Both infrastructure and learning goals are in place for the next 3 years for Red Deer Public Schools.

The School Board is looking to address some growing student numbers in a few areas with their latest capital plan that sets out the priorities for new schools and modernizations which they will be delivering to the province seeking funding.

A new middle school to serve northeast Red Deer is at the top of that list according to Board Chair Bev Manning.

“Somewhere in the Timberstone, out by Barrie Wilson, school out in that direction, we’re finding that we’ve got a bit of a bulge happening at our middle school level, so we’re needing some spaces there, that school would potentially hold about 600”.

A modernization for Gateway Christian School is also a top priority according to Manning.

“Which of course is also busting at the seams, a large school that we want to try and make sure we can keep maintenance up there at a good level”.

The Board also reviewed the 3 year education plan which sets priorities for outcomes in classrooms.

Manning says mental health and wellness initiatives are a key piece following some recent community consultations.

“We are currently rolling out our K-5 health plans which have been designed by the district, so that all students in our district will be speaking the same language around mental health issues, they’ll be able to articulate their feelings better with the same kinds of words and expressions”.

Numeracy is another focus.

“That’s also just a mindset amongst our students and our population in general.  Numbers are all around you, they have great meaning to life and you can do math, we can all do math, we all do it every day.  So we want to help kids to figure that out and be really excellent at their basic math skills”.