Growing Our Community, Amplifying Our Purpose
As a part of the Rundle Academy community, we know what an incredible place this school is. The Academy has long been the answer for many families looking to find the best school for their child with learning difficulties, but our limited space meant that far too many students were left waiting. The writing was on the wall: we needed to grow so we could offer this life-changing education to more students. The question for us became: how do we do that without losing the very things that make our school so special?
Families often come to us seeking a better educational fit for their child—a school designed to meet their needs, with teachers who understand the complexities of a learning disability. They value the strong, supportive relationships between students and staff. When they find Rundle Academy, they feel as though they’ve hit the jackpot!
For many parents, the relief of finding all this at the Academy is often followed by the stress of knowing how high the demand is for our school. You may remember from your own enrollment experience that limited space has meant that, for a long time, we’ve held applications in our wait pool, and some families have had to reapply for several years before a spot became available for their child. At this point in their journey, parents have found the answer, but they may not be able to access it and the waiting can come at a cost for the child. Given the clear demand, we needed to increase placements so that the needs of Calgary students and families could be better met.
But in order to stay true to what has made the Academy so special, this expansion must stay true to our identity and our values. We’ve held this idea close with every decision we made, and you can see it in the intentionality of our design:
We’ve created spaces in our hallways for what we call casual collisions, because we know that’s how great ideas and connections are formed.
Classrooms will be designed with our students’ needs in mind, featuring breakaway spaces where they can work quietly without ever leaving the classroom community.
We’re placing administrative offices throughout the building, so our leadership team will be organically woven into the fabric of the school.
We’ve maintained the cozy, cottage feel of our current space, ensuring the new building feels inviting and homey rather than institutional.
Importantly, while the projection is for 175 more students to ultimately attend the Academy, this increase will not occur all at once. We will add students incrementally and over several years, not achieving capacity until 2030 at the earliest. This controlled increase will allow the school to adjust and adapt as we go so that the student experience remains exceptional. Class sizes will remain in line with where they are now; we will just have more classrooms! Teachers will continue to approach their work with love and connection; we will just have more of them! Rundle Academy will continue to be a premier school for students with learning disabilities; we will just serve more students!
Ultimately, this expansion is not about increasing our size; it’s about amplifying our purpose. By thoughtfully and strategically growing our community, we are ensuring that more students have access to the specialized education they deserve, without compromising the quality of the experience that makes Rundle Academy so life-changing. We are excited to build on our legacy of community, connection, and support, creating a future where every student who needs our school can find their place within it.
