Centennial Public School (Waterloo)
In 2024-25, Centennial had 415 students for 294 permanent places (141% full). The board first raised an addition for this area in 2018, and it hasn't been built. 962 homes were permitted in its grade 7–8 area between January 2019 and August 2026, and at least 248 more are proposed.
Nothing is scheduled for Centennial that we know of. to hear when it comes up.
How full is it?
Ward median 97%
One of 14 ward schools over 100% in 2024-25. #3 of 29 by how full it is.
Enrolment is the Ministry’s October 31 headcount; permanent places are the board’s on-the-ground capacity. Portables aren’t counted as permanent places.
Students and educators
Ward median 23 (elementary schools)
All 15 classes, including split grades, counted by the Ministry in September 2025.
About 19 students for each teacher named on the school’s website: 415 students (October 2024)[1] ÷ 22 teachers listed on November 2, 2026, counting any special-education and ESL teachers listed[4].derived The list also names 1 child and youth worker.
A staff page is a directory of names, not full-time equivalents: part-time teachers count as one each, and staff based at other schools aren’t listed. Not every school lists its support staff. The board doesn’t publish staffing by school.
Last rebuild or addition
Ward median: built 1974
We haven’t found an addition or rebuild on record.
- 1968Done
Built in 1968. The board's accessibility page and its draft 2017-2027 plan both give 1968, and the school held its 50th anniversary in April 2018. The 2020-2030 plan lists 1958, the year the board's other records give for Centennial PS in Cambridge.[18][5][6][7] - 2018Raised, not built
A classroom addition for the Keatsway / Centennial / Mary Johnston area was identified in 2018 and was not sent to the Ministry in any round from 2019 to 2024-25. Every year from 2021-22 to 2024-25, staff screened it as “premature”, with a boundary study or review recommended first. The board still listed it as a potential partnership project in September 2026.[5][8][9][10][11][12]
New homes in its attendance area
Another 248+ homes are proposed in 4 active applications; 2 of them give no unit count[14].
There’s no Development Area here, so new homes in this boundary are assigned to this school[16].
About 10% of this area's addresses are in Kitchener, where we haven't counted permits yet.[15]
Includes a 190-unit student residence at 170 Seagram Dr.[13]
City of Waterloo permits only. Gross counts: demolitions aren’t subtracted.
Building condition
Ward median 27%
In the board's “fair” band (40 to 64%).[17] The index is five years of needed repairs divided by what it would cost to replace the building. Higher is worse. The red mark is the board’s 65% “poor” line.
Accessibility
Ward median 97%
- Elevator
- Not Required
- Barrier-free washroom
- Available
Lead in drinking water
Highest reading 14.6 µg/L. 1 exceedance was in a flushed sample, after the tap had run.
We show these for each school so families can see them, but we don’t rank schools on test scores or family income, and they’re left off share images.
Who attends
Special education and first language: preliminary 2024-25. Low-income households: 2021 Census. The Ministry randomly rounds these percentages[22].
Provincial test results
This school has no tested grades (grades 7–8 only).
Against the board’s forecast
- 2024-25 enrolment vs the board's 2020 forecast for 2024-25
- 8% below[2]
The 2020 Long-Term Accommodation Plan forecast each school’s enrolment to 2030. The board uses these forecasts to decide where to ask for new space.
Safety events posted
- Hold-and-secure, lockdown or police presence
- 1[21]
- Unplanned closures or evacuations
- 0
What the school chose to post on its website, counted once per event, September 2017 to September 3, 2026.
Tell us what you see at Centennial
Portables, class sizes, repairs, or something this page gets wrong. Reports go to Brian and are checked before anything is published, and anything added from them is marked unverified.
Sources
- Ontario Ministry of Education, enrolment by school, 2024-25
October 31 headcount. The Ministry rounds to the nearest five from 2018-19 on; earlier years in the same series (back to 2011-12) are exact counts.
- WRDSB 2020-2030 Long-Term Accommodation Plan
Review Area E23 (Waterloo Central West (Beechwood)), listed as Centennial PS (W). PDF page 96: permanent capacity (on-the-ground), year built and Facility Condition Index; enrolment forecast on page 97. Adopted June 21, 2021.
- Ontario Ministry of Education, elementary class size, 2025-26
One row per class, counted in September 2025. A grade group of 1 to 4 pupils is shown as “<5”, so some averages are a range.
- Centennial Public School (Waterloo) website, staff list
Read November 2, 2026. A directory of names, not full-time equivalents; part-time teachers count as one each.
- Draft 2017-2027 Long-Term Accommodation Plan, Committee of the Whole, January 22, 2018
Review Area E23 table: Centennial (W) PS, year of construction 1968. PDF page 132.
- Draft 2017-2027 Long-Term Accommodation Plan, Committee of the Whole, January 22, 2018
Review Area E02 table: Centennial (C) PS (Cambridge), year of construction 1958. PDF page 74.
- Centennial Public School website, “Centennial's 50th Anniversary Celebration!!!”, April 27, 2018
Celebration on Saturday, April 28, 2018.
- 2022-23 Capital Priorities submission and screening, Board meeting, February 28, 2022
Screening rows for the E17 and E23 additions. PDF page 21.
- 2021-22 Capital Priorities screening, Committee of the Whole, May 10, 2021
Screening row: “Facility addition or rebuild at select Review Area E23 school”; not submitted in 2019. PDF page 31.
- 2023-24 Capital Priorities screening, Committee of the Whole, October 16, 2023
Screening row for the E23 addition or rebuild. PDF page 18.
- 2024-25 Capital Priorities screening, Committee of the Whole, September 16, 2024
Screening row for the E23 addition or rebuild (“boundary review”). PDF page 52.
- Potential partnership opportunities, Board meeting, September 28, 2026
E23 addition still listed. PDF page 76.
- City of Waterloo, building permits open data
New residential units permitted January 2019 to August 21, 2026, placed in the school's 2026-27 boundary. Gross: demolitions aren't subtracted. City of Waterloo only.
- EngageWR, City of Waterloo development planning projects
Active development applications, read August 23, 2026.
- Region of Waterloo address register
Every civic address in Waterloo and Wilmot, read November 2, 2026.
- WRDSB school boundary and location maps, 2026-27
The board's ArcGIS boundary layers, read September 30, 2026.
- WRDSB 2020-2030 Long-Term Accommodation Plan, Figure 12
The plan's condition bands: over 65% poor, 40 to 64% fair, under 39% excellent. PDF page 30.
- WRDSB, Accessibility Status by School
Board web page, read October 25, 2026.
- Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, drinking water quality and enforcement data
Lead samples taken at the school under O. Reg. 243/07, 2016-17 to 2024-25.
- WRDSB ventilation report
Per-school ventilation type and standalone HEPA units; the board's chart was last updated November 28, 2024.
- Centennial Public School (Waterloo) website, news posts since 2017-18
Closures, evacuations and hold-and-secure notices the school chose to post, read to September 3, 2026; counted once per event.
- Ontario Ministry of Education, school information and student demographics, preliminary 2024-25
Special education and first language not English: 2024-25, school data as of July 2026. Low-income households: from the 2021 Census. The Ministry randomly rounds these percentages.