About / History

At Kent Road, we strive to help each child to be the best they can be. We are committed to improving students’ learning, creating a safe school environment, generating a feeling of belonging among students and strengthening links among school, parents, and community.

Kent Road School opened in January 1953 in the Elmwood area. The structure of Kent Road changed little in its first few years except for a minor alteration to a general purpose room. However on November 15, 1974, trustees of the Winnipeg School Division passed a motion to send a notice of intent to the Public School Finance Board for modifications and additions to Kent Road school.

This was no ordinary undertaking, for the project involved a number of interested parties. The school staff, St. John’s Community Committee, the executive of East Elmwood Community Club and the School Division. All agreed that the educational program of the school and the community function of the school could be improved by doing more than just modifying the gymnasium and adding a multi-purpose room. It was proposed to have a 5,400 square foot gymnasium, showers, washrooms and other service areas, which could be jointly used by the school and the East Elmwood Community Club. In conjunction with the baseball diamonds, soccer fields, skating rinks, hockey rinks and the clubrooms maintained and operated by the East Elmwood Community Club, the resulting complex could be a recreational focus for the whole area. Provisions were made to add a multi-purpose room, and modify the school library for joint community use, a craft development centre which could be made available to the Parks and Recreation Department on a an after school basis. The joint-use project stemmed from a fire in 1971 which destroyed the East Elmwood Community Centre. The Date stone was laid by school board Trustee, Gloria Mendelson and Effie Neubauer, past president of East Elmwood Community Centre on Sept. 17, 1976.

The gymnasium-auditorium at Kent Road school was named “The Williston Memorial Auditorium” in memory of Donald, 12, and David, 10, sons of Floyd and Elsie Willistone, two well known young athletes who lost their lives on August 14, 1971 in a boating accident. Malcolm Williston and Mary MacDonald, brother and sister of Floyd Williston, assisted in the ribbon cutting ceremony.

The cost of the new facilities was in excess of $500,000 with the City of Winnipeg, through the Parks and Recreation branch, contributing over $200,000 and the province of Manitoba and the Winnipeg School Division contributing over $300,000.​