Case Study: Battle River School Division achieves community-backed school reconfiguration with ThoughtExchange

Community engagement helps Battle River School Division implement successful reconfiguration plan

Battle River School Division (BRSD), a rural Alberta district serving widely dispersed communities, faced urgent school reconfiguration as elementary classroom space ran out and student age ratios shifted. With strong, often polarized opinions and low turnout at traditional town halls, BRSD needed a way to engage many stakeholders, surface diverse perspectives, and build trust in a contentious decision-making process.

BRSD used the Thoughtexchange online engagement platform to gather broad input—349 participants contributing 2,051 thoughts for the reconfiguration process (and later 863 constituents sharing 1,200+ thoughts and 13,995 stars for superintendent selection). The result was a new reconfiguration plan and a superintendent hire that reflected community priorities, balanced enrollments and program space, and was implemented with widespread support and minimal negative feedback.

Battle River School Division

Diane Hutchinson

Communications Co-Ord