Horseshoe Crossing School ready to open for classes

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Government of Alberta announced the official completion of the Horseshoe Crossing School in Langdon last week.

This was among five new public-private partnership (P3) schools which are set to open their doors to students beginning this fall. 

“It has been quite interesting to see the building take shape. We had students come and tour the building … and it was amazing to see their faces and to feel the energy and excitement that they had while getting to see the building for the first time,” said Jordan Fenton, who will serve as Horseshoe Crossing School’s first principal. “A new school into Langdon has been a long process … I was previously at Chestermere High School when I would hear rumblings and talks about a new school in Langdon, but it did not come to fruition until more recently.”

Fenton explained parents and students had advocated for a local high school to be constructed, as Langdon was previously the largest community in Alberta which did not host its own high school.

This sentiment was supported by the Board of Trustees from the Rocky View School Board in their capital plan.

“It is going to have a great positive impact, I believe on the immediate community of Langdon, having their own high school and getting to have a community hub, seeing their students go right through from Kindergarten to Grade 12 now within their own community,” said Fenton. “Since 1961, they have gone through Chestermere High School. The other piece with it that will be fun will be the community partnerships and the ways in which our community can come together to support our students and youth in their learning efforts.”

In its debut educational year, the school will support students from Grades 9 through 11, with Grade 12 students being added during the 2025-26 school year. The reason being so as to not disrupt graduating students from their current educational tracks and prevent having to stress over switching to new facilities.

Upon opening, the school will support roughly 100 students per grade level, which is considerably lower initially than its maximum capacity. Additionally, approximately 14 professional staff between teachers and administrators, as well as five to seven support staff will occupy the school.

“The Horseshoe Crossing High School is going to be a very special school for our community because it includes specialized learning, career, and technology study spaces,” said Chantelle de Jonge, Chestermere-Strathmore MLA. “I think this is going to be amazing for our rural communities and for the promotion of trades, which I think is a very big piece of primary and secondary education, and so the school will have a large kitchen and a demonstration station – it will have a cosmetology lab that will also allow for members of the public to use those spaces … there will be a woods and fabrication area, there will also be an automotives area with two bays … there will be an amazing learning commons and library, and I think there will also be three welding stations within the school.”

Horseshoe Crossing School is preparing to open its doors to students for the first time once classes resume in September.