What the Focus of the School Board Should Be

I recently passed on these additional observations with respect to Rideau High School to community members. It was suggested that they may be of value to the discussion.

Everyone

I felt a need to put some additional thoughts in writing. I trust you do not mind that I share them with you and that they add value to the discussion.

As many of you may know, I am very concerned about what I consider to be the very loose transfer policy of the ocdsb. Personally, I went to school in Toronto, and I raised my children in Kingston, Ontario. I had never previously witnessed such an easy transfer procedure. The way I see things, in Ottawa it is now an accepted practice for parents to shop for schools for their children, basing their decision on what they "hear" is the best school for their child to go to. Essentially, it allows parents (primarily, I believe, those with more resources), to distance themselves from the notion of community when it comes to their child's education.

Putting aside for a moment my concerns about the policy itself, I believe the school board should be very concerned about the perception of schools that these families have. The board should be aware of what these perceptions are. To ascertain these perceptions, the public should be surveyed by the board so that they really do know what the perception is. They need to know what school is "perceived" as no 1, down to what school is "perceived" to be at the bottom. Then, the board needs to compare this with the reality of how well schools are providing for the students in their respective catchment areas.

If perception matches reality, they need to develop an action plan, and execute it, to address what is wrong with the schools needing help. (I can only hope that they are doing this now. I'm a newcomer to this discussion and am not knowledgeable in this area.) To the extent that the perception does not fit the reality, the board needs to take action to address these mis perceptions.

To those who might suggest that this is beyond the board's purview, I believe that it was the liberal transfer policy that opened the door to the "shopping" in the first place. It is a policy that undoubtedly favours those with greater financial resources as they can better afford the added travel burdens. It has encouraged a downward spiraling "ghettoizing" of our schools that feeds on itself. It also encourages an elitist "I'm better than you are" attitude which I see as very troubling. Long before it got to this juncture, the board should have been aware of whether or not there were any community mis perceptions and addressing them with facts.

Every child should genuinely feel pride when they respond to the question "What school do you go to?" Any school board should be very concerned and take effective action whenever this is not the case.

I was very impressed with Rideau High School upon visiting it. It very effectively responds to the needs of its community. Given the chance it could do much more. This school has much to be proud of and the board should be doing WHATEVER IT TAKES to assist Rideau in proclaiming this from the rooftops to encourage this sense of pride.

Rideau High School has a lot to teach other schools about developing a respectful and accepting school environment. I heard a lot of pride about this sense of community when I listened to the students over the brief time I have come to know them in the past month. They deserve the opportunity to feel this respect from the community at large. To be frank, I think that those community members who "look down on" Rideau, should be ashamed of themselves. To me, Rideau is a place that shines, and we need to make sure that Ottawa knows this.

Let me know if there is ever a way that I can help in this endeavour. I'll be there.

Regards,
Leonard