Recreation, Culture & Social Services
Education
Wood Buffalo offers quality education opportunities for students from pre-school to college and university.
Kindergarden to Grade 12
Wood Buffalo has a high quality of elementary and secondary education for students in Kindergarden to Grade 12.
The number of students has grown quickly in the Municipality and Wood Buffalo's education system is near capacity. The number of students is expected to increase in coming years as worker continue to move with their young families to the region, and there are new schools under construction to meet this coming demand.
Secondary students face a challenge living in a region where there is an attraction to taking a high-paying job that doesn't require high school graduation. High school completion rates for school districts in Fort McMurray are slightly below average for the province.
Wood Buffalo School Districts
There are four public school districts in the Municipality with a total of 24 elementary and secondary schools in Fort McMurray, and six in the rural areas of Wood Buffalo.- The Fort McMurray Public School District
is the public school district for students in Fort McMurray. Alternative programs include alternative assisted self-paced studies, French Immersion, Fort McMurray Christian School and Fort McMurray Islamic School.
- The Fort McMurray Catholic School District is the Catholic school district for students in Fort McMurray. In addition to a faith-based learning environment, this school district offers French Immersion and First Nations, Metis and Inuit language programs.
- The Northland School Division extends across Northern Alberta and includes the rural area surrounding both the Town of Peace River and Wood Buffalo.
- The Greater North Central Francophone Education Region is the Northern Alberta school district for French first language education.
- School Sites and Locations
Post-Secondary Education
There is excellent post-secondary education available in Wood Buffalo, including technical/vocational training and university transfer programs.
Keyano College is a comprehensive community college that offers educational and training programs, courses, and services at their three campuses in Fort McMurray. They provide degree completion programs, as well as one and two-year university transfer programs in disciplines from General Science to Fine Arts. Certificate and diploma programs are also available, in addition to adult upgrading, trades preparation and apprenticeship programs. A variety of industrial programs help provide a skilled workforce for the oil sands.
- Keyano College
- Alberta Learning Information Service EDinfo (Information about other post-secondary schools in Alberta, and distance learning programs available in Western Canada)
