How is Evergreen unique?

• We are a smaller school with 45-65 children total. This means children, parents, and staffall recognize each other and there is a real community feel. 

• Classes and student to teacher/EA ratio is small. With a teacher and at least one Education Assistant in each class, the ratio often sits around 1/7. This allows for small group work and a more personalized learning experience. 

• Multi age classes create a family feel and classes often join together for classes such as PE and theme activity days, building relationships across the school. 

• We have an emphasis on teaching emotional literacy and supporting the social emotional wellbeing of all staff and students. Students feel safe and are well supported during both structured and unstructured time. 

• We are a parent and family led school, with the board consisting of existing school parents, who plan and make our core decisions.

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What is an independent school and is it the same as a private school? 

• An independent school is partially funded by the province and follows the provincial curriculum. A private school is typically for profit, whereas independent schools are non-profit organizations and have charitable status. 

• Therefore, we follow the BC curriculum but as a small school we are able to do this in a unique way. 

• As an independent school we get 50% of what any other schools in the district would get. Our school fees and donations cover the other half of this. 

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Do we follow the BC education curriculum?

As a group one independent school we are required to follow the BC Curriculum but because we are a smaller school, the way that we deliver it is different. We have themes chosen by the children, multi age learning, food literacy program, gardening, and more.

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I heard there’s a lot of parent involvement. How much is it and what does that look like?

• Parents are at the heart of Evergreen, from the governing body through to the maintenance and every day running of the school, parents are expected to get involved within their capacity. 

• This helps us maintain both the community feel as well as keep the cost of attendance accessible as it creates fewer overheads. 

• Each family is expected to complete 40 volunteer hours throughout the school year, including at least 2 working bees, and to join the board or a committee. This includes a variety of tasks from school maintenance, tidying and gardening through to community event planning, marketing, planning, grant writing and more. There is a role for each person’s set of skills and we always welcome suggestions. 

• If completing this many hours is a challenge for you and your family, please do get in touch to discuss possibilities. 

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Why 4 days a week and how does that work? 

As an independent school we exceed the required hours of learning each year, and Evergreen chose a four day school week because it aligned with the fundamentals of supporting student’s social, emotional, physical and academic development.

 

There are some great benefits to putting these into consistent 4 day weeks:

• Parents as our children’s first teachers play a major role in fostering their child’s development, a four day school week aims to supports family connection, rejuvenation, play and deeper self-regulation. 

• Provides a positive work environment for our staff

• Models for our children the importance of a work-life balance and the recognition of prioritizing mental health. More down time for kids. Having flexible Fridays gives many kids a chance to wind down before their weekend activities. 

• Allows for more consistent school hours with no early dismissals or pro d days (as our pro d days are on Fridays). Parents say this makes planning easier. 

• 3 day weekends mean the opportunity for more family connection and time together. Many of our families love that they can more easily go away for a weekend, or do their own additional life learning. 

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What about Fridays?

• Fridays are usually not in session for students at Evergreen. 

• The exception to this is if the Monday was a holiday, then the Friday is a school day that week so as to keep to 4 day week. 

• We continue to survey our student population and will support and enable the addition of a supplemental Friday program on our grounds should the need and desire in the community be strong enough. 

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Who tends to go to the school? 

• Evergreen attracts a diverse set of children and families whose values align with our own. These tend to be those who prefer small classes, flexible learning styles, a strongly engaged school community, and an emphasis on enabling students to grow a strong sense of belonging and self. We are not exclusive to any particular learning styles or designations and run an inclusive, diverse model. 

• Some families have been here since kindergarten, some have moved from other schools, and some are new arrivals to the area who have chosen Evergreen. 

• We have a strong value of inclusiveness and welcome students from a variety of abilities, needs, social, cultural and economic backgrounds. The school’s values and structure are designed to enable teachers and staff to ensure every student has the opportunity for an educational journey that builds on their individual strengths and provides both challenge and support as required.

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Will my kid fit in?

• Because Evergreen is small and focuses on building a sense of community and belonging, children tend to feel that they can be their true selves at school. Many families have shared with us that their child has felt like they fit in here, when they have had a harder time with this elsewhere. 

• All of the children recognize everyone at the school and often work in buddies and across multiple age groups, building relationships in family style dynamics. This sense of knowing and community lessens the likelihood of bullying that tends to arise with the anonymity of larger schools and the high number of adults on campus supports students to work through their differences. 

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How much outside time is there? 

• Students at Evergreen spend time every day outside. As well as recess, PE classes take place outside, with the pavilion or woodland providing cover when needed or desired. Class work may also take place outside as appropriate. 

• There is also a weekly gardening class and older children frequently hike Cobble Hill. 

• Additional outdoor programming also takes place throughout the year, including all school camping, all school shares, theme activity days, community fairs, skiing and more. 

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How much does it cost?

• More than public, less than private

• Details of fees can be found above on this page

• Note that there is a bursary fund available by application (details above), which we review annually based on need and available funds. 

• Note that siblings get a reduced rate

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I’m interested, how do I find out more?

The first step is to pop an email over to our administrator and they can book you a time to come in, tour the school and ask your questions. admin@evergreenbc.net