In its 15th year of jointly-funded Sun Peaks Education Society (SPES)/SD 73 school operations, SPES has over 160 students and is moving forward with a long term vision of a Mountain Academy.
Maria Cannon, president of SPES, began the Dec. 3 meeting by presenting an annual report which preceded a financial report, election of directors and discussions of new business.
Mountain Academy
Three of the 20 students enrolled in the Sun Peaks Secondary Academy (SPSA) currently are competitive race athletes taking part in a pilot program testing the Mountain Academy, which will be launching in fall 2025 in partnership with SD73 Kamloops Online Open Learning as the education provider.
There’s expected to be an increase in enrollment as the transition to a Mountain Academy takes place next school year, and SPES is focused on careful financial planning to ensure success.
Specifics on funding, programming and facilities are a part of the strategic plan currently in development, with more details to come in spring 2025.
In addition to funding, Cannon put forward the idea of increasing enrollment fees for non-local students.
The program is designed to support students who want to pursue mountain activities, as a large portion of Sun Peaks students are involved in ski and snowboard racing who may want to expand their knowledge on mountain operations.
While teaching required academics, the Mountain Academy will develop over the years to include educational programming for alpine racers, freestyle athletes, sports coaching and instruction, ski and bike patrol and tourism and hospitality.
Parents of the kids in the pilot project were in attendance and able to provide feedback, which was entirely positive and focused around how the program has allowed them to manage their time between competing and academics.
Fundraising
Since its incorporation in 2010, SPES has raised $1.2 million through fundraising efforts, a critical priority for the society as these funds cover classroom operational costs including teacher salaries.
Though in a healthy cash position, to work toward the goal of a K-12, brick-and-mortar school, SPES is prioritizing establishing a reserve along with keeping up with costs.
“We are on the capital planning list for SD 73 to receive funding from the province to build a community school, K-12, but nobody knows at this point when that money will come from the province,” Cannon said.
Fundraising last year fell short of the amount raised in 2023, although SPES still raised a net $87,580 through fundraising events.
A major contributor of funds is the annual TELUS Nancy Greene Alpine Classic, which will be held Jan. 24 and Jan. 25, 2025. An additional fundraising event will be the Engel & Volkers Art Auction.
What’s new?
New this year, the SPES welcomed Stacey Hicks as a part-time operations manager.
Last September, a board of eight directors was appointed, waning down to six by the time of this year’s election.
For this year Maria Cannon was elected president, with Karen Sissons as vice-president, Melissa Mackenzie White as treasurer and Katie Koleszar as secretary. Barb Kupferschmidt Linder, Yolanda Dye, Peggy Leduc, Maria Davis and Victor Tataru were elected as directors-at-large.
SPSA continues to operate mainly in one double-wide portable adjacent to the Sun Peaks Alpine Club, using the smaller portable as a breakout space.
The need for more space is a concern as SPES continues to expand on their programming before the eventual school build.
There are no immediate plans to add another portable to the current campus space or elsewhere, but it is a part of their planning discussions to be had.
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