OCDSB drastically walks back elementary school program review

What happened: The Ottawa Carleton District School Board is drastically scaling back its elementary school program review after intense backlash from parents. 

“All of the feedback received, including in-person and/or on-line options, email and otherwise, was carefully reviewed and considered in the context of the desired outcomes and whether changes could be made in some areas of the District without compromising the overarching principles underpinning the review,” said a newly released report by the OCDSB.

“As a result, the initial proposal has been revised to respond to the feedback received. In some cases this means undoing the proposed changes and leaving school boundaries, program offerings and grade configurations status quo; in other cases, it means making adjustments to the proposed boundaries, for example, to preserve traditional community ties within neighbourhoods.”

What has changed

Boundaries and grade configurations: The revised proposal significantly scales back the initial boundary and grade reconfiguration changes, aiming to preserve community ties and reduce the number of K-3 and 4-8 schools. While the proposal continues to focus on consolidating single-track schools, these revisions result in some Enhanced English and French Immersion-only schools.

Schools which will now remain in their current grade configurations include the following:

• Alta Vista Public School; Arch Street Public School; Charles H. Hulse Public School; Featherston Drive Public School; Hawthorne Public School; Henry Larsen Elementary School; Kars on the Rideau Public School; Pinecrest Public School; Pleasant Park Public School; Regina Street Alternative School; Riverview Alternative School; Roberta Bondar Public School; Severn Avenue Public School; and Woodroffe Avenue Public School. 

CTV has compiled a list of which schools will have grade configurations. It can be viewed here. 

The revised plan also includes five single-track English-only schools, including Arch Street Public School, Convent Glen Elementary School, Dunlop Public School, Hawthorne Public School and North Gower/Marlborough Public School. That is disappointing news to some trustees, reported the Ottawa Citizen. 

Student movement: The revised proposal reduces the number of additional students needing to switch schools by half compared to the initial proposal. Total student movement would be approximately 1,500 more than the usual number of students who transition annually. The revised proposal also includes the potential for further reduction through grandparenting and includes support for students during the transition. 

• Initially, 11,000 students would need to switch schools under the first proposal. Now that number is at 9,500 students. 

Here is a link to the revised school locator

Grandparenting exceptions: A process will be established for parents to submit requests for exceptions based on specific circumstances (e.g., sibling considerations).

Support for students: While moving towards more inclusive classroom settings, the proposal now retains nine Specialized Program Classes (SPCs) instead of phasing them out, reducing the number of phased-out SPCs from 39 to 26, to allow for further exploration of inclusive learning models and to address community concerns about adequate student support.