Spruceland Elementary School is continuing to transform after dropping the “traditional” title earlier this year.
Spruceland is a “choice” school, the traditional title made it unique and saw a school uniform dress code with a different teaching style that staff, students, and parents were beginning to feel was outdated.
A recent poll of Spruceland students showed only one-third thought the dress code was important, and more than half of parents agreed.
The recently removed “traditional” title meant that Spruceland would need something new to differentiate it from other elementary schools in the district in order to remain a choice school.
Spruceland’s principal, Shannon Daines, and vice-principal Stephanie Cotes, presented findings to the school board during their first meeting on December 13th.
“We reached out to our families to determine what it is they valued about our school,” Daines said.
Most families shared five common values:
- Community
- Equity
- Support
- Inclusivity
- The Arts
Because of this, they have decided to make Spruceland Prince George’s first choice arts school.
“We already had a commitment to the arts, and we already had a very robust music program… We decided to take a look at that and see if it was a viable option for us,” Daines said.
In January, Dains said every SD57 family will receive a letter asking them two questions: are you interested in enrolling your child in Spruceland, and what areas of the arts would you like to see focused on?
Next, they will be holding an information session for interested families and students on January 26th at 6:00pm, discussing in more detail the future direction of Spruceland Elementary School.
That day will also mark the opening of Kindergarten registration, and the transfer process – both for students who want in and out of the arts school.
March will see priority transfers for teachers begin, once again for teachers who both want to come in to the school, and those who are no longer interested in staying.
Also at the school board meeting, PGSS teacher Shannon Shinkel was presented the Prime Minister’s Teaching Excellence Award.
It was announced that Shinkel would be one of four BC teachers to receive the award back in October.
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