'keeps families together': new ukrainian charter school to open in calgary in september
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andrea taylor is the superintendent of the newly created ukrainian charter school scheduled to open in the fall at 902 11 ave. s.w. in calgary.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
when tatiana osypenko heard that a new school focusing on ukrainian language and culture was opening in calgary, she was in disbelief.
“i didn’t believe it,” she said. “it has been ages since the ukrainian community was trying to open a school like this.”
last year, the community launched a petition in support of a ukrainian school, collecting more than 300 signatures and securing the support of calgary lawyer and former provincial health and justice minister tyler shandro, who is of ukrainian heritage.
shandro is now chair of the school board for yuzyk academy, the first-of-its-kind ukrainian school in calgary, according to andrea taylor, the school’s superintendent.
“he heard about this and figured, if the calgary board of education and the calgary catholic school board aren’t able to take this on, maybe we should go with a charter school,” she said.
yuzyk academy, named in honour of the late canadian senator paul yuzyk, will open in september for students attending kindergarten to grade 4.
yuzyk, who was a senator from 1963 to 1986, was a long-time advocate for multiculturalism in canada, laying the groundwork for the canadian multiculturalism act, passed in 1988. prior to entering politics, he earned a doctorate in slavic studies and was a vocal proponent for ukrainian language education and culture.
it has been a project in the making for decades, taylor said, and especially in the last five years following the influx of ukrainian families to calgary in the wake of the russia-ukraine war.
“it really became a need that had to be met,” taylor said. “how are we going to help these families maintain their culture?”
osypenko moved to calgary in december 2022 with her daughters, then aged 14 and four. while her older daughter has still retained memories of their life pre-war and knowledge of their language and customs, her youngest can only repeat basic phrases in ukrainian.
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it makes conversations with their father, who still lives in ukraine, that much harder.
“i see she has a huge accent now,” osypenko said. “she can only speak basic phrases like ‘how are you doing, what did you do today’ and that’s it. but when she is asked those questions, she actually cannot answer them, so i see this barrier between father and child. they are losing the connection.”
students to learn in english and ukrainian, cultural dance, songs and cooking
a new ukrainian charter school will be located at 902 11 ave. s.w. in calgary.
darren makowichuk/ postmediadarren makowichuk/ postmedia
students attending yuzyk academy will study in both english and ukrainian.
“we have english language arts, science and social studies and then in ukrainian, we have ukrainian language, arts, maths and phys ed,” taylor said.
while the school will eventually offer classes for students between kindergarten and grade 9, it is currently only enrolling for students up to grade 4.
“we will introduce a new level with each year,” taylor said.
currently, the school has approximately 100 students enrolled, but taylor anticipates that number will rise throughout the summer with people hearing about it at upcoming festivals and events.
the building, in the 900 block of 11th avenue s.w., can hold up to 600 students.
the school will prioritize familiarizing students with their ukrainian heritage and language.
“the community is very relationship-driven so they also want their kids to have that understanding and feeling of community of being there for each other,” taylor said. “so we are really embedding that cultural piece.”
that includes classes on ukrainian dance, cooking, singing and encouraging older students to participate in city cultural events, “so they’re also giving back to their community,” she said.
the school, taylor said, offers families who have had to start their lives from scratch some comfort.
a child at the stand with ukraine rally at city hall in calgary on june 14, 2025.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
“we’ve actually had people apply who know they’re coming (to canada) but they’re still living in ukraine,” she said.
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“they’re very excited to have something that’s familiar to them and i think that’s going to be the biggest thing — giving them a little bit of care so they feel more at home.”
taylor encouraged families interested in the school to start exploring enrolment options now.
“this is going to be the year to get your kids in, because i have a funny feeling by next september i’m going to be turning people away,” she said.
for osypenko, it means getting to reconnect her youngest with her family’s history.
“it helps keep families together,” she said. “you want (the kids) to keep their connection with their past so they will always have their ukrainian culture with them, whether they even return to ukraine or not.”
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