PLN: 10:07
May 11, 2010
File Code #: R02
MEMO TO: Martha Rogers, Director of Education
FROM:
Central Guelph (FI) Accommodation Review Staff Steering Committee (SSC)
RE:
CENTRAL GUELPH (FI) ELEMENTARY ACCOMMODATION REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS
Report Classification: DECISION
BACKGROUND
a) History of the Central Guelph (FI) Accommodation Review
The Central Guelph (FI) Accommodation Review was initiated over two years ago in March
2008 in accordance with the Board’s Proposed Long Term Accommodation Plan. The
objectives of the review were outlined as:
•
To balance enrolments in the schools under review (short and long term);
•
To establish a new location(s) for the 7/8 FI program in Guelph;
•
To determine a second location for the JK-6 FI program in South Guelph; and
•
To review the programs and grade organizations in the schools.
An Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) was established and was provided with 4 initial
accommodation scenarios that had been developed by Staff (2 for North, 2 for South) as a
starting point for their discussions. Over the 2008/09 school year, the ARC held a number
of meetings, including three Public Meetings, considered some alternative scenarios to the 4
staff scenarios and attempted to reach consensus on recommendations to the Board.
1
In June 2009, the Trustees decided to suspend the Accommodation Review due to concerns
expressed by the Public about the process. These concerns included such things as wanting
more opportunities to generate alternate scenarios, clarification on the communication
process as it applied to public feedback/input and about the role of the ARC. Staff spent the
summer developing a new work plan to complete the remainder of the review, while taking
into consideration the comments and feedback of the public and the ARC. The work plan
was approved by Trustees in September 2009 and as a result the ARC was recalled and
began the process of receiving and reviewing scenario ideas from the public.
b) Results of Accommodation Review Committee Deliberations
Over the last 6 months, the ARC considered a variety of public feedback received through
emails, submitted on-line and through public brainstorming workshops. ARC members have
consulted directly with their school councils and at school community meetings and in some
cases have initiated school surveys. In total, the ARC discussed over 50 different scenario
options.
As a result of this public feedback, the majority of the 15 ARC members were able to support
3 scenarios (U/10 Variation, NS-12 Variation and NS-15). Two members were able to
support scenarios NS-13 and NS-14. After Public Meeting #4, scenario NS-13 was removed
from this list. The ARC has produced a report for trustees’ consideration which includes the
remaining scenario options.
c) Staff Steering Committee Deliberations
In accordance with the Work Plan approved by Trustees in the fall, the Staff Steering
Committee (SSC) began their analysis of the ARC’s short-listed scenarios, after they were
released. Under the Board’s policy and provincial guidelines, staff is to provide comments on
the ARC’s scenarios and highlight any areas of support and/or concern.
2
The SSC did a presentation at Public Meeting #4 (which may be found on the Boards website
under Central Guelph Accommodation Review) in which the SSC indicated their preferences,
with rationale, with regard to accommodation, program and facilities. Examples of SSC
preferences are as follows:
•
Establishment of FI 7/8 program in two locations
It is the preference of staff that the 7/8 FI program be reassigned from King George
and be split into 2 separate schools.
•
Relieve enrolment pressure at Victory
Staff prefers scenarios that will relieve the current enrolment pressure at Victory PS,
due mainly to the growth in the French Immersion population. The Victory PS site
limits the number of portables that can be accommodated to a maximum of 5.
•
A North/South split vs. East/West split of FI 7/8 program
The Staff Steering Committee also prefers a North/South split of the French Immersion
7/8 program as opposed to an East/West split.
•
Minimize the frequency of moves and number of students moved
Finally, Staff prefer scenarios that minimize the frequency of moves and number of
students moved, while keeping in mind a long-term vision for accommodation in
Guelph.
The Staff Steering Committee also provided remarks at Public Meeting #4 about current
projections and trends supporting the need for a new school in South Guelph by 2017. With
the addition of Full Day Kindergarten into the system by 2015, the enrolment in Guelph may
increase by approximately 1000 more students. In South Guelph, it is projected that there
will be approximately 400-500 more students than capacity. It is also apparent that a 3rd FI
location in South Guelph will be necessary by 2017. It is projected the French Immersion
share will increase in Guelph from its current 15% to 20% by 2017.
3
At the public meeting the SSC referenced several concerns about the ARC’s short listed
scenarios. These concerns related to possible boundaries, school sizes, and the percentage of
grade 7/8’s in JK-8 schools. As noted earlier, the SSC written presentation is on the Board’s
website. The Rationale section of this report also includes SSC concerns about other
scenarios in support of the SSC recommended scenario.
Following Public Meeting #4, the SSC considered all public input, the discussions of the
ARC, and has reviewed the elements of all scenarios. As a result, staff has developed a
scenario recommendation for consideration. The scenario is entitled Scenario U/10 Staff
Variation, and may be found in Appendix A.
ISSUE
To present the Staff Steering Committee report for trustees’ consideration.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1) THAT the report entitled PLN: 10-07 “Central Guelph (FI) Accommodation Review
Recommendations”, dated May 11, 2010 be received; and
2) THAT Scenario U/10 Staff Variation be approved for implementation.
RATIONALE
1) The recommendation of the Staff Steering Committee is a scenario modification of the
ARC’s Scenario U/10 Variation. The SSC’s recommended scenario is called Scenario
U/10 Staff Variation. The only difference between the ARC’s U/10 Scenario and the
SSC’s U/10 Scenario is the size of the new boundary for the proposed FI centre at FA
Hamilton PS. There are several reasons why the SSC believes that the boundary in the
ARC Scenario U/10 Variation should be made smaller. These reasons have been
outlined below:
4
a) Starting a second French Immersion program in South Guelph at just over 200
students allows for the expansion of the FI program at this site, rather then starting
the program larger and potentially outgrowing FA Hamilton in the near future;
b) A French Immersion program of approximately 200 students is of sufficient size for
a JK-6 school;
c) A smaller number of students at FA Hamilton more easily enables the
reconstruction of a portapak/addition while students remain on site; and
d) A reduced boundary for FA Hamilton will impact on fewer existing John McCrae
students and will limit it to students/families who would not likely be required to
make a second move once a third French Immersion school is designated in South
Guelph.
One of the maps shown in Appendix A, “South – JK-6 French Immersion”, indicates the SSC’s
proposed boundary for the new JK-6 FI centre at FA Hamilton. Based on this boundary, the
French Immersion enrolment at FA Hamilton is projected to be approximately 230 FTE
students in 2011 and growing to approximately 305 students in 2017 (assuming Full Day
Kindergarten). Based on these projections, it is possible that with the reconstruction of the
portapak, all of the students would be able to be accommodated within permanent
accommodation.
2) The SSC was sensitive to the importance of stability in our system. Additional benefits to
U/10 Staff Variation are as follows:
a) It reduces the impact on students and families
b) It reduces the number of staff moves
c) It reduces the need for multiple redistribution of resources
5
3) An issue outstanding is where the King George English 7/8 students would temporarily be
assigned while King George is rebuilt. This issue, while not within the mandate of the
ARC to conclude, is something that needs to be resolved by staff and decided on by
Trustees prior to the reconstruction of King George. By considering the preference of staff
to split the 7/8 FI students into two locations, and thereby sending the North Guelph 7/8
FI students to Waverley, this presents an opportunity to send the English 7/8 students with
them and keep many of the King George students together. Although this has the
potential to increase the enrolment at Waverley to approximately 600 students with a very
high ratio of 7/8 students, the Waverley site is capable of handling this number of
students for a 1 year period.
4) The Staff Steering Committee prefers U/10 Staff Variation to the other ARC’s supported
scenarios for the following reasons:
a) It accommodates on-going growth of the FI program. By 2017, enrolment
projections suggest an increase in FI JK-6 of approximately 49% or 660 more FI
students than in 2008 and an increase in 7/8 FI of approximately 60% or an
additional 140 students
b) There is better balance of JK-8 school configuration since placing all the Grade
7/8 FI students together at either John McCrae or Waverley creates a very high
ratio of Intermediate students within these schools
c) The numbers support viable rotary intermediate programs as it is projected that
there would be approximately 115 South Guelph 7/8 FI students and 145 North
Guelph 7/8 FI students in 2011
d) Works better geographically to have the students in North Guelph attend a school
in North Guelph and likewise for South Guelph from a transportation perspective
6
e) The SSC recognizes that there are some issues that remain unresolved in the staff
recommendation. In particular, the scenario does not resolve the overcapacity
issue at Edward Johnson by 2017 or the high percentage of intermediate students
at Waverley. In two of the scenarios (NS-14 and NS-15), the ARC members
propose that a portion of the current JK-6 FI population at Edward Johnson be
reassigned to Waverley to create a JK-8 dual track program at Waverley. In doing
so, the overcapacity issue at Edward Johnson and 7/8 ratio issue at Waverley is
helped. However, staff is not prepared to support this idea immediately, due to the
impact this would have on the Edward Johnson school community. The need for
such a change can be evaluated and addressed through the update to the Board’s
Long Term Accommodation Plan
f) The underlying assumption in each of the ARC’s short listed scenarios that a new
South Guelph JK-8 school is required is consistent with staff’s analysis. However,
the ARC has specified that they believe this new school should be JK-8 dual track.
Alternately, staff believes that the location of future FI accommodation needs to be
determined closer to the opening of any possible new school. It is staff’s opinion
that it would not be wise to lock into a specific location for a 3rd FI program in
South Guelph this far in advance.
Attachs.
7
Scenario Source:
PRELIMINARY SCENARIO DATA
Staff Steering Committee
View Original Submission
Scenario ID: NORTH/SOUTH GUELPH - Scenario U/10 Staff Variation
Similar to ARC Shortlisted Scenario U/10 Variation where Tytler FI remains
at John McCrae. Only difference is the size of the boundary for the JK-6 FI
program at FA Hamilton PS. This scenario assumes a new South Guelph JK8 school is required.
FULL DAY 4/5 DATA INCLUDED
Link to maps
WHAT WOULD THIS LOOK LIKE?
TO IMPLEMENT…
SCHOOL ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION:
►John McCrae PS - JK-8 FI
►FA Hamilton PS - JK-6 FI
►Jean Little PS - JK-8 Eng
►Priory Park PS - JK-6 Eng, Gr 4-6 Gifted
►Waverley Dr PS - JK-8 Eng, 7/8 FI
►Gateway Dr PS - JK-8 Eng, Gifted 7/8
►Victory PS - JK-6 Eng & FI
►Paisley Rd PS - JK-6 Eng & FI
►Ed Johnson PS - JK-6 FI
►New South End school - JK-8 (program TBD)
SCHOOLS AFFECTED:
►FA Hamilton (losing and gaining students)
►John McCrae (losing and gaining students)
►Jean Little (losing and gaining students)
►Priory Park (losing and gaining students)
►Waverley (losing and gaining students)
►Gateway (gaining students)
►Victory (losing students)
►Paisley (gaining students)
►New South End school (gaining students)
BOUNDARY CHANGES:
►Portion of John McCrae JK-6 FI reassigned to FA Hamilton
►FA Hamilton JK-6 Eng reassigned to Jean Little
►Portion of Jean Little JK-6 reassigned to Priory Park
►All 7/8 Eng from Priory Park to Jean Little
►Gr. 4&5 Gifted students reassigned from FA Hamilton to Priory Park
►Gr 6 Gifted students reassigned from Waverley to Priory Park
►All S. Guelph 7/8 FI reassigned from King George to John McCrae
►North Guelph 7/8 FI students from King George to Waverley
►Portion of JK-6 FI (west of the Hanlon) from Victory to Paisley
►Grade 7&8 Gifted from Waverley to Gateway
STAFF COMMENTS:
Program
►Sufficient numbers to support Rotary in Grades 7&8 at John McCrae,
Jean Little, Waverley & Gateway
# of Students Displaced (approximate as of 2011)
►270 JK-6 FI students from John McCrae to FA Hamilton
Projected School Utilization
►FA Hamilton overcapacity in 2011 (128%) & 2017 (147%)
Facility Expenditures/Limitations
►FA Hamilton will require portapak to be rebuilt
►Victory English program projected to be small
►150 JK-6 Eng from FA Hamilton to Jean Little
►Jean Little overcapacity in 2011 (120%) & 2017 (117%)
►25 JK-6 Eng from Jean Little to Priory Park
►John McCrae overcapacity in 2017 (132%)
►Jean Little facility space may be limited and may need to be resolved through
portables.
►Ed Johnson overcapacity in 2017 (116%)
►Victory FI program projected to be mid-sized
►65 7/8 Eng from Priory Park to Jean Little
►Paisley English program projected to be mid-sized
►50 Gr 4 & 5 Gifted students from FA Hamilton to Priory Park
►Waverley exceeds 35% in Gr 7/8
►20 Gr 6 Gifted students from Waverley to Priory Park
►John McCrae cannot readily accept an addition
►Capacity elsewhere in South Guelph is required
Assuming FD 4/5 in 2017
Projected School Utilization (assumes FD 4/5 in 2017)
►FA Hamilton overcapacity in 2017 (170%)
►115 Gr 7/8 FI from King George to John McCrae
►145 7/8 FI from King George to Waverley
►Jean Little overcapacity in 2017 (128%)
►135 JK-6 FI from Victory to Paisley
►John McCrae overcapacity in 2017 (149%)
►40 Gr 7&8 Gifted from Waverley to Gateway
►Paisley overcapacity in 2017 (119%)
►See comments above.
► FA Hamilton site may limit providing permanent accommodation for all students in
the future.
►Priory Park overcapacity in 2017 (123%)
►Ed Johnson facility space may be limited and may need to be resolved through
portables.
►Ed Johnson overcapacity in 2017 (136%)
►Funding for Full Day Kindergarten from the Ministry is not yet confirmed
ENROLMENT DATA:
School
Ed Johnson PS
Ed Johnson PS - FI
FA Hamilton PS
FA Hamilton PS - FI
Gateway Dr PS
Gateway Dr PS - FI
Jean Little PS
Jean Little PS - FI
John McCrae PS
John McCrae PS - FI
Paisley Rd PS
Paisley Rd PS - FI
Priory Park PS
Priory Park PS - FI
Victory PS
Victory PS - FI
Waverley Dr PS
Waverley Dr PS - FI
Proposed
Current
Program
CAP
Projected Enrolments (FTE)
2011
0
310
0
230
340
0
390
0
0
475
205
255
240
0
85
200
320
145
2885
2008
0
285
245
0
305
0
270
0
0
490
225
140
265
0
130
250
395
0
2715
328
328
179
179
397
397
326
326
463
463
490
490
272
272
317
317
558
558
2017
0
380
0
265
355
0
380
0
0
610
215
290
335
0
90
210
360
210
3320
2017 (FD 4/5)
0
445
0
305
355
0
415
0
0
690
245
340
335
0
100
240
390
210
3625
Totals have been rounded to the nearest 5
Schools where Full Day Kindergarten is included in 2011 & 2017 enrolments.
% of JK/SK and 7/8 to Total School Enrolment
School
Year
JK/SK
Ed Johnson PS
2011
19%
2017
17%
FA Hamilton PS
2011
17%
2017
16%
Gateway Dr PS
FD 4/5
7/8
2011
2011
2017
John McCrae PS
2011
2017
Paisley Rd PS
2011
2017
Priory Park PS
9%
10%
14%
12%
16%
15%
34%
32%
25%
27%
2011
2011
2017
Waverley Dr PS
2011
2017
15%
15%
6%
6%
27%
17%
17%
28%
29%
18%
29%
22%
24%
27%
20%
20%
2017
Victory PS
7/8
30%
2017
Jean Little PS
JK/SK
Scenario Tracking Record:
Scenario posted on website
Apr 8/10
Scenario shared with ARC
Apr 7/10
Scenario summarized
Mar 26/10
Scenario submitted by Staff Steering Committee
Mar 25/10
26%
58%
60%
11%
57%
Last updated: 4/20/2010
North - JK-6 French Immersion
Scenario U/10 Variation and U/10 Staff Variation
School Organization
FI
Victory PS
JK-6 JK-6
Paisley Rd PS
JK-6 JK-6
Grade 6 Gifted students from move from
Waverley Dr PS to Priory Park PS
SPEED VALE AVE W
SILVERC REEK PKY N
Grade 7/8 Gifted students from move from
Waverley Dr PS to Gateway Dr PS
SPEED VALE AVE E
Victory PS
ELIZABETH ST
EDINBURGH RD S
Paisley Rd PS
YORK RD
WE LLING TO N
RD 124
STONE RD W
Legend
KO
Reassigned Area
Paisley Rd PS
UGDSB Planning Dept. April 2010
COLLEG E AVE E
STONE RD E
R T RIGH T RD W
ARKELL RD
ANLON EXWY
Victory PS
GORDON ST
COLLEG E AVE W
VICTORIA RD S
RT
WELLINGTON R
South - JK-6 Regular Track
Jean Little PS
FA Hamilton PS
-
JK-6
JK-8
-
EDINBURGH RD S
Priory Park PS
FI
RT
JK-6
COLLEGE AVE W
Grade 6 Gifted students move from
Waverley4 Dr PS to Priory Park PS
WELLIN G TO N
YORK RD
RD 12
GORDON ST
School Organization
All Scenarios
Priory
Park PS
STONE RD W
COLLEGE AVE E
STONE RD E
KO
VICTORIA RD S
Jean
Little PS
R T RIGH T RD W
Legend
Reassigned Area
Jean Little PS
Priory Park PS
UGDSB Planning Dept. March 2009
HANLON EXWY
ARKELL RD
WELLINGTON RD 37
South - JK-6 French Immersion
FA Hamilton PS
John McCrae PS PS
-
FI
JK-6
JK-8
YORK RD
John
McCrae PS
RD 12 4
WELLIN GT ON
STONE RD W
GORDON ST
COLLEGE AV E W
COLLEGE AV E E
STONE RD E
VICTORIA RD S
RT
ELIZABE TH ST
EDINBURGH RD S
School Organization
Scenario U/10 Staff Variation
FA Hamilton PS
KO
R T RIGH T RD W
HANLON E XWY
ARKELL RD
Legend
Reassigned Area
John McCrae PS
FA Hamilton PS
UGDSB Planning Dept. April 2010
North-South - 7/8 French Immersion
Scenario U/10 Variation & U/10 Staff Variation
School Organization
John McCrae PS
King George PS
FI
JK-8 7-8
-
JK-8
K-8
-
Grade 6 Gifted students move from
Waverley Dr PS to Priory Park PS
Grade 7/8 Gifted students move from
Waverley Dr PS to Gateway Dr PS
Waverley Dr PS
SPEEDV ALE AVE W
SPEEDV ALE AVE E
SILVER CR EEK PKY N
Waverley Dr PS
RT
John McCrae PS
STO NE RD W
KO
GO RDO N S T
COL L EG E A V E W
RD 1 24
WE LL IN GTO N
YO RK RD
COL L EG E A V E E
STO NE RD E
VICTO RIA R D S
EDINB URG H RD S
EL IZ AB ET H ST
R T RIG H T RD W
Legend
John McCrae PS
Waverley Dr PS
UGDSB Planning Dept. April 2010
HAN LO N EX WY
ARKELL RD
W EL L ING TO N RD 3 7