Windsor parents share fears about school closures during open meeting

Three public elementary schools in Forest Glade are being evaluated

Image | Todd Awender

Caption: Todd Awender, Superintendent of Education for the Greater Essex County District School Board, speaks to a room full of parents about school closures on Feb. 8, 2016. (Jason Viau/CBC)

A mother in east Windsor is worried about her children's behaviour and mental health when they're forced to change schools.
Janet Williams has two young daughters who attend Eastwood Public School, ages five and eight. Their school is one of three public elementary schools in Forest Glade on the chopping block, a process that's familiar to Williams.
"They've already changed the boundaries on us and made us change schools once before," she said. "Nothing was really done to accommodate them and now they're going to get bumped again."
Dozens of parents attended a public meeting Wednesday night to hear from the Greater Essesx Dirstrict School Board, which evaluating the future of these east end schools.
The board is considering building a new JK-Grade 8 school, which would cause Parkview and Eastwood public schools to be consolidated. Forest Glade Public School would remain, but with a new boundary.

Transition tough of children

But Williams wants to see her daughters' school remain open, as it sits now.
"I don't think it's good for these kids to keep going through change," she said, adding since the transition she's noticed her daughters change from being outgoing to shy.

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Superintendent of Education Todd Awender told a gym full of parents that a transition committee is in place to help students.
"They talk about whatever may be needed for the students to have a seamless transition," he explained.

Open concept schools 'disruptive'

During the meeting, some parents raised concerns about open-concept schools, similar to the buildings their children are studying at now.
The room erupted with applause when one parent asked if the potential new school would be more of a closed concept.
"It's disruptive," said Nikki Gray, whose daughter is in Grade 2 at Eastwood Public School. "It's loud. [She's] in an area where there are 60 children. It's two classes. It can be very distracting, especially when you have to concentrate."
Gray said she was in favour of a new building, instead of the costly renovation of something old because "the money has to go back to the kids."

Next public meeting will be in April

Awender said the board doesn't want to close schools, but it does have to be "fiscally responsible." Sometimes that means moving away from an older building, he added.
"There's a lot of renewal that needs to take place in our older buildings," he said.
A final public meeting on the future of the three Forest Glade public elementary schools will be in April. The board of trustees is expected to make a decision in June.
Awender predicts if all goes as planned, it will take about two years from that point to build a new school.