When plans for a new Highlands Elementary School were revealed to the
public in 2006, parents quickly realized something was missing; none of the
school’s three existing covered play areas were included in the new building’s
design.
Despite raising concerns with the North
Vancouver School District (NVSD) pre-construction, in 2009,
the school build was completed without covered areas. The build came in at
$700,000 under the amount provided to the NVSD by the Ministry of Education
to re-build Highlands Elementary. These funds have since been spent on
unspecified items, unrelated to Highlands.
A sunshade was erected during the build, up
high above the second floor windows, along a section of the south wall, shading
windows. The sunshade creates a small patch of dry space, but
does not serve as a covered area for kids playing in
inclement weather. Students are required to go outside daily, even during
torrential rain. Covered areas would provide them with options to stay dry, rather
than return to class wet and chilled for the remainder of the day.
Concerned parents formed the Covered Area Committee
to help raise awareness and to encourage the North Vancouver School District to
provide functional rain shelters for elementary school children. The school
district has seemingly created an unwritten policy to now build schools without
covered areas, as well as dismantling these shelters at older schools.
North Vancouver has a rainforest climate; with
precipitation levels nearly double that of “rainy” Vancouver. The BC Ministry
of Education’s school building “Area Standards” supports the inclusion of
covered areas within a school build capital budget in areas of high
precipitation (“with annual precipitation exceeding 2000 mm”). According to
Environment Canada, the North Vancouver average is 2537 mm. In the past,
covered areas have been built (and funded) in North Vancouver schools within
the building capital budget.
After years of the Committee’s ongoing efforts to obtain covered area
for Highlands, the NVSD recently approved a potential covered area, but placed
the financial burden solely on the parents. The NVSD estimated the covered area
to be approx. $150,000 (approx. 30% materials, 70% installation, slab,
consulting & permit fees). School PACs would be exceedingly challenged to
garner the commitment to raise and spend such a large sum of money. Many
parents feel that given our climate, adequate shelter from the rain should be
included in all school builds, as an integrated and essential part of the
school building design, funded within the school build budget. Additionally, the cost of building would have been much less if included during the build.
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| 1. Highlands sunshade doesn't provide an adequate covered play area |
Highlands Parents Survey Results
In a survey conducted in May 2011 with Highlands families, 84.4 per cent of families feel that there is a need for covered play areas at Highlands. The survey included 109 parents of pupils attending the school: 84.4% (92 people) agreed that there is a need for covered play area(s), 4.6% (5 people) had “no opinion” and 11% (12 people) disagreed. Parents also included comments and suggestions. See the Highlands Parent Feedback Re: Covered Areas to view parent comments and survey results.
Note: a survey conducted in January of 2013 still confirms that Highlands parents see covered play areas as a top priority.
Note: a survey conducted in January of 2013 still confirms that Highlands parents see covered play areas as a top priority.
The Problem:
Currently, the only two (now one) sheltered areas (standing areas, not play areas) available to Highland Elementary's 430 students are:
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2. An (approx..) 19 x 7 foot area of shelter under the stairs at the back of the school.
Update: in April 2013 this stairwell was gated so the students can no longer use it. |
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3. An approximately 120 x 10 foot sun shade along the south side of the school,
which is not effective as a rain cover.
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Note that students are
not permitted to play at the front of the school under the entrance overhang
for security reasons; it is close to the road and lay-by and is visually separated
from the rest of area where children play (therefore, it is a supervision
issue).
