Civil and Municipal Education October 2024

Christ The Redeemer (CTR) Catholic Schools – Alberta, Canada

October 31, 2024

Christ The Redeemer (CTR) Catholic Schools

A Thoughtful Academic Approach

A Legacy of Faith, Excellence, and Community

Christ The Redeemer (CTR) Catholic Schools, an Alberta school division, has been providing academic excellence and spiritual growth for 30 years. Formed in 1995 from an amalgamation of three school districts, CTR now serves seven communities, operating 17 schools in Oyen, Brooks, Drumheller, Strathmore, High River, Okotoks, and Canmore, including offering home-schooling and online education programs that are accessed by over 3000 students across Alberta.

Dr. Andrea Holowka, Division Superintendent

Although the district spans a large geographic area, and not all of the students come from Catholic homes, there is a common thread in each of its schools. Division Superintendent, Dr. Andrea Holowka, states, “Foundationally, we are authentically Catholic in our faith, and that means that anyone sending their child to a Christ The Redeemer school will have a Catholic environment for their children. The second component that really is central to who we are is our strong academic excellence.”

A High Performing District

While rooted in Catholic values, CTR places a strong emphasis on academics, which is reflected in the impressive results of its students. “Some of the conditions that go into making that possible is our laser focused vision on research informed practice, as well as ensuring that we put all of our resources into the classroom,” details Holowka. “As much as we can, we prioritize smaller class sizes with strong support from teachers who are engaged in pedagogy to help students excel.”

CTR has received significant recognition for its dedication to both academic excellence and leadership. One notable achievement is the high percentage of students earning Alexander Rutherford Scholarships, awarded to students with outstanding academic performance. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of our students also being successful with Schulich Scholarships and moving on to post secondary, that is quite brilliant,” touts Holowka. “We’ve had many of our staff receiving leadership awards. We have internal awards that we have every year for our own staff, because we celebrate them, and we certainly have been recognized as leaders amongst the province and have taken up fairly significant leadership roles.”

In addition, the annual education results report consistently reflects positive outcomes, with a three-year high school completion rate of 89.1%, well above the provincial average of 80.4%. Another notable metric is the CTR’s focus on maintaining a safe and caring environment, with survey results from students, parents, and staff showing a 92% satisfaction rate, compared to the provincial average of 84%. “This is what we do,” Holowka conveys. “We make sure students are successful, that they’re cared for, loved, and they have a faith filled environment when they are with us.”

Beyond academics, students are able to participate in a variety of extracurricular activities and optional courses, which provide plenty of opportunities for them to excel and pursue their passions. Holowka expands, “In each one of our schools they would be exposed to team sports, intramurals, CTS courses, artistic endeavors in music, visual arts, communication technology, and as they get older exposing them to career exploration.” As students progress, participation in apprenticeship models and dual credit programming is also an option, preparing them for potential future careers.

Supporting a Community through Infrastructure and Outreach

CTR is deeply committed to creating infrastructure that not only supports student success, but also addresses the unique needs of the communities it serves. With this in mind, Holowka says the division is focused on three major projects aimed at enhancing the educational experience while also contributing to broader community well-being.

One project is the replacement of École Good Shepherd School in Okotoks. This initiative, funded through provincial capital support, is in collaboration with Alberta Education and Alberta Infrastructure. In the community of Strathmore, CTR is undertaking a renovation project, funded by the division’s own capital reserves, which involves rejuvenating part of the elementary school site and adding new facilities to the Grades 7-12 school.

Michael Kilcommons, Associate Superintendent

One of the most pressing projects on Christ The Redeemer’s capital plan is the proposed new school in the rapidly growing Brooks community. “Right now, it is still a concept,” explains Associate Superintendent Micheal Kilcommons. “We’ve got lots of support from the city council in Brooks, and tremendous support from our families, because they have great concerns about space issues in Brooks.” To accommodate the influx of students, the division has been adding modular classrooms and converting existing spaces, but a long-term solution is necessary.

“The Brooks community is one of our more unique communities,” acknowledges Holowka. “It really is out there in rural Alberta, two hours away from any metro area, but it has had a really significantly high rate of immigration because of the settlement of workers into the meat packing plant that has really fueled growth of the town. It’s an area of significantly high growth, and we’re very blessed by that, because that means we get all sorts of wonderful families coming into our communities.” The vision for the new school extends beyond education, aiming to serve as a multi-services hub, offering not only classroom space but also meeting vital community needs such as mental health support and developmental assessments.

“Most of the immigration that currently is occurring is international and many of them do not have English as their first language. Some of them have come with interrupted schooling or other challenges in their immigration into Canada, which comes with other needs. We’re happy to take them and educate them, and we absolutely love being a place where we know that those students are taken care of very, very well,” she conveys.

The challenge is in finding the space to support these families, as the remote location makes access to big city services unattainable, especially for those who do not drive. “We think adding some office space within our school for providing services to the community would be really beneficial to them,” she continues. “In our research into what’s available within the community, we recognize that families wait over a year to get their child in for a developmental assessment, and many of them have to go into Medicine Hat to get that. We know that with the growing population of families with needs, additional rooms to be able to provide these services within our multi services site, which also would be our high school, would be beneficial.”

Infrastructure and Financial Stewardship

Within the district there is a strong emphasis on financial stewardship, ensuring that public funds are used effectively and responsibly. Holowka asserts, “We’re very careful with our resources. We believe highly that we are dealing with public dollars and at our level of attention and responsibility to stewardship, we must be very diligent in this space.” She says CTR recognizes that requests for government support are essential, but they also aim to maximize the value of their existing funds.

Kilcommons discusses the site-based budgeting system used to allocate funds directly to each of its 17 schools, while the central office oversees the broader financial strategy. “We try to allocate the dollars that the province gives us fittingly. So, each school gets a site based operating budget,” he says. “Our principals are typically not accountants, they’re educators, and they manage it very prudently and very well to make sure that we have textbooks and the like.”

To help these funds stretch further, CTR participates in a large educational purchasing group, allowing them to negotiate favorable prices with major vendors. Additionally, a full-time procurement officer focuses on finding external funding opportunities through grants and ensuring compliance within the guidelines. “We are always looking for the deals,” Kilcommons maintains. “But on top of that, we are making certain that every time that we are going out and purchasing furniture, equipment, or we’re getting work done by facilities, everything’s done according to legislation and proper form, while always ensuring that we’re getting the best deal that we can.”

Engagement and Future Focus

With a strong emphasis on the importance of community engagement to shape the future of Christ The Redeemer Catholic Schools, Holowka has led a division-wide effort to gather input from staff, parents, priests, and students across various communities. This collaborative approach ensures that CTR remains aligned with the needs of those it serves while building on its strengths. By listening to the feedback from these diverse voices, the hope is that the district is able to adapt its strategies to carry its outstanding academic performance and faith-based values long into the future. She summarizes, “It’s always that balancing act between really focusing on what works and what is strong, and listening to the voices of those we serve, and those internally, to make sure we are preparing our children for the best next steps in their world.”