Located at 26845 – 27 Avenue in Aldergrove, just south of Aldergrove Community Secondary, Betty Gilbert Elementary was built in 1992 to relieve the congestion at the other Aldergrove area elementary schools.
Betty (McLaren) Gilbert, born in 1927 in Trail, BC, was teaching at Aldergrove Elementary when she met Jim Gilbert, who was managing Mr. Tail’s dairy farm on North Coghlan Road. They were married in 1951 and had three children—Sandra, Diane, and Allan. All were born in Langley Memorial Hospital. The family bought a 56-acre farm on Robertson Crescent in 1965, and Jim operated it until 1989. Betty also taught at Coghlan and Parkside Elementary during these years. Betty passed away in 1985. The new school was named after the much-loved and respected Langley teacher.
The school now has 14 standard classrooms; 4 were added in 2001. It also has a gym library, special education room resource room Multi Purpose room, and a Kindergarten room. There is also a music/band room, a conference room, and a parent room. Heating is provided by a central hot water boiler and air handling system with heat recovery. There is a metal roof. Water and sanitary sewer connections are in place. It is located on 1.68 Ha (4.16 Acres) and has a mini grass field, a paved play court, an adventure play structure, and a 4 foot fence on three sides. There is an unfenced municipal rock dust playing field on the north side.
In 2004 the school has 354 students registered from kindergarten to grade 7. The students feed into Aldergrove Community Secondary for grade 8.
The school colours are blue and white, and the school logo is the Grizzly Bear. The school motto is P.A.W.S. (Positive Attitude, Winning Spirit).
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