No renovation plans for 110-year-old Elm Street School

“It’s still upbeat inside, it’s not like it’s run down by any means,” said one parent of an Elm Street student. “It looks beautiful inside, my whole family has gone through Elm Street.”

The Medicine Hat Public School Division has several schools built in the 1950s and ’60s and many of them are in need of an upgrade.

Modernization funding from the province can be used in many ways, from roofing and electrical to large projects like completely gutting schools.

Take Elm Street, for example, it’s the oldest school in MHPSD. Although old, there are no plans to close down.

Parents and students at Elm Street School don’t have any problems when it comes to the age of the building.

One parent said it’s been a good school for his daughter and that she loves it there.

Another mother said her son came to Elm Street last September and also loves it. She praises the resources, teachers and overall support system.

Other schools in the MHPSD area are getting big upgrades in the upcoming years, including Connaught, Crestwood, Alexandra and River Heights.

But the school board has placed other priorities ahead of modernization Elm Street. Instead, they are dealing with crowded schools.

“The priority for us is building a new school in the south, an elementary school to take pressure off George Davison and Roy Wilson School,” Davidson said.

MHPSD has built three brand new schools in recent years and the renovated Medicine Hat High, which Davidson calls “game-changing.”

“It’s created flexible learning spaces that weren’t present before,” Davidson said. “It’s brighter, the air circulates more often within an hour, the learning spaces are really quite amazing.”

Davidson said, “We are proud of the work that our system does to maintain our school buildings at a high standard.”

More than 7,000 students are enrolled with the Medicine Hat Public School Division.

by Teagan Rasche

No renovation plans for 110-year-old Elm Street School

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