Arlington MS to be sold

French Catholic board looks to buy the site
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier Jan 28)

Arlington MS could be sold to French Catholic school board. Kris Scheuer/Town Crier file photo.

A deal is in the works to sell Arlington Middle School to a French Catholic school board.
Last year the Toronto District School Board voted to sell Arlington, which overlooks Cedarvale Park, and close it this September. The board’s real estate arm, Toronto Lands Corporation is handling the potential sale.
Donna Jondreau, manager of real estate for the Toronto Lands, confirmed the Conseil Scolaire de District Catholique Centre-Sud will vote in a few weeks on whether to buy Arlington MS.
“We should know by mid-March,” Jondreau said Jan. 27.
St. Paul’s public school trustee Shelley Laskin said the deal to sell Arlington will likely be successful.
The French Catholic school board already voted to have its staff negotiate a purchase of the facility, Laskin said.
If the deal goes through, students in grade 7 will continue at Arlington in the 2011-2012 school year for grade 8.

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How much homework is enough?

How schools strive for homework, life balance
Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier’s Education Guide Dec. 6)

How much homework is too much? Photo courtesy of Evil Erin.

Homework shouldn’t be the focus of a kid’s life. They need time for family, friends and extracurricular activities that help develop them into a well-rounded child.
While theories abound about how much homework is best, schools are working hard to help students achieve a work/life balance.
“About 10-12 years ago the Ministry (of Education) had a new policy for teachers to cover a lot of materials in schools across Ontario,” said Fieldstone Day School’s head of grades 7-12 Josephine Parody. “So there was lots of homework. Then the pendulum swung another way (less homework).”
In fact, it was complaints by parents about the amount of after school work students were given that led the Toronto District School Board to rethink its homework policy.
“The main concern was there were too many hours in the evening assigned to homework, which took away from family time and learning opportunities to participate in extra curricular activities,” said former trustee Josh Matlow, who helped push the policy forward.

TDSB to close 8 schools

Arlington MS among eight sites to shut
Board also approved improvements for local sites
Plus Davisville’s possible redevelopment discussed in Jan
By Kris Scheuer
(Written June 24 for Town Crier. Revised June 25.)

TDSB voted June 23 to close eight schools. File pic.

The TDSB voted last night to close eight schools, including Arlington MS.
McCowan Rd, Pringdale Gardens, Heron Park, Peter Secor, Silverthorn Jr., Brooks Rd and Kent Sr schools will also close starting in 2011, saving the board about $2 million a year in operating funds.
Plus, the board will save millions more in capital repairs and upgrades, trustee Josh Matlow said.

TDSB votes on closing schools

School board deciding fate of eight sites
If eight schools closed,  would save $60 mil
Kris Scheuer
(Written June 23 for Town Crier.  June 24 UPDATE.)

TDSB to vote on closing sites to get revenue to reinvest in schools across Toronto. Town Crier file photo.

The school board has some vital votes tonight on whether to keep eight public schools open.
Board staff and a local Accommodation Review Committee recommend Arlington close by September 2011 and J.R Wilcox, Cedarvale, Humewood and Rawlington all expand to grade eight to accommodate area students.
Briar Hill school
Another local ARC recommended closing Briar Hill PS and moving students to nearby school sites. A minority report by some committee members recommended putting a new JK to 3 school at the site, which could be redeveloped with a residential building.
That was supposed to come to the school board June 23, but instead a decision’s been postponed to allow time to explore the options.
No decision have been made yet regarding selling the site, redevelopment or closing the school, but staff has been asked to look at how much it would cost to build a new Briar Hill school on-site if the lot was redeveloped.

Briar Hill school could close

North Toronto elementary school’s enrollment declining
Parents vow to defeat closure recommendation
By Kris Scheuer
(Written for Town Crier April 22.)

Briar Hill parent Carmen Moscarello and son Matthew fighting to keep school open. Photo by Karolyn Coorsh/Town Crier.

Briar Hill parent Carmen Moscarello isn’t ready to say goodbye to her child’s elementary school.
But if a report on the future of three schools in the Dufferin and Eglinton area is adopted by the Toronto school board in June, she may have to.
An Accommodation Review Committee report is recommending closing Briar Hill, expanding nearby Fairbank Middle School from JK to grade 8, and keeping West Prep Junior School as JK to grade 6.
Briar Hill is facing closure because of declining enrollment at the JK to grade 5 school. The 1927-built facility has a capacity for 265 students but only about 147 kids are enrolled there.
An attached minority report by committee members and Briar Hill parents Julie McFayden and Paul Dover doesn’t support closing the school.
Board staff will make its own recommendations and the issue will go for a board vote at the end of June, but in the meantime, parents like Moscarello are fuming at the mere suggestion of closure.

Davisville school staying open

ARC members recommend 5 schools stay open
Plus Maurice Cody expands, if school board agrees
By Kris Scheuer
(Written March 5 for Town Crier)

There will be no school closures and one local site will even be expanded if the Davisville-Yonge Accommodation Review Committee gets its way.
For months, the committee members have been considering 12 options on how best to accommodate students at four school sites: Davisville, Hodgson, Maurice Cody and Eglinton Public School/Spectrum Alternative Senior School.
The group has now chosen one option with six key recommendations to the Toronto District School Board:
• All four school sites to stay open.
• No change in boundaries to who can be accommodated at a school.
• Spectrum’s grade 7 and 8 mix will not include other grades.
• Maurice Cody will be expanded.
• No programs will be lost at any of the schools.
• Davisville and at Eglinton schools will maintain English and not move to
French only.

Monarch Park school pool saved

Deal struck to keep east end high school pool open
Swim facility to serve high needs students plus community
By Kris Scheuer
(Written Feb. 9 for Town Crier newspaper.)

Teacher Jay Arrington with students Ravi Mahara and Daniel Costa celebrate having their pool back. Photo by Kris Scheuer/Town Crier.

Monarch Park CI students Daniel Costa and Ravi Mahara were all smiles when talking about how their school pool has been saved from being drained.
This pool was on the Toronto District School Board’s chopping block unless the school and larger community rallied to raise permit revenues to keep it open.
Costa, Mahara and 36 fellow students with physical and intellectual disabilities or special needs were unable to make use of their school pool for several months while the community raised money.
This meant they travelled by bus to Variety Village in Scarborough for swim classes in a pool that could meet their requirements.

Davisville redevelopment and ARC

TDSB examines how best to accommodate students
And redevelopment possibilities discussed at school site
By Kris Scheuer
(Written Jan. 13 for Town Crier. UPDATE here.)

The possibility of redeveloping Davisville Junior Public School has drawn the ire of councillor Michael Walker who says the 48-year-old education facility should be left as is.
The Toronto District School Board is forming a local community design team in the coming months to look at redevelopment for the land just east of Yonge Street.
“I find it offensive Davisville is looked upon as (a financial) asset,” says Walker. “It’s a school first.”
According to school trustee Josh Matlow, the possibility of closing the school and redeveloping the land is one of many options being passed around at this point. Closure of the school is unlikely, he says, and redevleopment is not a certainty.
“We have met with parents and ratepayers. They have been told directly redevelopment won’t happen without their consent,” says Matlow, who is running for a council seat in St. Paul’s, ward 22.

Toronto school trustee election candidates

Who is running for Catholic and public school boards
City election attracting both new blood and veterans
By Kris Scheuer
(Updated Oct.25)

 

Etobicoke-Lakeshore Trustee Bruce Davis is not seeking re-election opting to run mayoral candidate George Smitherman's campaign instead.

 

 

Here’s the lowdown on who’s running for the 22-seat TDSB.
Etobicoke North Ward 1. Current trustee John Hastings has registered, so have candidates Andrew Bacchus, Paul Singh and Saadiq Malik.
Etobicoke Centre Ward 2.  Current trustee and former TDSB chair John Campbell is not running here but for council instead. Eight candidates are registered: Wayne Chen, Maya Worsoff, Ron Jaicarran, Chris Glover, John Kapralos, Husein Kirefu, Stephen Thiele and Kaydee Richmond.
Etobicoke Lakeshore Ward 3. Current trustee and TDSB chair Bruce Davis was signed up but withdrew July 2. Five candidates are running: Peter Debrone, Pamela Gough, Margaret McBeath, Andy Kyriakos and Richard Carter.

Davisville school redevelopment process promise

By Kris Scheuer
(See Jan. 13 UPDATE.)
I wrote a detailed story on the possible redevelopment and Accommodation Review Committee process at Davisville Public School Dec. 23.
I am working on an update that will be printed in the Town Crier newspaper on Tues. Jan 13 including some new interviews and re-interviews with key players TDSB’s Sheila Penny, trustee Josh Matlow and councillor Michael Walker.
So I have removed my original story until I write my update and it is edited.
Want the update? Click here for the story.