By Susan White
Possible school closures next year could result in the loss of specialized programs at Centennial Public School, says Daniel Hodges, co-chair of its school council.
About 80 students will be forced to transfer to Centennial if Elgin Street Public School and Devonshire Community Public School close, says the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.
The problem is the children from Elgin will be French-immersion students, and Centennial currently doesn’t have a French-immersion program.
“We could do it, but it requires cutbacks in other areas,” he says.
Hodges, who has two children enrolled at Centennial, says programs such as day care and break-out rooms – places where children of immigrant families can learn to speak English – are an integral part of the school’s curriculum. Implementing a French-immersion program could put those specialty programs at risk, he says.
Susan Derby, a member of the school council who has one child at Centennial, says she’s also concerned about transferring students to the school. She says that more students will need more space, and that could mean overcrowding.
Derby, however, is in favour of adding French-immersion to the curriculum. “It only enriches our school to add a new program,” she says. But she warns French-immersion should not be introduced at the expense of other programs.
Doug Tateishi, principal of Centennial, would not comment on the effect adding a new program to the curriculum would have on the school.
“Until we get to that point, it would just be conjecture on my part,” he says.
So far, transfers from closed schools have gone smoothly. When McNabb Park Public School shut its doors last year, Centennial received about 70 students. “They’ve done marvelously well,” Tateishi says. “They’re part of the culture now.”
He admits, however, French-immersion students may have a harder time adapting to Centennial than McNabb’s English program students.
Both Hodges and Derby say the school board’s decision to shut down the nine schools is rushed and ill-advised. They accuse the board of basing its decision on outdated population statistics.
Hyacinth Haddad, with communications at the school board, says the board is using the region’s own population data, and that closing the schools will save the board $7 million. She adds the closures are necessary to receive provincial funding needed for new schools in Ottawa’s suburban areas.
Hodges and Derby join both region and city councils, the schools and the communities, in asking the board to postpone any decisions about closures until the region completes a new demographic study in January 2001.
A final decision is expected Oct. 23.
The issue: School closures
What’s new: French-immersion students from Elgin will transfer to Centennial if the school closes, but Centennial doesn’t have a French-immersion program.What it means: Possible cutbacks to specialized programs at Centennial.
What’s next: The school board is expected to make its final decision on Oct.23.