Tempo School

History

Tempo School was founded in 1963 by Dr. George N. Cormack.

Dr. Cormack was concerned that in the quickly changing educational world of the early 1960’s, many of the core values, time-tested practices and traditional goals of education were being forgotten or displaced by dubious innovations and novelties.

In 1967, the school was officially incorporated by a statute of the Alberta Legislature, the Tempo School Act, as a non-profit, charitable organization. The School was to be governed by a Board of at least three members. The original Board included Dr. Cormack himself, Dr. Charles Allard, an Edmonton Surgeon and entrepreneur, Mr. Sandy MacTaggarat, an Edmonton developer and philanthropist, who became the 14th Chancellor of the University of Alberta in 1990, and The Reverend Dr. D. L. Leadbeater, Rector of Holy Trinity Church in Old Strathcona.

Dr. Cormack began with a grade 1 class of ten boys and girls in the annex of Holy Trinity Church. One grade was added in each of the subsequent years of the school’s existence so that, by 1972, when the teachers and more then 100 students moved into their own new building in the current Riverbend location, the school had expanded to ten grades.

Enrollment steadily increased and over the years three additions were added the school building.The first grade 12 class graduated in 1976. Tempo added kindergarten classes in 19, and now has over 380 students and a faculty of 30 teachers.