Elementary · Central PoCo · French Immersion Host
Updated September 2026 · Craig Johnston, REALTOR® V99960
A Coquitlam REALTOR®'s read on Kilmer Elementary — one of three Port Coquitlam dual-track French Immersion host elementaries, in central PoCo on Knappen Street. How the FI Programs of Choice process works, what makes Kilmer different from Mary Hill and Irvine, and what to know about the central PoCo catchment housing.
Quick Answer
What should you know about Kilmer Elementary?
École Kilmer Elementary School — École Kilmer Elementary School is an elementary school in Port Coquitlam, serving grades K–5 in the Central Port Coquitlam · Knappen Street area. Central PoCo FI host elementary on Knappen Street. Address: 1575 Knappen Street, V3C 2P8. Phone 604-941-3401.
Verify your exact address
Check whether your address is actually inside the Kilmer Elementary catchment.
SD43 catchments are set by address, not by neighbourhood name. Enter your street in the district’s official School Locator to see the schools that serve your home. This is the authoritative source.
Verified school facts · SD43
School type
Elementary
Grades
K–5
District
SD43 (Coquitlam School District)
Address
1575 Knappen Street, Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 2P8
Phone
Website
Administration (2025–26)
Theresa Roberts (Principal) · troberts@sd43.bc.ca
VP: Confirm current VP roster with the school office.
Enrolment
251 students, School Year 2025–2026, across grades K–5 (dual-track English + Early French Immersion). Confirm current-year totals with the school office.
School hours
Confirm the current year's bell schedule directly with the school at 604-941-3401.
Local representation
School Trustee: SD43 Board of Education contact → · MLA: Port Coquitlam
In-catchment registration
Cross-catchment / school of choice
Catchment locator
School details verified against the SD43 school page (June 2026). Bell schedules, administrators, and program details can change year to year — confirm the current year directly with the school office before relying on any specific number.
Enrolment snapshot
Real, sourced enrolment figures for Kilmer — cross-referenced against BC's public school enrolment reporting so you're not relying on a guess.
Current enrolment
251 students
2025–2026 school year
Grades served
K–5
Dual-track: English + Early French Immersion
Enrolment by grade
School Year 2025–2026
Kindergarten enrolment is not separately published in the source consulted for Kilmer — Grades 1–5 alone total 202 of the school's 251 reported students. We are not backing out a Kindergarten figure from that gap; confirm current Kindergarten enrolment directly with the school office.
Enrolment cross-referenced against publicly reported BC K–12 school enrolment data for SD43, retrieved September 2026 (School Year 2025–2026).
What this school is best known for
Kilmer is dual-track — Early French Immersion plus a standard K–5 English program — in central Port Coquitlam on Knappen Street, near the Coquitlam border. Alongside Mary Hill and Irvine, Kilmer is one of three PoCo-side FI host elementaries that feed Kwayhquitlum Middle's FI continuation.
Programs & academic profile
One of three Port Coquitlam dual-track FI host elementaries. Apply through the SD43 Programs of Choice window — typically the first two weeks of January. K–2 = 100% French; grades 3–5 = 80% French.
Standard BC elementary curriculum for in-catchment families not in the FI stream.
SD43 inclusive-education model — resource teachers, learning support, counselling.
Standard SD43 English Language Learning programming for the English stream.
District-wide, under SD43's Aboriginal Enhancement Agreement. Indigenous Support Teachers and Child & Youth Care Workers, scholarships, land-based learning, and the All Nations Canoe Event, serving grades K–12 across SD43.
District-wide, grades K–12. Full-year (10-month) and summer options, with ESL and Culture Programming and a Teacher Training Program; qualifying secondary students can access AP and IB coursework.
Standard SD43 elementary athletics — choir, cross-country, intramurals.
SD43 has discontinued regular bus transportation.
Catchment, feeders & cross-catchment
Central Port Coquitlam — Knappen Street area, near the Coquitlam border. The English-stream catchment serves the surrounding residential streets; the FI program is district-wide via SD43 Programs of Choice.
Kilmer is a K-entry-point school. FI applicants come from across the PoCo side of SD43.
English-stream students promote to the assigned middle school per catchment; FI-stream students continue at École Kwayhquitlum Middle, then on to Terry Fox Secondary's FI program.
SD43 allows cross-catchment enrolment when space permits, allocated by lottery with in-district and sibling priority. SD43 cross-catchment policy →
Catchment lines run down individual streets and can put one side of a road in one catchment and the opposite side in the next. Always verify a specific address with the SD43 school locator before relying on any boundary statement.
Extracurriculars · sports · clubs
Programs change year to year. Confirm the current season's club and sport list on the school's Programs / Clubs page.
Inside the catchment · housing read
The Kilmer catchment is in central Port Coquitlam on Knappen Street, near the Coquitlam border. Inside the residential catchment you're looking at established detached homes on tree-lined streets — long-time PoCo family neighbourhood. The FI program is what draws cross-catchment applications.
Frequently asked questions
Kilmer is one of SD43's three dual-track Early French Immersion host elementaries on the Port Coquitlam side. For families specifically pursuing French Immersion, Kilmer (alongside Mary Hill and Irvine) is the PoCo-side entry option.
Yes — Kilmer is a dual-track Early French Immersion host elementary. Apply for the K-entry FI program through the SD43 Programs of Choice window in early January.
Theresa Roberts is the current principal (troberts@sd43.bc.ca).
Through the SD43 Programs of Choice process. Application window is typically the first two weeks of January for the following September.
No. SD43 Programs of Choice (French Immersion) is district-wide. Buy where the family fits, then apply to FI in January.
All three are PoCo-side dual-track Early French Immersion host elementaries. Kilmer is in central PoCo on Knappen Street; Mary Hill is on Humber Crescent in the Mary Hill neighbourhood; Irvine is in northeast PoCo on Wellington Street (with a brand-new $24.3M replacement building). Placement at a specific site depends on capacity.
FI students continue at École Kwayhquitlum Middle; English students continue per the regular catchment assignment.
Terry Fox Secondary's French Immersion program for grades 9–12.
No. SD43 has discontinued regular bus transportation district-wide.
1575 Knappen Street, Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 2P8. Phone 604-941-3401.
Continue your Coquitlam school research
Main hub
The full SD43 schools guide for the Tri-Cities.
Hub
Ranked guide to the top Coquitlam SD43 schools.
Programs
Every SD43 French Immersion entry point.
Private
Independent schools serving Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam.
Sources & methodology
School facts verified against the SD43 Kilmer Elementary school page, the SD43 Board of Education / Trustees page, and the SD43 school locator. Catchment, registration, and cross-catchment information from SD43's cross-catchment policy page. Enrolment (251 students, 2025–2026) is cross-referenced against the BC Ministry of Education's Student Headcount by Grade open dataset, retrieved September 2026; the Indigenous Education Support program and the SD43 International Student Program were cross-referenced against publicly reported SD43 district program information, also retrieved September 2026. All SD43.bc.ca links on this page were re-verified September 2026 after SD43 relaunched its website — the previous SharePoint-style URLs (school pages, the locator page, registration, cross-catchment) all now 404 or redirect to the SD43 homepage. This same link rot is very likely present across the rest of the school-guide pages and should be swept sitewide, not just fixed on this one. Real estate commentary is the professional opinion of Craig Johnston, REALTOR® license V99960, working under The MACNABS at Royal LePage Elite West and serving the SD43 Tri-Cities market.
Page reviewed and dated June 2026; facility, enrolment, and program details refreshed September 2026. License V99960 · BCFSA-regulated. Confirm school program details with the school office before relying on them for an enrolment decision.
A long-time Tri-Cities resident and licensed REALTOR®, Craig knows the catchment streets, the boundary risks, and the homes that come up inside the Kilmer Elementary catchment before they hit the public market.
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