Vancouver, B.C. – Staff at the Vancouver School District have recommended the Board consider the closure of Queen Elizabeth Annex (QEA) school site by June 30, 2023. The annex offers French immersion programming to students in kindergarten to Grade 3. Students at QEA transition to Jules Quesnel Elementary (JQ) for grades 4-7.  There are currently 71 students attending QEA which is a District choice program.  As a District choice program, QEA is not a neighbourhood school but rather enrols students from across Vancouver.

Should the Board decide to close QEA, staff propose that students could relocated, as a group, to either Jules Quesnel Elementary (JQ) or Queen Elizabeth Elementary (QE) beginning September 2023. 

Despite an overall increase in Vancouver’s population, both the birth rate and the percentage of school-aged children continues to decline. Over the past 10 years, the District has seen approximately an 8.4 per cent decline in enrolment, representing approximately 4,400 fewer students. Current forecasts indicate further enrolment decline in the years ahead. 

Staff recommended the Board consider this closure for several key reasons: 

Closing the QEA school site ensures responsible use of resources to benefit all students 

QEA has high operating costs. Costs to operate QEA are 40 per cent higher ($11,288 per student in 2019) than the provincial per student allocation of $7,885. Closing QEA could result in significant operational savings of between $150,000 to $300,000 annually, which could be re-allocated into programs and services supporting students across the District.

Closing the QEA school site prioritizes student learning

The proposed closure would guarantee QEA students ongoing placement in the French immersion program. Bringing QEA students together with students at JQ or QE creates a larger learning community that will increase their access to shared school resources and school-wide activities, as well as enhance opportunities for teacher collaboration. Moving QEA to JQ allows for more robust French programming and reduces one transition for QEA students who currently continue their French Immersion program at JQ from grades 4-7.

The recommendation also considers other factors such as advancing the goal of having all students attend seismically safe schools, potentially generating significant capital revenue and resolving ongoing legal proceedings related to the QEA school site.  

More details about the staff recommendation can be found at govsb.ca/QEA.  

A final decision has not yet been made by the Board. In January, the Board approved moving ahead with a public engagement process prior to making a decision at its public meeting scheduled for June 6, 2022. Early engagement took place from February to March including meetings with District’s stakeholder groups and representatives from impacted school communities to ensure an inclusive and meaningful engagement process. Engagement with the broader community begins in April. There are three ways to share feedback about the proposed closure of QEA: 

1. Take a 10-minute online survey  from April 11-29.
2. Participate in one of five community dialogue sessions between April 19 to April 28.
3. Send feedback to engage@vsb.bc.ca. Emails will be shared with trustees as part of an engagement report summarizing what we heard. 

“District families and members of the public are encouraged to participate in planned engagement activities,” said David Nelson, Deputy Superintendent. “Your feedback is an important piece of information for trustees in making a decision about Queen Elizabeth Annex.”

The District invites all families, stakeholders and members of the public to participate in the online survey and/or a community dialogue session.

For additional information, or to register for an engagement activity, visit govsb.ca/QEA.

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Media Contact: 

VSB Communications 

communications@vsb.bc.ca