Calgary Board of Education

Canadian School District
schoolboardname = Calgary Board of Education
additionalname = Calgary School District No. 19


imagesize = 250px
boardidentifier =
officelocation = 515 Macleod Trail S.E.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
communities =
schoolcount = 215 (September 2005)
budgetyear = 2007-2008
budget = 905.5
studentcount = 96,931 (September 2005)
chairoftheboard = Patricia Cochrane
directorofeducation=
superintendent = Dr. Brendan J. Croskery
electedtrustees = Gordon Dirks, wards 1, 2
Lynn Ferguson, wards 3, 4
Kyle Fawcett, wards 5, 10
George Lane, wards 6, 7
Pat Cochrane, ward 8, 9
Nancy Close, wards 11, 13
Carol Bazinet, wards 12, 14
url = [http://www.cbe.ab.ca/default.asp Official site]

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) is the public school board in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a public system, the CBE is required to accept any students who meet age and residency requirements, regardless of religion.

ize

In terms of student population and school count, the CBE is over twice the size of the other major school district board in Calgary, the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD), which teaches mainly, but not exclusively, Catholic students. The other two districts based in the city, both Franchophone, are a fraction of the size of the CBE with only a handful of schools each. In land area, the CBE is the smallest of the four Calgary districts, as its territory is limited to municipal limits of Calgary (although its area is only slightly smaller than that of the CCSD). As the city limits have expanded, the CBE boundary has remained in sync. All CBE land overlaps the other three districts.

The CBE operates 215 schools in grades K-12. Non-adult student enrollment was 96,931 as of September 2005. The operating budget was $790 million for the 2005/2006 fiscal year.

Governance

A group of seven elected trustees run the CBE. Each trustee represents two wards in the city. They are elected every three years, in the regular municipal election. In the election, Calgary voters can only vote for a trustee to one (not both) of the two main school boards. The public (CBE) and Catholic (CCSD) systems operate independently of each other, and are both under the direct authority of the provincial government of Alberta.

pecial programs

The CBE operates a number of special programs, usually, but not always operated out of regular schools (with regular instruction).

The CBE operates an adult and continuing education program through [http://www.chinooklearningservices.com Chinook Learning Services] . It offers [http://www.chinooklearningservices.com/HSC.html High School Upgrading] , [http://www.chinooklearningservices.com/ContEd.html Continuing Education] and adult [http://www.chinooklearningservices.com/ESL.html English as a Second Language] (ESL) programs.

The Louise Dean Centre is a school specifically designed for female students that become pregnant before completing high school. It provides daycare for the children, flexible schedules for the students, and special counseling.

The CBE's Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program assists qualified students with more advanced instruction. GATE compacts and accelerates the typical curriculum. It also provides extra experts and mentors. Currently, nine CBE schools offer the GATE program [http://www.cbe.ab.ca/programs/spec_ed/se-gifted.asp] .

In 2003, the CBE opened the board's only all-female school, Alice Jamieson Girls' Academy. In the same year, over the board's objections, the Calgary Girls' School (CGS) public charter school was also opened; but as a charter school, CGS is run independently of the CBE. Both schools teach grades 4-9, and are founded on the premise that females learn differently than boys, and will under-perform for social reasons when in the presence of male peers. So far, there are no all-male public schools in Calgary.

French as the primary language of instruction

The board also operates a French immersion program in a limited number of schools. The program is geared mainly for English-speaking families who wish their children to become fully fluent in French. It offers early and late adoption programs.

Up until 2000, the CBE also provided French instruction (as the primary language of instruction) to children from French families (who didn't need or want immersion). When the Greater Southern Francophone School Board was formed in 2000, the CBE relinquished its authority over such schools, and handed over (what was then known as) Ecole Queen's Park (its only such school at the time) to the Francophone board.

enior high schools

In Alberta, a senior high school teaches grades 10-12. However, some may not teach all three grades. Also, some are combined with junior high schools, which teach grades 7-9. The following is a list of senior high schools operated by the CBE as of 2005, taken from the [http://www.cbe.ab.ca/schools/grades.asp CBE's complete list] . The board divides the city into five areas, shown on the [http://www.cbe.ab.ca/Schools/areas/default.asp#imap City Area Map] .

ee also

*List of Alberta school boards
*List of high schools in Alberta

References

*"CBE will lose only Francophone school" By Colette Derworiz, Joe Bachmier, "Calgary Herald". Calgary, Alta.: May 4, 2000. pg. B.10

External links

* [http://www.cbe.ab.ca/default.asp The official site of the Calgary Board of Education]
* [http://projects.cbe.ab.ca/sss/ilscommunity/index.html Innovative Learning Services]
* [http://www.cbelearn.ca/default.htm CBe-learn Online School]
* [http://www.chinooklearningservices.com Chinook Learning Services]