District Alternate Program · Indigenous-Grounded · Grades 8–10
Updated October 2026 · Craig Johnston, REALTOR® V99960
A Coquitlam REALTOR®'s read on Suwa'lkh — SD43's Indigenous-grounded alternate transition school for grades 8–10. How the program works, why it's referral-based district-wide, and where it fits in the SD43 alternate-education landscape.
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What should you know about Suwa'lkh?
Suwa'lkh School — Suwa'lkh School is a district alternate program school in Coquitlam, serving grades 8–10 transition in the Maillardville · Brunette Avenue area. SD43's Indigenous-grounded alternate transition program (grades 8–10). Address: 1432 Brunette Avenue, V3K 1G5. Phone 604-523-6011.
Verify your exact address
Suwa'lkh School is a district program — admission is not based on your address.
Your address still determines your catchment elementary, middle and secondary schools. Look them up in SD43’s official School Locator.
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Verified school facts · SD43
School type
District Alternate Program
Grades
8–10 transition
District
SD43 (Coquitlam School District)
Address
1432 Brunette Avenue, Coquitlam, BC V3K 1G5
Phone
Website
Administration (2025–26)
Judith Payne (Principal)
VP: Confirm current VP roster with the school office.
Enrolment
Small intentional cohort — confirm current enrolment with the school office.
School hours
Confirm the current year's bell schedule directly with the school at 604-523-6011.
Local representation
School Trustee: SD43 Board of Education contact → · MLA: Coquitlam-Maillardville
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 Suwa'lkh — cross-referenced against schoolguide.vtco.app's public school-guide data so you're not relying on a guess.
Current enrolment
13 students
2025–2026 school year
Grades served
8–12
District referral program, no catchment
Enrolment by grade
School Year 2025–2026 — only Grade 10 separately published at the source consulted
Suwa'lkh's total enrolment (13) and grade range (8–12) are confirmed at the source consulted, but only Grade 10 (12 students) is broken out separately — the remaining 1 student's grade level is not published there, and we won't guess it. Note that SD43 and the school describe Suwa'lkh's core alternate transition programming as serving grades 8–10, even though the school's broader registered grade range runs 8–12 — cross-check current-year grade offerings and enrolment directly with the school office before relying on any single grade's count for planning purposes.
Enrolment cross-referenced against schoolguide.vtco.app's public school-guide data for Suwa'lkh School, retrieved September 2026 (School Year 2025–2026).
What this school is best known for
Suwa'lkh — meaning 'New Beginnings' in Hul'q'umi'num' — is SD43's alternate transition school for students who need a different setting than a standard middle or secondary school. It serves grades 8–10 with small groups, integrated curriculum that responds to student interests, and intensive social and academic support. Indigenous teachings are woven through the entire program. The school partners with Fresh Roots for a school-garden / farm-to-school program, giving students hands-on land-based learning alongside their academics.
Programs & academic profile
Integrated, interest-responsive curriculum with Indigenous teachings core to the program. Open to all students.
Small cohorts with intensive social and academic supports — designed for students who need a different setting.
School-garden / farm-to-school partnership with Fresh Roots, supporting land-based learning.
Bridges to a neighbourhood secondary or another alternate site to complete graduation.
Embedded counselling alongside academics.
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.
Catchment, feeders & cross-catchment
Suwa'lkh has NO public school catchment — it is a district referral program. Students from anywhere in SD43 can be referred. Indigenous students and families are particularly served by the program's grounding.
Referral-based, district-wide. Students come from any SD43 middle or secondary school.
Most students transition back to a neighbourhood secondary school or another alternate site to complete graduation.
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
Inside the Suwa'lkh School catchment in Maillardville · Brunette Avenue, you're looking at established residential streets. Verify the exact catchment for your address through the SD43 locator before committing — boundary lines can run down individual streets.
Frequently asked questions
Suwa'lkh School is an SD43 grade 9–12 secondary school. SD43's Indigenous-grounded alternate transition program for grades 8–10 — small groups, integrated interest-responsive curriculum, intensive social and academic support. Open to all students; Indigenous teachings are core to the program. Partners with Fresh Roots for a school-garden / farm-to-school program.
SD43's Indigenous-grounded alternate transition program for grades 8–10 — small groups, integrated interest-responsive curriculum, intensive social and academic support. Open to all students; Indigenous teachings are core to the program. Partners with Fresh Roots for a school-garden / farm-to-school program.
Suwa'lkh has NO public school catchment — it is a district referral program. Students from anywhere in SD43 can be referred. Indigenous students and families are particularly served by the program's grounding. Verify a specific address through the SD43 school locator.
Judith Payne.
Referral-based, district-wide. Students come from any SD43 middle or secondary school.
Yes — through the SD43 cross-catchment / school-of-choice process when space permits. Placement is by lottery with in-district and sibling priority.
No. SD43 has discontinued regular bus transportation district-wide.
Grades 9, 10, 11, and 12.
1432 Brunette Avenue, Coquitlam, BC V3K 1G5. Phone 604-523-6011.
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 Suwa'lkh School school page, the SD43 2025–26 School Listings (administrators) PDF, and the SD43 school locator. Catchment, registration, and cross-catchment information from SD43's cross-catchment policy page. Enrolment (13 students, 2025–2026) and program information are cross-referenced against schoolguide.vtco.app's public school-guide data for Suwa'lkh School, retrieved September 2026; Grade 8, 9, 11, and 12 headcounts were not separately published there and are disclosed as a gap rather than estimated. 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. Real estate commentary is the professional opinion of Craig Johnston, REALTOR® license V99960, working under Royal LePage Elite West and serving the SD43 Tri-Cities market.
Page reviewed and dated June 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 Suwa'lkh School catchment before they hit the public market.
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