School Accommodation Review
Public Meeting – May 20, 2015
OUR LADY OF SORROWS
HOLY ANGEL’S
ST. MARK
ST. LOUIS
ST. LEO
St. Leo
School Details
• St. Leo was built in 1926. It is the oldest Catholic
School in Etobicoke. This history is important.
• St. Leo is located in the centre of Mimico beside St.
Leo’s Catholic Church. It is within walking distance
to Lake Ontario, nature trails, the Mimico Public
Library, the Mimico Arena, the GoTrain (class trips
downtown), Amos Waites Waterfront Park, the
Mimico Tennis Club, the REC ROOM (before and
after school child care) and LAMP Community
Health Centre (outreach and resources). It is
directly adjacent to the current Mimico Adult Centre
which has the potential for a joint TCDSB, City of
Toronto and TDSB community hub.
• Current enrolment is 53.2% at 244 students. OTG
capacity is 459 students.
St. Leo
School Details con’t
• FCI is currently 47.9% According to last status
update provided by TCDSB in the last round of
Ministry inspections in 2002- 2003 the FCI was
44%. In 12 years the FCI has not improved but is
actually 3.9% higher. St. Leo has been historically
passed over for renewal needs and revitalization.
• St. Leo will begin French Immersion for the
2015/16 school year. This alone will boost
enrolment.
• St. Leo has a very active parent council
www.stleoparentcouncil.org and is very involved in
the greater Mimico community.
• John English (TDSB school one block away) is
over-capacity at almost 800 students - many of
whom attend St. Leo’s Church.
St. Leo
Concerns
• Closing St. Leo in an effort to right-size is not an
option. The Church and Diocese also do not want
this land sold out of the TCDSB. Selling this land
would be short-sighted and a mistake.
• The amalgamation of St. Leo and St. Louis into the
current St. Leo site is desirable but only with either
a new school or significant revitalization of the
present one. With an FCI of 47.9%, the present state
is unacceptable and becomes even more so with an
increased school population, placing greater
pressure on an already wanting facility.
St. Leo
Concerns con’t
• We are concerned because we have lost Catholic
families to the TDSB. We are certain (based on
letters from Catholic families who have left and
chosen not to enroll their children as well as surveys
in the community) that the low enrolment at St. Leo
is directly related to deferrals of renewal and
maintenance needs by the TCDSB.
*Note this was a “strategy” that was “encouraged” to
speed up the process of getting a new school for St.
Leo - something the school community has been led
to believe would happen for many years.
St. Leo
Concerns con’t
• We are concerned that with the rapid
gentrification of South Etobicoke, particularly with
“top-ups”, town home and condo developments, the
TCDSB is not offering young families in our area a
viable and comparable option to TDSB schools.
Ultimately this is lost enrolment and resource
dollars for Catholic Education.
• We are concerned that in an effort to
accommodate our sister schools, we will once again
get the short end of stick.
St. Leo
Influencing Factors
•St. Leo’s Church is located adjacent to St. Leo’s
School. This is ideal both geographically and
symbolically as the relationship between Church
and School is at the core of Catholic Education.
• St. Leo parent council has been aggressively
fundraising for the last three years to make
significant improvements to our play yard,
technology, sports teams and religious celebrations
as well as actively generating increased parental
involvement in all facets of school life. The school is
now an amazing example of community, positive
energy and thinking outside the box for new and
long-term visions. Check out our 20/20 and
Ecoteam plans on our website.
St. Leo
Influencing Factors
Con’t
• St. Leo is currently in a partnership with Humber
College in their “Design, Situate and Build”
Graduate course to install an innovative eco
structure this summer 2015. Our parent council has
raised18K for a greening project happening this
summer, secured donations of rockery as well as
trees from Humber College. Additionally, we are
working with Humber and Moss Architects on a
design for the entire block (including the Mimico
Adult Centre) which includes a community hub /
recreation facility as part of the long-term vision for
the entire community.
St. Leo
Influencing Factors
Con’t
• As the oldest Catholic School in Etobicoke, St. Leo
is approaching its centennial. As the mother school,
it has a shared tradition with every daughter school
in this SARC. In fact the Holy Sisters from Our Lady
of Sorrows Church commuted to St. Leo’s to teach.
It boasts incredible alumni (more current NHL
players from St. Leo than the province of New
Brunswick). Its historical
relevance must be considered in a new school plan
or a revitalization. Under no circumstances is St.
Leo’s 90 year old history expendable to solve an
immediate budget crisis. It is an historical treasure.
St. Leo
Recommendations
• We are interested in amalgamation with St.
Louis students south of the QEW, in a new
building. If this is not possible our current site
must be revitalized to accommodate our
larger enrolment. We are adamantly opposed
to the closure of St. Leo.
• We are interested in boundary changes that
will right-size all schools in the SARC.
Map of St. Leo’s City Block
Map of Mimico Area