Staff recommendation.
Kanata superintendent of instruction Jill Bennett, left, joins planner Estelle Butler and manager of planning Karyn Carty Ostafichuk to present staff recommendations to solve Kanata’s overcrowding at a Jan. 31 board meeting.
Emma Jackson
Earl of March and A.Y. Jackson should switch to a grades 7 to 12 model to handle overcrowding in Kanata’s public elementary schools, recommend Ottawa public school board staff.
Staff presented their plan for revamping elementary schools in Kanata south and north during a board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 31.
The recommendations come six weeks after two community-based accommodation review committees (ARCs) for Kanata south and Kanata north presented their own set of suggestions to the school board on Dec. 15.
Staff said the used the suggestions as a “starting point”, but the two sets of proposals differ greatly.
The biggest difference is staff’s preference for a Grade 7 to 12 model at Earl of March Secondary School and A.Y Jackson Secondary School.
“This is an absolute need,” said manager of planning Karyn Carty Ostafichuk. “We know that the seven to 12 model is something that has to happen.”
The Kanata north ARC did recommend the grades 7 to 12 model for Earl of March and West Carleton Secondary School, but only if no new elementary school was secured for the Sept. 2015 school year – and the recommendation came with a lengthy list of limitations and “special considerations.”
If a new school was built, however, the ARC recommended keeping the grades 9 to 12 model for both schools. The Kanata South ARC recommended to keep A.Y. Jackson a Grade 9 to 12 school.
Kanata school board trustee Cathy Curry said parents are very concerned about the concept, particularly in regards to the safety of their grades 7 and 8 students in a high school setting. She added that parents are worried their children will “grow up too fast” in that environment.
At both high schools, significant additions would be necessary in order to accommodate the younger students, projects that likely won’t be complete until 2015.
Ostafichuk said an addition at Earl of March Secondary School would likely range between 22 and 26 classrooms plus multi-purpose space, at an estimated cost of $10 million. A.Y. Jackson’s addition would be slightly smaller at 20 classrooms.
In Kanata south, Glen Cairn Public School would be “annexed” to A.Y. Jackson in 2013 for the Grade 7 and 8 students until a new addition is built.
The grades 7 to 12 model has been adopted in nearby school boards and in Ottawa’s Catholic school board. Ottawa’s public board has only one school currently using this model, Longfields-Davidson Heights Secondary School in Barrhaven.
Staff said that if the proposal is accepted, “nothing is off the table” in terms of helping students transition to the new system.
Curry cited many concerns from parents throughout the meeting. However she said she is satisfied families and parents have been listened to, despite staff’s departure from ARC proposals.
“Overall I’m comfortable with what staff have recommended, but I understand there will be angst in the community,” Curry said.
She said staff have taken many of the north ARC’s “special considerations” into account. These include creating separate wings for the younger students and running the younger grades on a separate schedule.
“People could be quite consoled that they were listened to,” Curry said.
That is not the case for Bridlewood resident Craig Braddon, who called the proposals a “bizarre plan.”
“I laughed out loud. Where’s the money, what’s the plan? There is no money and there is no plan,” Braddon said.
Curry said she is also concerned about funding capabilities.
“Right now the province is in a tough financial position, and there’s only so much capital money. We got reassurances from staff, but I’m still concerned,” she said.
KANATA SOUTH RECOMMENDATIONS
In Kanata south, staff presented a series of proposals that would be implemented in 2013.
* Bridlewood Community Elementary School and W.O. Mitchell Elementary School would become dual track junior kindergarten to Grade 6 schools, with grades 7 and 8 moving to Glen Cairn Public School. Bridlewood would continue to offer its middle French immersion program for grades 4 to 6.
* Glen Cairn would become a dual track middle school for Grades 7 to 8, keeping the gifted program from Bridlewood, and would become an annex of A.Y. Jackson Secondary School.
* Castlefrank Elementary School would house dual track junior kindergarten to Grade 3 students while Katimavik Elementary School would become a dual track grades 4 to 8 school. Katimavik would phase out its middle French immersion program. Staff noted that the two schools would eventually join at Katimavik, with Castlefrank being “repurposed” in the future.
* Roch Carrier Elementary School would stay the same, but with a smaller boundary for French immersion students.
* John Young Elementary School would take in the JK to Grade 6 students displaced from Glen Cairn, and its boundary would change.
Curry said she was pleased to see the community model maintained in the schools, with dual track systems in most of the schools.
“It’s really a good thing for the community,” she said, explaining that kids can all take the same bus and share the same activities regardless of whether they are in the English or French immersion program.
Braddon, however, said he’s concerned about creating a middle school out of Glen Cairn. His son is in Grade 4 at W.O. Mitchell, and Braddon said his son will be a “guinea pig” in a few years when the changes are implemented.
“They’re just going to dump, force all the kids in the south side of Kanata to go to Glen Cairn, but there’s no exit strategy for that,” he said.
KANATA NORTH RECOMMENDATIONS
In Kanata north, staff’s recommendations are planned for 2015 because the school board is still trying to secure land and funding for a new elementary school in the area.
In the meantime, construction will begin on an eight-classroom addition to South March Public School in Sept. 2012, and enrolments will be monitored at Stephen Leacock Public School, W. Erskine Johnston Public School and Jack Donohue Public School to determine if interim measures such as finding temporary satellite sites for extra students will be necessary in 2013 and 2014.
Beginning in 2015, staff recommended:
* Jack Donohue remain a dual track JK to Grade 8 school, with grades 7 and 8 students from South March Public School moving to Jack Donohue.
* Roland Michener Public School become a junior kindergarten to Grade 6 dual-track school with a boundary change.
* Stephen Leacock become a JK to Grade 6 school, and add an English program. W. Erskine Johnston would also lose its grades 7 and 8 students, and offer middle French immersion for grades 4 to 6.
* Grade 7 and 8 students from Roland Michener, Stephen Leacock, and W. Erskine Johnston all be redirected to Earl of March Secondary School, which will adopt a Grade 7 to 12 model.
* West Carleton Secondary School remain a Grade 9 to 12 school.
Stephen Leacock parent Natalie Gallimore said she was very surprised to hear the school would no longer be French-only.
“I know that if the English option has existed, my son would have dropped out to the English program,” she said. “It made it harder to make that choice.”
She said the school has long been “an institution” for sole French studies, and she liked that it came with extras such as French content in the hallways and French-only assemblies.
Eliminating the option of an all-French school is cutting down on choices for parents, Gallimore added.
“Parents always say we want more choice, but this is eliminating program choice in Kanata. There will be less choice in 2015 if we go with this plan,” she said.
Curry said her main concern was whether Jack Donohue can survive until 2015 when a new elementary school in the area could alleviate some of the pressure.
“The concern is the ability of Jack Donohue to manage until 2015, and staff have recognized that with some interim measures that might include satellite sites. That unknown will be difficult for parents,” she said.
NEXT STEPS
Members of the public can make delegations to the board of trustees on March 5, with an overflow date of March 22 if needed. The deadline to sign up as a delegation is March 1 at 4 p.m.
Trustees will debate the staff recommendation on April 2, with an overflow date reserved for April 5.
The board will make a final decision on April 24.
With files from Jessica Cunha.