February 1st to February 10, 2009
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.
To whom it may concern,
I am a parent of two children who currently attend the French Immersion program at Edward
Johnson PS. I am very concerned with the proposal that our children would be expected to
walk to Paisley PS for grade 7 and 8.
I am located along Victoria Road North, just inside the 4.8 km walking boundry for Paisly PS.
It is not a realistic expectation for a child to walk alone for an hour and a half, twice a day to
get to and from school, especially since most of the school year occurs during winter weather.
Edward Johnson PS has recently been made into a French Immersion centre, and I do not
understand why our children will have to leave our school, attend another dual track
English/French school across town, only to come back to our neighbourhood to attend
Highschool at John F. Ross.
It would make much more sense for our children to attend a school on the North-East side of
town for grade 7 and 8. Ideally it would be in their best interest to continue with grade 7 and
8 at Edward Johnson since the school board has recognised the value of French Immersion
Centres, as well as the value of children having a strong sense of community with regards to
their education.
Thank you for your time,
Why Middle School?
February 2nd, 2009
There seems to be a lot of talk recently about the pending closure of King George Public
School. Isn’t this school falling apart? We’ve been told for years that it is, no wonder the
School Board has decided to tear this school down and build a new one! Kids should be in
an environment that meets their needs. Right? Well, maybe King George already meets their
needs, possibly even exceeds them. I’ll agree that the school is in need of repairs, maybe it
should be torn down and rebuilt, but as a Middle School, not another English only K-8!
It’s a real shame when I read in the paper, “What will we do with the French Immersion
Students”, “Where will we put the French Immersion Students”. Are the French immersion
students second class citizens or maybe an afterthought. Funny, the school board collects my
tax dollars just as quickly as it collects them from the English parents. So, where is the
problem?
February 1st to February 10, 2009
Let’s remember that King George School is attended by both French Immersion students and
English only students. The problem is not the building, new or old; the problem is that these
kids, French and English will be dispersed to a variety of elementary schools throughout the
city where the enriched program will no longer be offered or available. Nothing personal
against the elementary school system, but middle school offers so much more for this age
group.
•
First, specialized teachers, whether its art or shop, french or english,
science or geography, these teachers are experts in their fields. Let’s not
forget to mention the support available to students, a Child and Youth
Counselor, and Educational Assistant, a Psychological Consultant and a
Special Education Consultant.
•
Second, outstanding extra curricular activities. From ballroom dancing,
to football, photography club, or drawing club, there’s something for
everyone. At this school, on one is left behind!
•
Third, age appropriate material. Whether it’s written material, like the
stimulating books in the library, or the weight room, or maybe the shop
room where my daughter now knows the names of more tools than my
husband (and knows how to operate them!), middle schools offers new
challenges and opportunities.
Without this middle school, hundreds of Guelph students will miss this enriching opportunity.
It’s so much more than lockers and class rotation; it’s preparing them for high school! I never
realized what a positive impact the right school, with the right teachers, could have on a child.
In the not so far future, my daughter will be entering John F. Ross prepared to high school!
Well done KG!
How dare The School Board rob future grade 7 and 8 students the opportunity of becoming a
King George Public School graduate! Shame on the school board for not taking into account
the importance of Middle schools and the enriching impact it has on these young minds! The
School Board is supposed to do the right thing for the students. If this school does not remain
a middle school, the school board has, one again failed us all.
Proposed presentation RE: Edward Johnson School FI Grade 7/8
EJPS is currently a K-6 French Immersion Centre with a strong sense of community. A French
Immersion Centre offers many benefits to its students and we would like to see our children
continue to thrive and learn in search an environment. In order to sustain ongoing growth in
the students of EJPS we would like to propose that EJPS become a K-8 FI Centre by the 2011
school year. The EJPS community has embraced becoming a French Immersion Centre and
we are ready, willing and excited to expand our school’s mandate. Not only does the EJ
community support the move to a K-8 FI Centre, but our enrolment numbers and location can
also easily support such a transition.
· It is a board objective to make all schools K-8 with an enrollment of 450(??) students and
this proposal meets your mandate.
February 1st to February 10, 2009
· It is a board objective to accommodate 7/8 in a cost effective way…if only ½ the students in
the current grades 3 and 4 require busing by the time they are in grades 7 and 8 in
2011/2012, then by busing the 12.5 children from Paisley to EJ will be less expensive than
transporting the 41 children from EJ to Paisley.
· EJ is currently expected to undergo construction for an addition of the Gym…by combining a
gym, and an addition to accommodate grades 7 & 8, money could saved.
In 2011, students currently enrolled in Grade 3 and 4 will be entering Grades 7 and 8.
Present enrolment in these grades meets the required number of students to sustain the
mandated 3 class rotation. We also anticipate increased growth in our student population, as
this has generally been the trend in French immersion program enrolment. The 7/8 ratio vs.
other grades would be below the 35% maximum mandate. Our school has already been
approved for funding to build a new library and gym. These renovations would also serve
Grade 7/8 needs as well. We also realize the need for additional classrooms to house the
Grade 7/8 students. Edward Johnson is situated on 10 acres which could easily
accommodate such an addition. One solution with respect to the classrooms could be the
installation of a multi-class porta- pack and this could be funded from Ministry monies which
have been allocated to assist with finding new spaces for the “to-be-displaced” French
Immersion students once King George becomes a single track English school. Building a
wing for the 7/8’s is another possible solution although additional funding would likely be
necessary. The projected FI enrolment figures continue to support our proposed plan as the
number of enrolled students in FI shows rapid projected growth.
Quick facts as we see them: FI population is growing, King George is disappearing, ARC is
set up to review, and there is approx. $2M to spend to accommodate. Our proposed solution
is not a presentation of problems that requires answer, but of a solution, a very (if not only)
feasible solution, with all the answers built right into it.
Having our students attend Paisley School for Grade 7 and 8 is of concern for the following
reasons:
(1) Our students would be moving away from a French Immersion Centre to a school that
is currently Dual Track K-6 Paisley, with a current enrolment of 25 or 30 students in
their Grade 3 and 4 French classes. Paisley school wishes to remain dual track K-6
and French only for Grades 7 & 8. We would like to keep our 7’s and 8’s in a French
Immersion Centre rather than move them out of the more desirable Centre, and away
from the strong French community that they are currently experiencing.
(2) The safety of our students is a major concern for the parents at EJPS. The walk to
Paisley Road school would entail many obstacles for the children. Our concerns are:
- the number of vehicles on the roads
- the number of streets and possible permutations that a student could take on their walk
to and from school. Should a child go missing on their way to or from school it would be
next to impossible to trace their route
- we are concerned with students having to cross the river
- we are concerned with students having to walk through the downtown core
February 1st to February 10, 2009
- we are concerned with the amount of time it will take students to walk the mandated 4.8
km’s. This would be approximately 1 ½ hours of walking time, one way, many days in the
cold and dark of Winter. Schools are kept open to an air temperature of -25% or, to an
air/wind temperature of -35% with the wind chill. At these temperatures frostbite occurs in
under 10 minutes. As well, the sidewalks are not always plowed and we are very
concerned about students walking on the road because of this.
(3) The length of time on the bus for the students being bused from outside of Guelph is
also of concern. Currently the length of time on the bus for students attending Edward
Johnson is just under the board mandated allowable maximum. Adding on the additional
time to cross the city will add up to ½ hour to the students time on the bus, taking it over
the allowable board maximum and close to an hour and a half one way on the bus. The
students are already arriving at school late each morning. This additional time will make
them excessively late on a regular basis, reducing their educational time and disrupting
classes on a regular basis as well as subjecting the students to three hours on a bus each
day. The students affected by this are coming in to Guelph from rural areas and the
townships of Rockwood, Everton and Arthur.
Our intention is to support a strong French Immersion centre and to continue moving in the
direction that the board has identified as being desirable – that of a K-8 French Immersion
Centre. Since John McCrea is at enrolment capacity already we suggest the current
enrolment (??) boundaries be adjusted - we could take some of their students helping to ease
capacity issues there. As previously outlined, Edward Johnson has the physical capability to
house the French Immersion 7/8’s on our 10 acre site, we have a new library and gym
already scheduled to be built and an existing computer lab that will meet the needs of the
7/8’s. We also have the funds (through our School Council) to implement and support a
music program for the students in the initial years of the program.
Attention: Central Guelph (FI) Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) and Upper Grand
District School Board
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Central Guelph (FI) Accommodation
Review. My primary concern relates to keeping the focus throughout this process on what is
best for the students in the long term. If the focus does not remain at a higher level, and does
not plan adequately for the future, this planning process will be repeated in the near future.
It is my understanding that the staff at the Upper Grand District School Board have given
considerable and unbiased deliberation in providing their recommendations to the
committee, the board, and the public regarding the Central Guelph (FI) Accommodation
review. I trust that staff have reviewed all possible scenarios, done considerable projections
and calculations related to enrollment, and drawn and re- drawn the boundary lines many
times. I hope that the focus is on finding the best solution for the school board looking
forward into the future. Throughout this planning, I am certain that staff have taken the
board's guiding principles into account in their recommendations which should ensure
consistency in future planning. They cannot, and should not include in their considerations
one group or area over another. Where one group's needs may be met, another group will
become negatively affected. Regardless of what the recommended best scenario is, there will
be a great number of people negatively affected by the outcome.
February 1st to February 10, 2009
I would propose that the staff, the ARC Committee and the board focus not on individual and
local interests, but what will provide the best educational scenario in the long run for our area.
My children will stand to move schools several times with one of your proposed plans. I
think the concept of consistency for our children has been lost in this planning process. I, for
one, would be willing to sacrifice and cope with any negative effects if it meant that the
proposed plan would ensure some more stability in the planning of the school board
moving forward.
Thank you again for the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely,
Dear Committees,
As parents with 2 children at Ecole John McCrae, my husband and I are writing to indicate
our concerns with Scenario B. (We have copied the main points from your previous hand-outs
so that our position reflects your original wording.)
Here is a summary of our concerns with Scenario B
--It violates at least five of the Board's Guiding Principles
--It is harder to deliver a good quality FI program in a dual track setting, especially to 145
students
--It violates one of John McCrae's top three Values. The John McCrae community values the
school as Single Track FI Centre (School Valuation Template)
--Many John McCrae students will have to change buildings 4 times in 4 years
--Many parents at Priory Park are opposed to it
--Many parents at John McCrae are opposed to it
After reviewing the other scenarios, we would like to express our support for either of the
following at this time:
Scenario Y – Keep John McCrae as a K-6 school and move the 7/8 French Immersion
students to another location. Ideally that location would be at a facility large enough to
support the specialized intermediate programming that the 7/8 FI students at King George
currently enjoy.
Scenario Z – Grandfather all the students who started at McCrae. Let the students who started
at McCrae, who have already established friendships and relationships with teachers, stay.
Start a French Immersion Program at a new site (likely Priory Park) for kindergarten students.
These numbers should allow fewer split grades and should virtually eliminate the need to
displace any English of French students in South Guelph. Jennifer was contacted by the
Board's planning department after meeting. We understand that the Planning Department is
considering this scenario. We have also heard that this option may be better received by the
current parent community at Priory Park. This Scenario may need to consider grandfathering
families at John McCrae as well as students.
With sincere thanks,