Saskatoon's new public-private partnership-funded schools ready for 1st students

Saskatoon's Hampton Village joint-use school building is bright, airy, and part of what public school board chair Ray Morrison called "the most exciting time" he's seen in the last 15 years.

"Four new schools are opening in the city at once," he said, referring to the four public schools opening this year, during a media tour of the the joint-use public/Catholic site on Tuesday.

Two new schools — Ernest Lindner public school and St. Lorenzo Ruiz Catholic School — will be housed in the Hampton Village building, with a community-use gymnasium in the middle.

The schools are part of a public-private partnership, sometimes called a P3, that is building six elementary school sites, housing two schools each, in Saskatoon and the surrounding area and three more in Regina.

Construction on the Ernest Lindner and St Lorenzo Ruiz schools began in September 2015.

The entire project is projected to cost $635 million.

Made for the future

Students who previously went to 15 other schools in the city are enrolled in Ernest Lindner for the first day of school. When they walk in the front doors, instead of hallways and closed classroom doors, children will find common areas, "breakaway" rooms for work with small groups, and colour-coded walls indicating whether or not they're allowed to be in a particular space.

"You can see the lightness of the buildings, the expanse of the classrooms, as well as all those learning spaces that are outside those classrooms," said Greater Saskatoon School Board chair Diane Boyko.

"This is 21st-century learning and we've tried to project what it means to be part of the present, but also in 30 years."

Classrooms are also intended to be versatile. Those for younger grades offer several seating options — mushroom chairs, rocking chairs, and bean bag cushions — as well as desks of different heights, for those who want to sit or stand.

The school's music room is soundproofed with special tiles on the ceiling and walls. It also features a sink big enough to wash a tuba in.

Several outdoor learning areas allow students to enjoy fresh air while they're being taught. Some feature comfortable seating and others, like the outdoor area for kindergarten classes, feature a sandbox and a tiny asphalt track to run around.

Each school also has a special learning room for children with autism, learning difficulties or other special needs. The equipment and learning aids vary depending on the needs of the children, but each room is equipped with an accessible washroom, a change stall, and a shower.

Community space

"This is community space and for us, like all our other schools, they are open to the community after school hours," said Morrison.

The school boards and the Joint Use Mutual Partnership — the public-private partnership team that built the new school — have yet to work out a schedule or release hours of availability.

"The ownership of these schools within the communities is very strong," said Morrison.

Communities were consulted throughout the building and design process.

Ease overcrowding

The Hampton Village schools are part of the Ministry of Education's plan to build nine joint-use schools — meaning one side of the building will be a public school, and the other will be a Catholic school — for more than 11,000 students from pre-kindergarten to Grade 8 across the province.

"Most of the students that will be attending this school … are already in the system," said Morrison.

"It's a matter of moving staff and hopefully, in some cases, moving the teacher they had in another building."

Morrison said there is plenty of staff movement this year, since staff had to apply to work in the new schools, creating vacancies at their former schools. 

At St. Lorenzo Ruiz Catholic School, enrolment is higher than initially projected.

"We're at 400 at this point," said Boyko.

"So that's an awesome thing."