Think Schools: A Re-Vision for Kits Secondary

After a year of uphill battles with school communities and the fallout from poorly delivered top down public policy, the Vancouver School Board (VSB) has begun to redesign their public process.

Kitsilano Secondary School will be one of the first schools to test this new model. The community has been invited to participate in "Re-Vision Kitsilano Secondary", a major brainstorming event for all of Kitsilano to be held on February 14.

The VSB will work to develop a vision for the upgrade of their school facilities - collaborating with the school community and the surrounding neighbourhood. This is an opportunity to provide the School Board with a comprehensive community driven vision for the seismic upgrading and renewal of this valuable neighbourhood school and public resource.

Could this represent the first step towards a coherent public process with opportunity for full community participation?

How the information gathered at the workshop is used to shape the plans for the school will be fundamental to the success of any new public process. Hopefully, out of this workshop, the VSB will be able to create a working group of parents, school staff and administration and public stakeholders to carry the vision forward to the design stage. An integrated and dynamic public process is necessary to ensure that Kitsilano Secondary School will remain a vital hub in its community.

Parents and community members continue to lobby for a seismic renewal program that has established timelines, an accountable, transparent process that engages the public, and is based on equitable, dedicated funding across the whole city.

There are three opportunities for community participation to ensure that a wide variety of opinions are heard: a short survey, an information open house, and a full-day workshop.

Click here to take the survey – please complete it by February 15

The Kitsilano Open House is on Friday, February 13, 7-9 pm, followed by a free all day workshop on Saturday, February 14, 9:30 am-3:30 pm in the Kitsilano Secondary Gymnasium.

To register for the free workshop send your contact information to kitssecondary@cityspaces.ca or call 1.866.383.0304 ext. 32.