Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Counting Classrooms

There have been reports from various sources that École LaVérendrye has (or will have) anywhere from 14 to 20 classrooms. Arguments could be made for all the numbers... It all depends on what your definition of "classroom" is.

The fact is that we are bound by the Winnipeg School Division's (flawed) policy regarding classroom usage & capacity calculations. This allows for rooms to be set aside for a library and daycare (subject to Bill 7), but all other suitable rooms must be used as classrooms if needed. (Even though LaVérendrye's child care is unlicensed, and Bill 7 is not yet law, WSD is abiding by its spirit, and excluding the room used by KinderCare from their calculations.)

Using this definition, LaVérendrye has 14 classrooms today, not including the portable that (at least for now) is not being considered as part of the long-term solution, so isn't included in capacity planning.

One of those classrooms will be lost as part of the gymnasium construction to build a connecting hallway and a resource room, and three new classrooms will be made available (one attached to the new gym, one in the old gym, and one in the room currently used by the library, which will also move into the old gym), for a net increase of two, bringing us to 16 classrooms for the 2016/17 school year, once the gym construction is complete.

The new gym is being designed to accommodate a possible future classroom addition containing as many as three rooms. There has also been a proposal to convert one of the washrooms to a classroom. If the student population continues to outstrip the available space (as it is projected to), and if provincial funding for future renovations is approved (which is far from guaranteed), LaVérendrye could have as many as 20 classrooms by the early 2020's.

All these numbers account for a library and a single dedicated child-care room, based on LaVérendrye's current use of the space. If the building housed a smaller student population, the extra rooms would be available for additional programming such as music, art, dance, and expanded child care.
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Monday, March 16, 2015

Infographic: Fort Rouge Schools by the Numbers

Sources:
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Saturday, March 14, 2015

The Precedents of School Swaps

At the March 9 meeting of the Winnipeg School Division Board of Trustees, Sarah Jane Heke made a presentation showing that building swaps can and have been done successfully elsewhere in Winnipeg. This is her presentation, with letters from parents involved in a swap in Louis Riel School Division describing their experience.
The consultation process is underway and hopefully the feedback can assist you, the Trustees, in finding the most suitable resolution for the children of our neighbourhood. As one of the options quoted in the survey, I would like to touch on what we know about building swaps in Winnipeg and the success that has been achieved through the years.

Schools across the city have gone through various incarnations, either in terms of the education delivered, or the buildings in which it has been delivered, and that continues. Many buildings house schools that were not their original occupants and I suspect the concept was no less daunting to those folks as it is for us today. However, what we see today shows us that these school communities flourished in their new facilities, they didn't break up or cease to exist and as schools they are offering modern educational opportunities that likely couldn't have occurred in their original locations. The LaVerendrye Community Council is advocating switching buildings to address the predicament the school faces as it has proven to be the least disruptive, most economical and localised solution. We believe that a building swap would deliver the only immediate resolution to the untenable situation that exists at LaVerendrye while enabling children from both school communities to remain with their peer groups in their immediate neighbourhood, with their siblings and maintaining their individual school cultures while continuing and enhancing programming that is valued by both schools. We don't believe that the exchange of buildings needs to be at the detriment of one or other school community. The intent isn't to sacrifice one school and its individuality for the other and no parent advocating for this option believes it would be acceptable for that to happen.

Both buildings are of similar vintage, both have had similar investments made in them with the Laverendrye building on Lilac Street just about to have significant capital investment in the form of a new gym and classrooms and library. Two well designed newer play structures and swings and a beautiful garden offer the children many outdoor recreation and learning opportunities over and above the well fenced and secure playing fields. The school building has also housed a tremendous on site day care and lunch program that has nurtured many of the school's children; this building can and does accommodate lunch and care programming. Although Ecole LaVerendrye has regrettably outgrown the Lilac Street building, even with the new classrooms accounted for, it is the ideal size for a school community that doesn't exceed 280. This building swap isn't being advocated for because one building surpasses the other, but because one is larger than the other, as is the case with the population sizes of the school communities that occupy these buildings.

The Louis Riel School Division came to the conclusion last year that a building swap was the most reasonable solution to their overcrowding issue at their French Immersion Ecole Marie Anne Gaboury that was 105% over capacity, noting that Ecole LaVerendrye is 128% over capacity. Ecole Mary Anne Gaboury switched schools with its neighbour Hastings School in September 2014. It is understood that LRSD is now considering another school swap for two of its High Schools; this in itself seems to signify the success of the building swap strategy.

When addressing their overcrowding issue, Louis Riel School Division made their final decision in late April 2014, undertook renovations and personalised the buildings according to their new residents and facilitated the swap in time for the new school year in September 2014. Despite similar concerns and fears being voiced within the community, the swap went ahead and as the testimonials attached to your information packages attest, has been very successful. The school communities are intact including their respective onsite daycare facilities that relocated at the same time. Most importantly the children are happy; I have heard that they have settled in well at their new locations and are not suffering any ill effects, they adapted quickly with their friends and teachers. Children are pragmatic.

The following is a testimonial from one of the parents involved in the LRSD building swap as I believe it to be quite powerful in communicating there are positive outcomes of this proposal.

Other parents involved in the Ecole Marie Anne Gaboury and Hastings School initiative have submitted written testimonials commenting on their experience of the building swap. The author of the first letter in our package has kindly provided her contact details so that Trustees are able to make further enquiries regarding the process, or their experience during and since. This information is contained in the packages distributed with the agenda.

Thank you for your time.
Letter from C. Rummery, École Marie-Anne-Gaboury parent & past president of ÉMAG PAC:
Letter from T. McCaffrey, École Marie-Anne-Gaboury parent:
Letter from C. Gerbrandt, École Marie-Anne-Gaboury parent:
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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Media Round-up: March 9

More media attention around yesterday's presentations from both Earl Grey and LaVérendrye parents to the WSD Board of Trustees.
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Friday, March 6, 2015

Dear Concerned Parent of Earl Grey School

Dear Concerned Earl Grey Parent,

I am writing today as a parent of 2, soon to be 3 children at École LaVérendrye and your neighbour and friend. Our children play together and attend the programs of the community centre together. I have of course been following the story of overcrowding at LaV with great interest and concern. I am glad that WSD has finally brought you into the conversation and the process.

When the WSD and LaV parents were brainstorming options to deal with the overcrowding last year, many LaV parents expressed concerns about the idea of a swap. We love our school and community and the staff have put in a lot of effort to make it a great place to learn. We especially love the beautiful heritage building and lovely grounds. We loved that "small school" vibe we used to have. We were looking forward to the opening of the new gymnasium and extra space that we had worked to fundraise for. We did not particularly want to leave all this. At that time, many parents felt a new milieu at another location would be the answer. We also didn't want to disturb Earl Grey School unnecessarily.  Both schools have been operating successfully for a century in their current locations.

As you know, new information came to light earlier this year. One turning point was learning that we would not have enough homerooms for the children in September 2015. Another turning point was the realization that due to space issues, grade one students struggling to read could not access the acclaimed Reading Recovery program that is available in every other WSD school.  A third turning point was more information coming to light about LaV's enrollment numbers and demographics. Although the catchment is large, only 30% of the students live outside of walking distance to the school (say 10 blocks or so). So the other 252 or so live right around here. A new or revamped school would be nice for those in South River Heights, but it wouldn't have a significant or timely impact on our numbers. Although many of us wanted to be convinced, there is still no convincing scenario that's been put forward when it comes to opening a new milieu. By some calculations, LaV wouldn't get down to less than 300 students until 2019. In other scenarios, we drop temporarily to less than 300, then climb quickly back up to more than 300 within 3-4 years. So although it was not our first choice originally, the swap idea needed to be looked at further.

As we are midway into the ensuing consultation process and still have a couple tough months ahead of us before a decision is made, I wanted to write to you to try to find some common ground in this whole experience.

Here are a few things I think we can agree on:
  • This proposed change has come out of nowhere for you as EG parents. You wouldn't have known much about our overcrowding problem. You like what you have and naturally were not considering or expecting big changes. The WSD said a school swap was not an option as recently as December 2014. WSD has not handled this process well at all. Now they are finally doing the proper consultation that they should have done years ago. Of course at this point we are all feeling frustrated, upset and somewhat mistrustful. It’s made worse by the fact that LaV needs some sort of resolution in September 2015. EG parents are feeling that you were only brought in at the last minute.
  • The way WSD calculates capacity is flawed. They don't consider a school "full" until all instructional spaces are used as homerooms. Music, art, libraries etc are not deemed to be necessary, although the parents of course want these spaces for the school and consider them "need to haves". This policy is frustrating and upsetting to both EG and LaV parents. We should work together to influence this calculation to help other schools in the future.
  • We want all the students to have homerooms to hold their classes in as well as things like daily gym time for N-6, art room, music room, resource/Reading Recovery space, library, computer room and appropriate daycare space. Regardless of the WSD's policy on capacity, there is not much point to a solution that doesn't provide accommodations for these basics in some form once all renovations are complete. Daycare in particular is vital and no interruption in service should take place.
  • We hope that some space can also be found for some of the ancillary programs that are most valued by each school and make our schools unique. For example, we used to offer a Spanish class, and EG has its own valuable extra programs which I can't speak to specifically (although the Aboriginal Parents program for example sounds very interesting to me). We should each have some say in determining which of these are the most important.
  • The best solution is the one that keeps as many kids as possible going to a school in their same neighbourhood and involves the least splitting of kids from their friends and siblings.
  • We are keen to have this issue resolved one way or another in a reasonable amount of time so we can become one community again and repair any damage that this process has done to our neighbourhood.
  • We are role models for our children. Whatever changes may come, we need to provide positive support so the kids have the best school experience possible.
  • The decision makers in this situation are the Board of Trustees and WSD, so it is important for them to have as much accurate information as possible.
So let's all do our part and encourage all current parents of LaVérendrye, Earl Grey, and Robert H Smith to research the issues and participate in this process through the surveys, focus groups, and town halls.

From, the Concerned LaVérendrye Parent
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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Media Round-up: March 4

Lots of media attention to LaVérendrye's overcrowding issues leading up to and following today's event.
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Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Media Advisory: École LaVérendrye Parents to Launch Awareness Campaign over Overcrowding

Who: The Community Council at École LaVérendrye
What: Launching an awareness campaign about critical overcrowding at their school
Where: École LaVérendrye, 290 Lilac St, Winnipeg
When: 1pm, Wednesday, March 4th

Parents and members of the École LaVérendrye Community Council are launching an awareness campaign over the impacts of critical overcrowding at their school.

Contact: École LaVérendrye Community Council (lavcommcouncil@gmail.com)
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Sunday, March 1, 2015

Option Review: Switch Schools

This would see all Earl Grey and LaVérendrye students switch buildings at the beginning of the 2016/17 school year.
École LaVérendrye and Earl Grey students switch schools in 2016/17 school year. Details include the following:
  • Relocate all Nursery to grade 6 Earl Grey students to École LaVérendrye.
  • Relocate all Nursery to grade 6 École LaVérendrye students to Earl Grey.
  • Relocate grades 7 and 8 students from Earl Grey to other schools (e.g., Grant Park, River Heights, or Churchill) in 2016/17.
  • Other schools in the Division not affected.
While this solution involves major changes to the Earl Grey school community, it is the best solution for the larger community.
  • Provides the greatest certainty of immediate (and long-term) relief of the capacity issues at LaVérendrye. Both Sir William Osler and Robert H. Smith options would take years to reduce LaVérendrye's enrollment, and may trigger enrollment issues of their own.
  • Disrupts the fewest students. 20-30 Junior High students at Earl Grey would need to move to other schools two years sooner than otherwise, and some child care programming would need to be adjusted at both schools and the Earl Grey Community Centre, but 95% of students at both schools would stay with their classmates. Compare with the Robert H. Smith option, where at least 155 students would be dispersed to other schools.
  • Is cost-effective, involving about $300,000 in renovations to each school to prepare it for the switch. Other options involve costly band-aids such as more modular classrooms, throw-away renovations such as separate French amenities to be used for a single year, and expensive building renovations such as a new gymnasium.
  • Maintains existing transportation arrangements. Parents who currently walk their children to either school can continue to do so, since the schools are only 6 blocks apart.
  • Maintains and expands a successful program with a proven track record. Establishing a new program elsewhere may take some time to reach the same level of maturity that LaVérendrye's program already has.
  • Lays the groundwork for further expanding the program to offer grades 7 & 8 in a milieu setting, relieving impending pressures on École River Heights as the influx of students currently enrolled at LaVérendrye graduate and seek Junior High education in their neighborhood.
There are some important challenges that need to be addressed, such as in-school child care and transportation of students from the school to child care and other programming offered at the Earl Grey Community Centre. These challenges are not insurmountable, and should be able to be resolved given a rational, informed discussion between the parties involved. Several ideas have already been floated by both Winnipeg School Division officials and members of LaVérendrye's parent community. If these consultations are done properly, a solution should be possible which not only maintains access to these critical services, but strengthens the larger community by making Community Centre programming more easily available to students from both schools.

However, Winnipeg School Division has proposed that this switch happen when the new LaVérendrye gymnasium is complete in 2016. This will require yet more program loss at LaVérendrye, as the computer lab is turned into a classroom and 25 child care spaces are lost. Further, the gymnasium was originally promised for 2015, and a tender has yet to be issued for construction. There is no guarantee that it will be complete by 2016.

LaVérendrye's students cannot afford more program losses, nor can they wait until the gymnasium is completed at some point in the future. A school switch in 2015 is what the children of LaVérendrye need.
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Option Review: Transition Schools

This would see students from Earl Grey and LaVérendrye switch buildings, staged over a period of two years.
Transition École LaVérendrye students to Earl Grey over two years. Details include the following:
  • In 2015/16 relocate grade 4 to 6 École LaVérendrye students to Earl Grey.
  • In 2016/17 relocate all Nursery to grade 3 École LaVérendrye students to Earl Grey and relocate all Nursery to grade 6 Earl Grey students to École LaVérendrye.
  • In 2016/17 relocate grades 7 and 8 students from Earl Grey to other schools (e.g., Grant Park, River Heights, or Churchill).
  • Other schools in the Division not affected.
This shares most of the benefits and drawbacks of the single-year switch. It does raise some serious additional concerns, though.
  • Younger LaVérendrye students would lose the opportunity to be mentored and coached by older students in programs such as Reading Buddies (and older students would lose the valuable experience of being mentors) for a very critical year in their academic lives.
  • Families with siblings straddling the two schools will need to adjust to separate drop-off times, child care, and related issues.
  • Establishing a milieu setting within the English Earl Grey school would require outfitting Earl Grey with several French amenities, including library, administrative staff, washrooms, and PA system, which would have limited to no use after the transition year.
  • Segregating students from each other in the same school runs the risk of making one or both student groups feel ostracized and, in the worst case, breed conflict between the groups.
  • Winnipeg School Division has indicated they did not want to complete the swap until LaVérendrye's new gymnasium is complete. Given the delays so far in that project, there is no guarantee that the gym will be complete as planned in 2016, stretching the transitional period over multiple years, further amplifying the impacts noted above.
While switching schools is the best option to address both LaVérendrye's immediate concerns and long-term demographic trends in Winnipeg School Division, trying to "smooth" the process by stretching it over two years will be counter-productive and involve more disruption and cost than necessary.
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Option Review: Sir William Osler Milieu

This would reduce LaVérendrye's catchment area and establish a new milieu program at Sir William Osler, which is currently being used for adult education programming.
École LaVérendrye's Milieu program continues but its catchment area is made smaller by adding a new Milieu program to Sir William Osler. The changes outlined below would be phased in over several years. Details include the following:
  • École LaVérendrye student population would be reduced by making the catchment area for the school smaller.
  • A new Milieu program would be established at Sir William Osler (currently a host to various education programs) to account for those students attending (or who would attend) École LaVérendrye, but now fall outside of the catchment area. Students already enrolled in École LaVérendrye and their younger siblings could remain at École LaVérendrye for the duration of their Nursery to grade 6 schooling.
  • Most programs at Sir William Osler would be relocated to other facilities within the Division.
  • Programs and students at Robert H. Smith and Earl Grey School would be unaffected.
Like the option involving Robert H. Smith, if this were proposed and implemented years ago, when enrollment concerns were first raised, it may have been a viable solution, and would have avoided the urgency we're faced with today. At this point, it does nothing to address the immediate capacity concerns at LaVérendrye.
  • It will take years for LaVérendrye's enrollment to be reduced to acceptable levels, since existing students and siblings will be grandfathered, if they wish.
  • Sir William Osler is a small building, with a stated capacity of 200 (not factoring in ancillary programs like child care, music, and art). There is a real possibility that neighborhood families who would have otherwise enrolled in the dual track program at J.B. Mitchell will take advantage of having a milieu program in walking distance, and enroll at Sir William Osler instead, filling the new program to capacity in very short order.
  • Winnipeg School Division has indicated that a new catchment division line would likely be drawn at Stafford Ave, meaning that families living as close as two blocks from LaVérendrye would need to be bused to Sir William Osler instead of walking to their neighborhood school.
  • Even though existing LaVérendrye families will be grandfathered, they may not be able to retain their existing bus service, since they will now be considered out-of-catchment. This may force some LaVérendrye students to leave relationships they've forged over the years at LaVérendrye.
  • Sir William Osler has not been used for school-age children for years, and requires many upgrades to conform to current standards, including a new gymnasium ($4 million), playground facilities, and other interior renovations.
This solution will force several LaVérendrye families to leave their school community behind, will take years for the catchment change to reduce enrollment to acceptable levels, and will likely result in similar capacity issues at Sir William Osler in a few years.

We need a solution that is viable for the long term, and provides immediate relief for LaVérendrye's critical overcrowding.
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Option Review: Robert H. Smith Milieu

This would reduce LaVérendrye's catchment area and establish a new milieu program at Robert H. Smith, discontinuing the dual-track program currently running there.
École LaVérendrye's Milieu program continues but its catchment area is made smaller by adding a new Milieu program to Robert H. Smith. The changes outlined below would be phased in over several years. Details include the following:
  • École LaVérendrye student population would be reduced by making the catchment area for the school smaller.
  • A Milieu program would replace the Dual Track French immersion program at Robert H. Smith to account for those students attending (or who would attend) École LaVérendrye, but now fall outside of the catchment area. Students already enrolled in École LaVérendrye and their younger siblings could remain at École LaVérendrye for the duration of their Nursery to grade 6 schooling.
  • Students in the English program at Robert H. Smith would be relocated to other schools (e.g., Grosvenor, Queenston, Brock Corydon).
  • Students in the Dual Track French Immersion program at Robert H. Smith could choose to switch to the Milieu French Immersion program. If they choose to continue with the Dual Track French Immersion program, they would be relocated to one of the other Dual Track French Immersion schools (J.B. Mitchell or Riverview).
  • Students attending Earl Grey School would be unaffected.
If this were proposed years ago, it may have been a viable solution and would have avoided the urgency we're faced with today. But it does nothing to address the immediate capacity concerns of LaVérendrye.
  • It will take years for LaVérendrye's enrollment to be reduced following a catchment change, since existing students and siblings will be able to continue at LaVérendrye if they wish.
  • At least 155 students in Robert H. Smith's English program will be uprooted from their school community and dispersed to other schools. The remaining 316 students in the French program will be affected by the dismantling of their school community.
  • Dual track immersion programs at Robert H. Smith and J.B. Mitchell have been experiencing their own capacity issues in recent years. There's a real possibility that Robert H. Smith families wishing to keep the dual track experience may need to have their children bused 6 km away to Riverview instead of walking to either of two schools in their neighborhood.
  • Most LaVérendrye students live within a few blocks of the school. In order for the catchment change to have any realistic impact, Winnipeg School Division has indicated that the new dividing line will need to be drawn at Stafford Ave... only two blocks from LaVérendrye. This means that families just west of Stafford will need to bus their children to Robert H. Smith instead of walking to the school they can see from their front yards.
  • Even though Winnipeg School Division indicates that LaVérendrye families living in the new catchment area will be able to continue attending LaVérendrye, they have also indicated that bus service may no longer be available because they will now be considered out-of-catchment. This may force some LaVérendrye families to uproot their children from relationships they've forged over the years, and try to fit into a new school.
This solution is unnecessarily disruptive to the nearly 500 students who attend Robert H. Smith today, will force several LaVérendrye families to leave their school community behind, and will take years for the catchment change to reduce enrollment.

LaVérendrye students need a solution now for the 2015/16 school year.
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Option Review: École LaVérendrye Milieu

This is, simply put, maintaining the status quo.
No additional milieu school added. Students at École LaVérendrye, Earl Grey, and Robert H. Smith would remain in their current school. Details include the following:
  • enrollment at École LaVérendrye would be limited to catchment area students, meaning all out of catchment students not currently enrolled at École LaVérendrye would need to register elsewhere. Younger siblings of existing non-catchment students would be accepted.
In addition to limiting enrollment at the school, the Division would explore a variety of solutions for accommodating future growth including:
  • expanding computer technology capability throughout the school and converting the existing computer lab into a classroom;
  • pursuing with the Province, the possibility of providing another permanent addition of 3 or 4 classrooms;
  • pursuing with the Province, the possibility of retaining the existing modular classroom unit and adding a second modular classroom unit.
This is not a solution:
  • Out-of-catchment enrollment has already been restricted at LaVérendrye, and enrollment is still increasing. Based on the latest projections made available by Winnipeg School Division, 44 Nursery students will be starting in September 2015, replacing 32 Grade 6 students who will have graduated in June.
  • Pursuing construction of additional permanent classrooms from the Province carries no guarantees. The Province has been historically reluctant to fund additional classrooms when there is space available elsewhere.
  • Modular classrooms are not viable for long-term usage. They pose logistical challenges to students and staff, since weather-appropriate outerwear is needed whenever students or staff need to use facilities in the main building (washrooms, gymnasium, library, etc).
Construction delays add additional risk to this plan:
  • The existing modular classroom was intended to be open for the beginning of the 2014/15 school year, but was not ready for occupancy until 3 weeks into the year, further disrupting the education of the students assigned to that room.
  • A new gymnasium, promised for the beginning of the 2015 school year, and intended to make two additional classrooms available to accommodate the Province's K-3 classroom size initiative, has been delayed until at least the fall of 2016... tenders for construction have not been issued yet, so even that date is not certain.
This plan contains no assurances that either enrollment growth will be brought under control, nor that additional space will be forthcoming to accommodate current and projected student populations. It relies on negotiating with the Public Schools Finance Board for construction funds, which will take years to materialize into usable classrooms.

LaVérendrye's students need a solution now.
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Overcrowding Timeline and Facts

Since 2010, the École LaVérendrye administration and parents have asked the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) to listen to their concerns about high enrolment projections at the school. In 2014, the division responded by surveying parents regarding possible options to alleviate the school’s overcrowding, but gave incomplete information to parents and received few responses.

École LaVérendrye has already lost the following: a dedicated music room, art room, library, resource/special education space, and daily gym time for students at all levels from nursery to Grade 6. At LaVérendrye, every classroom counts as a home room for students and is in use at all times during the school day. A portable classroom was completed September 29, 2014 to accommodate the high enrolment numbers.

In January 2015, parents realized that, for the 2015/2016 school year, LaVérendrye would have 15 classes of students to fit into 14 classrooms. The only way to make this work would be if the sole computer lab was converted into another classroom, meaning that students would lose the last dedicated educational space in the school. As a result, the school’s Before & After care program would also lose 25 of its spaces as the program currently does not use classroom space for childcare – 17% of its 150 spaces would be eliminated. As with all school communities, accessibility to convenient and affordable childcare is a driving issue for parents.

If there are 16 classes in the 2015/2016 school year, at minimum LaVérendrye would require the installation of a second portable classroom. This would take even more space away from the playing field at a cost of $60 000 - $100 000 to taxpayers while still bringing only temporary relief to the population pressures.

The École LaVérendrye building is solid and the WSD has committed to the installation of Wi-Fi throughout École LaVérendrye, as well as to renovating the existing washrooms which, while adequate for 280 students, do not meet the needs of 360 students plus staff. Construction should also begin shortly on a new gym with music room, computer lab/library and resource room.

While these developments are welcome, they will not increase the number of classrooms available for fall 2015. There is also no way that LaVérendrye can meet the province’s mandate to have 20 students/class from kindergarten to Grade 3 by 2017 in the classroom spaces now available.

On January 19th, 2015, the École LaVérendrye Community Council presented the case for a full school trade with Earl Grey School to the WSD based on the following:
  • the schools are three blocks away from each other, in the same community;
  • most of the students from both schools come from within the immediate neighbourhood;
  • while École LaVérendrye is over capacity, Earl Grey is under capacity;
  • it solves the immediate, urgent overcrowding at LaVérendrye while giving time to WSD administration to devise and implement a plan for French Immersion milieu/dual track junior high schools, who will have to handle this population influx in a few years;
  • this is the most economical solution for taxpayers.
This presentation is what finally prompted the WSD to deal with LaVérendrye’s crisis and the current consultation process. We urge the community to get involved by attending Community Council meetings, completing the WSD survey (however flawed it may be) and by getting informed on the issues. For more information please contact the École LaVérendrye Community Council at lavcommcouncil@gmail.com.
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