Palliser Regional

Division No. 26

Palliser Regional
Division No. 26

Fact Sheet

Fact Sheet

ED3603 Section B

ED3603 Section B

Dakoda Boser, Don Dennis and Devon Donahue-Reid

Dakoda Boser, Don Dennis and Devon Donahue-Reid

Superintendent
Contact Information

Mission
Statement:
Palliser Regional Division Websites:

Together we will ensure

General
pallisersd.ab.ca

learning success for all

Superintendent
pallisersd.ab.ca/about-us/superintendent

unique potential as

Contact Information
pallisersd.ab.ca/contact

Division Goals Aligned

with those established by
Alberta education:
Success for every student.

students to develop their High quality education through collaboration

caring citizens in a

and innovation.

Success for First Nations, Metis and Inuit

students (FNMI)

changing world.

Vision

Schools
Kevin Gietz
Pallisersd.ab.ca/contact

pallisersd.ab.ca/schools/our-schools
Colony Schools

#101, 330518 Ave N

Lethbridge, AB T1H 5S1

pallisersd.ab.ca/hutterite-colony-schools

Palliser Division
Contact Information

pallisersd.ab.ca/download/321

Employment
Opportunities
prshra.bellamysoftware.
com/HRSApplicant/

A All partners in the education process have responsibility for learning.

L Learning is a lifelong process.
L Learning occurs when a student has the opportunity to reach his/her potential

School Population Information

as a responsible, caring citizen.

I Individual students are unique and have the right and responsibility to an
education that meets his/her educational needs.

Ph: 403.328.4111
Toll-Free: 877.667.1234

P Parents are the primary educators.

Alberta Education Websites:

School Enrolment Data
education.alberta.ca/department/stats/
students.aspx

S Students should have the opportunity to learn in safe environments where t

here are caring, knowledgeable and positive role models.
E Every student can learn.
R Respect should be fostered throughout the school system.

Palliser School Division

encompasses most of the
County of Vulcan and the
entire County of
Lethbridge. This includes
Coaldale, Vulcan,
Coalhurst, Picture Butte,
Warner, Sugar city, Milo,
Champion, Baron and even
some faith-based
alternative schools in
Calgary.

Exciting
Challenges

Effective and Ineffective Strategies to

address these challenges

Student population has

doubled from 2005-2006
to 2012-2013 with
diverse backgrounds and
learning needs

Many of schools in this district have had low populations prior to

this quick expansion. Therefore there were spaces in the
schools for students. The difficulty was keeping up with staffing
demands as the school years went on. As well, portable
classrooms have allowed the schools that needed to expand the
ability to do so.

Religious and Cultural

Diversity

Student Learning Achievement:

Quick Info:
County of Lethbridge
Population of 10,061 living in
2,866 of its 3,052 total
dwellings
County of Vulcan
Population of 3,875 living in
1,104 of its 1,433 total
dwellings
General Pop. of District
13, 936
School District Student Pop
7200
School District Employees: 890
Average Class Size: 16.4

Grades

K-9

10-12

Measure

Palliser
Schools %

Alberta
average %

PAT
Acceptable

89.1

79.1

PAT Excellence

29.3

20.9

Diploma
Acceptable

90.2

83.5

Diploma
Excellence

24.0

18.6

Diploma
Participation

61.0

56.2

Rutherford
Scholarship

73.1

61.5

Having a diverse set of schools helps accommodate students

and parents beliefs and values while focusing on specific
learner needs and goals. Some issues that arise from this can
include conflicts between teachers and parents regarding time
spent in the classroom (colony schools) and special
accommodation for students that are not in those designated
faith based schools. Though this helps with individualization and
accommodation of all backgrounds of students this can cause
conflicts and issues for administration and teachers (regarding
hidden curriculum/content). Example as a positive: opt in/out
religious class once a week and the range of colony schools.
Negative: discriminatory language in faith-based schools/
differences in beliefs and values.

Colony Schools - only 1- Emerging technologies are allowing increased communication

3 teachers and assistants and connection with colony schools enabling better teaching and
in a school so they work collaboration to help support teachers with less resources.
without the support
system of a team
Outreach schools meet a
variety of needs within
the division and they
offer a ton of different
options to students

Outreach schools allow for greater access and improvement for

all learning in the region. This allows all ages of learners the
ability to study and achieve the provincial diploma exam. This is
an effective strategy as they have multiple campuses across the
region.

The large spread of the

school division combined
with the usual winter
conditions of the
Canadian prairies makes
it challenging for
teachers to meet
regularly for Professional
Development sessions.

Division wide professional development days a year is a

strategy used by the district. This brings teachers from the
region together for small-group collaboration based on shared
subject matter, grade level and expertise. this helps direct and
allow for teachers to work in groups toward a goal that directly
relates to improving student learning. the down side is the
distance required in travelling across the region for these PD
days. To help with this issue they do have online group
meetings and emerging technologies in alleviating travel.

Hutterite Colony Schools are one of three major Christian Anabaptist

sectarian groups. Their history dates back to 1528 and they live a
communal life together under the watch of elders.
They believe in early Christian teachings and retain the dress, language,
customs and lifestyle of their ancestors.
Schools on Hutterite colonies consist of one or two room schoolhouses.
There are ad few as 5 students at some schools and up to 37 students at

Economy

Language

The area is mostly rural and relies on

farming, ranching, oil and gas, the trades
and local business. This area is well
known as Feedlot Alley referencing its
intensive livestock operations. Major
crops consist of wheat, canola, and barley.

As far as language is concerned the area

is mostly comprised of English speaking
people, however there are many low and
high-German speaking Hutterian schools.
the next most commonly spoken
languages are Japanese, Italian, Ukrainian,
Nepali, Cantonese, and Vietnamese.

The economy of Lethbridge consists of

health, education, retail and hospitality
sectors with the top five employers being
government based.

others. Students begin school at age 6 or 7 and usually leave on their

15th birthday. This means classrooms are made up of all the grades or
many grades. Most students arrive speaking Low German and/or High
German, very few will know English. Many students also find a high
interest in reading because there are fewer distractions to students.
Students tend to start their day in German school, then proceed to
English school and finish their day in German school again. Norms and
expectations can have an impact in the classroom as matters of religion,
sexuality and evolution are not discussed. As well, leaders in the
community can choose to cancel school for a day dependent on
community needs such as weddings, funerals, religious holidays, etc.
These communities also offer a great deal of respect and support to

Political
Politically the area has
been voting conservative
(PC) in their elections for
many years.

Religion
The area is defined as heavily Christian having
Mennonite and Colony based religions throughout the
region. Public schools do offer religious based classes
with an opt in and opt out option for parents.

Beliefs and Values

teachers. There are also no after school activities that require teachers.

TEAM - Together everyone achieves more.

EMPATHY - Willingness and ability to put oneself in another person's place.

Types of Colony Schools

Dariusleut

Lehrerleut

Albion Ridge Colony School pop. 27

Allenby School (Wilson Colony) pop. 10
Arrowwood Colony School pop. 24
Chin Lake School (Lakeside Colony) pop. 14
Gold Ridge School (Turin Colony) pop. 24
Hofmann School (New York Colony) pop. 23
Keho Lake Colony School pop. 19
Springside School (Carmangay Colony) pop. 37
Shadow Ranch Colony School pop. 10
White Lake Colony School pop. 30

Brant Colony School pop. 20

Mialta Colony School pop. 22
New Dale Colony School pop. 22
River Bend Colony School pop. 14
Rock Lake Colony School pop. 35
Sky Light Colony School pop. 15
Wild Rose Colony pop. 15

INTEGRITY - Honesty, fairness and openness, dependability and consistency,

actions consistent with what one believes and says.
RESPECT - Courteous and caring attitudes toward people, property and the
environment.
TRUST - Confidence that others will use information for your good and never
for your harm.
RESPONSIBILITY - Due regard for own obligations.
HUMOUR - Take your job seriously and yourself lightly.

School Enrollment Data 2013-2014

2013

Kindergarten to Grade 12 Schools

Elementary Schools
School Names

Grades
Taught

Student
Pop.

School Names

Grades
Taught

Student
Pop.

Barons School

K-6

174

Brant Christian School

K-12

113

Coalhurst Elementary School

1-6

278

Calgary Christian School

K-12

815

Dorothy Dalgliesh School

ELP-6

196

Heritage Christian Academy

K-12

624

Jennie Emery Elementary School

K-4

517

Noble Central School

K-12

228

Vulcan Prairieview Elementary School

K-6

226

Master Academy and College

K-12

404

Grades 7-12

Middle and Junior High School

School Names
R. I. Baker Middle School

Grades
Taught
5-8

Student
Pop.
312

Kindergarten to Grade 9 Schools

School Names

Grades
Taught

Student
Pop.

Arrowwood Colony School

1-9

24

Champion School

K-9

103

Milo School

1-9

57

John Davidson School

K-9

128

Menno Simons Christian School

K-9

217

School Names

Grades
Taught

Carmangay Outreach School

7-12

52

Coalhurst High School

7-12

157

County Central High School

7-12

220

Picture Butte High School

7-12

202

High School
School Names

In addition to these schools, there are also 17 Hutterite Colony

Schools. Most of these schools are either high-speaking

Student
Pop.

Grades
Taught

Student
Pop.

Picture Butte Outreach School

10-12

16

Vulcan Outreach School

10-12

63

Palliser Beyond Borders

10-12

11

Pass+ Outreach School

10-12

50

Kate Andrews High School

10-12

340

German or low-speaking German and are in small one room

schoolhouses with a 1-3 teachers and few support staff.