Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools
Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools, Alberta
Introduction
Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools, commonly known as CTR Catholic, is a Catholic school division serving students and families across several communities in central and southern Alberta. The division provides Catholic education through traditional schools, Outreach schools, and a province-wide distance and home-education program. Its communities include Oyen, Brooks, Drumheller, Strathmore, High River, Okotoks, and Canmore. According to the division's current information, CTR operates 15 traditional schools, three Outreach schools, and a distance-education school, while supporting more than 10,000 students and approximately 800 staff members.
CTR Catholic is distinctive because its educational philosophy combines the Alberta curriculum with a deliberately Catholic approach to education. Academic learning is presented alongside faith formation, service, personal development, community involvement, and attention to the intellectual, emotional, social, physical, and spiritual wellbeing of students. The division summarizes its approach through four major pillars: Catholic Faith, Academic Excellence, Healthy Schools, and Stewardship.
The division's motto, "Leave Not One Heart Behind," captures its stated commitment to supporting individual students and recognizing that every child has different gifts, abilities, circumstances, and learning needs. This philosophy influences not only classroom instruction but also student services, mental-health initiatives, family engagement, extracurricular activities, and the overall culture of its schools.
History and Development
Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools has its roots in the restructuring of Alberta's school districts during the 1990s. The division was formed in 1995 through the amalgamation of Okotoks Roman Catholic Separate School District No. 346, Drumheller Roman Catholic Separate School District No. 25, and Assumption Roman Catholic Separate School District No. 50.
The creation of CTR Catholic reflected a longstanding desire among Catholic families in southern Alberta to maintain access to Catholic education. Although the current division dates from 1995, the history of Catholic schooling in many of its communities extends considerably further back. The division describes its development as a story of faith, perseverance, community involvement, and parents' commitment to providing Catholic education for their children.
Over time, CTR expanded beyond its original communities. Today, its schools serve a geographically diverse area. Students can receive Catholic education in communities ranging from smaller rural centres to larger and rapidly growing communities such as Okotoks and High River.
This geographic diversity presents both opportunities and challenges. The division must provide consistent educational standards and Catholic programming across communities with different populations, facilities, transportation needs, and local circumstances. At the same time, the multi-community structure enables CTR to maintain a broad educational network while preserving individual school identities.
Mission and Vision
The mission of Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools is centred on partnership among the school, family, and parish. The division seeks to provide an authentic Catholic learning experience that creates a lasting foundation of faith and knowledge in a supportive and caring environment. Its vision emphasizes students, staff, parents, and supporters experiencing and expressing the truth of Christ, the love of God, and knowledge of God's creation.
This mission means that Catholic education is not treated as something separate from the rest of the school experience. Religious values are intended to influence relationships, classroom practices, extracurricular activities, leadership, service, and decision-making.
The division also emphasizes the idea that education is a partnership. Parents are not viewed simply as consumers of educational services; rather, families are expected to participate in and support the Catholic identity of the school community. Parish relationships are another important component, helping connect students' education with the wider Catholic community.
Catholic Identity
Catholic identity is perhaps the most important feature distinguishing CTR Catholic from a conventional public school system. The division states that its schools are rooted in the teachings of the Catholic Church and operate under the guidance of the Bishop of the Diocese of Calgary. Catholic beliefs, traditions, prayers, and values are intended to permeate school life both inside and outside the classroom.
Religious and family-life education is provided at every grade level. Students may participate in liturgies, celebrations, Mass, prayer, retreats, and community-service activities. Catholic symbols and traditions are also part of the school environment.
The division expects families joining its schools to respect and support the Catholic character of the learning community. This does not necessarily mean that every student must be Catholic. CTR states that it welcomes students and families who desire Catholic education, including those who are not Catholic. However, families are expected to understand and respect the religious environment in which their children will learn.
This approach gives CTR a clear educational identity. For Catholic families, the integration of faith and education can provide continuity between home, parish, and school. For non-Catholic families, the decision to attend requires an understanding that religious formation is an integral part of the school's educational philosophy rather than an optional extracurricular activity.
Academic Education
Academic excellence is one of CTR Catholic's four central pillars. The division states that its schools achieve strong academic results and are committed to continuing to improve student learning across all areas of the curriculum.
CTR follows Alberta's provincial curriculum while adding its Catholic educational perspective. Students study the standard academic subjects expected within Alberta's K–12 system, while schools may also provide specialized courses, electives, career programs, athletics, arts, technology, and other opportunities depending on the community and grade level.
The division has placed particular emphasis on literacy. Its initiatives have included Readers and Writers Workshop approaches designed to strengthen comprehension, fluency, reading engagement, writing ability, and students' overall relationship with literacy. Mathematics has also received significant attention through collaborative professional learning among elementary teachers.
Academic achievement is therefore viewed as more than examination performance. CTR's stated objective is to develop students who possess knowledge, skills, confidence, and the ability to participate constructively in society.
Student Learning and Individual Support
CTR Catholic emphasizes that every learner is unique. Its student-learning philosophy is based on the belief that each person is made in the image and likeness of God and therefore deserves opportunities to reach their potential.
The division provides programs intended to support students with different learning needs and abilities. Student Services is a significant component of this approach, supporting students with a range of special educational needs.
CTR also identifies social workers and other support personnel as part of its broader student-support system. Its Family School Liaison and Connection Worker programs provide additional assistance to students and families. The division says that schools are supported by one or more social workers, while teachers receive strategies for addressing mental-health needs within regular classroom environments.
This model reflects a broader understanding of student success. A child may face academic difficulties because of learning differences, social circumstances, emotional challenges, family issues, or other factors. Providing support through teachers, educational staff, social workers, and specialized services can help students remain connected to school and participate more successfully in learning.
Healthy Schools
The Healthy Schools initiative is another major feature of CTR Catholic. The division describes healthy schools as environments that support students and staff intellectually, mentally, socially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
Mental health is incorporated into the educational environment through universal strategies that teachers can use in ordinary classrooms. Rather than treating wellbeing as something completely separate from education, CTR seeks to make student wellbeing part of everyday school practice.
The emphasis on wellbeing also fits with the division's Catholic philosophy. Students are viewed as whole people rather than simply as academic learners. Their spiritual development, relationships, physical health, emotional wellbeing, and sense of belonging are all considered relevant to education.
This approach is particularly important during adolescence, when students may experience significant social, emotional, and academic changes. Schools that provide strong relationships, predictable structures, counselling resources, and opportunities for meaningful participation can help students navigate those changes.
Diversity, Inclusion, and Community
CTR Catholic operates in communities with different demographic, geographic, and cultural characteristics. The division recognizes the importance of creating welcoming and respectful environments.
One initiative mentioned by CTR is its Many and One Committee, which focuses on dismantling racism and discrimination within its schools. This work exists alongside the division's Catholic belief that every person possesses inherent dignity.
CTR also acknowledges the Indigenous peoples connected with the territory where its schools operate. Its land acknowledgement recognizes Siksik’ aohsin, or Blackfoot Territory, and names the Kainai, Siksika, Piikani, Tsuut'ina, Stoney Nakoda, Métis homeland, and others residing in the territory.
The division's approach therefore combines Catholic identity with recognition of the broader cultural and historical context of southern Alberta.
School Communities and Parent Involvement
Parents and families play an important role in CTR Catholic. The division's governance structure includes school councils, which serve as an important link between individual school communities and the school board.
School councils are advisory bodies to principals and can provide advice and consultation regarding school operations and community concerns. CTR encourages school councils to support the division's mission and Catholic education.
This structure gives families an avenue for participating in school life beyond their children's individual classrooms. Parent involvement can include volunteering, supporting school activities, participating in council discussions, assisting with fundraising, attending religious celebrations, and working with staff to support students.
The importance of family involvement is consistent with CTR's mission, which explicitly identifies the family and parish as partners in Catholic education.
Financial and Organizational Scale
CTR Catholic is a substantial education organization. The division reports responsibility for more than 10,000 students and approximately 800 staff members, with an annual budget exceeding $100 million. Its traditional and Outreach schools serve seven southern Alberta communities, while its Centre for Learning@HOME provides online and home-schooling opportunities to thousands of students across Alberta.
The scale of the division allows it to maintain specialized services and professional resources that may be difficult for a very small school jurisdiction to provide independently. At the same time, maintaining consistency across many schools requires significant organizational planning.
Financial management is another important responsibility. CTR publishes audited financial statements, providing public information about its financial position and operations. The division's current financial-information resources include audited statements for the year ending August 31, 2025.
Educational Results
CTR Catholic places considerable emphasis on educational results. Historical Alberta Education assurance data show strong performance across several measures.
For example, CTR's 2022–2023 Annual Education Results Report recorded a three-year high-school completion rate of 87.1 percent and a five-year completion rate of 94.0 percent. The corresponding Alberta results reported in that document were 80.7 percent and 88.6 percent. The same report showed strong results for citizenship, education quality, welcoming and safe learning environments, and parental involvement.
These figures should be interpreted carefully because education results change from year to year and because different measures capture different aspects of school performance. Alberta also cautions that results should be interpreted carefully when comparing results over time.
Nevertheless, the available results support CTR's emphasis on academic achievement and student completion. The division's current priorities continue to include student growth, learning supports, strong teaching and leadership, Indigenous education, faith-filled learning, and effective governance.
Outreach and Alternative Learning
Not every student learns best through a traditional school model. CTR Catholic therefore provides Outreach programs and distance or home education through its Centre for Learning@HOME.
The Centre for Learning@HOME is particularly significant because it extends the division's educational reach beyond its seven local communities. It provides online education, home-schooling, and distance education to students across Alberta. The division reports that this program serves thousands of students.
Outreach schools provide another pathway for students who may have difficulty succeeding in conventional school settings. Such programs can help re-engage students, provide flexibility, and create alternative routes toward graduation.
These options demonstrate that CTR's educational system is not limited to a single model of schooling. Its goal is to provide multiple pathways while maintaining the division's Catholic educational identity.
Governance
As an Alberta Catholic separate school division, CTR operates within the province's publicly funded education system and is governed through an elected Catholic school board structure.
Governance provides the framework through which the division establishes policies, oversees finances, sets educational priorities, and ensures accountability. School councils provide local advisory input, while the division administration coordinates educational and operational activities across the jurisdiction.
This combination of board-level governance and school-level participation is important because CTR serves communities with different needs. Local school communities can raise concerns and provide advice while the division maintains common standards and priorities.
Strengths of Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools
Several characteristics stand out when considering CTR Catholic as an educational organization.
First, its Catholic identity is clear and comprehensive. Faith is integrated into curriculum, school culture, celebrations, service, and relationships rather than being limited to a separate religious class.
Second, the division places significant emphasis on academic achievement. Its reported results and academic initiatives demonstrate an ongoing focus on literacy, mathematics, student learning, and graduation outcomes.
Third, student wellbeing receives substantial attention. Mental-health strategies, social workers, family-school supports, and Student Services contribute to a broader model of student care.
Fourth, the division provides multiple educational pathways. Traditional schools, Outreach programs, online learning, and home education allow CTR to serve students with different circumstances.
Fifth, the division has a relatively broad geographic reach and organizational scale. Serving more than 10,000 students allows it to maintain specialized resources while still operating individual schools within their local communities.
Considerations for Families
Families considering CTR Catholic should understand that its religious identity is central to the educational experience. Parents should be comfortable with Catholic religious instruction, prayer, liturgies, Mass, Catholic symbols, and the expectation that Catholic values influence school life.
Families should also consider the specific school rather than evaluating only the division as a whole. Individual schools can differ in size, grade configuration, extracurricular programs, facilities, transportation, specialized courses, and community culture.
For a student interested in athletics, fine arts, technology, trades, advanced academics, online education, or specialized learning supports, it is therefore useful to investigate the particular school and current year's offerings.
Conclusion
Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools is a significant Catholic education provider in Alberta, serving more than 10,000 students across communities in central and southern Alberta. Since its formation in 1995, the division has developed into a broad educational organization encompassing traditional schools, Outreach programs, and province-wide online and home-education opportunities.
Its educational philosophy rests on four major pillars: Catholic Faith, Academic Excellence, Healthy Schools, and Stewardship. These pillars are reflected in its approach to religious education, academic programming, student support, mental health, literacy, mathematics, community service, and family involvement.
Perhaps the defining characteristic of CTR Catholic is its attempt to integrate academic and personal development. Students are not viewed solely as learners preparing for examinations or employment. The division aims to develop the whole person, including faith, character, relationships, intellectual abilities, physical wellbeing, and responsibility toward others.
Its motto, "Leave Not One Heart Behind," summarizes this philosophy. The division seeks to recognize individual differences and provide support so that students can participate meaningfully in education and community life.
For families who value Catholic education, strong academic expectations, community participation, and a comprehensive approach to student wellbeing, Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools represents an important educational option in Alberta. Its combination of faith, learning, support services, alternative pathways, and community partnerships provides a distinctive model of publicly supported Catholic education.
At the same time, prospective families should examine the particular school that interests them, because programs and opportunities vary by location and grade level. The strongest way to evaluate CTR is therefore to consider both the division-wide philosophy and the specific experience offered by the individual school.
Overall, Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools can be understood as an education system built around the belief that academic achievement and personal formation should work together. Its stated objective is not simply to prepare students for graduation, but to help them develop the knowledge, faith, skills, confidence, character, and sense of responsibility needed to contribute positively to their families, communities, and wider society.
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