WARMAN — Continuing a trend that has been ongoing for at least five years, the Prairie Spirit School Division saw yet another increase in kindergarten to Grade 12 enrolment for the 2023-2024 school year, rising by 98 students in total.
This is according to Prairie Spirit’s annual report, which was recently tabled in the legislature and is now publicly posted on the Government of Saskatchewan’s website.
The report shows the division had a total K-12 enrolment of 11,876 students last year, based on the headcounts from the Student Data System as of Sept. 30, 2023.
That’s up from the 2022-2023 total of 11,778 K-12 students, the 2021-2022 total of 11,586 students and the 2020-2021 total of 11,320.
Notably, the report indicates that the number of self-identified First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FNMI) students increased from 1,072 students in 2022-2023 to 1,251 students in 2023-2024. This was out of step with the past three years ago, when the division’s FNMI student population remained fairly static.
The number of French Immersion students enrolled in K-6 programs also went up by about 30 from the previous year. Approximately half of those students were kindergarten to Grade 3, while the other half were in Grades 4-6.
While many rural school divisions in western Canada would be envious of such regular gains, increasing enrolment can pose challenges in terms of classroom space.
Director of Communications Brenda Erickson said their facilities department works with each school to ensure there is adequate capacity for enrolment, utilizing strategies such as relocatable classrooms.
Using funding from the province, Erickson indicated Prairie Spirit will move one relocatable within the division to South Corman Park School by fall 2025. South Corman Park has a growing enrolment and has added Grades 7 and 8 over the past few years.
In addition, Prairie Spirit has submitted a request to the province for a new joint-use high school in the Warman/Martensville area, along with the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division, the Cities of Warman and Martensville, and the RM of Corman Park.
Noting that all Warman schools are reaching maximum capacity, “a new school facility would allow the division to balance enrolment and manage future growth,” she said.
Despite the positive enrolment figures over the past few years, it should be noted that Prairie Spirit’s streak has finally broken in the 2024-2025 school year.
Erickson said they saw a decrease in enrolment this year, due in part to Valley Christian Academy in Osler moving out of the school division to become an independent school
“This move represented approximately 350 students,” said Erickson.
Furthermore, the division is anticipating a further decrease in enrolment for the 2025-26 school year based on projections for the year ahead.
One possible explanation for this decrease can be found in the kindergarten numbers, which have dropped from 929 students in 2021-2022 to 886 in 2022-2023 and finally 815 in 2023-2024.
Erickson said they have observed this decrease in enrolment, adding that this is also a reflection of the population trends in local communities.
