School of Choice

Students living within Pembina Trails School Division are encouraged to attend a school within their catchment area. However, if you wish to enrol your child in a school outside of your catchment area, or if you live outside of the Pembina Trails School Division and would like to register your child at one of our schools, please follow the process below. 

Kindergarten School of Choice (SOC) applications will be received and timestamped for consideration at the school’s scheduled Kindergarten Information Event. Schools host these events between late January and Spring Break. Note: Schools will not accept Kindergarten SOC applications prior to these events.   

For all other grades, you may submit a SOC application directly to the school as of 8:30 am on Tuesday, January 9^th. Applications will be timestamped and will not be accepted before this date. Any applications sent before this date and time will not be kept or responded to.

School of Choice applications are reviewed and approved by the principal and the Assistant Superintendent: Personnel & Education Services based on provincial guidelines. SOC applications must be submitted by May 15th to be considered for the following school year. Applications submitted after May 15^th may not be considered. 

The process for acceptance is not influenced by: 

• Daycare needs.
• Parental pressure.
• Older siblings having previously attended the school.
• Strengths or needs of an individual student.
  
  

The process for acceptance is influenced by: 

• Early submission of the application. Applications are date-stamped.
• 1^st priority: Living in the school division and having a sibling currently attending the school. 
• 2^nd priority: Living in the school division. 
• 3^rd priority: Living in another division and having a sibling currently attending the school. 
• 4^th priority: Living in another division. 
  
  

The ability for schools to accept School of Choice applications is also influenced by the school population, physical capacity of the school, and grade-by-grade availability.  

Many schools in the southern area of the division are at or above building occupancy limits and are either closed to SOC or accepting very few applications. The following schools are closed to SOC applications for the 2024-2025 school year: 

• Acadia Junior High
• Bairdmore School
• École Crane 
• Fort Richmond Collegiate
• Ralph Maybank School
• École South Pointe
• Whyte Ridge School
• Additionally, SOC applications for K-8 French Immersion students living outside Pembina Trails School Division will not be accepted due to capacity limits.