School District 53 Okanagan Similkameen - Facilities

Facilities

School District 53 Okanagan Similkameen consists of ten schools, five of which are elementary, three are high or secondary schools, while two are alternative schools, within a total of six communities in British Columbia, Canada, in fragments of the southern Okanagan and lower Similkameen regions. The schools of the latter region include Cawston Primary School—held in the town of Cawston—whose principal is Linda Thiel, who also served as a principal for the Hedley Elementary School—held in the Hedley town—before its closure in January 2008, after the Okanagan Similkammeen district voted four to two to close the school.

Both schools held students from grades from Kindergarten to Grade 4. The village of Keremeos is home to Similkameen Elementary Secondary School, which holds students from Grades 8 to 12, with the principal being Marcus Toneatto. In addition to the schools of the lower Similkameen, the southern Okanagan holds seven of the ten schools part of the district, as well as its main "maintenance department" office, which is held in the town of Oliver. All schools in the district which are part of the Okanagan region maintain the same format: elementary schools have children from Kindergarten to Grade 8, while secondary schools consist of pupils from Grade 8 to 12. This includes Okanagan Falls Elementary School, which is held in the Okanagan Falls town, with Lisa McCall serving as the school's principal.

The Osoyoos town is home to Osoyoos Elementary School—whose principal is B. Macfarlane—and Osoyoos Secondary School, which is principled by G. Heinrichs. Since 2001, British Columbia has invested over 4.8 Canadian million dollars on replacing Osoyoos Elementary School, as well as Okanagan Falls Elementary School. It offers the Okanagan Similkameen Learning Centre, which consists of students from Grades 8 to 12; the principal of the learning centre is B. Hansen. Its neighboring town, Oliver, is home to, as of September 2011, Oliver Elementary School and Tuc-el-Nuit Elementary School—the former's principal is Mike Safek, while the latter's is D. Foster.

The community also had a secondary school, named Southern Okanagan Secondary School, until it was burnt by a fire in September 2011, during the school's multi-million dollar renovation project. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police's (RCMP) investigation found no conclusion. The Government of British Columbia are contributing to the school's rebuilding; its construction began in spring 2012, being slated for completion in 2013.

In addition to the conventional school programs, School District 53 offers three adult learning outlets, an outreach school, three early learning centres, as well as one elementary hockey academy. It also works with a number of Aboriginal people, having signed an enhancement agreement to improve academic achievement of them. 2,665 students attend schools in this district, whose superintendent is Beverley Young.