New Configuration Approved for SD83 Schools

Carlin Elementary Middle School Photo credit: Scoop Staff

By Jo Boxwell

At the January 21 Board of Education of K̓wsaltktnéws ne Secwepemcúl’ecw School District No. 83 meeting, Trustees voted unanimously in favour of the new configuration for Salmon Arm and area schools as outlined by Superintendent Donna Kriger. The reconfiguration will be completed over a three-year transition period and will remove middle schools, creating a Kindergarten – grade 7 elementary and grade 8 – 12 secondary school model.

In her presentation, Superintendent Kriger reiterated her gratitude for the many people who contributed time and energy to the process over many months. She said that “School connectedness was really at the heart of many of the discussions around school configuration.” Some of the benefits of the changes include reducing the number of school transitions for students, which is especially important for priority learners, and creating more time to build relationships between staff and students. The feedback the School District received through surveys and conversations with school communities pointed overwhelmingly to the elementary-secondary model as the preferred model.

At the elementary level, there will be no changes to schools during the 2025-2026 school year. Sorrento Elementary School (currently a K-5 school) will add grade 6 in 2026-2027, and grade 7 in 2027-2028. For North Shuswap Elementary and Carlin Elementary Middle schools, there will be no changes until the 2027-2028 school year, when both K-8 schools will become K-7 schools. There will be no catchment changes at North Shuswap Elementary. For Carlin and Sorrento, new catchment areas will take effect for new enrolling students as of the 2027-2028 school year. Carlin will take on a bigger catchment that will include Eagle Bay and Notch Hill areas, while the Sorrento catchment area will be reduced as it transitions from a K-5 to a K-7 school.

Shuswap Middle School (SMS) will be converted to an elementary school and will be the new home for elementary French Immersion. During the 2026-2027 school year, English and French Immersion grade 7 and 8 students will remain at SMS, while grade 6 (and potentially also grade 5) French Immersion students from Bastion Elementary will move to SMS. Starting in 2027-2028, all French Immersion K-7 students will attend SMS.

Trustee Marianne VanBuskirk said it was important to explain why a K-7 model was chosen when a K-8 model is currently used in some schools (including North Shuswap and Carlin). Superintendent Kriger explained that prep times and instruction minutes differ between grades 7 and 8, making a K-8 model more costly.

At the secondary level, new catchment areas will begin to take effect in the 2025-2026 school year. The new catchment areas for Salmon Arm Secondary School (SAS) will include North Shuswap, Carlin and Sorrento (as well as some Salmon Arm catchments). French Immersion students and those in other Salmon Arm area catchments will attend JL Jackson Secondary School. Students in grade 11 at SAS during the 2024-2025 school year will complete grade 12 at SAS in 2025-2026 (this will be the last class at SAS for French Immersion). Both secondary schools will become grade 8-12 schools in the 2027-2028 school year.

The three-year transition period will allow time for minor renovations, staffing impacts, and for school communities to be able to plan for the changes. Board Chairperson Corryn Grayston said, “There will be pinch points” during the transition period, but that, “It is about making sure that all of those moving pieces come together and fit together in the way that we want them to.”

More details about configuration can be found on the School District website (sd83.bc.ca). There will be upcoming information sessions for all affected school communities.

New Catchment For Sorrento Elementary School (Credit: School District No. 83)

New Catchment For Carlin Elementary School (Credit: School District No. 83)