School District 79 Cowichan Valley (SD79) is a school district located in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It consists of numerous elementary (Kindergarten–Grade 7), middle (Grades 8–9), secondary (Grades 10–12), and alternative schools for programs like adult education.
The Cowichan Valley School District serves the communities of Duncan, Cowichan Bay, Chemainus, Cobble Hill, Crofton, Shawnigan Lake, Mill Bay, Maple Bay, and Lake Cowichan.
The current superintendent of the Cowichan Valley School District is Tim Davie, who previously served as the superintendent for the Pacific Rim School District.
History The current School District 79 was formed in 1996 when School District 65 (Cowichan) was combined with School District 66 (Lake Cowichan).
A French Immersion program was established in October 1997, for the 1998–1999 school year.
On July 1, 2012, after refusing to send a balanced budget to the Ministry of Education in British Columbia by June 30, the elected Board of Trustees was dismissed. Michael McKay was instated and balanced the budget.
Reconfiguration of the Cowichan Valley School District began in 2013–2014 school year. This marks the change from a middle school model (kindergarten–grade 6, grades 7–9, grades 10–12) to an elementary school system from kindergarten–grade 7 and a secondary school system from grades 8–12.
Superintendents +NameTenureNotesRef.Geoff Johnson1996–2000Superintendent of SD65 from 1993 to 1996Andy Selder2000Acting superintendentBrian Hoole2000–2005Peter Porte2005–2007Betty Milne2007Acting superintendentDan Boudreau2008–2011Joe Rhodes2011–2015Rod Allen2015–2019Robyn Gray2019–2024Jeff Rowan2024–2025Interim superintendentTim Davie2025–presentSuperintendent of SD70 from 2022 to 2025
Schools
+ Elementary, middle, and secondary schools SchoolLocation GradesPrincipalMount Prevost ElementaryDuncanK–7Sandra BucklandAlex Aitken ElementaryDuncanK–7Updesh CheemaAlexander ElementaryDuncanK–7Darren HartBench ElementaryCowichan BayK–7Mike MartinChemainus CommunityChemainusK–7Ixchel BradleyCobble Hill ElementaryCobble HillK–7Ian ZibinCrofton ElementaryCroftonK–6Jennifer MerrettDiscovery ElementaryShawnigan LakeK–7Dani MorrowDrinkwater ElementaryDuncanK–7Kyla BridgeKhowhemun ElementaryDuncanK–7Brenda StevensonGeorge Bonner ElementaryMill Bay1–7Jennifer CalverleyMaple Bay ElementaryMaple BayK–7Nicole DaveyPalsson ElementaryLake CowichanK–5Fiona SomervilleMill Bay NatureMill BayK–3Alison LeslieTansor ElementaryDuncanK–7Brent RangerThetis Island ElementaryChemainusK–7Ixchel BradleyChemainus SecondaryChemainus7–12Colleen MullinQuw'utsun SecondaryDuncan10–12Jeff RowanFrances Kelsey SecondaryMill Bay8–12Kevin van der LindenLake CowichanLake Cowichan4–12Jennie HittingerQuamichanDuncan8–9Claire Whitney
See also List of school districts in British Columbia
External links SD79 website
References