Another 500 students will add substantial pressure to overcrowded Surrey schools
Five hundred more students will be coming to Surrey schools as an expected 1,000 or more Syrian refugees settle here within the next few months. Surrey is expected to take at least one-third of the 3,000 or so refugees expected in B.C. The new federal Liberal government is fast-tracking refugee claims to meet its campaign commitment to settle 25,000 Syrian refugees in Canada by the end of the year. News that Surrey schools will get another 500 students, in addition to the already-burgeoning population at schools in many fast-growing areas of Surrey, has caused the school district to take a close look at how it can cope with the added students. While it has many programs to help new students from other countries adjust, including its Welcome Centre, where settlement and multicultural workers help place students in the right settings, communications manager Doug Strachan says it does not have all the resources it needs to take on so many students. In particular, there will be ...