Families worry about students' futures after CBE closes specialized program in northwest Calgary

Some parents say they're disappointed and frustrated by the Calgary Board of Education's decision to shutter its Discovering Choices high school program in Bowness and move the students into the program's other three locations in Calgary.

"We will be terminating our lease and closing the Bowness location effective June 30, 2020. The Bowness site has the lowest student enrolment and the highest facility lease costs to operate," a note posted to the school's website, dated May 6, reads.

News of the program's closure in Bowness came as a shock to Jill Skarstol and her 16-year-old son who had just started at the school last fall, after Skarstol said they had exhausted all other options for learning in Calgary.

"I cried when they phoned and told me," said Skarstol, who said her son's teachers notified her about the school closing its doors.  

Skarstol said her son is extremely intelligent but has trouble learning independently and needs support staying focused.

'It's frustrating'

She said at Discovering Choices he finally found somewhere where he felt respected and excelled.

"It's frustrating when I mean, for six months, or however months we had before COVID-19 hit, it was finally the perfect solution," she said.

"Even though you know they're telling us that there is going to be room in the program for him next year — we don't know where it will be and whether we can get him there or not."

According to the CBE's website, Discovering Choices is an outreach program for young people who, due to particular personal and/or family situations, experience obstacles in their educational pursuits.  A total of 1,116 students are enrolled in the program, the vast majority of whom are in Grade 12. 

It said it works in cooperation with other agencies such as the Alex, Alberta Health Services, the United Way, Youth Justice, Youth Central, Integro, Cenovus, the Calgary Food Bank and Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids.

The program is also located in Westbrook, Marlborough and downtown. 

The CBE issued a statement to CBC News on behalf of it's chief superintendent Christopher Usih, stating that this upcoming school year's provincial budget includes a new funding framework and requires new priorities and decisions, including cost reductions.

"One of these changes reflects an adjustment in provincial funding for outreach programs. The CBE is aligning its outreach programs with the allocated outreach program funding included within the Alberta Education Funding and Assurance framework. The CBE remains committed to providing outreach programming and the unique opportunities it provides for students to be successful outside of regular school programs and services," the statement read.

The CBE also said it will have the same number of student spaces available, and space for all Discovering Choices students to continue in 2020-21 school year. 

But it said it's not clear yet where the students will be offered a spot.

Grade 10 student Savanah Iskiw said she's not sure what she's going to do.

She said Bowness outreach was her last hope at completing high school. 

"I've suffered from severe mental illness that prevented me from going to traditional high school. The teachers, environment, (especially the skylights and spiral staircase that gave [it] so much character) and the program the way it's more suited for the students like me who attend Discovering Choices. All this made attending much easier," Iskie shared in an email with CBC News.

Transportation troubles

Iskiw said the Bowness location is also close to her home. 

"I have travelling anxiety so I'm not sure going to a new location will work for me. I guess I'm a bit lost as to what to do next," added Iskiw.

Anne Yates-Laberge's son will graduate this year from the Discovering Choices program.

She said her son moved from the Bowness site to Westbrook this year because it was closer to home. The long bus rides were becoming a huge barrier to her son's ability and desire to stay in school — and she thinks the same could be true for students moving from Bowness next fall.

"The vicinity of a school like this to a child's house has a lot to do with their ability to get there. So when you're dealing with a special needs child or someone who's at risk, the difference of either transit or no transit can actually make a monumental change in direction of their whole schooling day," Yates-Laberge said.

Plus, she said some of the students, including her son, have impulsivity issues and long bus rides can pose additional challenges for them.

"Right now is not the time to be cutting specialized school settings — the most vulnerable populations that we have — and there's no way my son would be graduating from high school, zero chance of him graduating high school, without this program," said Yates-Laberge.

I'm thinking to myself, well it doesn't have to be underutilized...- Jill Skarstol, mother of Discovering Choices student

Skarstol said she won't be able to drive her son to school next fall because she must get her other son ready for school in the mornings. She said she may have to hire a cab to take him to the new location, preferably to Westbrook.

But she said ideally the CBE could try to attract more students. She said she wasn't even aware of this program until her son's tutor mentioned it. And, she said she knows there are many other families who would benefit from attending this school that provides more individualized learning for students who don't do well in traditional classrooms.

"I'm thinking to myself, well it doesn't have to be underutilized, it really does sound to me like there'd be a lot of high school students that would go into that program if they knew about it and if their families knew about it," said Skarstol.

The CBE said its decision is final.

In the meantime, it's asking families to share their questions or thoughts in an online survey.

It said the survey will remain open until May 20, and it will share responses to frequently asked questions by May 27. The survey is posted on the Discovering Choices website.

The CBE also said it will have more information about where it plans to find other cost savings for the 2020-21 school year on its website on May 15, for discussion at the May 19 public meeting of the board of trustees.