Welcome to Marion Carson School. Through caring, trusting and supportive relationships, we will work together to foster a climate for students to become lifelong learners, responsible citizens, develop positive self-esteem, wellness and growth. Students are at the center of everything we do; the communication between student, teacher and parents is a key aspect to a successful year. Marion Carson School is part of a much larger learning community that is the Calgary Board of Education. Programs in the CBE are designed to enrich lives and promote quality learning by recognizing the many diverse ways of learning and the many interests and abilities that our students have today.
Marion Carson School at a Glance
- We believe diversity is our strength and learning is not just academics. It involves collaboration, communication and building understanding of the world around us. Hence our motto: Learning Together, Friends Forever.
- At the same time we provide students with opportunities to experience strong academic achievement.
- We believe learning is built on a strong foundation of literacy, numeracy and well-being for learning.
- Involves students in technology use in preparation for a rapidly changing world.
- We have music and physical education specialists.
- We welcome parents as partners in student learning through open communication, extensive volunteer opportunities, and participative decision making.
- Teachers are engaged in lifelong learning in pursuit of excellence in action.
- Our lunchroom program serves both our bused and neighbourhood students.
- Our Mandarin Bilingual Program opened in September 2014 with Kindergarten and Grade 1. We now have Kindergarten to Grade 4. The program provides opportunities for students to acquire the basic skills of speaking, reading and writing both English and Mandarin at a young age. The Program of Studies is taught in Mandarin 50% of the time and in English 50% of the time. Both Chinese and Canadian customs and traditions are celebrated and integrated into many aspects of learning to enhance language acquisition.
- We have a large population of students who are English as an Additional Language Learners with multiple worldwide countries and languages represented within our school community.
- Community English Program students reside in the community of Varsity.
Who Was Marion Y. Carson?
In September of 1969, the doors of Marion Carson School opened for the first time. The school was named in honour of Mrs. Marion Young Carson, one of Calgary's former best-known and beloved citizens. Marion Carson devoted her time to bettering the lives of those around her and worked tirelessly to make Calgary a better place in which to live.
Mrs. Marion Carson was born in Kent County, Ontario on May 9, 1861 as Marion Young Coutts. Her early years were spent in Manitoba and she came to Calgary in 1893 with her husband, William Carson.
From her first days in Calgary, she was concerned about the number of people suffering from tuberculosis (TB) and it was through her hard work that the first TB Sanatorium in Alberta was made possible in 1910. Mrs. M. Carson headed the Alberta Tuberculosis Society for eleven years and was made an Honorary member of the Canadian Tuberculosis Association in 1949. She was also instrumental in attaining health support for the areas indigenous peoples.
Education received a great deal of her attention and she sat as a member of the Calgary School Board for four years from 1920-1924. She helped organize the Women's Literary Club in 1906, and when she was on the Calgary Library Board, she helped instigate the establishment of a central library. As chairman of the City Health Committee, she worked toward both constructing free clinics for school children and distributing milk to needy children. She was a member of the Alberta Council of Child and Family Welfare for twenty-seven years. She also participated actively in the Women's Canadian Club, Local Council of Women, and the Calgary United Nations Association. She was a member of Knox United Church and attended services regularly. She was the first to form a group to feed the unemployed.
Mrs. M. Carson received several awards including the King's Medal in 1938 and the "Citizen of the Year" award in 1946. Marion Y. Carson died in Calgary at the age of 89 on July 13, 1950.
Our School's Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation
We are committed to acknowledging and supporting the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 94 Calls to Action specific to education. Our school, along with all CBE schools, made a Truth and Reconciliation Commitment to Action, on June 21, we renewed our commitment.
View Our Truth and Reconciliation Commitment | 2025-2026
School Development Plan
Each year, our school prepares a development plan with input from teachers, school staff, students and parents. We review many sources of data, including report cards, provincial achievement test results and school surveys. Based on this information, we create our plan identifying targeted areas for growth. Our school development plan is not meant to represent all of the work that takes place in our school, but rather it focuses on specific areas for improvement.
View Our School Development Plan | 2025-2026
School Improvement Results Report
Our school also prepares a results plan, which looks at our previous school year. It shows our students’ achievement and progress in meeting the goals and outcomes as set out by the CBE and Alberta Education, outlines some of the highlights of our school development plan and gives an overview of our school. You can look on the CBE website for system-wide results.