With the new joint-use school opening up on South Hill, Prairie South School Division has confirmed that while the new school doesn’t have more staff than the two it is replacing, it is a “more unified team”.
When prompted, PSSD Director of Education Ryan Boughen, acknowledged a reduction in administrative staff from four to two during the transition but didn’t provide provide specific numbers regarding teachers and support staff.
“There are slight efficiencies when you combine schools, but for the most part it’s almost the same number of staff.”
He did, however, note that an invitation to join the new school was offered to all staff at both Empire and Westmount Schools approximately one year ahead of the move, with the option for those on the fence to work with the division’s operational superintendent and human resources department to find “a different fit”.
“Coteau Hills Elementary School is a different learning environment, it is more of a 21st century collaborative learning environment, and that might not be everyone's teaching preference, and that's not a good thing or a bad thing,” explained Boughen.
“We did allow people that were maybe not interested in working in that environment to see if there was a different job available in Moose Jaw... we didn't move anyone against their will or force anyone to go there who didn't want to go there.”
For those willing to make the switch, the same opportunity to meet with human resources and the operational superintendent “to see if there was a spot at the new school”.
Boughen said that in the lead-up to the school’s opening, the ongoing construction — that bled over into the school year itself — did pose some challenges, namely limited access to the building for staff over the summer and combining staff from two separate divisions.
“The new staff at Coteau Hills has been working really hard. They've had limited access to the school before the school year started. If you talk to most teachers when the middle of August or start of August comes around, they want to kind of get into school and get things ready. So you know, that's been tricky,” said Boughen.
“Graham Construction has done a nice job of being as accommodating as they can be, but the school wasn't quite ready, so that's been a bit of a challenge.”
Despite the challenges, Boughen is optimistic as as the school year — and construction — continues, and is looking forward to officially opening the doors to Coteau Hills Elementary to visitors in the near future.
“There’s some (Ministry of Education) stuff around the opening of new schools that we’ve got to take of,” Boughen said about an upcoming open house event.
“It’s looking like around that first week of October.”
DiscoverMooseJaw reached out to the Holy Trinity Catholic School Division (HTCSD) about staff and the transition to the new location. HTCSD Director of Education Ward Strueby provided the following written statement:
“Any staff wanting to work at Our Lady of Hope were moved to the new school. A few staff preferred not to work at that location so they were transferred to other schools.”