A school for francophone students will have a temporary home on the grounds of Braefoot Elementary in time for the start of the 2021-22 school year.
The Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique (CSF) will receive $9.9 million from the province to build a 12-unit modular school for École Beausoleil.
The school, which had 86 students, had been operating out of leased space in the former Sundance Elementary on Bank Street near Royal Jubilee Hospital, but the Greater Victoria School District plans to reopen the building as an elementary school in September to meet growing demand in the area.
Alex Henri-Bhargava, who has a child in Grade 1 at Beausoleil and one ready for kindergarten, said he is concerned about the tight timeline to get the temporary facility ready and wishes the announcement had come sooner.
He said he is also worried about before- and after-school care. “Our child care is directly linked to the school.”
Henri-Bhargava said both his children are registered at Willows Elementary for September because of the family’s concerns about child care, but “we would transfer them back to the French system in a heartbeat.”
The Ministry of Education said the temporary facility will continue École Beausoleil’s existing child-care program.
Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside said the modular school will give École Beausoleil families certainty that their school can continue to operate while work is underway on a permanent site.
The 10-hectare Lansdowne Middle School site has been earmarked as a permanent home for a new École Beausoleil building. The CSF hopes to buy three hectares of the property from the Greater Victoria School District, which is conducting public consultations on the idea.
Patrick Gatien, chairman of the CSF School Board, said the modular structure will be welcoming and functional, and comes as the CSF is working to finalize the last stages in confirming the Lansdowne development.
The modular facility will have a “village” concept featuring covered walkways, and will expand from the current kindergarten-Grade 3 format to include Grade 4 in September, adding Grades 5 and 6 in 2022 and 2023.
Greater Victoria School Board chairwoman Jordan Watters said the board is happy to assist CSF in finding a temporary space. “We understand that school transitions are never easy. However, we have full confidence the new learning studios they’ll be moving into will provide an exceptional learning environment for staff and students.”
