Wild Rose School Division is pleased to announce that Alberta Education and Alberta Infrastructure have selected Chandos Construction as the general contractor for the construction of the Evergreen replacement school. Chandos Construction has 39 years of experience with construction projects all across Canada and were recognized as one of Alberta’s top employers in 2018. We are excited to work with them as they convert our design into a magnificent replacement school.

See the following link of the floor plan and drawings to get some idea of what the school will look like and where it will be located on the current Evergreen School property. We are excited about the inclusion of solar panels in the school design. They will not only help reduce our utility costs but will also be used for instructional purposes. The design of the school allows for access to the central learning commons and breakout spaces from the individual classrooms. Students and teachers will have easy access to flexible learning spaces and literacy materials.

The school’s core (office, gathering area, gymnasium and learning commons) will be built to accommodate 400 students. However, in this initial stage of construction, classroom space will be built for only 250 students. After the school opens and as it grows in enrollment, we will add modular classrooms in order to bring the school to its full capacity of 400 students.

The Wild Rose School Division Board of Trustees have not yet made a final decision regarding which elementary grade levels will be taught at the replacement school when it opens as well as potential impacts on the grade levels that will be taught at some of the other schools in Drayton Valley. The feedback received from our November 1, 2018 public meeting as well as the ThoughtExchange survey will be considered by the board when making this decision. Although the survey results indicate strongest support for all three elementary schools (Aurora, Eldorado and Evergreen) having grades K-4 or K-5, there was also some support for having the 3 schools specialize as a grade K/1 school, grade 2/3, school and a grade 4/5 school. We will also need to consider the overall impact on our utilization rates, ensuring we are maximizing our space. This includes removing several of the oldest modular classrooms from Eldorado School once the Evergreen replacement school opens. The board hopes to make a final decision on grade configurations by the fall of 2019.

Construction on the Evergreen replacement school is scheduled to begin before the end of January 2019 and is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2020.