New East Guelph (Couling Crescent) Boundary Review
Public Information Session
École King George PS
April 22, 2015
Q&A
Q: Will Couling Crescent holding school staff move with the students to the New
Couling Crescent School? Will the administrative team remain the same?
Linda Benallick- The Board will be following the collective agreement process next week
when placing staff at the holding school. Surplus staff from Edward Johnson PS may
move to the holding school. These staff would then move, with the students, to the new
school building, subject to retirements and any transfers in the interim.
Q: Will there be before and after care available at the Couling Crescent holding
school?
Linda Benallick- Staff is aware of the current child care that is provided at/near Edward
Johnson PS. An extended day survey was sent home to all families with children who
will attend the holding school. The results did not provide viable numbers to offer child
care. However, we have listened to concerns from parents and continue to work to find
an appropriate solution by the end of April.
C: It’s a hard time for us right now because our current child care providers, like
the YMCA, are requesting registration for this fall and there is no private space
available in the Tytler PS neighbourhood.
Q: Gary Slater mentioned that we are not ready for construction of the new
school, but aren’t we just copying the design of Arbour Vista PS?
Blair Capling- Yes, the school is a repeat of the Arbour Vista PS design. Board staff is
working through the City’s site plan process. The preliminary plan had to be
resubmitted with changes recently. The Board has to ensure that the site design
makes efficient us of space while providing the necessary parking, bus access and
playfields.
Q: Is there anyone we can speak to, such as the Mayor, to help speed up this
process to ensure the school opens sooner?
Blair Capling- We won’t advise going against that option, but the City does have a
specific site plan process and timelines.
Q: So that we don’t have to go through this review process again in a few years
when the new school is already full, can’t the Board build a three-story bigger
school on the property and use the park across the street as play area?
1 New East Guelph (Couling Crescent) Boundary Review
Public Information Session
École King George PS
April 22, 2015
Q&A
Blair Capling- The Ministry approved funding for the school was for 495 pupil places so
we can’t build larger. There are also issues with efficiently stacking three floors when
you factor in the larger spaces such as gymnasium and library.
Q: For bussing, is there a way to have the older grade students be with the junior
grade students for safety? Can there be a bus that goes from school to school?
Jennifer Passy- Wellington-Dufferin Student Transportation Services are currently
working with new walking distances and more students will qualify for bussing. There
are issues with the limited loading space around the schools for more busses.
Transportation is looking at placing monitors on busses where they are carrying mostly
primary aged children.
Q: The traffic is busy around the Couling Crescent area, will there be a 4-way stop
in place or what other safety features will be taking place?
Jennifer Passy- These decisions around traffic control measures such as signals are
made by the City but they are aware of the plans for the new school. I can advise that
the need for additional crossing guard assistance will also be reviewed before the
school opens.
Q: Will there be on-site Kiss & Ride?
Blair Capling- A Kiss & Ride has been incorporated into the design of the on-site
parking.
Q: Why is the proposed boundary for the new school so much larger than the
smaller boundaries for King George PS and Edward Johnson PS?
Heather Imm- The boundary for Edward Johnson PS includes JK- 6 students. King
George PS is a receiving school for students feeding from Edward Johnson PS and
Victory PS. The JK-3 boundary for King George PS does look smaller on the map
because it does not include the boundaries of those other schools which feed into it.
The Scenario 1 boundary for the new school does not have feeder schools directed to
Couling Crescent.
Q: Will parents who have multiple children have the option to have them all at the
same school to avoid splitting up siblings?
2 New East Guelph (Couling Crescent) Boundary Review
Public Information Session
École King George PS
April 22, 2015
Q&A
Jennifer Passy- We have taken that into account, however because the new Couling
school will be opening as a JK-5 school, the grades for the older siblings (above Grade
5) will not be available at Couling.
Q: Is Tytler PS ready to accommodate students?
Jennifer Passy- While Tytler PS has not operated as a school for the past two years, it
has been in use by the neighbourhood association, an early literacy program and
another educational program. Through the spring/summer, maintenance such as
roofing and asphalt work will begin and several departments in the Upper Grand District
School Board are working together to make sure the school is ready to accommodate
students for September.
Q: What happens to the community groups at Tytler PS?
Jennifer Passy- The office space will be remain in place in the lower level of the
building. The neighbourhood association knows that re-opening the school will impact
their daytime program scheduling.
Q: If the community group is going to remain at Tytler PS while students are
there, what security measures are in place to ensure the safety of students? Will
they follow the same security measures as volunteers do with police checks etc.?
Jennifer Passy- The neighbourhood association operated for several years while Tytler
PS was operational in the same space that they will continue to occupy on the lower
level. Their office uses a controlled access. Staff will seek clarification regarding the
background checks for neighbourhood association staff. NOTE: since the public
meeting it has been confirmed all Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition staff and
volunteers working in the building will have criminal background checks and vulnerable
sector screenings completed.
Q: What is the projected size of the Grade 7/8 division once it becomes
established at the new school? Will there be room for students who are required
to come back to King George PS for these grades?
Heather Imm- According to projections, 2 portables may be required to accommodate
Couling Grade 7/8 students if they are to be accommodated at King George PS in 2019
or 2020. At this time the projected size of the intermediate division (for just Couling) is
approximately 30 students in 2019.
3 New East Guelph (Couling Crescent) Boundary Review
Public Information Session
École King George PS
April 22, 2015
Q&A
Q: My child is going into JK this year. Will the school be at capacity by the time
my child is in an older grade?
Jennifer Passy- We are forecasting that enrolment will exceed capacity in this school
very soon after opening. This overcrowding is one of the reasons that Trustees
approved undertaking a French Review, which will examine core French and French
Immersion program delivery and look at how the Board will deliver French in the future.
Q: Have you looked at schools with declining numbers and utilizing those
spaces rather than building a whole new school?
Jennifer Passy- There is a small decline in enrolment in some of our Regular Track
schools but not enough to use the space. As part of the French Review, we are looking
at long range accommodation needs throughout the jurisdiction.
Q: Will there be an open house at Tytler PS before September for parents to tour
the school and meet the staff?
Jennifer Passy- This has not been planned as of yet because the amount of work that is
going to be done in the summer may conflict with timing. Gary Slater advised that plans
for an open house will be discussed further once the new Principal is named.
Q: Will there be an impact on Kindergarten orientation?
Gary Slater- No
Q: Where do you get your projection numbers from?
Heather Imm- We have a number of data sources we use including looking at the City’s
development plans and phasing of development. We have information on student yield
by unit type and program that is used to determine how many students are generated
from new and existing homes and this information is used to project our enrolment.
Q: What about French Immersion specifically?
Heather Imm- We can see where all of our students live and what programs they are
enrolled in and analyze trends in order to generate our forecasts.
Q: Do you foresee class sizes changing in the future? Will this impact on school
capacity? Are you confident in your numbers for 2024?
4 New East Guelph (Couling Crescent) Boundary Review
Public Information Session
École King George PS
April 22, 2015
Q&A
Linda Benallick- Class sizes have not changed within the last few years. We don’t know
what the future may look like for class sizes, but we can plan for school enrolments as a
whole.
Q: I have heard that there might be a cap put on French Immersion enrolment?
Jennifer Passy- The French Review is intended to examine the pressures being
experienced in French Immersion but also look at Core French. The committee that will
be exploring options will be completing a report in December.
Q: How is a French Review different from an Accommodation Review?
Jennifer Passy- The French Review will involve conversations not just about
accommodation but also about program, staffing, transportation, how it is delivered etc.
An Accommodation Review is a process undertaken when the Board is contemplating
the closure of a school.
Q: Have you looked at those that are not staying in French Immersion all through
their school careers?
Jennifer Passy- Yes, we have the ability to measure enrolment loss in French
Immersion to the Regular Track program and we reflect that attrition in our projections.
Q: I have gone through an Interim Boundary Review before where a number of
scenarios were offered. Various aspects of the holding school were not
considered before the students began, such as there were not enough locker
space and the height of the coat racks were not proportional to the size of the
students. How will these errors be corrected for those being held at Tytler PS?
Jennifer Passy- When Tytler PS was open, it was an elementary school so therefore it
has been built to accommodate the physical size of elementary aged students.
Q: Has there been any discussion about allowing Grade 1 entry point in French
Immersion at Couling Crescent?
Jennifer Passy- The entry level for French Immersion in the Upper Grand is JK/SK. In
other cases, where new programs were started in communities where French
Immersion was not previously available, the Board extended the entry point to Grade 1.
However, these cases were more the exception and not the rule.
5 New East Guelph (Couling Crescent) Boundary Review
Public Information Session
École King George PS
April 22, 2015
Q&A
Q: What about building a new school to accommodate those living north of
Woodlawn Road and including Marden Road area? Wouldn’t that help alleviate
enrolment pressures at King George PS?
Jennifer Passy- Although there is a large geographic area directed to King George PS
from the north end of Guelph and north of the City, those areas do not bring in a lot of
students. Years ago the Board did have a school on Marden but it was closed and
students directed into the City.
Heather Imm-The area does have a number of students, but not enough to justify a 400
pupil place school.
Q: Is there a 3-year term limit for Principals? I am concerned the Principal chosen
for the holding school will only be at the new school for a short amount of time.
Linda Benallick- There is no policy that states a Principal must be reassigned after 3
years.
Q: Those who live north of Eastview Road can either walk to a French Immersion
centre or get bussed to Brant Ave PS. Have you considered that as another
reason why French Immersion enrolment has increased dramatically?
Jennifer Passy- We have incorporated that trend into our projections and reflected
higher participation rates as a result. However, closer to Ken Danby PS and William C.
Winegard PS we have projected slightly lower French Immersion participation since
these are Regular Track schools in walking distance to new communities.
Q: For parents who would like to become part of the Parent Council for the new
school, will the holding school process cause parents to miss out on becoming
involved with fundraising, pizza days, milk orders etc.?
Gary Slater- The establishment of a Parent Council can be discussed once the Principal
is named.
Q: For those who are in the boundary for the new school but are remaining at
King George PS until the school is built, will transportation arrangements
change?
Jennifer Passy- Transportation will be provided to students who will remain at King
George PS and who reside outside the walking distances.
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