News that a new secondary school could be built next to École Notre-Dame Des Vallées has taken many West Terrace residents by surprise, prompting concern and calls for greater community engagement.
“I learned about this through my neighbours who saw the first article come out about the plans,” said Rick Deans, a West Terrace resident. “The community was not engaged at all to date and there was no knowledge of the project.”
Deans met with local officials at the proposed site ahead of the April 14 council meeting. Following a wave of letters and growing concern from other residents, the proposed timeline for the project was deferred pending a public hearing. On May 20, Town administration, FrancoSud, and community representatives met again to further discuss the proposal.
“We wanted to keep our efforts focused on voicing our high-level concerns and understanding their process a little bit more,” Deans said.
As a former Town of Cochrane infrastructure manager, Deans highlighted several technical issues with the site, including traffic congestion, emergency evacuation logistics, servicing, and parking availability.
“We also feel some of the funding and lack of available sites stem from a lack of extensive investigation on their part,” he added. “We still don’t understand-- the answers were vague.”
Civil engineer Suzie Martin, who specializes in transportation planning and has children in Grades 3 and 5 at the school, also shared her perspective. She noted that many francophone families have children in different grades, which could increase bus traffic if students are split between separate school locations.
“If you split them up, you’re actually going to increase bus traffic in town,” she said. “Now you’ll have one group of buses that are 60 per cent full going to the elementary school, and another 40 per cent headed somewhere else for high school.”
Martin also praised the sense of community fostered at the school.
“When my daughter was in kindergarten, she was embraced and helped on the playground by older children,” she said. “It’s a really loving and community-oriented environment.”
Though others remain skeptical, Martin sees the proposal as a net positive for the neighbourhood.
“Schools make great neighbours,” she added. “They’re quiet in the evenings, gone in the summer, and rarely cause legal issues. Plus, parents driving kids to school act as pace cars, slowing traffic in school zones. And community access to facilities is a real bonus.”
Deans and Martin were among many who attended FrancoSud’s public information session on June 2, where residents were given the same presentation previously shown to council. The meeting included a Q & A period that sparked debate over how many high school students might drive to the school.
“We perceive things based on our own knowledge,” said FrancoSud chair Hélène Emmell. “But francophone student norms are different. We don’t see high levels of student drivers at our other schools in Calgary, Airdrie, or Medicine Hat. This is not to say that Cochrane can’t be that one exception but based on the trend we’ve seen, it just seems unlikely.”
FrancoSud emphasized the school’s potential to offer shared-use facilities, such as an auditorium or community kitchen, calling the relationship with residents “symbiotic.”
“We want to know what the community wants,” Emmell said. “If something like this would benefit the neighbourhood, we can work together to make it happen.”
Still, some residents remained unconvinced.
“We don’t even know what the school will offer to attract students besides cultural preservation,” said Deans. “We’re not necessarily convinced that ‘if you build it, they will come.’”
One of the biggest developments at the session was renewed interest in relocating the school to fields next to St. Timothy’s Jr./Sr. High School. FrancoSud had previously approached the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) about the land but said there was little interest.
“Previously, it was thought that CCSD owned the land,” said Deans. “But it turns out the land is under the Town of Cochrane’s jurisdiction — something that hadn’t come up in earlier meetings.”
Town officials have since confirmed the site’s potential, but clarified that it has not yet been formally proposed as an alternative.
“While other municipally owned sites-- including the parcel adjacent to St. Timothy’s Jr./Sr. High School-- have been referenced by community members, no formal proposals have been submitted to explore these alternatives,” said Mark Krysinski, director of community growth for the Town of Cochrane. “Should council not support the current request, administration will work with FrancoSud to review alternate options, including, but not limited to, the municipally owned site near St. Timothy’s.”
With the public hearing scheduled for June 16, FrancoSud has committed to investigating the St. Timothy location further.
“We’re not the type to sit back, relax, and let things unfold,” said Emmell. “It’s absolutely worth looking into again. Who knows what we’ll find?”
While the idea of a new location pleases some, others worry it could break up the tight-knit student community.
“I think splitting up younger and older students will hurt that connection,” Martin said. “It’s part of what makes the francophone experience here so special.”
With just two weeks between the June 2 information session and the public hearing, FrancoSud faces a tight window to revisit the St. Timothy site and gather the details needed for a meaningful discussion. The outcome may determine not just where the school is built, but whether it can move forward at all.
“The community isn’t against a FrancoSud high school,” Deans said. “We just want them to explore other options to see if there’s a better one out there.”
Still, FrancoSud has cautioned that opportunities like this don’t come often. If a site isn’t secured soon, future cohorts of francophone students may face years of uncertainty.
“If we miss this opportunity,” Emmell said, “today’s kindergarteners might not have a francophone high school to attend when they’re of age.”
The public hearing is scheduled for June 16 at 6 p.m. at the Cochrane RancheHouse. Whether it brings resolution or new debate, it’s clear the conversation, and the decisions ahead, are far from over.
