ATHABASCA – Aspen View Public Schools (AVPS) is moving out of its parents’ house — or rather, Athabasca County's office — and heading to university for the 2024-25 school year.
Athabasca University will be the new home of AVPS’s division office after both parties signed a five-year lease that will see the school division rent office spaces within the main building on campus.
“AU is grounded in Athabasca, and we value opportunities to build relationships so that our campus is a vibrant place for our team members and serves as a space for community connection,” said AU President Dr. Alex Clark.
“We value our partnership with Aspen View Public Schools and extend a warm welcome to their employees in this exciting new chapter.”
Since its inception, Aspen View has been based out of Athabasca County’s offices. Originally, county councillors served as board trustees until AVPS was incorporated as its own organization in 1995.
“We are grateful to Athabasca County for hosting us for the first nearly 30 years of Aspen View’s history,” said board chair Candy Nikipelo. “As advocates for rural sustainability, we are encouraged that Athabasca County requires more space to provide enhanced services to its residents, including Aspen View families.”
Athabasca County Reeve Brian Hall said the decision not to offer a lease renewal was administrative and based on the county's needs.
Relocation to their new offices will take place over the summer, with the new agreement starting July 1. AVPS Superintendent Constantine Kastrinos said the long history of collaboration between AU and AVPS helped solidify the division’s choice.
“We considered a number of possibilities for relocation, both in the Athabasca area and elsewhere within Aspen View,” said Kastrinos. “Extending our partnership with Athabasca University makes sense logistically, but also opens doors for even greater collaboration opportunities between Aspen View and AU.”
Community collaboration
AU and AVPS have collaborated on a variety of project for grade school students of all ages, including the Science Outreach – Athabasca program, which gets Grades 4-6 students into AU’s labs for a variety of programs, including forensic labs, and dual credit opportunities for the older students.
“Fundamental to these unique partnerships has been the ability to make meaningful connections with AU’s leadership, faculty, and staff, through the shared experience of living and working together in the Athabasca community,” said Nikipelo.
AU was also a major partner in the opening of the new Edwin Parr Composite School in 2018, transferring the land of the school as part of an agreement and working with other community partners to help create the “campus-quad” type environment on the hilltop.
“Both of our organizations having a vested interest in the sustainability of our community drives us to work more collaboratively and efficiently for the betterment of all,” said Nikipelo. “This can only be enhanced through the synergies that will occur working alongside Athabasca University within their building.”
