Across Niagara, population growth has led school boards to take closer looks at the increased demands and needs of its schools. Nowhere has that been more necessary than Welland, which District School Board of Niagara said has seen greatest expansion in its enrolment numbers. With a capacity of 400 students, Fitch Street Public School is well above that size, with an enrolment of 512 students.
The elementary school is about to undergo an extensive expansion project that will create space for 600 students, as DSBN and the Ontario government have announced a $15.4-million investment into the Fitch Street school located at Prince Charles Drive. The project will include a larger parking lot, a new gymnasium, kindergarten-designated spaces, additional rooms for staff and students, and a licensed child-care centre with 49 spots.
“There’s a lot of excitement and looking forward to having more space to learn in the building,” said Simon Hancox, superintendent of education. “In the last two years, it has grown (by) over 100 students so we’ve seen some pretty significant growth. All classrooms are in use and all office spaces are used — it’s a busy spot.
” The Ministry of Education is investing $1.3 billion to support school construction and expansions, including for child-care spaces. As part of its capital requests last October, DSBN said priority needs included the Fitch Street expansion to address its growing enrolment.
In the same request, the school board included .