Amalgamation of 3 Iqaluit-area schools under consideration
Public feedback sought into future of Nakasuk, Joamie and Nanook schools
Nanook School in Apex is one of three Iqaluit-area schools being considered for amalgamation. (File photo by Mélanie Ritchot)
The future of three elementary schools in Iqaluit and Apex is open for discussion, after the territorial Department of Community and Government Services’ facility planning team hosted public meetings last month.
Among the potential future scenarios on the table is an amalgamation of the three schools into one super school.
The planning team completed a facility audit coupled with a round of public consultations in September at Nakasuk and Joamie schools in Iqaluit, and Nanook school in Apex.
The purpose was to gather community perspectives and data on the physical condition of the three schools. That will be used to inform an analysis for future development, said Heather Grant, a spokesperson with the Department of Community and Government Services, in an email to Nunatsiaq News.
Whatever the future of the three schools, their fate is in the planning phase, she said, adding the department is seeking to understand the “needs and expectations” of the public.
“These discussions allow facility planners to connect with the community, gather insights, and ensure the project aligns with local priorities,” she said.
Attendees at the three meetings in September were asked to share their thoughts about their respective school. They were also asked to rank the following scenarios in order of their preference:
- Renovate and add a new addition to the existing school;
- Combine the school with two other schools to create one larger new school;
- Replace the school with a new one at the current location (or another location);
- Combine two of the schools into one new school, renovating or rebuilding the other school.
“Feedback from the discussions and written comments submitted by community attendees will be taken into consideration for future school projects in Iqaluit,” Grant said.
The Department of Education is also considering enrolment numbers, future enrolment projections, and curriculum delivery requirements.
The department is also studying the arrangement of school space, the number and types of rooms, communal spaces, and ways to improve circulation from one space to another.
“It also includes things like natural light and facility access,” said Grant.
Feedback from the public discussions and written comments submitted by community members will be taken into consideration for future school projects in Iqaluit, she said.
The planning phase of any future project related to the schools is expected to unfold over two years.
Correction: This story was updated to correct which government department provided information for this story.
Just say combining, you nerd.
And this statement is part of the problem. The word amalgamation literally means combining.
We need more nerds!
Kids need a school with windows. No more anxiety-provoking space marshmallow like Nakasuk. Beside, they can break those windows in summer to fight boredom and remind adults that we do not take good care of them.
Don’t do it. Smaller schools yield better results. All research points to this. And results right now are already not good.
$87M to build a 400 student junior high/high school in Taloyoak. That’s why these schools should be amalgamated, as well as any others where it makes sense. It is not only the capital cost, but the cost of maintenance, heat, light, janitors. Everything is cheaper if you can consolidate within one building.
Math is important. But do all the math.
How many school fires have there been in Nunavut in the past 10 years?
If you lose 1 of 3 schools, you find ways to make do (larger classes, weekend classes, evening classes, etc.) with 2 schools until you build a replacement.
If you start with 1 big school and lose it, you are …
Seriously? That figure — $87M — is hard to believe. What’s the source?
Before COVID, a new elementary, middle , or high school cost about 30-50 million. Post COVID, many projects have doubled, and this applies to schools as well. You also have to consider the future increase of students, even if this means that new classrooms or facilities seem under used. A great example of a super school is Inuvik, where two schools were amalgamated.
There was a story on this very website from October 29th.
You can easily read about all capital projects and costs across Nunavut by simply reading the Capital Projects Main Estimates .
It is published and posted online annually..
Thanks, math for dummies; that 400-student school in Taloyoak must be K-12, not junior high/high. There are only around 1,000 people in the Hamlet – can’t be 800 in school
That aside, though lack of learning is one of the most significant barriers to prosperity in Nunavut (or anywhere), the desire for learning, curiosity, awareness, ability to concentrate, are partially cultural. Those traits are least likely to flourish in a welfare state, which has become the broad culture of Nunavut. The same happens in places like England, where over the centuries, the small society of royalty became more and more lazy and entitled. Nunavut’s society is swamped by its rich-and-poor welfare state. There is almost no entrepreneurism, no spirituality, no self-esteem; mostly a mixture of pride, blame and lack of hope, not the ingredients for a healthy society. That is fostered from within, and therein lies the responsibility
The community meetings were, in all three cases, strongly supportive of maintaining the existing schools. Each has its character and support.
Nakasuk is 50 years old – it is deserving of renovation or replacement. The other schools are a decent age and in decent shape and talk of replacing them cannot be serious in the face of need across Nunavut.
I personally support a series of small schools over a mega-school. Talk of savings is far too familiar and too rarely delivered. Mega-schools mean that there will be less community engagement, more busing, more absenteeism and more opportunity for small children to be lost in the “system”.
If it is necessary to save money, it should not be on backs of elementary school students.
How about build another school and reduce the student population at both Nakashuk and Joamie? Smaller classes for all.
How about Nakashuk School only houses lower grades kindergarten to grade 3, Nanook School hold grades 3-6, middle school only hold grades 7-9 and high school only hold 10-12. Will be way less bullying if you do it this way and probably less absenteeism.
Are you suggesting 0that all K -3 students in Iqaluit attend Nakashuk??
Might want to think that one out again. Just the number of busses and cars into Apex 4 times a day
& when that school burns down like Joamie, what school are you sending the kids to for years, while it gets rebuilt? Highskoo ? french skoo ? Middu skoo? Sheesh.
Small schools with lots of support work, & smaller classrooms make more sense. & feed them breakfast & lunch, watch how they start showing up when they feel provided for & have full bellies.