watchsmart / CC

Enrolment in Anglophone East schools has spiked this year.

Superintendent Randy MacLEAN says numbers have risen by over 1000 students for this school year.

As of September 16th, enrolment numbers were at 17984, that’s more than what was predicted in May.

The prediction in April and May was that they would have 16825 students registered.

“We now have fewer and fewer reduced size classrooms and fewer and fewer schools that are not feeling enrolment pressures,” MacLEAN says.

The Superintendent adds that they’ve been forced to teach in areas that originally were non-traditional instructional areas, with two teachers and 32 students, but the rooms aren’t built for 32 students.

MacLEAN says, “So, we’re now doing diagnostics, what each space looks like, and starting to work with facilities to look at what was the space designed for. Where we no longer have space in the school or in that grade, students are going to be transitioning to adjacent schools, as the practice has been done in the past. It’s not new to Anglophone East, but this is going to be on a larger scale I think then we have witnessed before. This is one of the processes we are going through and doing analysis, building by building. So we’re going to have to work with schools and work with the principals,  work with facilities and work with transportation.”

MacLEAN adds, “Remote employment has become common place, so we are seeing people move in from Ontario, Quebec, Calgary, some coming back home, and New Canadians.”