School District 57 Prince George

Land developers organized and sponsored the first schools within Prince George.[1] By 1914, one high and three elementary schools existed.[2] Within the area of what would become SD 57, the establishment of separate school districts (usually comprising a single school), totalled 9 in 1911–1920, 17 in 1921–1930, and 11 in 1931–1940.[3] During the Great Depression, centralization increased because local boards abrogated their responsibilities, forcing the installation of official trustees and creating larger administrative units.[4]

Attracting and retaining qualified rural teachers proved difficult. Factors included salaries,[5] scathing inspectors,[6] isolation, community factions,[7] no running water, no electricity, inadequate heat,[8] teaching multiple grades,[9] and sometimes an expectation to organize the various children's social activities for the community at large.[10] Rural schools were dependant upon a smaller and volatile local tax base for funding. When an economic downturn, fire, or depleted accessible timber, closed a sawmill (the primary employer in most rural communities), workers relocated, student numbers dropped, and the tax base collapsed.[11]

Rural school buildings were usually rudimentary, and many in a poor state of repair. Equipment and supplies were limited.[12] Consequently, rural students, receiving the barest elementary programs,[13] lacked educational opportunities, and few progressed to a secondary school offered only by a main centre.[14]

The 1946 implementation[15] of the 1945 Cameron Report into BC school financing and administration[16] created centralized larger districts. Benefits to rural schools were a broader tax base,[17] to Prince George schools an augmentation of existing infrastructure,[18] and to all schools an increase in provincial funding from 30 to 50 percent.[19] The earlier municipal districts provided no guidance as to setting boundaries, because many were quite small, and 90 percent of the province was unorganized.[20] The new Prince George school district boundaries were equidistant between Quesnel southward, Vanderhoof westward, and at Penny southeastward.[21] On the disbanding of local boards, the former Prince George one, comprising members of civic and economic stature, became the interim board.[15] The elected 1948 board comprised four city and three rural representatives,[22] reaffirming some degree of local control.[19]

The new board did not operate with complete autonomy, but had to avail itself of the experience, training, and knowledge of local inspectors of schools,[23] who represented the province. The latter, who had been regarded as faultfinders by local trustees, became mentors aligned with the centralized trustees.[24] The board became a buffer between local residents and the province,[25] and the inspectors were freed from petty management issues.[26]

Burgeoning student numbers throughout the 1950s saw massive increases in teacher recruitment and classroom capacity.[27] Many new schools served residential development along the new highways north and west.[28] However by the mid 1950s, building remote rural schools rarely occurred because of maintenance challenges, and from the late 1950s, numerous schools closed as mills closed.[29]

In 1970, SD 58 Mc Bride merged into SD 57, and its board dissolved. The new enlarged school district matches the boundaries of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.[30]

^A . Includes schools which had existed prior to 1945 within the initial boundaries of SD 57 Prince George, and excludes SD 58 McBride schools closed prior to 1970.
^B . Formerly SD 58 McBride.
^a . A.k.a Airport Hill.[163]
^b . Although daycare facilities continued, disabled students became integrated into the regular school system.[164]
^c . Called Hart (Heart) Lake;[165] in 1965 renamed Bear Lake.[166]
^d . Called Blackburn Road initially;[167] in 2010, elementary/junior high, became solely an elementary.[70]
^e . Aboriginal Choice assumed building.
^f . In 1910, one-room log building built; in 1915 replaced by two-room building; in 1963 reconstructed; a.k.a. Fort George Central; in 1998, became a traditional choice school.[168]
^g . Former John McInnis Jr. Secondary building.
^h . Accommodated at John McInnis prior to Feb 1978 building completion.[169]
^i . In 1998 became a choice school and renamed Dunster Fine Arts School.[170] In 2010, Dunster Fine Arts School Society acquired property.[90]
^j . Accommodated at College Heights elementary[171] prior to Apr 1977 building completion.[172]
^k . Known as Birchwood during early construction phase; relocatable building soon moved; in 1975 permanent building.[173]
^l . Accommodated at Austin Rd.[174] prior to May 1977 building completion.[175]
^m . Called South Central;[176] in 1959, renamed Harwin.[177]
^n . In 2010, middle school became elementary.[70]
^o . In 1985, Montessori program established at Highglen elementary;[178] after 2014 fire relocated to former Gladstone elementary building;[179] in 2015 renamed Polaris Montessori.
^p . Called Canyon Creek; in 1958, renamed Hixon Superior; in 1965, became elementary.[180]
^r . In 1961, elementary/[181] became elementary/junior high;[182] in 1967, elementary/junior high, became solely a junior high.[100]
^s . Called Mile 4 at the Stevens and Rahn sawmill;[183] in 1956, renamed when mill relocated about 30 miles to Kerry Lake.[184]
^t . Called Prince George City elementary or Prince George public school; in 1929 renamed King George V elementary.[105][185]
^u . École Lac des Bois assumed former Lakewood Junior Secondary building.[186]
^w . Fraser school;[187][188] late 1940s, known only as McBride elementary; c. 1970, renamed McBride Centennial elementary.[189]
^x . Initially a junior high.[190]
^y . Relocatable building soon moved to be replaced by permanent building.[191]
^z . Former Carney Hill elementary building.[192] Aboriginal Choice to 2012.[193]
^α . Called Prince George high school;[194] in 1929, renamed Baron Byng High;[185] in 1945, on opening of new building, renamed Prince George Junior-Senior High.[195]
^β . Called Millar Addition;[196] in 1929 renamed Connaught;[185] became Connaught elementary/junior high; in 1970s became an elementary; in 1978, renamed Ron Brent elementary.[197]
^δ . A.k.a Salmon River.
^ε . Called McMillan Creek; in 1956 renamed Shady Valley.[198]
^η . In 1956, elementary became a superior school offering to grade 10;[199] in 1974 extended to grade 12.[200]
^θ . Appears to have merged into Aurora.[201]