A $49-million replacement for Centennial secondary could house services for youth and immigrants under a new provincial program to make schools more accessible to the community.
Centennial is one of three schools currently being designed to house community services under the province's Neighbourhood Learning Centre (NLC) concept, which kicks in an extra 15% for construction funding if new schools contain space for community services.
NLCs are also being developed for Pitt River middle school, which is being designed to house an aboriginal welcome centre and a centre for athletic excellence, and plans for the replacement school for James Park elementary school will include health services and a family resource centre.
But Centennial could be an ideal location for a youth and immigration service hub because it's close to recreational services and in an area where many refugees and new immigrants are settling, said Carey Chute, the district's principal for facilities initiatives.
"I think the desire would be to make both those concepts work," said Chute.
But he said the concepts are still being researched and space is at a premium at the Poirier site.
Architects are looking at phasing the project, which has to be built while students attend classes, and if phasing can be worked out, the neighbourhood learning centre could open six months or so after the new high school is opened in late 2014 or early 2015.
Chute said Burnaby recently opened a youth hub in a school and Surrey has an immigrant services hub in a school. The district is following developments closely at those two schools to see if the concept can be improved on for Centennial.
Principal Rob Zambrano said he would welcome youth and immigrant services at the school because the community is becoming increasingly diverse.
"It's starting to become a settling point for refugee claimants and new immigrants. It would be one-stop shopping," Zambrano said.
But he noted that the concept is still in the early planning stages and more research needs to be done.
dstrandberg@tricitynews.com
