Planned charter school in southwest Edmonton would accommodate 1,200 students
Posted September 25, 2026 8:27 am.
STEM Collegiate in southeast Edmonton is one of the few charter schools focusing on science, technology, engineering and math – valuable skills for a potential career in the trades.
“We provide a very strong academic program, but we also provide unique options programming that’s not available at other schools in Alberta,” said Lisa Davis, the founder of STEM Collegiate.
But its campus simply cannot keep up with the number of students. That’s why STEM Collegiate wants to build more classroom spaces on the other side of the city.
An empty lot in the city’s southwest is the planned future site of the new school, which would accommodate 1,200 students. The school hopes this will reduce the strain in the ever-increasing number of people looking to study with them.
“This will really help relieve some of the pressure that we have for families who want to access our programming but aren’t able to,” Davis said.
For the last three years, the school has had more than 4,000 students on its wait list. With the planned expansion, it will look to serve Grades 7 to 12 kids and wider programs.
CityNews spoke to Edmontonians who liked the idea of getting more schools closer to home. But the debate of sending your child to a charter versus a public school got a mixed reaction from parents.
“I think there should be schools, but I still think it should be public schools,” Shabina said.
“For private or charter school, I think because of the screening, there’s less students for the amount of teachers they’ve got available. That’s what I think,” said Dami.
“My local taxes, you have a choice whether you want them to go to public school or to a charter school. I choose public,” added Roman.
“If it’s a high school where kids know what they kind of want to do, they have ideas, I think that’s understandable and whatever for more specific things. But for just general children, I don’t really think that that’s necessary,” said Ali.
Davis says charter schools like STEM Collegiate will help reduce the strain. She says charter schools are small and nimble, and can quickly adapt to evolving industries, unlike larger school boards.
“It’s often hard for big companies to innovate, and it’s the small startups, it’s the smaller groups that are hungrier, able to break through bureaucratic barriers and to just get things done for students,” Davis said.
The future STEM Collegiate will still have gyms, an outdoor field and parking, just like a normal school.
The construction funding, design, and anticipated opening date have not yet been confirmed.
