In a burgeoning region where history gives way to progress and community has become an increasingly abstract term, it stands as a throwback to an earlier era.
Delta Secondary is marking a centennial today, celebrating 100 years of high school in Ladner, a tradition that began with the opening of King George V back in 1912 on the site of what is now the Ladner Community Centre. That school eventually gave way to Delta Central, which morphed into what we now know as DSS.
The constant over the last century is that Ladner has remained a one-school town, which has created a sense of community, of belonging, that simply doesn't exist in so many other places in an ever-expanding metropolis like Greater Vancouver.
When every kid in town, during their high school years, ends up at the same place, it turns that school into a hub, a focal point through which so much of local life passes. The school becomes synonymous with the town, taking on its characteristics and, in many instances, carrying out its dreams.
DSS's boundaries aren't contrived, created instead by topographical features and vast expanses of farmland that also define the town's boundaries. In so many other Lower Mainland jurisdictions, catchment area borders are arbitrary, drawn on maps in board offices in order to balance enrollment numbers. It's a case of attending one school if you live on this side of the street, but another one if you reside across the road.
It's what needs to be done in places like Surrey where there are 19 secondary schools or in Richmond where there are 10, but it's difficult to build community that way.
Ladner, as well as Tsawwassen for that matter, is lucky in the sense that although it's part of a bigger entity in Delta, it's still a self-contained community, a situation that harkens back to yesteryear, a know-your-neighbour arrangement that's increasingly rare in a sprawling metro area.
I would be remiss if I chalked up the secret to Delta Secondary's success solely to its advantageous surroundings. Principal Terry Ainge and the rest of the staff have done a tremendous job of creating a welcoming and forward-thinking school, instilling Pacer pride in all members of the extended family.
It might not look the way it once did or offer the same courses from years ago, but there's little doubt Delta Secondary is the tie that binds generations of Ladnerites. Its history is indelibly woven into the fabric of this community.
