A baby boom and new housing in Lake Country are creating an enrolment crunch in elementary schools.
It means some parents may be camping out at Davidson Road Elementary on Sunday night to register students the next day.
It means some students will have to take a bus to another school in September.
It may mean a middle school-within-a-school until a new middle school is built.
The first impact will be felt on Monday, when registration opens for the 2013-14 school year. It is primarily for kindergarten students and other students entering a new school for the first time, since students already registered and those entering George Elliot Secondary for Grade 8 don't have to register.
In a letter sent home with elementary students this week, superintendent Hugh Gloster warns parents that acceptance of new students is based on who is the first to register.
"In the past, at other schools in our district, this has resulted in parents lining up well in advance of the school opening on the first day of the registration period. Parents of new students and those entering kindergarten for the first time are advised to consider this information as they plan for the 2013-2014 school year," he said.
The baby boom and new residential development has the most impact at Davidson Road Elementary, which will have 30 students over its capacity in September. So, those 30 will be bused to Peter Greer Elementary, which has sufficient space and won't require portable classrooms, said Gloster.
However, by 2020, the district expects 500 more students than the existing capacity of the three Lake Country elementary schools, according to a recent long-term facility plan. The district will revise catchment areas, redirect students to another school and add portables, but may have to create a separate middle school within George Elliot Secondary.
As a result, trustees have asked senior administrators to set up a meeting with parent representatives from all four schools in the near future to plan for the arrival of those students in 2014-15 and beyond.
More detail on this process will be sent out through school principals and parent advisory council presidents in the near future.
In 2013-14, the district will also conduct a review of catchment areas for the three elementary schools to determine if any adjustments can be made.