There's a new charter school being built in Edmonton — for African students.According to Kelley Charlebois, executive director of the Association of Alberta Public Charter Schools (AAPCS), he has heard a school approved by the Minister of Education, Demetrios Nicolaides, is called the "Harmony Public Charter School (HPCS)."He says the school, "was approved by the minister around Christmas time.""It does appear to have a focus on students from the Horn of Africa," Charlebois stated..However, Charlebois prefaces he does not receive official communications from the Alberta Government, instead, he depends on member schools to advise him.As to whether only African students are able to attend, he says, "I do not believe any public school in Alberta could put a condition of culture or ethnicity in place but I do not know."The President of Somali Canadian Society of Edmonton (SCSE), Jibril Ibrahim, says that their organization is a part of planning the school."We are part of the people who are developing this school the plan is to start September," Ibrahim stated..However, when asked if the school would be exclusively a Somali school or if African cultures would be part of the school's curriculum, Ibrahim referred the Western Standard to another member of SCSE.Unfortunately, the contact given was unresponsive to both email and phone calls by the time of publication. As for what the Alberta government had to say about the matter, they stated, "We do not disclose applications or the status of applications due to legal and privacy reasons," claimed Garrett Koehler, press secretary for Nicolaides.Even after the Western Standard told the ministry they had confirmed the school's existence through SCSE, the ministry still refused to confirm it.."When charter applications are approved, they are posted publicly on Alberta.ca," Koehler stated."Charter schools must accept students in accordance with section 3 of the Education Act.""If a school has sufficient space and resources, it must accept any student who applies, regardless of race or background.”This is as far as the ministry would go — however, a similar cultural charter school has already been developed in Edmonton, back in September. .In Drayton Valley, Resilience Charter School, is an indigenous-led school.Charlene Bearhead, founder and principal of the school told CBC the school is supposed to provide "both indigenous and non–indigenous students with the ability to attend classes that blend First Nation and Métis culture and language with Alberta's public school curriculum."This is the only indigenous Charter school in Alberta.
