Students from overcrowded Edmonton school moved to other schools

Some students who live in the south Edmonton neighbourhood of Summerside will not be able to attend Michael Strembitsky School this fall due to overcrowding.

Edmonton Public Schools announced a plan Thursday that would see some students movedto other schools in the area.

The initiative released Thursdayis the result of a Nov. 24 meeting that addressed a recent baby boom in thecommunity where the school is located:

• Students who live in the northeast part of Summerside (north and east of Stanton Drive and south of Ellerslie Road) will now have to attend Ellerslie School starting this fall, even if they are already attending Michael Strembitsky School.
• Students who live south of Savaryn Drive and east of 88th Street will attend Menisa School for kindergarten to Grade 6, and Dan Knott School for grades 7 to 9.
• Students starting school this fall will attend Satoo School for kindergarten and Grade 1. They will go to Michael Strembitsky school when they start Grade 2 in September 2018.
• Students who live outside the Strembitsky attendance area, that were not grandfathered in, will no longer be eligible to attend the school.
• Catholic-declared students and children from outside Edmonton will also have to go to school elsewhere.

In two years,the number of children under the age of four hasgrown from 550 kids to 880,an extra 330 children, said Christopher Wright, EPS district's acting managing director of planning, in November.

At the timethe district said between 175 and 300 students planning to attend the school next year would have to go elsewhere.Wright said action must be taken until new schools open in the area.

The school was already close to capacity when it opened in September 2012, leading the board to restrict enrolment to families who live within the attendance area.

Edmonton Public Schools has an open-boundaries policy that allows parents to send their children to any school in the city.