Many Catholic students now in grades 6 and 7 will not be going to their once-designated high school, a decision the district says is not only good for students, but the board as a whole.
With two new Catholic high schools expected to open for the 2027-28 school year, bumping the total number of Calgary Catholic high schools to 15, many students living in the south and west will be realigned to new designated schools.
A report presented at the Jan. 21 Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) Board of Trustees meeting called the work essential in ensuring that every high school is positioned to support student success and maintain a strong, sustainable local Catholic student population for years to come.
During the meeting, Dr. Bryan Szumlas, CCSD Chief Superintendent, said consultation for this decision began in November 2025.
“Not only did we do a survey, but we also did two in-person events, one at All Saints High School in South Calgary and one in the north at St. Francis High School. We know that for the most part, people are going to be really happy if you go to a brand new school, but we also know that there may be some people that will be disappointed that they live in a community which is no longer going to go to, maybe their alma mater, or their parents maybe went to,” he said.
As it stands, nine communities will swap into the new Rangeview High School designation, while 45 will be designated to the West High School, according to the meeting’s agenda. Once open, affected students will be asked to move and be redirected to the new school. Szumlas said this announcement is coming 18 months in advance to avoid as many surprises as possible.
In alignment with the vast majority of the feedback received, the boundary decision attempts to create sustainable populations at each of our Calgary High Schools and for the foreseeable future, attempts to keep families, communities, cohorts and feeder schools together and arranges communities based on proximity to high schools, travel time and transportation options/solutions, the agenda reads.
Further decisions regarding program of choice offerings, including advanced placement, extended French, and international baccalaureate, will happen in the future.
Szumlas said the district actively works with the City of Calgary on creating and maintaining efficient public transportation routes for students and will continue to do so.
“A good news story about this whole proposal is it better distributes high school students throughout the city. Calgary Catholic is still over capacity, a lot of our schools are full, and we continue to need schools to deal with the enrolment,” he said, adding that a Catholic school to serve Calgary’s northernmost communities is high on the priority list.
Where possible, keeping families together is key: CCSD
Brad MacDonald, superintendent of support services, said that the district has done their best to keep families, community cohorts and future schools together, but designated schools by proximity will continue to be the top priority.
“We do recognize that for some families, they may be disappointed, but for the majority, they’re going to be extremely happy that they get to attend a brand new high school, fully equipped, closer to home,” he said.
“We’re always trying to arrange our high school community boundaries based on the proximity, so that families are attending high school closer to home, reducing travel times and providing transportation options and solutions.”
CCSD Trustee Lory Iovinelli, whose constituents in wards 6 and 8 will be primarily designated to the new West Calgary High School, called the announcement fabulous.
“If you get one high school every 10 years, you’re pretty good. We’ve got two new ones, so I’m predicting that most families will be thrilled when they receive this information,” she said.
