Recommendation to Give Back Choice - Proposed Enrolment Criteria and Transportation Boundary for St. Mike's and Hadley/PWHS

At the December 17 Planning and Review Committee Meeting, the Committee decided that it will be recommending to the Council of Commissioners a proposal that would still allow Wakefield Elementary School students to choose between St. Michael's and Hadley/Philemon Wright High Schools.  The recommendation comes after weeks of public consultations where affected communities expressed concerns regarding the original proposal that would have taken choice away.

The specific recommendation is listed below.  If approved, the new enrolment criteria and transporation boundary would begin to apply next (2020-2021) school year and be ongoing to future years.  Please keep in mind these criteria are periodically reviewed and hence could change in the future.  The full presentation to be presented to the Council of Commissioners on January 28 can be found on the WQSB website here. We thank the WQSB administration for taking on consultations and for listening to the concerns of our school families.

Starting from existing elementary school enrolment criteria and transportation boundaries, the following enrolment criteria for St. Michael’s and Hadley/PWHS is recommended:

• Queen Elizabeth Boundary to St. Michaels’
• Chelsea and Greater Gatineau Boundaries to Hadley/PWHS.
• ​Wakefield & Poltimore Boundaries choice of either St. Michael’s or Hadley/PWHS each school year (no transfers during the school year unless approved by both schools and complementary services)​
• ​Establish Transportation Hub in Wakefield with more efficient uses of transportation resources
• Grandfather all existing affected students who are currently enrolled at St. Michael’s or Hadley/PWHS
• Prioritize Siblings for Cross-Boundary Transfer request
• For siblings, if a cross boundary is accepted, transportation may not be available after 2023-2024 (or when the last grandfathered student is no longer attending school)