Grace Christian School expanding as enrolment soars

Grace Christian School in Charlottetown is expanding to meet the institution's growing needs with an academic wing planned to be completed by September 2018.

The expansion would include eight new classrooms, administration rooms, and a new entrance for students to use.

Principal Jason Biech said there has been a 40 per cent increase in enrolment over the last four years.

"We're now in a position where we have need to add more space to our infrastructure to meet the demand for students who want to be a part of our school," he said.

'Amazing stakeholders'

Biechsaid the academic wing is Phase 1 of a three-step project expected to cost around $7 million in total.

Phase 1, which willcost approximately $1.5 million, will allow the school to accommodate more than 300 students.

It will be able to give us more classroom space to do the creative arts for technology, greater opportunity for our students to move around the building. Right now it's quite crowded.- Jason Biech

Biech said the school is paying for the project through a mix of communitydonations andtuition, and that the increase in the number of students will allow it to pay for Phase 1 and then look at doing Phase 2 and Phase 3 in the future.

"We do have amazing stakeholders who are a part of our school."

'Need in the future'

The school operates classes from junior kindergarten up to Grade 12. A childcare centre was also opened in January which has 16 students.

Biech said in 2013 the school had 116 students, and that number has grown to nearly 200.

He said with that kind of growth and with increasinginterest from families in the community and those new to the Island, the necessity to addonto the school was apparent.

"We saw that there was going to be a need in the future to expand our facilities so about a year ago we really started working on putting things together which has led us to our expansion of Phase 1."

Biech said the addition will create a better learning environment for students.

"It will be able to give us more classroom space to do the creative arts for technology, greater opportunity for our students to move around the building," he said. "Right now it's quite crowded."

A groundbreaking ceremony on Monday will mark the beginning of work on the first phase.

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |Race for nominations as Liberals move early in byelection

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |IRAC reviewing application to build Ultramar gas station near Maypoint roundabout