Construction activities underway on new Chilliwack elementary school

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CHILLIWACK — Construction activities are well underway on McGrath Road in Rosedale for a new 500-seat elementary school in eastern Chilliwack.

In September 2023, the B.C. government announced it would build a new elementary school in Chilliwack, one of the fastest-growing communities in B.C.

A picture sent to Fraser Valley Today this past week shows heavy equipment on site and related construction activities underway.

To support anticipated growth in Chilliwack, the provincial government pledged $58.6 million to build a new elementary school on Chilliwack’s east side with room for 500 students. The school will include a neighbourhood learning centre for community programming, such as child care. The school’s design will include features such as low-energy LED lighting and heat pumps that help to facilitate cooling, while also reducing the building’s energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions throughout the building’s lifetime.

“As more families move to Chilliwack, this new elementary school will serve students for years to come,” said Rachna Singh, Minister of Education and Child Care, in September 2023. “In fall 2026, the East Side Elementary School will welcome 500 students to a brand-new modern facility.”

The new school will be located on the former Rosedale Elementary site on McGrath Road, Superintendent Rohan Arul-pragasam confirmed in an email to Fraser Valley Today.

Construction was slated to start in late 2024 and the new school will be ready for students in fall 2026, the government predicted.

This project is a part of $200 million in investments made by government since 2017 to improve schools for students, families and staff in Chilliwack. In the past seven years, two new schools, Imagine High Arts and Technology, and Stitó:s Lá:lém Totí:lt Elementary/Middle School, have opened, and school expansions at G.W. Graham Secondary and Vedder Elementary have been completed. Funding had also been announced for an addition at Sardis Secondary. These projects have created more than 3,000 new student seats in the district.

Since September 2017, the provincial government says it has announced 24,000 new student spaces and 35,000 seismically safer seats. Budget 2023 includes $3.4 billion for school capital projects over the next three years, including new and expanded schools, seismic upgrades and replacements, and land purchases for future schools.