PEI

P.E.I. schools welcoming students from Fort McMurray

P.E.I.'s Education Minister Doug Currie says more than a dozen requests have come in for students from the Fort McMurray area to attend schools on the Island.

'We certainly want to do our part to obviously welcome children.'

A classroom of students is seen from behind, with the students raising their hand to answer a teacher in the front of the classroom.
Some students displaced by the fire will be entering Island school system. (iStock)

More than a dozen requests have come in for students from the Fort McMurray area to attend schools on the Island, says P.E.I. Education Minister Doug Currie.

Education Minister Doug Currie says the students will be welcomed and supported in Island schools. (CBC)

He said the situations vary, but many are students whose families are originally from P.E.I. or have relatives on the Island.

"We have been monitoring it closely and currently the school board has received approximately 14 requests," said Currie.

"We are a public system and we certainly want to do our part to obviously welcome children who have been displaced because of the tragedy in Fort McMurray and the fires."

Flames flare up from hotspots along a highway to Fort McMurray, Alta on May 8. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

Currie said the schools that have received requests are all across the province.

Families that are affected by the fire and plan to come to P.E.I. should contact the school in the community where they will be staying, he said.