May 12th to 25th
ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK
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Schedule D
In order to protect the identity of all individuals who have submitted correspondence
with regard to the Central Guelph (FI) Accommodation Review and in keeping with the
Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, all personal
information and/or identifiers have been severed from all recorded communication
(i.e. e-mails and letters) prior to distribution. The intent or message has not been
changed.
May 12, 2010
Hello,
My name is _______. My wife and I recently moved to Guelph (October 2008). We are
parents of two students in the gifted a program.
A little history.....
When we moved, our 3 children all attended Sir Isaac Brock Public School. Last year, our
daughter ___(grade 3 last year ) and our oldest daughter ____ (grade 5 last year) were tested
and designated as gifted.
We were thrilled and began the process of deciding whether to send our children into the
gifted program or leave them at their home school with enrichment consideration.
During the process, it never was mentioned to us that there was a review underway and
unfortunately we were not informed enough to even ask. We made the decision in April of
2009 that we would send our children to gifted programs.
When I learned this year that the review was underway I attended one of the sessions in April.
We had already purchased a new home in the Waverly Drive area with the expectation that
our children would all end up at this school.
I have read and digested all of the scenarios carefully and have several concerns. I clearly
feel like a minority on this issue, but feel it is necessary to voice my opinion on this matter.
•
•
During our investigation process of the gifted program, we were never told
that the program was considered portable. We were aware that ____ would
eventually move from FA to Waverly and agreed that this would be okay as she would
end up at the same school as both of her sisters. I am not very happy with the notion
of the gifted program being a program that ultimately is going to be used to fill the
appropriate numbers at another school. Specifically grades 7 - 8 (moving to Gateway
to assist that school with its dwindling 7 - 8 enrollment). We gave careful
consideration to the schools they would be attending, visited the schools, spoke to
teachers, principals etc. and made an informed decision at the time to send the kids.
Additionally, the girls have made friends outside of the gifted program.
•
We are not at all pleased that ____ would have to move from FA Hamilton to
Priory Park for grade 6 - then again the following year to Gateway for Grades 7 - 8.
May 12th to 25th
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Moving young children from one school to another is stressful at the best of times. But
to have a child be forced to move from Sir Isaac Brock to FA Hamilton, to Priory Park
to Gateway and then to high school in the span of 5 years is absolutley ludicrous and
ultimately may force us to remove her from the gifted program altogether which is not
only disappointing, but unfair to ____ who is excelling in the program.
•
It appears as though no-one from Waverly was even included in these
discussions. Parents seem to not be informed of what is happening. Little to no
communication has gone home with the students affected. And the communication
that we have received has come at the last moment requiring desperate acts from
parents who wish to offer their opinion.
The teachers who have dedicated their time to the gifted program appear to be
impacted as well. Their contracts are tied to the school they are working at and not
the program. Meaning, there is no guarantee that the qualified teachers will move
with the program. Who are the teachers going to be? At what point do the parents
get to be involved in understanding this. The teachers were an important part in our
decision to move the kids to the gifted program. Is the Board and the ARC suggesting
we simply accept the outcome? While we have no control over who teachers will be,
we were relatively comfortable knowing who they would likely be for our kids moving
forward.
We mostly feel that we have had little say in this process and to be honest we feel that we are
left with few choices. Clearly, the only scenario we can support is the minority supported
(Number 14) scenario which at least sees the gifted program staying at Waverly Drive until the
year 2015. Ultimately, if this is not a consideration then we will need to consider removing
our kids from the gifted program as sending to numerous schools is in my opinion not in the
best interest of our kids. They are feeling extremely nervous about the possible outcome.
I welcome discussion on this point and would be happy to discuss with you further about the
possible solutions that would be available for our family.
Regards,
Concerned parent of children in the gifted program
May 18, 2010
I believe in equal access to quality education for all children and do not support the U10 staff
variation. I propose keeping the 7/8 cohort together at John McCrae (scenario NS14) for the
next four years. Then let’s use that time to create a vision and a master plan for intermediate
education in Upper Grand that serves every child.
I am a parent of children currently attending Edward Johnson School. Please hear our voice in
the upcoming decision facing you!
May 19, 2010
my daughter is in French Immersion, grade 6 at Paisley Road Public School, my son grade 1. I
DO NOT SUPPORT the "U10 staff variaton". I want my children to have the best French
Immersion experience possible which includes an homogoneous environment in which they
can learn French. the U10 staff variation does not support this model.
May 12th to 25th
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please take into consideration the fact that many concerned parents DO NOT approve of the
U10 staff variation. We ask the board to rethink the current path and make a decision that will
fairly and equally represent the French Immersion students in Guelph.
thank you,
supporter of: Guelph French Immersion PARC the ARC!
May 19, 2010
I would like to declare my opposition to the proposal that would have my children attend an
English-track JK to 8 school for Grades 7 & 8. I see no benefit in sending intermediate FI
students from North of the river to an English school, where minimal teaching resources and
materials will be available to them.
I see this proposal (i.e., U10 staff variation) as being highly weighted to the benefit of those
who live south of the river; they will enjoy a rich French cultural environment, immense French
language resources at their finger tips and the support of 30+ French teachers and
administrators. My understanding is that Waverly will have 10 times less teaching staff
available (i.e., 2 or 3, in comparison to 30), and significantly less resource materials. This
hardly seems equitable.
As a believer in equal access to quality education for all children, I say NO to “U10 staff
variation”, and support scenario “NS14” that would see the 7/8 cohort remain as an intact
group at John McCrae for the next 4 years. This time could be well spent creating a vision
and a master plan for intermediate education in Upper Grand that serves ever child.
I encourage you to no longer support the ‘preferred option‘ that will be presented on May
25th.
May 20, 2010
Dear Upper Grand School Board Trustees:
I appreciate the process and all the work done to have a participatory process in the FI
accomodation review.
I have 3 children in the French Immersion school system. Under the U10 staff variation
scenario my children will go to Waverly. I am seriously concerned about the FI program they
will receive there. With fewer french resources available to them at a mostly english school,
they will not be receiving the same rich program that their peers at John McCrae receive. I am
very concerned about the impact this will have on their interest in remaining in the program as
well as their ability to perform in highschool.
I believe the U10staff variation will not provide all children with an equitable FI experience
and should not be considered.
May 20, 2010
Please hear my resounding objection to the proposed U10 staff variation. As a parent of 3 FI
children at Paisley Road PS, and as a teacher myself, I cannot understand how the this
scenario was approved to be sent before t he board. If this scenario gets implemented,
students currently enrolled in grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 at Victory, Paisley and Edward Johnson will
lose out. How can this inequity be an acceptable solution? Particularly when it is a majority of
the FI students who will suffer under this proposal?
Please vote NO to this proposal. I’m am confident a better solution exists.
May 12th to 25th
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May 25, 2010
Good day to you all,
We are a family living in ward 2 with children in the Victory School French Immersion
program.
We support all children attending a 7/8 FI program where they are in an active and
established french social environment, with equal access to resources, staff, and peers,
and we're concerned that U10 will not only fall short of this but will isolate the children from
the north end.
While we recognize that this is a complicated / difficult issue we feel that all FI student deserve
the same access to resources and any decision should place the needs of the students first.
It appears as students from the north side of the river may become victims of the
circumstances that have lead to this situation in the first place, whereby they're at the mercy
of being placed where it is convenient and where numbers are needed.
We appreciate the hard work of the commitee and the victory parent committee in this
complicated issue, however, we are also concerned that there was very little communication to
our parents about the options for placement of the 7/8's; why U10 was favoured; and that
there was no discussion regarding the implications to children in the north end. The majority
of discussion revolved around the maintenance of the dual track issue.
We believe that either option NS14 or the north end gr.7/8's going to Paisley School, would
provide our students with a more equitable learning opportunity and access to resources.
We hope you will consider supporting one of these different options that would keep more of
FI gr.7/8 kids learning together.
Thank you,