School District 71 Comox Valley


School District 71 Comox Valley is a school district on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. This includes the communities of Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland as well as the surrounding rural areas and the adjacent islands of Denman and Hornby.

History

The Comox Valley has a rich history of settlement, industrial development, and community growth. School District 71 developed alongside this local history, operating schools to meet the needs of the Comox Valley community since the late nineteenth century.
The Comox School District was formed on July 30, 1870 while the area was still part of the Colony of Vancouver Island. This new school district provided the legal foundation for the Comox North School which was the Comox Valley's first official public school. Over the next decades, settlement in the region continued to expand and a number of new schools were established.
School District 71 was formally created in 1946 and currently spans from Miracle Beach in the north to Denman and Hornby Islands in the south. Until 1946, individual schools in British Columbia operated with their own set of trustees and governance structures under the provincial government. A number of local school districts existed in the area that School District 71 now covers.
The school district now operates a number of schools with a variety of programs including French Immersion, trades and career training, Montessori, distributed learning, and Indigenous education programs.

Elected Board of Education (2018-2022)

The school board is composed of seven trustees representing the urban and rural areas of the school district. They are elected officials.

Grade Structure (2018-2019)

SchoolOpenedLocationGradesHistory and Programs
Airport Elementary School1954LazoK-7Opened in 1954 as Comox Airport School to accommodate children at CFB Comox. Additions were built in 1956 adding a gymnasium and classrooms. Additional classrooms and a library were added in 1959. More classrooms were added in 1971. The school property was owned and maintained by the Department of National Defense while instruction was provided by School District 71. Airport Elementary School continues to serve the community of CFB Comox and Lazo and is now fully maintained and staffed by School District 71.
Arden Elementary School1962CourtenayK-5Opened in 1962 to serve the families of the Arden area where development and settlement were rapidly increasing.
Aspen Park Elementary School2009ComoxK-7Formerly Aspen Park Middle School. Renamed as part of district restructuring and the phasing out of middle schools.
Brooklyn Elementary School
2012ComoxK-7Opened in 1962 at the Noel Avenue campus. Completed a move to the former Cape Lazo Middle School campus in 2012 where it operates as an elementary school.
Courtenay Elementary School1960CourtenayK-5Opened in 1953 as Courtenay West School to replace Courtenay Central School. Operated as Courtenay West School for a brief period while Courtenay Central School was still in operation. When the Courtenay Central School was closed and the land sold, the funds from the sale were used to expand the Courtenay West School. The school was renamed Courtenay Elementary School and continues to operate in the same location on McPhee Avenue. It recently underwent significant seismic upgrades.
Cumberland Community School Campus2013CumberlandK-9The Cumberland Community School operates out of the Cumberland Junior School and Cumberland Elementary School. The School District acquired the former Cumberland Medical Clinic on Ulverston Avenue to be used as a learning centre and library space for both schools. All three buildings make up the Cumberland Community School Campus which began operating as one school in 2013. The Cumberland Community Schools Society also operates out of the campus which provides community guidance and leadership. In 2019, the school district noted a significant increase in enrollment in the school which had previously been low. They projected that by 2021 the school would be at or exceeding capacity.
Denman Island Community School1878Denman IslandK-7Opened by the settlers of Denman Island in 1878 as a single-room school a few hundred meters east of the current fire department land on Denman Road. In 1896, a second school was built on the site to replace the first. A bigger school was built in 1912 on the adjoining plot of land to accommodate a growing population on the island. This 1912 building stands today. Denman Island School opened in a new facility on Northwest Road across from the intersection of Kirk Road. The school now operates as Denman Island Community School with the Denman Island Community Education Society providing community guidance and leadership.
École Puntledge Park Elementary School1964CourtenayK-7Opened in 1964 as a four-room school to serve the growing population in North-West Courtenay. The school continued to grow and additions were completed in the following years. The school now houses French Immersion programs for elementary students.
École Robb Road Elementary1953ComoxK-7Built in 1953 as a two-room school annex housing students from Comox Elementary. Robb road junior Secondary was built in 1957 next to the annex. Additions in 1959, 1969, and 1972 saw the addition of shops, home economics spaces, and activity rooms. More classrooms, science labs, and a band room were added in 1973. Significant seismic upgrades were completed at the school between 2006 and 2008. The School now houses an elementary French Immersion program.
Georges P. Vanier Secondary School1968Courtenay8-12The school opened in January 1968, completing a move of students from the old Courtenay Senior High School. Vanier was built to have a capacity of 1200 students. The school population grew to more than 1700 in the early 2000s, with the addition of 36 portable classrooms. Mark R. Isfeld Secondary was opened at the former Courtenay Junior Middle School to alleviate overcrowding at Georges P. Vanier Secondary School in 2001. Extensive renovations and seismic upgrades were completed at the school in 2018.
Glacier View Secondary CentreCourtenay8-12
Highland Secondary School1978Comox8-12Built to accommodate 700 students at the secondary level as the Comox peninsula grew in population.
Hornby Island Community SchoolHornby IslandK-7Operates as a community school. Suffered a devastating fire on August 26, 2018. Students are hosted in local community spaces until repairs are completed. A new, 85-seat school is expected to be complete by the Fall of 2022.
Huband Park Elementary SchoolCourtenayK-7
Lake Trail Middle School1955Courtenay6-9Built in 1955 as a two- story, eight-room elementary school to serve the growing population in the Lake Trail area. In 1957 the school was renamed Lake Trail Junior Secondary School to serve an aging school population in the area. A gym and additional classroom space were added in 1999. Seismic upgrades, a significant redesign, and a large addition were approved and started in the summer of 2019. The school continues to operate as a middle school with a vibrant community.
Mark R. Isfeld Secondary School2001Courtenay7-12Opened in 1991 as Courtenay Junior Middle School. Converted to a Secondary School in 2001 to alleviate crowding at G.P. Vanier Secondary and was renamed as Mark R. Isfeld Secondary School.
Miracle Beach Elementary School1983Black CreekK-7
Nala`atsi Alternate School Courtenay10-12
Navigate - NIDES
1989GranthamK-12Opened in 1989, NIDES offers blended learning options for students across Central and Northern Vancouver Island. They operate satellite schools in Nanaimo and Qualicum Beach, Independent Learning Centres in all three Comox Valley high schools, and the ENTER labs at Aspen Park Elementary and Highland Secondary. They offer K-9 blended programs, high school courses, adult education, Aboriginal, and special education programming. In addition, they offer a large selection of international language programs. While the school operates satellite campuses in other Vancouver Island districts, all of their administrative, teaching, and support staff are employees of School District 71. The school's main campus is their Tsolum Campus, located in the former Tsolum Elementary School facility.
Queneesh Elementary School2008CourtenayK-7Opened as Courtenay Middle School. Renamed Queneesh Elementary School in September 2008 as part of district restructuring and the phasing out of middle schools.
Royston Elementary School1916RoystonK-6
Sandwick Technical School
1892Courtenay7-12Opened to serve the farmers of the Sandwick area along the Tsolum River as Puntledge School. The school was located on land donated by William Harmston at the corner of Rennison Road and Headquarters Road. While the school was known as Puntledge School by the provincial government, local families knew the school as Sandwick School. The name was officially changed in 1906 to reflect the local identity. A second building was built in 1912 on the site next to the original building. The original building was then sold and moved to local family lot. A more recent building sits next to that school building which still stands. The School District now operates trades training programs in both of the buildings at the site as a division of Glacier View Secondary Centre.
Valley View Elementary SchoolCourtenayK-7

Former Schools

Surplus Property