Three elementary schools — two in Penticton and one in Summerland — have finished their last years of operation.
Giant’s Head Elementary School in Summerland, Carmi Elementary School and Parkway Elementary School in Penticton were all closed due to declining enrolment across the Summerlad-Penticton school district.
Their former students, and future students, will instead attend the remaining schools in the area.
Todd Manuel, superintendent of schools at the Okanagan Skaha School District, said the number of students within the school district has fallen by more than 2,000 students over the past 25 years.
In 2001, the school district, which serves Summerland, Penticton and the surrounding area, had a student population of 7,822. By 2019, that figure had fallen to 5,662 students. It rebounded slightly to 5,915 students in the 2024 to 2025 school year, according to provincial school statistics. However, the school enrolment has been below 6,000 since 2013.
Projections from the province call for the school district’s enrolment figures to remain constant for the next decade.
The changes will mean middle schools will no longer be in place within the school district, with students attending elementary school from Kindergarten to Grade 7 in Penticton and Kindergarten to Grade 6 in Summerland.
The Summerland Middle School building is being reconfigured to become the Summerland Elementary School when the new school year begins in September.
Manuel said the new Kindergarten classrooms have been reconfigured with washrooms and with direct access to the playground area.
Sinks have been added to the classrooms for primary grades in the school.
This work, as well as the changes to the school playground, will be completed by the time the new school year begins.
However, a child care facility at the site of the middle school is still under construction and is not expected to be completed until early in 2026.
Manuel said the needs of the students in middle school grades will still be addressed under the new school model in fall, adding that the school district has skilled and dedicated teachers to meet the needs of its students.
The school board is looking to lease the three school buildings that are being closed.
Manuel said the school district has received interest in leasing each of the three facilities, but the school board has not yet made a decision on any of the offers.
