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WEHSA teams up with St. Mike's Home & School on letter on School Transportation Boundaries12/8/2019 WEHSA reached out to the St. Michael's High School Home and School Association to send a letter to the WQSB to express concerns regarding the proposed School Transportation Boundaries for the next school year. The proposed boundaries splits our community, and has limited choice for our school families given the late consultations and decision on the matter. The letter was forwarded by email to the WQSB Secretary General, Director General, WQSB Commissioners, our MP, MNA, and local mayors. Read the letter below .... Following receipt of the letter, Director General, Mike Dubeau from the WQSB, reached out to meet with WEHSA. WEHSA will be meeting with Mr. Dubeau to discuss the issue on Thursday, December 12 at 8pm in the school Library. Anyone who would like to join the discussion is welcome to come. December 6, 2019
Dear WQSB Commissioners and Representatives, The Wakefield Elementary Home and School Association (WEHSA) and the St. Michael's High School Home and School are writing this letter to express our grave concern regarding the proposed school transportation boundary for St. Michael’s and Hadley/Philemon Wright High Schools. The Home and Schools represent a group of parent volunteers who come together to organize school fundraisers and events at their respective schools. They also represent member school families and provide a forum where they can raise issues related to our schools. We are proud to represent over 85 families this school year. WEHSA and St. Michael's High School Home and School have been following the discussions of the WQSB proposal with great interest. As parents, we have also been participating actively. We join the many parents and individuals who have expressed their concerns and signed the petition calling for the WQSB not to impose the proposed school transportation boundaries. Based on the WQSB presentations to date, we fail to see the urgency for a decision for the next school year. While we agree with the WQSB that the lack of a school transportation boundary for the St. Michael’s and Hadley/Philemon Wright High Schools presents a challenge, we do not agree with the proposed solution nor its timing. Our concerns over the proposed school transportation boundaries reflect those that have been articulated in the discussions to date, including: • Divides the Wakefield community, its families and its students; creating a very negative and anxious environment. • Removes choice between two very different schools that meet different student needs which is critical particularly for students with special needs, as well as for students looking for enhanced programs such as French Immersion and/or Sport Etudes. • Effectively removes alternative school choices for affected families given the lateness in the discussions as registration deadlines to other schools/programs are now passed. • Jeopardizes the viability and sustainability of St. Michael’s High School by limiting student enrollment from its two main feeder schools in Wakefield and Chelsea which account for the main growth of the school and saved the school from being closed. • Disporportionately disadvantages families who are not able to transport their children across school boundaries. • Rising level of anxiety among our Grade 6 students and families who are now faced with having a school choice imposed on them and who have had very little warning or time to prepare. • Does not adequately consider the complexity of the issue and its impact on affected students, families and communities. While the proposed change to the school transportation boundary issue is said to be done in the spirit of creating equity, we would argue that the proposal put forward is creating important inequities by taking away choice and leaving families with little to no opportunity to look for alternative schooling for their children. While we are pleased that discussions are taking place; regrettably, they have come very late, leaving families next to no time to prepare for alternative school choices than the one in the WQSB proposal. From this standpoint alone, we would strongly recommend that a decision be postponed. We are also very concerned about the impact of the proposed school transportation boundary to the sustainability and viability of St. Michael’s High School. Wakefield and Chelsea elementary schools are its primary feeder schools which has led to its growth and survival as a school. The WQSB proposal would significantly limit student enrollment from these schools. We fail to see the logic of how the Board expects St. Michael’s to maintain its student numbers and to continue to grow as a school if it can no longer rely on its main feeder schools. The timing of such a decision is also difficult to understand as it so closely follows a major capital investment with the building of the new gym. We would argue that it would be a poor decision with respect to the use of public funds. At this important juncture of the school's history, the WQSB should be capitalizing on St. Michael's recent success, and look for opportunities and creative solutions to enhance its capacity as well as its programming in critical areas such as French immersion. The presentations to date have been silent in this regard, limiting the issue to one of transportation. The discussions to date have raised some of these broader issues, as well as provided constructive feedback and other potential solutions for the school transportation boundary issue in question, including creating transportation hubs in Wakefield and Chelsea, as well as examining alternative bus routes and partnerships with the French school board and affected municipalities. Consideration could also be given to a more targeted approach to address the capacity issue at St. Michael's rather than stripping choice from students. Goodwill has also been demonstrated by parents who are ready to work together with the WQSB and other partners to develop solutions that would be mutually agreeable and beneficial. Given the lateness in the discussions, it is our view that there is too little time to give due consideration and analysis of the issues raised at the public discussions as well as potential solutions to address the school transportation issue prior to the meeting of the Council of Commissioners in January 2020, where a decision would need to be taken in time for next year’s school registrations. In light of the complexity of the issue and its very broad impact, a decision in January would be premature and very divisive. While we understand that the WQSB would honor ‘grandfathering’ of students who presently attend a school, this does not take into account all those students who do not benefit from having a sibling in their preferred school. Moreover, given the limited capacity of St. Michael’s High School, cross-boundary applications would also appear to be restricted, thereby raising the potential of splitting families between two schools. Moreover, while we also understand that transportation boundaries are periodically reviewed and can be changed at any time, we would strongly caution against the Council of Commissioners from taking a decision in January to move forward with the proposed school transportation boundary on the assumption that another solution could be worked on for the 2021-2022 school year. This would place our current grade 6 students at a great disadvantage as well as create unnecessary anxiety and other potential mental health issues. Furthermore, it would greatly jeopardize the goodwill that has been fostered in the discussions to date and willingness to work together with the WQSB on a more equitable solution for all parties involved. Given the goodwill to work in partnership as well as the valid arguments to date against the proposed school transportation boundary, we are hopeful that the WQSB and the Council of Commissioners will decide to postpone its decision in favor of working together with parents and other partners to find a more equitable and mutually beneficial solution. Sincerely, Lana Noel, WEHSA President Maggie Holmes, St. Michael's High School Home and School President
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