Burnaby, BC – Working together to meet the needs of a growing community, the City of Burnaby and the Burnaby School District have identified a site for a new school in the Brentwood neighbourhood.
“Brentwood is one of the fastest growing neighbourhoods in Burnaby and has earned a reputation as a dynamic and convenient place to raise a family,” said Mayor Mike Hurley. “By working with our partners at the Burnaby School District to identify a site for a future school, we’re taking another step towards ensuring families in Brentwood can access everything they need within a 15-minute walk.”
The site being held for the creation of a new elementary school is located at 4900 Dawson Street. When built, it will provide a much-needed location south of Lougheed Highway so that students don’t have to cross a busy road to get to current schools north of Lougheed. It will also alleviate pressure on existing schools – as of the start of this school year, this new school’s attendance area is already home to more than 400 elementary students.
“Schools are the hearts of our neighbourhoods. Neighbourhood schools build a strong and caring community, and are an essential part of childhood,” said Burnaby Board of Education Chair Bill Brassington. “It is our collective responsibility to raise a child, and it takes all levels of government working together to create places where students and families can thrive. We are grateful to the City of Burnaby for their partnership in identifying a suitable location and we look forward to working with the Ministry of Education and Child Care to secure the site and advance the project.”
The Burnaby School District is currently in the process of creating a new Long-Range Facility Plan, the overarching strategy from which capital funding requests are made to the Ministry of Education and Child Care for projects such as school construction. Now that the critical first step of having identified a site is complete, the school district is in a position to work through the necessary steps to secure the site and request that the Ministry advance the District’s formal request for funding to build the new school.
The location selected for the new school site coincides with the broader plan the City has for the area, including the completion of a number of park and road works, such as the Dawson Street extension.
Information about the Burnaby School District’s preparations for a new Long-Range Facility Plan and related community engagement, including for the Brentwood North Zone, can be found here.
Media Contacts:
Chris Bryan
Manager, Public Affairs
City of Burnaby, Public Affairs Office
604-570-3616 | [email protected]
Dana Bales
Managing Director of Communications & Community Engagement
Burnaby School District
604-296-6900 ext. 661110 | [email protected]