About – westmountcharter.com

About Westmount

Established in 1996

Specialized, Gifted Education

Westmount Charter School is a publicly funded charter school located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We are a tuition-free public institution serving gifted students from kindergarten through grade 12. Westmount receives its funding from the Government of Alberta and, like all public charter schools in the province, does not charge tuition for Alberta residents.

As a public charter school, Westmount offers a specialized program designed to meet the unique needs of gifted learners. Charter schools in Alberta are part of the public education system and are held directly accountable to the province’s education authorities, ensuring high standards of instruction, equity, and student success.

Westmount is the only K–12 congregated setting in Alberta dedicated to gifted education. Our approximately 1,300 students represent a rich and diverse community, encompassing differences in race, sex, gender identity, gender expression, English as an Additional Language (EAL), twice-exceptionalities, and a wide range of achievement levels.

At Westmount, we view giftedness “from the inside out.” This means we begin by truly knowing and honouring each learner as an individual, recognizing their strengths, challenges, and identities, before guiding them to reach their full potential.

We embrace the concept of asynchronous development, acknowledging that gifted children often develop intellectually, emotionally, and physically at different rates. While typical development progresses in sync, gifted learners may show advanced intellectual ability alongside emotional or physical development that aligns more closely with their chronological age.

Our curriculum and instructional practices are thoughtfully adapted to address this asynchrony, ensuring that learning at Westmount is both academically challenging and developmentally appropriate. Through this approach, we create an environment that enables gifted learners to thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.

"Fostering gifted education from the inside out."

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Gifted students not only think differently from most others, they also feel differently. They were born with a heightened awareness of and sensitivity to their surroundings, as well as enhanced cognitive ability. This heightened awareness can lead to isolation. “Why don’t I fit in? Why do I feel things so deeply? What’s wrong with me? Who is there to turn to who really understands?” Our students need others who understand and empathize with their complex lives, their need for meaning, and their difficulties living in a world in which they often feel alien.

At Westmount, we look at giftedness “from the inside out.” What does this mean for us? It means we strive to first know and honour who our students are before we can help them become the best they can be.

It means we know our kids are often not in sync with society. Why? Most people think in terms of simple cause and effect. The gifted tend to be more aware of interdependence. Our students see cause and effect as many pebbles thrown in a pond, which may look like chaos but in fact follows a logical pattern and structure. Our students tend to be highly aware of themselves and others, which can make them unusually concerned for others and critical of themselves. They see shades of grey – the overlap, exception and contradiction. No wonder our students are at times out of step in the world.

From this perspective, giftedness is not equated only to high academic achievement. Giftedness is how you are wired, not what you produce. At Westmount, we encourage students to choose to demonstrate their abilities in their individual ways. When students are not achieving what we believe is their potential, we work to understand the gap and help them bridge it, modeling perseverance, resilience and respect. From our perspective, achievement is the outcome, not the starting point. And that makes all the difference.

(Gifted 101, Silverman, 2013; Off the Charts: Asynchrony and the Gifted Child, Neville et al., 2013)

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At Westmount Charter School, we believe:

students who are gifted are capable of exceptional performance;
students who are gifted require comprehensive, specialized educational programming if they are to understand and maximize their varied abilities;
teachers of gifted students require specialized training and experience in the education of the gifted if they are to effectively guide the development of those students’ learning;
parents and guardians are vital partners in their children’s education; and members of the community at large have an important role to play in the education of students who are gifted.

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Westmount was granted a 15-year charter by the Minister of Education, effective September 1, 2016 to August 31, 2031. Westmount is one of 13 charter schools in Alberta, each with a separate programming mandate and a common requirement to engage in research-based innovative practices. We continually explore new ways to enhance student learning and engage them in a culture that is a safe, secure environment where opportunities for enhanced development are recognized, time for research and professional development are provided and where risk-taking, failure and success are integral parts of the learning process.

Our History

1996

Westmount Charter School was founded by the Action for Bright Children (Calgary) Society, under the name ABC Charter Public School, initially offering classes for grades 1-3 children who were gifted. The school opened in the former Bridgeland School and kindergarten was soon added.

1998

ABC school moved to a larger location on the old Currie Barracks in southwest Calgary and added grades four and five. One additional grade was added to the school each year until 2005, when the school reached its full kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12) continuum.

2001Agency Achievements

The program moved again from the Currie Barracks to the Viscount Bennett Centre.

The ABC program expanded to include middle school and high school and it was decided that the school should be renamed. The name Westmount Charter School was selected after considerable consultation; a name chosen in part because it did not come with preconceived connections – it would be up to the school’s students and staff to create a reputation of excellence associated with the new name

2011 - Present

The school moved again into two separate buildings:

Elementary Campus (K-grade 4); 728-32 Street NW, Calgary, AB T2N 2V9

Mid-High Campus (grades 5-12); 2215 Uxbridge Dr. NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4Y3

Adriana Klassen

Adriana Klassen

"Adhering to an Inside Out approach to gifted education, we provide opportunities for inner growth and focus on nurturing the whole child. Our team of empathetic, passionate, and creative educators is committed to guiding students on self-discovery, encouraging them to explore their potential, and equipping them with the tools they need to excel. Thank you for being an integral part of our educational journey. Together, let's continue unlocking the true brilliance within every student."

Graeme Finlay

"Westmount is more than a school, it is a community that is defined by the people who inhabit its walls. Westmount is a place where we accept each person as an individual of value and potential. We recognize that our gifted learners live in a world with intensity and asynchronously, and have individual needs and interests. We are driven by providing supportive relationships that form the foundation in our students’ learning and growth."

WESTMOUNT CHARTER SCHOOL ELEMENTARY

WESTMOUNT CHARTER SCHOOL MID-HIGH