Parents push back at system-wide school boundary changes

Some parents of London high school students faced with the prospect of switching schools in 2024 are pushing back, hoping the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) will reconsider aspects of a sweeping boundary review now in its final stages.

"It sounds like they've decided on these changes already and they're going to announce them in June," said parent Claudia Mei Mei Chan.

Chan lives in the Sunningdale Road and Highbury Avenue area and has two boys. One of her boys is currently attending the French immersion program at Banting Secondary, the other is in Grade 7 at Cedar Hollow Public School. 

The board has put forward a plan that would send Chan's eldest son to attend Clarke Road Secondary in his Grade 12 year.

If the changes go ahead as proposed her youngest son, who is not in French immersion, would go to Montcalm Secondary instead of Medway Secondary, which is closer to her home in north London. 

"I know why they're looking to do this," said Chan about changes coming through the attendance review. "But why do the people up north have to get sent so far to the south?"

The reason, according to a report commissioned for the TVDSB, is London's massive population growth in recent years. 

From 2001 to 2021, London's population jumped by about 25 per cent, from 336,500 to just over 422,000. 

Bill Tucker is a former head of education at the TVDSB and a veteran of many attendance area reviews. He said the review is not just about the number of new students seeking school spaces, but where in the city that growth is happening. 

"For the past 10 or 15 years, families have been moving out of the centre of the city to suburbs and to smaller towns around the periphery of the city of London," said Tucker. "That's really put a lot of pressure on the school board in terms of trying to find spaces." 

Only three London high schools are below their optimal enrolment numbers: Montcalm, Clarke Road and Westminster.

As part of the attendance review, the board is consulting with parent committees this month before the changes are finalized in June. The changes will take effect in the start of the school year in September 2024. 

Building new schools in high-growth areas may appear to be the obvious solution. Unfortunately with limited capital dollars and other Ontario cities facing similar growth patterns, the province generally requires boards to prove all their schools are at capacity before money flows to build new ones, Tucker said.

The pain students and parents feel when they're forced into a new school is understandable, but the alternatives aren't good either, Tucker said.

"When you start adding multiple sets of portables on school property, that's just not fair to kids," he said. 

Parents decry disruption 

Many parents, however, see the proposed changes as unfair. 

The move to send about 40 per cent of Banting's French immersion students to Clarke Road doesn't sit right with M.J. Kidnie. Her son Will Purkis is a Grade 9 student in French immersion at Banting. Although her son isn't among the students who will be forced to attend Clarke Road, she's worried the move will hobble Banting's "wonderful" French immersion program.

"The board is jeopardizing the school's ability to deliver the program at all, and that effects every French immersion family," she said.

But board staff say redistributing students from Banting and Sir Wilfrid Laurier to a third French Immersion high school will add much needed space. 

"While this will result in smaller French Immersion programs, Thames Valley District School Board staff know from experience at other secondary French Immersion sites that a robust and diverse program can be offered with the projected enrolment of 300-plus pupils at each school," said Ben Puzanov, TVDSB's manager of planning.

Showdown over Central

Big changes are also being proposed for Central Secondary School in downtown London. 

Right now, students who live outside Central's geographic catchment area can apply to attend Central through a random selection process. There are two options on the table, including keeping the status quo. The other option would expand Central's catchment area but no longer allow students who live outside that area to enrol there. 

Alice Tschen is opposing the latter change. She lives in Lambeth and all four of her children have attended Central. Her youngest is in Grade 10 and would have to attend either Saunders or St. Thomas Aquinas for her Grade 12 year. Another option would still bar out-of-area students to attend Central but allow current students to stay at the school until they graduate.

"It would be taking her out of her friend group and high school is hard enough without having to change schools for Grade 12," said Tschen, who is on the attendance review committee for Central.  

Tschen also said her daughter is thriving in Central's music program. 

"We would really like to have her graduate from Central," she said. 

And while he understands parents' concerns, Tucker said often students thrive at their new school. 

"It doesn't take long for kids to make new friends and get adjusted," said Tucker. "It can be a wonderful opportunity for students."