A reason to celebrate!

Calgary’s transformation from a North West Mounted Police Fort and a tent city to sophisticated metropolitan city it is today can be attributed to many societal influences. None, however, were as great as the role of education.

The plans for Fort Calgary did not include schools. It wasn’t until a sufficient number of woman and their children arrived from the east that the need to “civilize and socialize” the children arose. Calgarians clearly realized the importance of educating tomorrow’s citizens today.

Women were the force behind the move toward a “better society” however, in the traditions of the day; men were in the leadership roles. In 1884, Colonel James Walker, as chairman of a 3 member civic committee pushed that committee towards establishing a school district.

They raised $125 and hired the first teacher, John Costello. The first class was held in the basement of Boynton Hall. Books, maps and other learning materials were very few and slate was the chief writing medium. In April the 12 students in the class wrote Calgary’s first public exams and the school was dismissed due to lack of funds.

Months later, the first “official” school started in a frame building on the west side of 5th Street and 9 Avenue SE. That same year, the Council of the North West Territories passed an ordinance providing for the establishment of school districts in communities where ten or more children between the ages of 5 and 20 were located.

On March 2, 1885 the Calgary Protestant School District No. 19 was formed. A later amendment allowed the name to change to Calgary School District No. 19. On April 11, the ratepayers elected their first official trustees: Stephen Jarrett, James Lougheed and CW Petersen. Property tax became the major source of revenue for the school district.

As more children arrived with their parents to Calgary. Classroom space was rented in various buildings to accommodate the children and another teacher, a woman, was hired.

1887 the first permanent school was opened. Central School was a frame building located at 1st Street and 4th Avenue. It held lower level classes. In 1889, James Short becomes principal of Central School and started the first high school classes “Sleepy Hollow.”

As the town grew and prospered, the school district rented classroom space in places like the Knox Presbyterian Church, the York Hotel, city hall, the Methodist Church and a curling rink.

The growth of the school district paralleled that of the city. Some years, there was a flurry of building activity, other years, none at all. But over the next hundred and ten years, the school district would build many schools in a variety of architectural styles.

There were stately sandstone schools; most were surrounded by bald prairie until the surrounding neighbourhoods encroached or the school district planted trees.

Then there were modest two-room cottage schools that were considered “only temporary”. However, some of the cottages were later moved to other school sites to add more classroom space becoming the school district’s first “portables”.

Soon, the district was building four room brick bungalows.

No new schools from 1930 to 1946 due to wartime shortages. Some of our schools had been requisitioned by the provincial and federal governments for various uses to support the war effort. Children from those schools were moved to others.

After the war and with the city’s population burgeoning, a new design for schools emerged: the single storey streamlined school with lots of windows, built in storage in classrooms and sprawling grounds and playing fields.

After that, schools were redesigned with pre-cast concrete and fewer windows.

Today, our new schools have been built by public, private partnerships (P3) along specific designs.

But let’s not forget that as the city grew, villages were annexed and their schools absorbed into Calgary’s system including such notables as the “White House” from Crescent Heights in 1910, and the Quonset hut school from Rosscarrock in 1956.

Our school system has always been committed to keeping pace with Calgary’s growth and rides the economic rollercoaster along with it. What sets us apart from most school districts is our innate drive for innovation and willingness to embrace change. Maybe it is just our pioneer spirit.

In the beginning, students were grouped in classes based on the “Standards” system from England. Later, the school district introduced grades, then levels, then back to the grades used today.

In the late 1920s, it welcomed Mothers’ clubs and Parent Teacher Associations.

In 1931, our school district challenged the norm. Early schools were configured in two ways: Grade 1 to 8; and high school grades 9 to 12. The first junior high in Western Canada was set up at King Edward with grades 7 to 9. This configuration was later adopted by the province for all schools. Decades later, we would introduce middle schools.

In 1931, the first special education classes were set up for the first “sight seeing” class. Later, classes for hard-of-hearing children were organized at Connaught; then we added special classes for the mentally handicapped.

Ten years later, the first public kindergarten class was held at James Short School. Previously, the lack of classroom space prevented schools from routinely including “beginners”.

The Trustees:

Guiding us along the way has been the Board of Trustees.

From the first Board of three men, to the 1914 Board that included the first female member of the Board, to today’s group of seven who work to ensure that the CBE is the best it can be for all Calgary students.

Over the years, the Board has met in the library of Central school, offices at city hall, offices in the Douglas Block on 8th Avenue and 3rd Street W; to McDougall School and finally to the Education Centre in 1967.

The Armengol Sculptures were placed on the property west of the Education Centre and over the years have become linked with the Board of Education. They are included in our current logo.

In 2011, our administration offices will move to a new building that includes Safran School. In a way, we are coming home, back to our roots.

Our Graduates:

Our graduates are mothers, fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers. They are generation after generation of Calgarians who support education and who make contributions to the city they call home in immeasurable ways.

Reason to Celebrate:

Calgary School District No. 19 has come a long way from its humble beginnings. The district innovative approach continues today with the use of technology in classrooms, with the incorporation of programs of choice and alternative programs.

Today, Calgary has 218 schools and over 102,000 students in all quadrants of the city. We have grown significantly from one teacher to nearly 6100 teachers and school administrators today, and thousands of non-teaching staff who support our students each and every day. Our proud past has indeed set the foundation for a bright future.

Congratulations to everyone who has played a role.

CBE Partner Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta is a Calgary Board of Education partner in learning that fosters strong school-community connections through their extensive volunteer and mentorship network, as well as value-added curricular resources. Junior Achievement provides CBE students with authentic and ‘real-world’ experiences which promote learning outcomes that are multi-faceted, personalized, and intentionally aligned to their interests and preferred futures.

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta chapter from its humble beginnings at Western Canada High School in 1960. Today, JA of Southern Alberta is one of the most active and successful chapters in the country, and is helping to set the future direction of this organization at the national level.

Junior Achievement provides a variety of entrepreneurial and business programs for Grade’s 4-12, which served over 6,000 students in 32 Calgary Board of Education schools in 2009-2010. We would like to acknowledge the work of Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta over the past 50 years, and look forward to our continued partnership.

We're Celebrating!

The Calgary Board of Education celebrated its 125th anniversary with inspirational messages from Pat Cochrane, Chair, Board of Trustees, and Naomi Johnson, Chief Superintendent on Monday, March 1 at the Education Centre.

After the congratulatory messages, a six minute retrospective video was shown. Our gratitude and appreciation goes to the students and teachers at the schools who participated in the video – you were fabulous! Thank you for taking time out of your studies and, in some cases, braving the cold outdoor temperatures to appear in the video.

Following the trip down memory lane, guests and speakers convened on the Plaza level of the Ed Centre where Lynn Ferguson, Vice Chair, Board of Trustees and Pat Cochrane, cut the ceremonial anniversary cake. The cake was designed by prize-winning cake decorator, Estelle Stensby. The floral arrangements were created by Virginia McConnell. Both Estelle and Virginia are continuing education instructors with CBE’s Chinook Learning Services.

As people enjoyed a slice of the anniversary cake or a cupcake and coffee, a PowerPoint Presentation played in the auditorium. The slide show depicted the different architectural styles of schools over the last century. Special thanks to Darcia Pullan for her hard work in compiling the presentation.

Congratulations to everyone at the Calgary Board of Education!

Please take a moment to view the video and slide presentation and enjoy!