Students attending Shas Ti/Kelly Road Secondary School can expect a state-of-the-art experience when they walk through the halls for the first time.
Local media were given a tour of the 44-million dollar facility today (Monday), where each classroom is equipped with its own heating and cooling system along with an NBA-quality maple wood floor for the gym.
SD 57 Superintendent, Anita Richardson believes the joint name will eventually become an asset.
“I think the joint name was designed or suggested to be inclusive and welcoming of all students and I hope that all students feel that sense when they come to this school and that everyone is welcomed when they walk in the doors, through these spaces and feels safe.”
Part two with Superintendant Anita Richardson @SD57PG @mypgnow #CityOfPG pic.twitter.com/c2byLCsPLB
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) August 31, 2020
Collaboration and inclusiveness are the two words that come to mind when talking about the shiny new school.
She added they spared no effort in giving students and staff the best possible outcomes.
“The space in this school allows for that to happen in a beautiful way. Spaces are designed for students to work together, for teachers together and for support staff to have access to students, even the gender-neutral bathrooms are designed to make people feel safe.”
As for the upcoming academic year, which begins September 10th for students, Richardson remained confident the modified system of learning will further benefit the kids.
“I’m feeling very confident in the team that we have here in SD 57 to meet the needs of students and families and I think this school year carries a whole lot of different things to it.”
The new school is going to hold 900 students, 120 more than the old facility. The original Kelly Road is expected to be demolished next spring.
.@mypgnow caught up with @SD57PG Superintendent Anita Richardson on the tour about her the thoughts on the new school as well as the upcoming year #CityOfPG pic.twitter.com/cKUwNE3fsy
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) August 31, 2020
More photos from new school tour with @SD57PG The Hart area of @CityofPG should be stoked #CityOfPG @mypgnow pic.twitter.com/DDRay0HzWv
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) August 31, 2020
During a media tour today, @mypgnow was able to tour the Shas Ti Kelly Road Seconday School @SD57PG #CityOfPG #bcpoli #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/dFBVHNqLwg
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) August 31, 2020
How did we get here?
In March of 2017, the BC Government announced plans to replace the original Kelly Road Secondary School, which was built in 1957, with a newer, more current model.
School District 57 kicked in one million dollars towards the project, while the remainder of the funding came from the province.
Construction
In April of 2019, school board trustees noted building efforts of the new school were on schedule for a fall 2020 opening.
Name change controversy
During a February school board meeting this year, a motion was carried to “engage in the process of a new name” and the board committed to doing so before the school opened in September.
Under the original plan, the facility would have been called the Dakelh name Shas Ti Secondary.
A subsequent petition followed on the name with the hope of keeping it Kelly Road, which garnered 11,50o signatures.
Student/Public protests
Following the developments of the school board, students at Kelly Road engaged in a rally against a possible name change where several students spoke out on the issue including Gloria Butcher who was a Grade 10 student at the time.
“Oh yeah, we should have had an anonymous vote and had their voices opinionated. We have a voice too and we want to be heard and if there was a vote then things would have been more civilized.”
“A lot of students are very disappointed, we were excited for a new Kelly Road and not a new whatever,” added Butcher.
“Kelly Road has just been a staple in the Hart community and I have talked to many, many students as you can see and we don’t want a name change, we are not meaning to be rude or anything, it’s just that Kelly Road is Kelly Road.”
Engagement Questionnaire
Due to the public backlash/interest, School District 57 unveiled an online questionnaire.
The purpose of the forum was to hear from the public on how to best preserve the past and present once the new school opened in September.
SD 57 Makes A Compromise
During SD 57's April 26th meeting, trustees elected for a dual name to the new school following a 4-3 vote.
Trustee Sharel Warrington noted that “It is very clear that 2/3rds of the respondents were very clear that Kelly Road should remain Kelly Road,”
"How can we ever trust SD 57 ever again?"
The dual name of Shas Ti/Kelly Road or vice versa didn't sit well with Lhedli T'enneh Chief Clay Pountney who let trustees have it on the less-than-popular decision.
During a media briefing on April 29th, Pountney issued the following quotes:
“They voted on a dual name and I really don’t believe that’s going to work, it kind of had to go one way or the other because when you have a dual name that just keeps a scar on a school that’s going to be there for decades.”
“It’s going to create more division in the coming times because in the upcoming decades when you have one kid saying Shas Ti and another saying Kelly Road you might keeping the fighting going it’s just odd to me.”
“We are extremely disappointed that a majority of board members reversed their support from February 25th to name the new school Shas Ti. They bowed to pressure from a vocal group of outspoken residents and in the process, have thrown up a major roadblock in the way of truth and reconciliation. What does that say to students? That you can vote one way one month and then feel okay about changing your mind two months later? How can we trust SD 57 ever again to follow through on its commitments?”
"Both sides lost a little"
That was the sentiment from KRSS 2019 graduate Hannah Jones who spoke her mind on the joint name.
In an interview with MyPGNow.com, Jones compared the name to a broken plate and was critical of SD 57's handling of the situation.
“You break the plate and you try and you try and glue it back together, over time, the glue is going to hold the plate together but there are some cracks in that plate and I think the aboriginal people I can’t speak on behalf of them, but from what I have read they are hurt on how the school boards decision was made.”
“The school board and they recognized it and I am going to quote what they said, which was they “botched the delivery” and I think we can agree with that. It’s hard to move on now because there is so much emotion attached to everybody’s opinion.”
“The way the school board went about it was not the best and I think we can agree that they have learned something and I really do encourage them to do better when moving forward from this. It has been talked about for months and the decision has been made that both Kelly Road and Shas Ti are important,” added Jones.
Staff head back to class on September 8th.