Education in Cranberry Portage
Education is Cranberry Portage's primary attraction and its institutions serve much of Northern Manitoba as well as the local community.
Frontier Collegiate Institute: When Frontier Collegiate first opened in the mid-1960's it was common to have 400 to 500 students in residence, but since the mid-1970's, the residence population has been approximately 150 to 200 students. The residence includes a cafeteria, a Youth Centre, a laundry, a three-storied building for girls, and several single-storied units, called "cottages," for boys. It has a staff of twelve residence counsellors and a psychologist, plus a number of other employees, such as janitors, nurses, and cafeteria and laundry workers. The Youth Centre, with a full-time director and several part-time student workers, helps provide a variety of recreational activities for the Collegiate's students. Though many services are available to students in residence, some find it difficult to live away from home for an extended period.
The Collegiate, which once included Grades 7 and 8, is a comprehensive high school which now provides educational opportunities for students in Senior 1 to Senior 4 from Cranberry Portage, as well as those who live in the adjoining residence.
All the educational facilities at Frontier Collegiate Institute are not under one roof.For example, the cafeteria, the home economics and the industrial arts buildings, the gymnasium and the newly-established Frontier Art Institute are separate from the rest ofthe school. The result is a campus-type physical layout. Moving between buildings can be a test of endurance in winter when temperatures are in the minus 30s and 40s Celsius.
A varied program of extracurricular activities supplement the academic programs offered. These include art and music, school dances, and computer and Internet clubs. Sports are also important: examples include track and field, cross-country running, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, curling, hockey, and baseball. Students from other centres in Manitoba also participate in such events and winners go to provincial competitions.
Cranberry Portage Elementary School: Students who live permanently in Cranberry Portage attend the local elementary school for Grades Kindergarten to 8, before enrolling at Frontier Collegiate Institute. Once on campus, they have the opportunity to meet young people from many other communities. The two schools provide many jobs for Cranberry residents while the residence population also provides a welcome boost to the local business establishments.
Frontier School Division Area 4: One of the main reasons for Cranberry's continued growth has been because of the new educational service being provided in the community. In the 1980's the Frontier School Division established its Area 4 Office on the FCI campus. A school superintendent, consultants and other support staff work out of Cranberry Portage serving the local elementary and high schools, as well as the schools in Cold Lake, Cormorant, Moose Lake and Snow Lake.
BUNTEP: A Brandon University Northern Teacher Training and Education Program (BUNTEP), funded by the provincial government and situated on the FCI campus, was started in Cranberry in 1988. This provides employment for a local co-ordinator and a half-time secretary. It also provides educational opportunities for approximately 30 adult students, many of whom are of Aboriginal descent, from Cranberry and other northern communities, such as Flin Flon, Creighton, Cormorant and The Pas. In 1992 thirteen fully-qualified teachers were the first graduating class. In 1994 a second group of 30 students entered the program. In 1992 Frontier Collegiate initiated an Adult Education Program for people in the local and surrounding communities to obtain their high school diploma.
C.D.C.: Both the Adult Education Program and BUNTEP are linked to the Child Development Centre (CDC) located in the local elementary school; single mothers use the day-care services provided while they attend classes. The CDC also provides family-life programs for the students and other members of the community. Providing these educationalservices creates new employment opportunities and demands for local housing.