100.
“I think that's really getting closer to where we were pre-pandemic, where the Board has been actively seeking out partnerships with our international agencies so that students who would like to experience public education in the Province of Ontario are welcome,” Morris explained.
While the increase in enrollment is definitely good news, Morris admits it is putting pressure on some areas that are already facing some crowding issues. She noted North Perth as a prime example and said that is something that the Board will have to address.