Vancouver School Board

The Vancouver School Board (VSB), officially the Board of Education of School District No. 39 (Vancouver), is a school district based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A board of nine elected trustees governs this school district that serves the city of Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands. Board of education The Vancouver Board of Education is composed of nine elected trustees and a non-voting student trustee. Trustees of the Vancouver School Board are elected under an at-large system. Current board composition The elected members of the current board were elected during the 2022 Vancouver municipal election. The board currently consists of the following trustees. Past composition VSB trustee elections took place during municipal elections in British Columbia. Since 2014, officials including school board trustees have been elected to four-year terms. Between 1990 and 2011, municipal official were elected to three-year terms. Between 1940 and 1988, municipal official were elected to two-year terms. On May 6, 1985, provincial education minister Jack Heinrich issued letters of dismissal to all trustees elected in the 1984 election for refusal to submit a budget that comply with spending limits imposed by the Social Credit government. In the subsequent election held on January 30, 1986, COPE trustee candidate won every seats on the board. On October 17, 2016, the trustees elected in the 2014 election were all removed by provincial Education Minister Mike Bernier for failing to pass a balanced budget. A by-election was held on October 14, 2017, for all vacated trustee seats. Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell was elected to the board in the 1980 election while she was attending law school at University of British Columbia. She contested the 1983 provincial election as a British Columbia Social Credit Party candidate while serving as Vancouver board chair. (She and her running mate, the future Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen, lost badly to the NDP incumbents in the dual-member electoral district of Vancouver Centre.) List of Trustees (since 1984) Demographics The Vancouver school district is a large, urban and multicultural school district. As of 2019, the district provides programs to 54,000 students in kindergarten to grade 12, as well as over 2,000 adults in adult education programs. In 2014, there were 1,473 international students in Vancouver public schools. Seismic upgrading The Ministry of Education launched a seismic upgrading program in March 2005 to upgrade schools all over British Columbia. The program is quoted to cost a total of $1.5 billion. The following schools in the Vancouver School Board are supported to proceed with seismic mitigation in 2015: Killarney Secondary, David Thompson Secondary, Maple Grove Elementary, Lord Tennyson Elementary, Dr. Annie B. Jamieson Elementary, Eric Hamber Secondary, Point Grey Secondary, Renfrew Community Elementary, Sir Alexander Mackenzie Elementary, Waverley Elementary, Edith Cavell Elementary, Prince of Wales Secondary, Templeton Secondary, General Wolf Elementary, David Lloyd George Elementary, and Bayview Community Elementary. Elementary schools David Lloyd George Elementary School David Lloyd George Elementary School is an elementary school in the Marpole neighbourhood. It holds approximately 427 students in grades K through 7. The school opened in 1921 and was named after David Lloyd George, the British prime minister from 1916 to 1922. The sports teams are called the DLG Hornets and wear purple. David Oppenheimer Elementary School David Oppenheimer Elementary School opened in 1959 and was named after one of the early mayors of the city, David Oppenheimer. It is located at 2421 Scarboro Avenue, in the Victoria-Fraserview neighbourhood. As of 2016, the school principal is Rosie Finch; the school's sports teams are called the Orcas. General Gordon Elementary School General Gordon Elementary School is an elementary school that opened in 1912. It was named for British general Charles George Gordon, who was killed at Khartoum in January 1885. It is located at 2268 Bayswater Street. In September 2008, it was selected as one of three schools in a pilot provincially supported "Neighbourhoods of Learning" program. Lord Tennyson Elementary School Lord Tennyson Elementary School is a French immersion school opened in 1912, named after 19th-century British poet Alfred Tennyson, The 1st Baron Tennyson. It is located at 1936 West 10th Avenue. As of 2022, the school principal is Bruce Salle. Lord Tennyson is a feeder school for Kitsilano Secondary School, where graduates can continue their education in French Immersion. Nootka Elementary School Nootka Elementary School opened in 1959 as Lord Beaconsfield Annex, but a growing student population led to school status being granted in 1963. It is located at 3375 Nootka Street. As of 2025, the current school principal is Scott Hughes and the vice-principal is Amrit Hundal. Queen Alexandra Elementary School Queen Alexandra Elementary School opened in 1909 and was named for Alexandra of Denmark. It is located at 1300 East Broadway, at the intersection with Clark Drive. It is near Vancouver Community College's Broadway campus, and is easily accessible from VCC–Clark station and Commercial–Broadway station on the SkyTrain. As of 2018, the school principal is John MacCormack. Queen Mary Elementary School Queen Mary Elementary School opened in 1915. It is located at 2000 Trimble Street at 4th Avenue in the West Point Grey neighbourhood. As of 2020, the school principal is Megan Davies. The school has a population of about 450 students from grade K-7. Queen Mary Elementary School is on a hill close to Locarno Beach. It has two buildings, a gravel field and two playgrounds. The main red building was a former town hall for the city of Vancouver. It is named for Queen Mary, the wife of George V. Shaughnessy Elementary School Shaughnessy Elementary School opened in 1920 as Prince of Wales Elementary and Secondary School. In 1960, the current Prince of Wales Secondary School was opened nearby, and the school was renamed after the surrounding Shaughnessy neighbourhood. The school is located at 4250 Marguerite Street, near King Edward Avenue and Granville Street. Sir Richard McBride Elementary School Sir Richard McBride Elementary School opened in 1911, named after 19th-century politician Richard McBride. It is located at 1300 East 29th Avenue, near Knight Street. The school was built on a hill near a nursery and orchard known as Henry's Farm. As of 2024, the current school principal is Carrie Sleep. χpey̓ Elementary School χpey̓ Elementary opened in 1906 as Sir William Macdonald Elementary School in honour of the Canadian tobacco manufacturer and major education philanthropist. Macdonald was unofficially rechristened "χpey̓" on October 24, 2017, following a 2-year VSB initiative to rename the school to better reflect "the Indigenous heritage and education history of the area" as well as "the District Aboriginal Focus School program". The name, which means "cedar" in the henqeminem dialect of the Musqueam nation, was nominated by Chief Wayne Sparrow and Musqueam council members. The change became official following a Musqueam renaming ceremony on June 1, 2018. Because of its low enrolment and high seismic risk, χpey̓ was shortlisted for closure in 2015, but Vancouver City Council elected to keep it open until at least 2020. χpey̓ is located at 1959 East Hastings Street in East Vancouver's Grandview-Woodland area, but since becoming a First Nations focus school in 2012, its catchment area has switched from local to district. List of elementary annexes Secondary schools The VSB operates 18 secondary schools within Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands. Secondary schools in the district begin at Grade 8 and continue to Grade 12, where students graduate with their Dogwood Diploma. Alternative program education sites Special programs The University Transition Program is an early university entrance program to the University of British Columbia. Students of this program have access to most UBC facilities and also possess UBC ID cards. TREK Outdoor Education Program International Baccalaureate programs at Britannia Secondary School and Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School City School Aboriginal Education Mini-schools Mini-schools are enriched programs for highly motivated students. Mini-schools begin at grade 8, with approximately 500 total spots available. Each year over 1400 students apply for mini-schools, with admission based on district assessment results, grade 6 and 7 report cards, applications, and interviews. Mini-schools in the district include: Britannia Hockey Academy Britannia Venture Program Byng Arts Mini School David Thompson Odyssey Program Gladstone Mini School Hamber Challenge Studio Program Ideal Mini School John Oliver Digital Immersion Mini School Killarney Mini School King George Mini School Magee SPARTS Point Grey Mini School Prince of Wales Mini School Synergy at Churchill Templeton Mini School Tupper Mini School Vancouver Technical Flex Humanities Program Vancouver Technical Summit Program Windermere Leadership Transgender policy In June 2014, the Vancouver School Board adopted a new policy regarding transgender children. It intends to support transgender and LGBTQ in allowing them be called by the name they identify with. They will also be able to use whichever washroom they feel most comfortable in. Notes References External links Media related to Vancouver School Board at Wikimedia Commons Official website