New school, child care spaces coming for Willoughby families

May 31, 2019

 LANGLEY – A new elementary school will give Willoughby students a better place to learn and help meet the growing demand for child care spaces in Langley.

“As the Willoughby neighbourhood continues to grow, we’re supporting families with a brand- new school to give students a better learning experience close to home,” said Rob Fleming, Minister of Education. “And with the addition of new child care spaces at the school, more parents will have an opportunity to pursue goals that will help them to better support their families.”

The Government of B.C. is providing $28.7 million to build a 555-seat, K-5 elementary school that will include up to 83 child care spaces in three classrooms in the southwest Yorkson neighbourhood of Willoughby. The Langley School District is providing $3.5 million for the school, for a total budget of $32.2 million.

“As a mom, I know how rushed mornings can be when you’re trying to get your kids out the door,” said Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care. “Adding child care to school grounds is great news for families. It helps lessen stress for busy parents as it offers one convenient location for dropping young kids off for daycare and older kids off for school in the morning. It also helps younger kids adjust to the school environment more quickly, making for a smoother transition into kindergarten.”

The new school is needed to support the rapid population increase that is occurring in the community. It will be built on a site purchased by the district in 2018 with $7.6 million in provincial capital and $1.7 million in land capital funding. The school is expected to open in September 2021.

“The board of education is very appreciative of the funding to build a new school in one of the fastest-growing neighbourhoods in Langley,” said Megan Dykeman, chair of the Langley School Board. “The board has advocated for a long time for this project. We are excited to work with the Province to meet our commitment to provide quality education to all learners.”

The school site is on 78th Avenue, between R.E. Mountain Secondary school and Willoughby Elementary.

The Township of Langley has purchased an adjacent property and will develop and maintain it as the school field.

This new school is part of the Province’s work to support students through smaller class sizes, more resources in the classroom and improved learning environments.

In the past two years, government has made record investments in education, including $516 million for 8,225 new student seats, which is the equivalent of about 350 portables throughout British Columbia.

Budget 2019 includes a record $2.7 billion for school capital investments to continue this momentum.

Learn More:

For information about major school capital projects in B.C., visit here.

Contacts:

Ministry of Education

Government Communications and Public Engagement

250 356-5963

Joanne Abshire

Communications Manager

Langley School District 604 363-1671

BACKGROUNDER

Facts about school projects, funding

Ministry of Education

• Along with this new school, a new 1,700-seat secondary school in Willoughby will open in September 2019, and an eight-classroom addition was completed in Spring 2018 at R.C. Garnett
• These projects add about 2,450 new seats to the district, the equivalent of 98
• Since September 2017, the Province has approved more than $1.2 billion in school capital investments, including new schools, expansions, seismic upgrades and land purchases for future
• This includes $51 million in Langley for the following projects:

0  $9.6 million school site purchase in southwest Yorkson (Willoughby) neighbourhood

0  $9.6 million school site purchase in northeast Latimer neighbourhood

0  $32.2 million elementary school on southwest Yorkson (Willoughby) property, including three classrooms providing child care spaces

• The Langley School District has also been supported to move forward with planning on another new elementary school in the North East Latimer neighbourhood of
• Seismic upgrades are underway on Langley Secondary