Laurelwood Public School
In 2024-25, Laurelwood had 705 students for 550 permanent places (128% full). Last addition on record: 184-place addition, 2024. 221 homes were permitted in its area between January 2019 and August 2026.
Coming up
West Waterloo boundary review[21]
- November 20, 2026Comment before staff's draft: they finish refining the options (our advice)
- November 23, 2026Staff share their draft recommendation
- December 4, 2026Send comments by: the board's procedure collects them until 10 days before the meeting (its review page says December 6, its FAQ December 7)
- December 9, 2026Noon deadline to register as a delegation
- December 14, 2026Final report and Board decision
- September 2027Any boundary changes take effect
What each option does, and what it could mean for your family →
How full is it?
Ward median 97%
One of 14 ward schools over 100% in 2024-25. Tied for #4 of 29 by how full it is.
Permanent places rose from 366 to 550 when the addition opened in September 2024.[2][5][6]
Enrolment is the Ministry’s October 31 headcount; permanent places are the board’s on-the-ground capacity. Portables aren’t counted as permanent places.
Students and educators
Ward median 23 (elementary schools)
All 27 classes, including split grades, counted by the Ministry in September 2025. Kindergarten classes: 25.7 on average. Grade 1 to 3 classes with no older students: 19.7 on average. The Ministry shows a grade group of 1 to 4 pupils as “<5”, so the average is a range.
About 21 students for each teacher named on the school’s website: 705 students (October 2024)[1] ÷ 33 teachers listed on November 2, 2026, counting any special-education and ESL teachers listed[4].derived The list also names 4 educational assistants, 3 early childhood educators and 1 child and youth worker.
A staff page is a directory of names, not full-time equivalents: part-time teachers count as one each, and staff based at other schools aren’t listed. Not every school lists its support staff. The board doesn’t publish staffing by school.
Last rebuild or addition
Ward median: built 1974
Last addition on record: 184-place addition, 2024.
- 1998Original building
- 1999Addition (scope not stated)
- 2024184-place addition (10 classrooms)
- 2024Done
A 184-place addition opened in September 2024. The board asked for it in 2016, 2019 (ranked first) and 2020, and the Ministry approved it in October 2020. The budget grew from $3.98M to $6.42M.[5][2][7][8][10][6] - 1999Done
The board's 2015 West Waterloo boundary study lists an addition in 1999, the year after the school opened. It does not say what was built.[9][10]
New homes in its attendance area
Ward median 232 (elementary school areas in Waterloo)
Counting the wider area it serves for grades 7 and 8 only, 234 homes were permitted in the same period.
Across that wider area, another 175+ homes are proposed in 2 active applications; 1 of them gives no unit count[11].
By the board’s own pupil rates, the 234 homes permitted across the wider grade 7–8 area could be home to about 20 elementary-age children (JK to Grade 8)[13].derived
City of Waterloo permits only. Gross counts: demolitions aren’t subtracted.
Building condition
Ward median 27%
Under the board's 65% “poor” line.[14] The index is five years of needed repairs divided by what it would cost to replace the building. Higher is worse. The red mark is the board’s 65% “poor” line.
Accessibility
Ward median 97%
- Elevator
- Not Required
- Barrier-free washroom
- Available
Lead in drinking water
Highest reading 7.7 µg/L.
We show these for each school so families can see them, but we don’t rank schools on test scores or family income, and they’re left off share images.
Who attends
Special education and first language: preliminary 2024-25. Low-income households: 2021 Census. The Ministry randomly rounds these percentages[19].
Provincial test results
Share of fully participating students at or above the provincial standard, 2024-25[20]. EQAO posted 2025-26 results in October 2026; this page will be updated.
Against the board’s forecast
- 2024-25 enrolment vs the board's 2020 forecast for 2024-25
- 7% above[2]
The 2020 Long-Term Accommodation Plan forecast each school’s enrolment to 2030. The board uses these forecasts to decide where to ask for new space.
Safety events posted
- Hold-and-secure, lockdown or police presence
- 1[18]
- Unplanned closures or evacuations
- 0
What the school chose to post on its website, counted once per event, September 2017 to September 3, 2026.
Tell us what you see at Laurelwood
Portables, class sizes, repairs, or something this page gets wrong. Reports go to Brian and are checked before anything is published, and anything added from them is marked unverified.
Sources
- Ontario Ministry of Education, enrolment by school, 2024-25
October 31 headcount. The Ministry rounds to the nearest five from 2018-19 on; earlier years in the same series (back to 2011-12) are exact counts.
- WRDSB 2020-2030 Long-Term Accommodation Plan
Review Area E22 (Waterloo West (Clair Hills-Columbia Forest)). PDF page 94: permanent capacity (on-the-ground), year built and Facility Condition Index; enrolment forecast on page 95. Adopted June 21, 2021.
- Ontario Ministry of Education, elementary class size, 2025-26
One row per class, counted in September 2025. A grade group of 1 to 4 pupils is shown as “<5”, so some averages are a range.
- Laurelwood Public School website, staff list
Read November 2, 2026. A directory of names, not full-time equivalents; part-time teachers count as one each.
- Capital projects report, Committee of the Whole, January 18, 2021
October 20, 2020 notice of funding for a 184 pupil place addition. PDF page 28.
- Capital projects report, Committee of the Whole, October 21, 2024
Addition complete and occupied; final budget. PDF page 66.
- 2019 Capital Priorities Program Submission, Committee of the Whole, September 16, 2019
Appendix A: Laurelwood PS addition ranked 1 (table is an image). PDF page 9.
- Capital projects report, Appendix A, Committee of the Whole, January 18, 2021
First budget: $3,976,096. PDF page 30.
- West Waterloo Elementary Schools Boundary Study, final report, Committee of the Whole, November 23, 2015
Table 2: Laurelwood, built 1998, additions 1999. PDF page 87.
- City of Waterloo, building permits open data
New residential units permitted January 2019 to August 21, 2026, placed in the school's 2026-27 boundary. Gross: demolitions aren't subtracted. City of Waterloo only.
- EngageWR, City of Waterloo development planning projects
Active development applications, read August 23, 2026.
- WRDSB school boundary and location maps, 2026-27
The board's ArcGIS boundary layers, read September 30, 2026.
- WRDSB and WCDSB 2021 Education Development Charges Background Study
Pupil yields per new home by type, PDF page 62: elementary rates for the Waterloo review areas (JK to Grade 8), secondary rates for North Central.
- WRDSB 2020-2030 Long-Term Accommodation Plan, Figure 12
The plan's condition bands: over 65% poor, 40 to 64% fair, under 39% excellent. PDF page 30.
- WRDSB, Accessibility Status by School
Board web page, read October 25, 2026.
- Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, drinking water quality and enforcement data
Lead samples taken at the school under O. Reg. 243/07, 2016-17 to 2024-25.
- WRDSB ventilation report
Per-school ventilation type and standalone HEPA units; the board's chart was last updated November 28, 2024.
- Laurelwood Public School website, news posts since 2017-18
Closures, evacuations and hold-and-secure notices the school chose to post, read to September 3, 2026; counted once per event.
- Ontario Ministry of Education, school information and student demographics, preliminary 2024-25
Special education and first language not English: 2024-25, school data as of July 2026. Low-income households: from the 2021 Census. The Ministry randomly rounds these percentages.
- EQAO, school results, 2024-25
Share of fully participating students at or above the provincial standard; for the literacy test, fully participating first-time-eligible students who passed. EQAO posted 2025-26 results in October 2026.
- WRDSB, West Waterloo Boundary Review
Review timeline (staff refine the options to November 20; final input window November 23 to December 6) and the two scenarios published in October 2026. The board's Administrative Procedure 4991 (s. 2.4) collects comments until 10 days before the board meeting: December 4. Read November 8, 2026.
- WRDSB, West Waterloo Boundary Review: frequently asked questions
Feedback form open to December 7; delegation registration by noon December 9. Read November 2, 2026.