The B.C. government is taking action to improve student safety and support student learning in Vancouver by investing $24.4 million to replace Maple Grove Elementary school.

Education Minister Mike Bernier made the announcement today alongside Vancouver School Board official trustee Dianne Turner and students and staff at the school. 

The Maple Grove Elementary school project includes replacing the existing school with a fully accessible state-of-the-art building on the same site, with enough space to welcome up to 500 students.

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The new school will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standards. The interior will include lots of natural light, and large open and collaborative learning spaces to support B.C.’s new curriculum. It will also house a Neighbourhood Learning Centre.

The new Maple Grove Elementary will be built alongside the existing school. Students will continue to learn in the existing school when construction starts in the spring of 2019, until the new school is ready in the fall of 2020.

Bernier also announced the official completion of the $15.2-million seismic-replacement project at Vancouver’s École Bilingue Elementary school. The new kindergarten-to-Grade 7 French immersion school opened earlier this year, with enough space to welcome up to 485 students. The school also features a Neighbourhood Learning Centre.

The Maple Grove project is helping ensure young people get a chance to learn the trades, as it is being built under B.C.’s Apprentices on Public Projects Policy, part of the B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint. This is one way the Province is helping ensure more people in B.C. get connected with skills training and apprenticeship opportunities.

The B.C. government is making record investments in modern, safe infrastructure projects throughout the province. In doing so, these construction projects are creating well-paying, family-supporting jobs. This school replacement project is anticipated to create about 74 local jobs. These investments are possible because of the fiscal plan of the B.C. government.

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Quotes:

Mike Bernier, Education Minister –

“Maple Grove Elementary school has served a multitude of purposes and seen additions and renovation over its lifetime. As one of the most utilized schools in the area, it’s time to bring in a new school, providing a modern and safe place to learn, teach and work for years to come.”

Dianne Turner, official trustee, Vancouver School Board –

“I’m pleased to see funding approved to build a new school for Maple Grove students and staff, because it’s crucial that we get students in our district into seismically safe schools as soon as possible. We continue to work with the provincial government to move as many Vancouver schools as possible forward in the Seismic Mitigation Program quickly so we can get all our schools upgraded or replaced to ensure the safety of all our students.”

Andrew Wilkinson, MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena –

“Our government is investing in new and safe schools throughout the province. I’m pleased to say this includes building a new, state-of-the-art Maple Grove Elementary school in Vancouver. Once complete, the existing building will be used as a temporary swing space for other construction projects in the district to keep this momentum going.” 

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Quick Facts:

• Since 2001, government has spent $270 million to complete 23 seismic upgrades and replacements in Vancouver.
• Seven seismic projects are currently underway in the Vancouver School District, worth almost $185 million:
  • Kitsilano Secondary – $57.8 million seismic upgrade and replacement
  • Sir Sandford Fleming Elementary – $25.9 million seismic replacement
  • Lord Strathcona Elementary – $25.6 million seismic upgrade
  • Lord Tennyson Elementary – $24.5 million replacement
  • Lord Nelson Elementary – $24.8 million seismic replacement
  • Dr. Annie B. Jamieson Elementary – $13.1 million seismic upgrade
  • Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith Elementary – $11.6 million seismic upgrade
• The Vancouver Project Office was established in 2014 as a partnership between the Ministry of Education and the Vancouver School Board to complete Vancouver seismic projects as quickly, efficiently and economically as possible.
• In November 2016, government directed the Vancouver Project Office to develop a plan on how best to fast-track the remaining seismic upgrades or replacement projects in Vancouver. Learn more about this announcement at: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2016EDUC0250-002304

Learn More:

Vancouver School Board: www.vsb.bc.ca/ 

Seismic Mitigation Program: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/capitalplanning/seismic/welcome.htm

For more information on the Apprentices on Public Projects policy, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/stories/public-project-contractors-required-to-sponsor-apprentices

Neighbourhood Learning Centres: http://ow.ly/UUlV0

B.C.’s new curriculum: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/