WATCH: With upwards of 400 new students coming in each year, the Sooke School District is quickly growing. This year, five new portables were added to accommodate demand. As Luisa Alvarez reports, those are now installed and ready to go in time for back to school.
While kids enjoy the last few weeks left of summer playing with their friends, there is a toss-up between those excited for the start of school and those who are dreading it.
And the Sooke School District is prepared for all of those kids. The new superintendent for the Sooke School District, Scott Stinson, says the district is ready accommodate the around 400 new students in the district.
“Everything is in place for us. We’ve installed five new portables this summer. We will have spaces for kids to be in our district and teachers in front of them and great learning opportunities for every single one of them,” says Stinson.
Two portables were installed at Belmont Secondary School, one at David Cameron Elementary, one at Journey Middle School, and one at Wishart Elementary School.
Since 2016, due to growth and reduced classroom sizes, twenty-six portables have been added throughout the West Shore and Sooke.
“We are constantly revising our plans and looking at needs but at this point, we believe that is all that we will need,” says Stinson.
But as the fastest growing district per-capita in the province, there’s a high chance these portables won’t be the last.
However, before more schools end up looking like Royal Bay Secondary School, which is filled with portables, Stinson says their top priority with the province is to build more schools.
Luisa Alvarez
