(Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

New school

Site chosen for new francophone school in Prince Albert

Sep 25, 2024 | 12:54 PM

An area near the Alfred Jenkins Field House in Prince Albert, will one day be home to a new francophone school in Prince Albert.

The site location was confirmed Wednesday in a joint press release from the provincial government and Conseil des écoles fransaskoises (CÉF) which also included details for a new school for Saskatoon.

“The sites selected for these schools indicate progress and increased opportunities for our communities,” Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. “These schools hold great significance for Saskatchewan’s francophone community and are essential for maintaining language, culture and identity. We are excited to be a part of these projects that will support francophone students and their families for years to come.”

The new CÉF school in Prince Albert will replace École Valois and will be designed to accommodate up to 350 Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 students, including 51 child care spaces. It will be located near the Alfred Jenkins Field House.

Currently, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of SaskBuilds and Procurement and the CÉF are working with the City of Saskatoon and the City of Prince Albert. Soon they will begin procuring project managers to ensure the specific needs of the francophone community and CÉF are fully understood and thoughtfully included in the planning and design of the new schools.

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“We are very pleased to see that the Government of Saskatchewan is recognizing francophone families’ need for a new school on the west side of the river in Saskatoon and another in Prince Albert close to the Alfred Jenkins Field House,” Conseil Scolaire Fransaskois Chair Alpha Barry said. “These new student facilities will help alleviate some of our education needs. Our school division will continue to work with the province to ensure that all Fransaskois students have access to the resources and infrastructure they need to ensure their full development.”

Calls for a new school go as far back as 2008 when École Valois had to start using their community spaces, where groups like the SCFPA would work out of, for new classrooms due to an increase in students.

Additional safety concerns have been raised by parents who wanted a new location.

Funding for the new school in Prince Albert was first announced in March, 2023.

There’s no timeline on when the school will be operational.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

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