Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Michael Reeve

HYBRID MODEL

Kamloops-Thompson School District open to examining hybrid school model with mounting capacity pressures

Sep 3, 2025 | 4:24 PM

KAMLOOPS — Last week, the Surrey School District announced that, due to capacity issues in some of its schools, it would be offering a hybrid schooling model to high school students. The hybrid model would combine traditional in-class learning with online learning and classes taken in a virtual setting, similar to what was offered during the COVID-19 lockdowns. While the Kamloops-Thompson School District does not have the same pressures as Surrey, capacity — particularly in the southeast sector of Kamloops — is high, leaving the board open to examining all options

.While early projections have SD73 likely holding steady on enrollment or even possibly decreasing, the pressures on capacity at high schools are still increasing as students progress through the system.

“And it’s not even that far down the road for us,” said Bonnie McBride, chair of the District Parent Advisory Council. “We are projecting that Sa-Hali Secondary will be so far past capacity that it’s unsustainable, it’s untenable. I suspect that we will be looking at hybrid learning opportunities for kids in the next year, particularly on the south side.”

The move to a hybrid model is by no metric a first choice, but with wait times for new capital project funding from the province growing, alternatives are needed.

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“What we do is analyze the space we’ve got, analyze the programs we’ve got, analyze the opportunities for some hybrid learning, if that is the direction the district needs to go,” said SD73 Superintendent Mike McKay. “And we will learn from others. It’s nice to have others out there at the front edge of some of these matters so we can learn and take some, and refine some of the ways they are approaching things.”

The district is also looking into modular expansions to existing school sites, with a study conducted over the summer at Pacific Way. Even still, the option, too, is not expected quickly.

“We are not on the list for modulars. The minister of infrastructure has made it clear that not only are they not announcing new education projects, but they have had to roll back and delay many of the projects that they have announced over the last six months,” said McBride.

With a potential turning of the tides for enrollment across SD73, it’s hard to judge what the future may hold without that piece of the puzzle.

“Right now, we are not in the position where we have to say we are going to be immediately implementing any of those dramatic measures,” confirmed McKay.

Official enrollment numbers for this school year will be finalized at the end of the month.

“We haven’t built a new school in 20 years. We are well past the point of being able to deliver effective education,” said McBride.