The Coal Harbour neighbourhood is getting a new K-7 elementary school (cəw̓as Ch’elxwá7elch Skwuláw̓txw Seaside) that will help meet the growing enrolment demand in downtown Vancouver.

A catchment change process was completed in fall 2025 and included 3 options for catchment boundaries at downtown elementary schools. The catchment change process included two main components:

1. a new catchment was created for the new cəw̓as Ch’elxwá7elch Skwuláw̓txw Seaside elementary school, and
2. the catchments for šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown Elementary, Elsie Roy Elementary and Roberts Elementary were adjusted. 

The catchment change process is part of managing enrolment at these schools and throughout the downtown and also took into consideration the distance between student residences and catchment schools.

Yes, the catchment changes were approved by the Board at the November 26, 2025 Board meeting. The changes are in effect and are reflected in the online registration process. The online catchment map has been updated with the new catchments.

The approved catchment boundary changes enable families to plan for future school enrolment and to provide administrative clarity to the school district in terms of downtown student enrolment in conjunction with the new school.

*Note: Until the new Seaside Elementary school building opens, students currently enrolled at this school are temporarily located at Lord Roberts Elementary and the Lord Roberts Annex site.

No. The process of changing catchment boundaries does not require any students to change the school they currently attend.

Families can also choose to register in their new catchment school. If the new catchment school is full, students will be waitlisted following standard district enrolment procedures outlined in AP 300 - Admission to School.

Priority kindergarten registration is open from November 1 to January 31 every year. For families with a sibling entering kindergarten and whose school catchment boundary changes, the kindergarten student will have priority to attend the same school as their older sibling, provided they register during the priority registration period. This keeps siblings together and gives families continuity after a catchment boundary change. If families prefer, they can also choose to register in the new catchment. In this case, the student will be enrolled in the new catchment school, pending available space.

The following are the enrolment priorities when a school’s catchment boundary changes: 

District staff will contact kindergarten applicants who are directly impacted by the catchment change, to confirm their catchment school. In this instance, staff will contact any impacted family registering for kindergarten living in the catchments of Lord Roberts, Elsie Roy, šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown or the new school (cəw̓as Ch’elxwá7elch Skwuláw̓txw Seaside). 

Families should apply to their catchment school, which is now updated with the approved catchment changes. The application website is VSB Apply Now. Families can also find their catchment through the school locator website.  
 
Families with Grade 1-12 students who are new to the District should also apply through VSB ApplyNow. Families of current K-12 VSB students who have moved into a downtown catchment from outside of the downtown area should contact their previous catchment school about the transfer process.

The public engagement process has concluded. There were several ways to provide feedback.

1. In-person engagement session 
   • These drop in events included the catchment options, the criteria used to shape them, and enrolment impacts. The events included the opportunity to speak with District staff and provide feedback.  
     • Elsie Roy Elementary: Oct 7, 2025, 3:00 – 7:00 p.m in the gym 
     • šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət Crosstown Elementary: Oct 8, 2025, 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. in the gym 
     • Lord Roberts Elementary: Oct 9, 2025, 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. in the gym 
2. Survey 
   • Live from October 7, 2025 to 17, 2025 (survey closed at 11:59 p.m.). 
3. Email feedback 
   • All emails received via engage@vsb.bc.ca by noon on October 24, 2025 were shared with the Board as part of the final engagement report as an option to provide feedback for those not able to attend the engagement sessions.   

The Board approved Option C as presented, on November 26, 2025. This helps families registering for kindergarten to have clear direction about their own catchment. Please note, kindergarten registration is not based on a first come first serve basis. Families who register anytime between November 1, 2025 and January 31, 2026 will be given priority registration for the 2026-2027 school year. More information on kindergarten registration can be found on govsb.ca/kindergarten. 

No, the changes did not impact the catchment boundary for secondary schools.

The goal of this catchment review is to balance enrolment across downtown schools. The physical capacity of each school will remain the same.  Adjusting the boundaries allows more students to live closer to their catchment school, and for more catchment students to be able to attend their catchment school. Each proposed option would result in a slightly different capacity utilization between schools as is indicated in the graphics showing the proposed boundaries.   

The new school, cəw̓as Ch’elxwá7elch Skwuláw̓txw Seaside, is currently enrolling students. However, the new school building, located at 482 Broughton Street, is not yet complete. The cəw̓as Ch’elxwá7elch Skwuláw̓txw Seaside school community is attending school at two temporary sites (Robert Elementary and Roberts Annex) until construction on new building is complete.  

The construction of the new school is led by the City of Vancouver. The City has informed the District that they expect the building to be complete and ready for students at the start of the 2026/27 school year. Should construction finish sooner, the students enrolled at cəw̓as Ch’elxwá7elch Skwuláw̓txw Seaside will move sooner too. 

BC Hydro is undertaking work to prepare for the construction of the new West End Substation which will be built at the Lord Roberts Annex property to replace the Dal Grauer Substation on Burrard Street. The building is currently being used as a temporary accommodation site for most of the students enrolled at the new school at Coal Harbour, until construction of that school building is complete. The majority of students who attended Roberts Annex last year are either enrolled at cəw̓as Ch’elxwá7elch Skwuláw̓txw Seaside or at Lord Roberts Elementary.  Once students have relocated to cəw̓as Ch’elxwá7elch Skwuláw̓txw Seaside, the Annex building will be demolished to coincide with the start of the BC Hydro project.