Calgary Catholic School District

What Calgary Catholic School District does

Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) is a publicly funded K-12 Catholic school district operating under Alberta's Education Act and governed by an elected Board of Trustees, headquartered at 1000 – 5 Avenue SW, Calgary. Founded in 1885 and serving more than 56,000 students across 112 schools spanning Calgary and adjacent communities including Airdrie, Chestermere, and Cochrane, CCSD delivers faith-based education from kindergarten through Grade 12 with programs of choice such as French Immersion (18 sites, 50-year milestone), International Baccalaureate, Collegiate pathways, Hockey Canada Skills Academy, Marching Band, and Diploma Preparation. The district employs over 3,600 certificated staff and 1,600 support staff for a total headcount above 5,200.

Core technology infrastructure is built around commercial education platforms rather than proprietary systems: PowerSchool for student information and parent/student portal (with Microsoft Azure AD SSO), Brightspace (D2L) as the learning management system at dl.cssd.ab.ca, plus Microsoft Office 365, Google Workspace for Education, Zoom, Chrome River (expense management), Student Quick Pay (Moneris), and Active Network (summer school registration). Specialized sites layer newer capability on top — the Design Thinking Innovation Labs at Our Lady of the Rockies and the new St. Mary's Innovation, Technology and Design Centre (opened September 2025) provide 3D printing, laser cutting, robotics, AI, and VR tooling integrated with SAIT, Olds College, and Mount Royal University dual-credit partnerships.

CCSD's revenue model is government-funded rather than commercial: Alberta Education per-student grants are the principal funding stream, supplemented by ancillary fee-based revenues including summer school ($10 non-refundable registration + $40 refundable textbook caution per course), diploma preparation ($75/course), Hockey Skills Academy (~$525), transportation, school fees (locks, IDs, instruments), and a fee-paying International Student program. Distribution is via direct enrollment through district schools, the Parent Forms online registration system, and the Brightspace-powered online learning channel; go-to-market also leverages post-secondary partnerships and recurring CCEF fundraiser partnerships with Cavalry FC and Calgary Wild FC.

Name

Calgary Catholic School District

Legal name

Calgary Catholic School District

Website

https://cssd.ab.ca

Company type

Public

Founded year

1885

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Calgary Catholic School District is a publicly funded K-12 Catholic school district serving 56,000+ students across 112 schools in the Calgary metropolitan area, offering French Immersion, IB, Collegiate, and trades/career pathway programs through partnerships with SAIT, Mount Royal University, and Olds College.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public K–12 Combined Schools (EDAJAAAE)

Keywords

• K-12 Catholic education
• French immersion programs
• Secondary education services
• Dual credit pathways
• Off-campus education

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Education Funding: Publicly funded school district receiving provincial funding from Alberta Education for K-12 education services
2. Summer School Fees: Fee-based summer school courses with $10 non-refundable registration fee per course plus $40 refundable textbook caution fee
3. Diploma Preparation Course Fees: $75 per diploma preparation course for exam preparation support
4. Hockey Skills Academy Fees: Approximately $525 for hockey program including $30 non-refundable registration fee
5. International Student Tuition: Fee-paying international students program with dedicated registration process
6. Transportation Fees: Transportation services with eligibility-based access and fee structure
7. School Fees: Various school fees including locks, ID cards, instrument rentals, and activity fees

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Calgary Catholic School District operates 112 publicly funded Catholic K-12 schools serving more than 56,000 students in Calgary, Alberta. Its core offering is the provision of faith-based K-12 education, augmented by programs of choice (French Immersion, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, Design Thinking for Innovation Collegiate, Special Needs programming), summer school, diploma preparation, off-campus education, and specialized co-curricular academies (Hockey Canada Skills Academy, Marching Band).

Product overview

Calgary Catholic School District operates as a K-12 public Catholic education system in Calgary, Alberta, serving over 56,000 students across 120 schools. The district's digital infrastructure includes its main website (cssd.ab.ca) as the primary information and service portal, integrated with PowerSchool for student information management and Brightspace (D2L) for learning management. Academic programs span Design Thinking for Innovation Collegiate programs at Our Lady of the Rockies and St. Mary's, summer school with multiple delivery formats, French Immersion (celebrating 50 years), International Baccalaureate, and Advanced Placement. Career and workforce development is facilitated through St. Anne Academic Centre's off-campus education including dual-credit, Green Certificate agriculture, skilled trades internships, and work experience programs. Additional specialized offerings include Hockey Canada Skills Academy and Marching Band program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Our Lady of the Rockies: High school with specialized programs including Design Thinking for Innovation, Marching Band, Hockey Canada Skills Academy, and Advanced Placement courses.
• St. Mary's High School
• St. Anne Academic Centre
• Calgary Catholic Education Foundation (CCEF)

Products and services

• K-12 Catholic Education Core Kindergarten through Grade 12 Catholic education delivered across 112 district schools to more than 56,000 students in Calgary and surrounding areas, combining provincially mandated curriculum with Catholic faith formation.
• French Immersion Program Bilingual French-English Catholic school program serving students from Kindergarten through Grade 12, anchored at sites such as St. Anne Academic Centre (Grades 7-9) and St. Mary's High School (Grades 10-12).
• International Baccalaureate (IB) Program International Baccalaureate Programme offered at St. Mary's High School, providing an internationally recognized diploma pathway for high-achieving secondary students alongside their Alberta high school diploma.
• Advanced Placement (AP) Courses College-level Advanced Placement courses delivered at district high schools, allowing students to earn university-level credits while completing their Alberta high school diploma.
• Design Thinking for Innovation Collegiate Program Four-year collegiate program focused on design thinking, innovation, entrepreneurship, and project-based learning, anchored at St. Mary's High School Innovation Centre with 3D printing, laser cutting, robotics, AI, and VR tools.
• Summer School Seasonal summer credit recovery and upgrade courses offered to high school students across the district, including specialized design thinking summer programming.
• Diploma Preparation Courses Credit and diploma preparation courses for students needing targeted support to meet Alberta high school diploma requirements.
• Off-Campus Education Work-integrated learning program offering high school students the Green Certificate Program, Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP), Work Experience placements, and Special Projects in partnership with industry and post-secondary institutions including SAIT, Olds College, and Mount Royal University.
• Hockey Canada Skills Academy Fee-based Hockey Canada Skills Academy combining on-ice hockey development with academic programming, run as a partnership between CCSD, Hockey Canada, and Calgary-area clubs (e.g., Calgary Wild FC, Cavalry FC).
• Marching Band Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Students can earn up to 10 credits through summer school programs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Calgary Catholic Education Foundation (CCEF)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2026CCEF partners with CCSD to support student success through scholarships, bursaries, and grants. Fundraising through Cavalry FC and Calgary Wild FC matches where $3.50-5 per ticket supports CCEF grants and awards.
• Calgary Wild FCsecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerProfessional soccer club partnership offering exclusive group tickets to home matches. $5 from each ticket supports Calgary Catholic Education Foundation. Schools can win player visit.
• Cavalry FCsecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerProfessional men's soccer club partnership offering fundraiser matches. $3.50 from each $37 ticket supports CCEF. Includes player visit prize packages for schools.
• Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPost-secondary partnership for Collegiate Program providing dual-credit courses and career pathway connections in trades, technology, and other fields.
• Olds CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPost-secondary partnership for Collegiate Program providing dual-credit opportunities and industry connections for students.
• Mount Royal UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPost-secondary partnership for Collegiate Program providing dual-credit courses and pathway opportunities.
• CAREERS: The Next GenerationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting Skilled Trades Internship program by connecting students with employers interested in hiring and training youth in trades.
• University of Alberta - Faculté Saint-JeancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDual-credit partnership allowing French Immersion students to earn university-level French education credits while in high school.
• Alberta Agriculture and ForestrysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreen Certificate program certification issuing body for agricultural industry training levels.
• Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment body for registered apprenticeship program providing journeyperson certification and apprenticeship hour tracking.
• Hockey CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational hockey governing body partnership providing Hockey Skills Academy curriculum and standards at Our Lady of the Rockies.
• Castle Rock ResearchsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationEducational research partner providing THE KEY Study Guides, SNAP Workbooks, and SOLARO Digital resources aligned with Alberta curriculum.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Calgary Board of Education: The largest public secular K-12 district serving the same Calgary Metropolitan Area. Operates under the same Alberta Education framework and competes directly with CCSD for student enrollment, teacher talent, and provincial funding.
• Edmonton Catholic Schools: Edmonton's Catholic separate school district — the closest structural analog to CCSD within Alberta. Operates K-12 Catholic schools under the same Alberta Education Act framework, with similar faith-based mission and program-of-choice model.

Regional players

• Rocky View Schools: Public K-12 district serving the communities immediately surrounding Calgary (Airdrie, Cochrane, Chestermere) — geographies that overlap with CCSD's catchment. Direct competitor for students on the Calgary metropolitan periphery.
• Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools: Catholic separate school district serving St. Albert and surrounding Edmonton-region communities. Structurally identical model to CCSD (Catholic, publicly funded, K-12) at a smaller scale, useful for benchmarking Catholic-district unit economics in Alberta.
• Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools: Catholic separate school district serving communities south and east of Calgary (High River, Okotoks, Brooks). Operates the same faith-based K-12 model under Alberta Education, competing for students in CCSD's southern catchment fringe.
• Palliser Regional Schools: Public K-12 district covering southeast Alberta (Medicine Hat and surrounding rural areas). Comparable Alberta public-school-district governance and funding model, though geographically distant from Calgary.
• Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Separate Regional Division No. 4: Catholic separate school district serving Lethbridge and surrounding southern Alberta communities. Closely comparable Alberta Catholic-district peer in size and rural-suburban mix, useful for unit-economics and program-design benchmarking.

Broad incumbents

• Toronto Catholic District School Board: Canada's largest Catholic school board (~80,000+ students). Operates the same publicly funded Catholic K-12 model in Ontario and provides a benchmark for scale, program breadth, and ancillary-revenue operations at the upper end of the Canadian Catholic-district category.
• Ottawa Catholic School Board: Catholic separate school board serving Ottawa under Ontario's publicly funded Catholic education system. Comparable governance and program structure to CCSD, with similar IB, French Immersion and specialized program offerings.

Others

• National Catholic Education Association: U.S. industry association representing Catholic K-12 schools. Not a direct competitor, but provides peer benchmarking on Catholic-school program design, governance, and funding-advocacy frameworks relevant to CCSD's mission and operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CCSD_edu
• Facebookfacebook.com/CalgaryCatholicSchoolDistrict
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/calgary-catholic-school-district

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Calgary Catholic School District