While some community members within the Wellington Catholic District School Board are upset at the potential of one high school turning into a Grade 7 to 8 school, the board chair stressed there was no decision being made right now.
To address enrolment pressures at schools in the central west area of Guelph the board is weighing its options for where some students could go to school. The boundary changes are about two years in advance of any changes coming into effect.
A committee was formed with two parent representatives for each possibly impacted school. Two options for grade structures and attendance areas were identified. One of the options would have Our Lady of Lourdes become a Grade 7 to 12 school. This would have Grade 7 and 8 students from St. Peter Catholic Elementary School and St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School in Guelph at Lourdes.
In this option it would have Sacred Heart Catholic Elementary School in Rockwood be the feeder school for Bishop Macdonell in the 2028/2029 school year. In the other option this would be the same but the timeline would move to the 2027/2028 school year.
Delegates who were at the Monday board meeting want a boundary review of all WCDSB’s Guelph schools since they think it would make it fair for all students. This was the first suggestion the parent review committee had but it was dismissed by the board, said delegate Nicole Weeks.
Some dubbed the committee meetings as “pizza parties” since the meetings were ineffective, she said.
Weeks expected the meetings to be structured like an assembly where the information would be heard and community members' thoughts would be shared. She didn’t think the public meetings had accommodations for parents whose first language isn’t English.
During the report and discussion on the attendance area and grade structure it was noted documents were translated for parents.
“How is transferring the Grade 7 and 8 students from these high priority schools who need more nurturing an equitable solution for these students? Introducing these students who are already struggling with current school curriculum and socioeconomic issues into a secondary environment, and exposing them to more mature behaviour will only negatively impact their development,” said Weeks, after noting the demographics and EQAO results of students in central west area schools.
Delegate Jen Norman talked about how it's not physically possible to keep Grade 7 and 8 students apart from students in higher grades. She thinks a significant amount of money would have to go into creating separate washrooms, change rooms, special education rooms, resource rooms, portables and outdoor space. The renovations would mean converting existing classrooms for these spaces and then the capacity of Lourdes would decrease, she said.
Our students deserve the same Kindergarten to Grade 8 elementary school “learning environment that is offered to every single other student in the board,” said Norman.
Board chair Marino Gazzola assured the delegates there was no imminent decision and there isn’t a date set for a decision to be made.
During the report, trustee Cassandra O’Donnell said she’s in favour of “kyboshing” the options because of the people in Rockwood she’s a representative for and because it also personally impacts her.
Gazzola reiterated no decision is being made at this time.
