The recent announcement by the Alberta government of a new middle school for Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak has been the biggest news story in the history of the two communities. The middle school campaign isn’t a recent development; it has actually been going on for around a decade. Residents in our communities have always hoped that schools would be built in this area but parent and community volunteers have always been the key to this process. They have been the ones who initially envisioned the need for a school and its role in making this area a wonderful place to live for families. Here is “the story behind the story” of our middle school announcement.
Spring 2006 After much informal discussion, the Public Schools Committee for Royal Oak and Rocky Ridge was formed by Cyndi Peters, Kimberley Gee and Michael Gretton, local parents who passionately wanted their children to attend school locally rather than being bused elsewhere. They started meeting regularly and began the process of gathering information about community demographics and also surveyed parents about what they wanted. They soon realized that there was a great need for schools in this area. This was also the time when the new North West High School plans were taking shape. The group also realized that to have any success with their campaign, they needed to assertively lobby the appropriate elected officials and educate themselves on education policies. More members joined the cause as the campaign gathered momentum, including Lisa Page, Karen Beagle, Christine Laser, Jeff Gaulin and Tanya Clarke. RRROCA was also approached to assist.
Spring 2009 Negotiations began between the Community and the CBE to press for our community children to attend the new high school. Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak was competing with Tuscany for the rights to attend the new school. Parents strongly voiced their opinions to elected officials. This also coincided with the first community-wide letter campaign for a middle school.
January 2010 Town Hall Meeting was held at the Royal Oak Victory Church to discuss the middle school issue and had high community attendance. Our communities’ MLA and Aldermen were also present.
September 2010 Royal Oak School opened, which galvanized community spirit and encouraged Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak to press on with its goal of getting a middle school. The school’s Parent Council also acted as a lobbying force.
November 2011 The lobbying by our community had its first campaign victory. The CBE decided that Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak students would be designated to attend the new North West High School (subsequently named Robert Thirsk High School) and Tuscany students would attend Bowness High.
Spring of 2011 to Spring 2012 Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak parents undertook an aggressive phone, letter and email campaign to the Provincial government as well as the CBE. At the time, Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak were ranked in 2nd place on the Capital Plan, which was a list that prioritized the need for new schools. Despite the high ranking, parents knew they couldn’t be complacent. They continued to press for a definite answer as to when our middle school would be built.
Spring, 2012—The campaign reached a critical juncture when the CBE released its new Capital Plan, which inexplicably dropped Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak in priority from 2nd place to 7th place with no explanation. Parents now realized the sense of urgency, as they knew time was running out and had to get their points across to the Government because any further drop in ranking would leave our community with no chance of getting a school. Thanks to the Royal Oak School council, the telephone and letter-writing campaign was further ramped up as parents pressured our elected officials to explain the drop and review the way it handled its Capital Plan processes. Jeff Walker took over for Karen Beagle as RRROCA’s Schools Director but had no idea about these events taking place until after he accepted the role. Shawna Torres got involved as a parent after she reviewed the Capital Plan and questioned why the community was no longer receiving points for an increase of enrolment numbers. She forwarded her concerns to Royal Oak School Council. Tanya Clarke and Janet Cheverie put together a letter that included comments and concerns from parents and forwarded it to the CBE. The CBE responded but never answered the question regarding what happens when a school exceeds the thresholds for enrolment numbers and no longer receives points. This resulted in another community letter-writing and phone campaign by the community to the CBE and Province that questioned the capital planning methodology, utilization rates and enrollment data. Newly-elected MLA Sandra Jansen was enlisted to help our community’s cause to ensure that current enrolment data and utilization rates from both the CBE Capital Plan and the CBE 10 Year System Student Accommodation and Facilities Strategy that supported a middle school within Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak were shared with the Education Department. The criteria for this process had implications not only for Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak, but all areas that were vying for new schools. A new letter writing campaign began, with the support of Brenda McGahey and Barry Loopkey.
Fall 2012–The CBE finally agreed to review the capital planning methodology, but would not amend the plan or the drop in ranking.
February, 2013—This month marked a huge milestone in the Middle School campaign. The new Capital Plan deadline would be in March 2013 and any changes in ranking would not be accepted after that. The RRROCA Board conveyed the sense of urgency to the Royal Oak School Council and urged them to be bold in helping the community association advocate for community schools, as the time was now so critical. Ward Sutherland and Jeff Walker came up with the idea of a public rally to be held on Family Day but they knew they needed the complete support of the School Council and other organizations as well as the public to make it work. As Jeff Walker reflects, this plan took on a life of it’s own. “I had been apprehensive as I had not been involved politically in the past and didn’t think that I was the right guy for the job. Once we had put out a press release and put up the posters, the media then jumped in to learn of our intentions and wanted to know why we were planning the rally. The first press report was in early February. Metro News interviewed Ward and I before the rally about the issues facing our Community and that spawned all of the following press that we received. I then became the contact for all those covering schools in the media and had many conversations and interviews along the way.”
The families who attended the rally in frigid temperatures felt a sense of community spirit and unity. Further media reports drew attention not only to our community’s fight for a middle school but also the “bigger picture” of how government processes functioned, including the accountability of the provincial Ministry of Education and locally elected officials such as school trustees.
May 1st, 2013—The big announcement for our community was unexpected and gave the community a huge sense of relief for all the hard work they put in throughout the years. Reactions from the community included such comments as “Awesome job by all involved!” “Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this happen!” “I am more than elated but also extremely proud of our community volunteers…for lighting a fire under residents to show passion for the kids living here.” “I am so glad my kids will be able to go to school close by” “This announcement restored my faith in community. I hope this announcement inspires many others to become more involved.”
Even though there were a few individuals who were the most visible, there were others who gave their time and skills without fanfare. Barry Loopkey spent a lot of time emailing and phoning the CBE and Provincial Government. Brenda McGahey organized the online petition with Shawna Torres. Carlos Torres and Jen Saban also did a lot of work behind the scenes. Sandra Jansen also deserves an important mention for delivering on her commitment to support the community in the pursuit of the middle school and for personally being available and involved. Also thanks goes to Minister Johnson for reviewing the flawed Capital Plan/ ranking system and determining that the need for our community was warranted. The largest amount of credit must go to the countless residents who took the time and initiative to phone and write, which helped to provide the “muscle” behind the campaign. If it wasn’t for everyone’s support, this campaign will never have been a success.
However, the middle school announcement doesn’t mean that the work is over. As of yet, there is no concrete information regarding location, construction date, building design, enrolment numbers, class sizes etc. RRROCA has requested a summary of process to answer these questions. When it receives this information it will be passed on. The only information currently known is the school’s potential opening date of 2016 and the capacity may be 900 students.
The wider issues that the campaign brought to light have not gone away. There must be accountability and engagement between our elected officials–at all levels–and community members. Voters need to carefully research the background of those who desire to represent them because that choice may become crucial down the road. Conversely, this experience also showed the importance of individuals taking personal responsibility to press elected officials for accountability and ask the tough questions. From the beginning, it was average people with jobs and family commitments who undertook the campaigning and carried on with determination when they became tired and discouraged. RRROCA and other organizations demonstrated community unity when they joined together and fought hard. As Ward Sutherland notes: The [campaign] was all a team effort that was co-ordinated with friends, family, school board, residents, and the RRRHA and RRROCA board…I remembered when I went to school (many years ago) and my friends lived in the same neighbourhood. It was a great environment and it created many relationships. I am so happy many families in our community will be able to have this same positive experience. Family and Community are tied together, the stronger the tie, the more rewarding experience for everyone.”
The campaign was begun years ago by those few individuals, carried forward by many more, and ended with the tangible result of a middle school that will be a lasting legacy for our community children. Perhaps a more important community legacy, however, will be a continued increased in community involvement. Hopefully the momentum that was generated by the middle school campaign won’t be lost, but it really is up to every individual to keep it going.
