Located at Coaldale, in the midst of a large Mennonite settlement, the Alberta Mennonite High School was sponsored by the Alberta Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Church with the purpose of giving its young people an opportunity to get their instruction in a Christian institution from Christian teachers with special emphasis on the ideals of the church in matters of faith and practice. AMHS closed its doors in 1964.

It was owned and operated by the Alberta Mennonite Educational Society, founded especially for this purpose on 8 March 1946, by 72 members of the conference with 89 shares at $50.00 each. The curriculum of the AMHS was the same as that prescribed by the Department of Education of the Province of Alberta for all high schools in the province and the school was under the supervision of the government high-school inspector.

The original school building was 28 x 84 ft. with three classrooms on the main floor and living quarters for girl students in the basement. There was a kitchen and a dining hall, and also a teacherage for three families. In the first five years after the opening of the school in 1946, enrolment grew from 28 to 70. In 1951, grades seven and eight were added and in 1952 two additional classrooms were built. Principals who served the school in its early years included Henry Thiessen and Peter G. Klassen. The AMHS was the only Mennonite high school in the province at the time.

Bibliography

Additional Information

Alberta Mennonite High School Teachers

Names of principles are in boldface

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 33. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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