Vancouver school trustees are looking at ways to address a drop in enrolment.

School board chair Patti Bacchus says they want to conduct exit interviews with departing students.

She says the district needs to find out why the students are leaving, where they are going, and how they then plan to get their education. 

"If you are in any kind of organization or business and your customers, in effect – and not that I like to think of students as customers – but when people are leaving, you need to ask why. And I think it is important to understand, and we really don't have that full picture.

“We hear some anecdotal reports of why students might be making different decisions or families making decisions, but until we know the full picture, it is difficult to respond effectively to it."

Bacchus says once trustees get the information, it could be used to find ways to combat an ongoing problem with declining enrollment.