TCA adds two new classrooms to school

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

To compensate for the rapid growth in student population, Trinity Christian Academy (TCA) is adding two additional classrooms to the school.

TCA principal Stefan Dykema said in 2020 the school supported roughly 150 students and now hosts approximately 250 students as of the start of this educational year. 

Dykema expects within the next few years, TCA will be supporting a student population of up to 350 students.

Adding the two new classrooms will help keep class sizes smaller and will allow for more individual support to each student. 

“Our school has grown significantly over the past couple of years as we welcomed more and more students to our community. In the past, we have had to find all sorts of temporary solutions to be able to keep up with enrollment,” said Dykema. “These portables provide a permanent solution for our building and currently helps us lower class sizes into the low 20’s.”

The smaller the class size the more support each individual student is able to receive, making a tremendous difference in their educational experience. 

Alongside having the allowance for more one-on-one time with their instructors, smaller class sized also allows students to get to know each other better.

The new portables will come into use right away once installation is complete, allowing the school to relocate some of their activities from less-than-ideal spaces into actual classrooms.

Starting in the 2023-24 educational year, the classrooms will also be utilized as homeroom spaces with instructors designated to them.

“We have had a great success over the past number of years finding really high-quality staff and to be honest, right now we have some of the strongest staff we have ever had,” said Dykema. “We have already done all of our staffing for the year and currently our average class size is in the low 20’s, but we are using some flex spaces and smaller classrooms that we normally use for breakout sessions.”

Currently there are two portables that are not attached to the main building, as well as the two currently under installation. Over the next couple of weeks the new classrooms will be hooked up to the existing fire suppression system, mechanical systems, and will be prepared for student use.

Eventually the school may see the need for between four-and-eight additional classrooms to be installed onto the facility, should student population continue to grow. 

The two classrooms under installation are intended for use by Grade 4 teachers and their classes, to which Dykema said there has been excitement towards the new ability to develop a student community in the new wing of the school.