Another school enrollment cap as board races to build more schools

The region’s largest school board is capping enrollment at another London-area elementary school as it studies how to balance enrollment at several east London schools.

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East Carling, on Quebec Street, has space for 461 pupils, but is using six laptops to accommodate 570 pupils – about 100 more than it was designed for.

“Enrollment is projected to continue growing as a result of changing demographics in the area and the influx of young families,” said Ben Puzanov, planning manager at the Thames Valley District school board and author of a report released this week.

Because East Carling’s property is so small, administration “does not support adding additional portable,” he said.

Siblings of East Carling pupils will be allowed to attend the school, Puzanov said. But children families who move into the area will attend Prince Charles elementary school at 1601 Wavell St. and be provided with transportation.

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“A second report will be presented to trustees this fall following public consultation to consider possible attendance area changes,” Puzanov said.

East Carling is latest school where enrollment has been capped as the Thames Valley board works to balance out uneven, rapid growth.

In August 2023, enrollment at London’s White Oaks elementary was capped as pupil numbers skyrocketed due to a rapid increase in families moving into the area. Only siblings of current White Oaks students can register there now.

London is among Ontario’s fastest-growing cities. The Thames Valley board has added at least 6,000 students since 2019, bumping enrollment to about 84,000 in the 2023-24 school year. A final tally of additional students won’t be available until October, officials said.

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Last fall, the board signaled it would begin capping enrollment at “select” elementary schools due to packed classrooms and out-of-whack headcount imbalances.

Last December the board rolled out “unavoidable” enrollment caps at two overcrowded schools, Lambeth elementary in southwest London and Delaware Central elementary, just west of the city.

But there is some relief on the horizon with completion of a new addition at Eagle Heights elementary on Oxford Street in London.

Originally built for 680 pupils, Eagle Heights has had to use 18 laptops to accommodate more than 1,000.

In recent years, the Education Ministry has approved a raft of new schools as the population of London and surrounding areas continues to swell with people moving from the Greater Toronto Area and outside Canada.

Thames Valley elementary schools in northwest and southwest London are set to open in the 2025-26 school year. New elementary schools in Lucan, southeast and west London are expected to open the following year.

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