Dear Guildwood Community Members,
At the October 20th community meeting that many of you attended, I made a commitment to keep you up to date on new developments in the process. That is the purpose of this letter. On November 16, 2016, the Board’s Planning and Priority Committee passed the following recommendation:
IT IS RECOMMENDED that a Pupil Accommodation Review be established for the following elementary schools: Elizabeth Simcoe Junior Public School, Guildwood Junior Public School, Jack Miner Senior Public School, and Poplar Road Junior Public School. On November 23,2016, at a regular meeting of the Board, the same recommendation was passed.
Below are some excerpts from the report sent to the Trustees. A Local Feasibility Study was initiated to review program and accommodation solutions to low enrolment, underutilization and poor facility condition at these four schools. The Local Feasibility Team (LFT) developed and reviewed options that would best address these issues.
As per the Ministry of Education’s Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline released in March 2015, school boards must prepare an initial staff report containing a recommendation to address the existing program/accommodation issues prior to the establishment of a Pupil Accommodation Review. The student accommodation and program plan included in Appendix D reflects the work completed by the LFT and recommends the closure of two of the four schools and the construction of two new facilities on the remaining school sites. Long-Term Program and Accommodation Strategy
The Long-Term Program and Accommodation Strategy (LTPAS) is a Board-approved document that guides program and accommodation planning within a ten-year timeframe. The LTPAS includes a planned Pupil Accommodation Review to address this group of schools, stating “Explore a review of Jack Miner Senior PS and its feeder schools, Elizabeth Simcoe Junior PS, Guildwood Junior PS and Poplar Road Junior PS to address existing and projected underutilization at Jack Miner Senior PS and Guildwood Junior PS.” The proposed review was reconfirmed during the 2016-17 LTPAS cycle, at which point staff began the process by engaging a formal staff study called a Local Feasibility Study. The Local Feasibility Team (LFT) met on four occasions between June and October 2016 to review the enrolment and facility details of the four elementary schools, to consider the current program and accommodation challenges facing this group of schools, and to develop a recommended program and accommodation solution. The group reviewed a total of four accommodation options and recommends one of these options. Membership of the Local Feasibility Team included the local Trustee, the Superintendent of Education, School Principals as well as staff representatives from Planning, Special Education, Teaching and Learning, and Facility Services.
Local Feasibility Team’s Recommended Student Accommodation and Program Plan
The Local Feasibility Team is recommending:
- That Elizabeth Simcoe Junior PS be identified as an Emerging Capital Priority Project in the 2017 submission to the Ministry of Education for the construction of a new 452 pupil place replacement JK to Grade 8 public school;
- That Poplar Road Junior PS be identified as an Emerging Capital Priority Project in the 2017 submission to the Ministry of Education for the construction of a new 528 pupil place replacement JK to Grade 8 public school;
- That Guildwood Junior PS be closed effective 30 June 2021 and the attendance area be assigned to Elizabeth Simcoe Junior PS (7%) and Poplar Road Junior PS (93%);
- That the students attending Guildwood Junior PS on Optional Attendance be equally divided and assigned to Elizabeth Simcoe Junior PS and Poplar Road Junior PS effective 1 September 2021;
- That Elizabeth Simcoe Junior PS be converted from JK to Grade 6 junior school to a JK to Grade 8 Public School effective 1 September 2021;
- That Elizabeth Simcoe PS continue to accommodate the Gifted program and expands to include Grade 7 effective 1 September 2021 and Grade 8 effective 1 September 2022;
- That the junior Learning Disability program at Elizabeth Simcoe Junior PS be relocated to another school or closed prior to 30 June 2021;
- That Poplar Road Junior PS be converted from a JK to Grade 6 junior school to a JK to Grade 8 Public School effective 1 September 2021;
- That Poplar Road Junior PS continue to accommodate the Junior Extended French program and expands to include Grade 7 effective 1 September 2021 and Grade 8 effective 1 September 2022;
- That Poplar Road Junior PS continue to accommodate the Developmental Disability program and expand to include Grade 7 effective 1 September 2021 and Grade 8 effective 1 September 2022; and
- That Jack Miner Senior PS be closed effective 30 June 2022 and the attendance area be assigned to Elizabeth Simcoe Junior PS and Poplar Road Junior PS.
As the further details unfold, I will continue to update you through these newsletters. I encourage you to share the information with neighbours and friends. If people wish to be added to the update lists, they may email
araz.hasserjian@tdsb.on.ca. If you no longer wish to receive these updates, please send Araz and email and request to be removed from the list, or simply use the "Opt out" link below.
