Queen Elizabeth Annex
On Monday, June 6, 2022, at a Special Board meeting, the Vancouver School Board approved the closure of Queen Elizabeth Annex (QEA) effective June 30, 2023. The decision comes after staff at the Vancouver School District recommended the Board consider the closure of QEA on January 17, 2022, at a public Board meeting. Should the Board decide to close QEA, staff propose that students could be relocated, as a group, at either Jules Quesnel Elementary (JQ) or Queen Elizabeth Elementary (QE).
The proposed school closure must follow Board policy and timelines. See the attached backgrounder for factors considered as part of the proposed closure, and as required by Board policy 14 -School Closure (section 7). The Board also considered public and stakeholder feedback obtained through an engagement process before making its decision.
Public Engagement
In response to the closure recommendation, the Board approved the launch of a public engagement process in January, which is occurring February through April 2022. In February and March, District staff and engagement facilitators met with stakeholders and representatives from impacted school communities to ensure an inclusive and meaningful engagement process. The District also reached out to the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil‐Waututh) Nations to seek their input and feedback.
All families, stakeholders and members of the public were invited to participate in the online survey and/or a community dialogue session during the month of April 2022.
ENGAGE OPPORTUNITIES
Three ways to provide feedback on the proposed QEA closure:
- Participate in a 10-minute ONLINE SURVEY (available April 11 –29)
- Learn more about the project and share your feedback at a COMMUNITY DIALOGUE SESSION:
- QEA families: Tuesday, April 19 | 7:00 -8:30 pm
- JQ families: Wednesday, April 20 | 7:00 -8:30 pm
- Public session 1: Thursday, April 21 | 6:00 – 7:30 pm
- Public session 2: Wednesday, April 27 | 3:30 – 5:00 pm
- Public session 3: Thursday, April 28 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm
Note: Please sign-up for one session per family as we want to make space for as many community members as possible. The same content will be covered in all sessions.
- SUBMIT YOUR FEEDBACK about the proposed closure to engage@vsb.bc.ca. All emails received from February 10 - May 26, 2022 will be shared with the Board.
Engagement Findings
On May 30, 2022 the What We Heard - Engagement Findings Report, which included findings from the community dialogue sessions and online survey, was presented to the Board at the public Board meeting. In addition, a summary of the submissions received through email was also included.
A Special Board meeting was held on June 2, 2022 to receive public delegations by those who wish to provide comment or feedback regarding the What We Heard- Engagement Findings Report.