Originally posted at The Whole Buffalo Review.
If you are wondering what all the fuss at the heart of the conflict over overcrowding at École La Vérendrye is about, it can be summed up in two words: child care.
I have three children at La Vérendrye. My oldest also went there, from nursery through grade six, so we witnessed the growth of enrolment first hand. I work at home, so I am able to be home from school, but my youngest is enrolled in kinder care - for nursery - so I can actually get work done until school ends at 3.
Some have blamed the parents at La Verendrye for not doing to enough to plan for overcrowding. This is unfair: it was obvious the school was running out of room, and there were efforts to have the WSD address the overcrowding issue dating back several years.
The tipping point, however, was in January 2015, that parents learned that the school would likely lose 25 child care spaces in the upcoming year, in part due to new construction of a gym.
Child care is a deal breaker when it comes to choosing a school. In today’s economy, whether you can get affordable child care can make the difference between whether or not you can pay your bills. The cost of daycare per child can easily exceed the cost of university tuition.
La Verendrye’s parents run their own child care program at the school. The management are unpaid parent volunteers, the costs are low, and the paid caregivers are often parents too. Different care options are available, but a parent can drop their child off at 7:30 am and pick them up at 6pm for $180 a month. Because the school division will not pay to supervise children at lunch time, parents also have to pay $22 a month to have staff watch their children.
There were several reasons for the push for a swap with Earl Grey - another public school two blocks away with a capacity of 600 but about 225 students. One was that you could keep both schools mostly intact, so siblings could stay together, but it would avoid buying entirely new libraries and equipment. But above all, to guarantee there would be enough child care spaces.
However, one of the reasons the WSD has given for turning down the swap is that Earl Grey parents would have difficulty with their own child care.
That is because Earl Grey parents do not run their own child care program. They do have a Montessori School and three other private child care companies, one of which charges $416 a month for preschool. According to their website, employees have “excellent salaries and bonuses”, group benefits, three weeks vacation, and pension contributions.
The major stumbling block for moving Earl Grey students to Laverendrye was because it was argued that the private daycare could not be relocated and relicensed in time for next year. The fact that the daycare had installed $45,000 worth of equipment in the school.
This is part of the root of the frustration for La Verendrye. While the child care needs of Earl Grey were recognized as a central concern, those at La Verendrye have gone unaddressed. We didn’t just need more educational space, we needed more child care space that supported French Milieu, and that hasn’t happened.
The plan to re-open Sir William Osler makes educational sense, but it has no child care spaces, and no before-and-after program, because there are no parents there to set it up. Instead, all the youngest children will be shuttled back and forth between Osler and La Verendrye, where parents will continue to provide low-cost care.
All of the costs and inconvenience have been concentrated on parents at La Verendrye. Not knowing where your child is going to school next year is only part of the equation: it is whether they will have child care at all, or whether you will have to make job arrangements or cut your salary to care for them, or spend thousands more a year putting in them in care.
$15-a-day care is supposed to be cheap, but it is $300 a month and $3,000 during the school year - for one child. For many parents, that is more than they pay in school taxes.
That is the kind of money that all-day kindergarten could help save parents. But it is not going to French Milieu schools, it is going to Harrow and Earl Grey, in part as an incentive to shore up flagging enrolment.
In many ways, the WSD is having to cope with failures elsewhere. In this case, it is the fact that today, it is almost impossible to raise a family on one income. If nothing else emerges from this debacle, it should be the lesson that not having child care can make or break a school, but it can also make or break a family.
-30-
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Open Letter to Earl Grey
Shared, with permission, from a LaVérendrye parent on Facebook.
Dear Earl Grey families,
I'm very happy for your school community - genuinely. I'm sure last night's decision was a big relief for you.
Believe it or not, LaVérendrye never intended to destroy your community. We strongly felt Earl Grey's N-6 and daycare spaces could move and be maintained in the same neighbourhood with the use of some realistic solutions (i.e. renovations). But I don't blame you in the least for fighting the swap. You had your kids' best interests at heart.
I'm not going to continue to argue for a swap. I'm not even surprised that it wasn't selected. But I will ask your compassion. Teach your children to be good sports. You felt losing 30 junior high students was dismantling your school. We are now losing 150 of our wee ones from our community school.
Through all this I've never believed my school was a building. It is the people. And we're losing our people. And this option is being forced on us without a three month consultation process to get our feedback.
Earl Grey, I wish you peace. I hope you wish it for us as well.
Dear Earl Grey families,
I'm very happy for your school community - genuinely. I'm sure last night's decision was a big relief for you.
Believe it or not, LaVérendrye never intended to destroy your community. We strongly felt Earl Grey's N-6 and daycare spaces could move and be maintained in the same neighbourhood with the use of some realistic solutions (i.e. renovations). But I don't blame you in the least for fighting the swap. You had your kids' best interests at heart.
I'm not going to continue to argue for a swap. I'm not even surprised that it wasn't selected. But I will ask your compassion. Teach your children to be good sports. You felt losing 30 junior high students was dismantling your school. We are now losing 150 of our wee ones from our community school.
Through all this I've never believed my school was a building. It is the people. And we're losing our people. And this option is being forced on us without a three month consultation process to get our feedback.
Earl Grey, I wish you peace. I hope you wish it for us as well.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Decision: Split LaVérendrye Families
Winnipeg School Division decided tonight that, yes... LaVérendrye does have more to lose.
The press release is here.
In short, LaVérendrye is being split in two. Starting in the 2015/16 school year, all Nursery, Kindergarten, and Grade 1 students from LaVérendrye will instead attend Sir William Osler. Grade 2-6 students will continue attending LaVérendrye.
My initial impression is that the WSD Board of Trustees, when given a hard choice, selected the simplest possible option without regard to the children it will affect or the costs it will incur down the road.
The option to split LaVérendrye's program was presented as part of the initial consultation with parents in May 2014, and was soundly rejected with only 2 of the 46 respondents supporting it. I have a hard time believing that level of support has changed in the year since.
The Sir William Osler option presented as part of the most recent consultation process clearly indicated it would be a new program and that existing LaVérendrye N-6 students would be grandfathered. While I didn't support that option, it would have been, in my opinion, a better choice than this. At least then families would not be split apart.
There are apparently plans in the works for a long-term solution, implying that maybe splitting LaVérendrye is temporary. I can only hope that is true... but my faith in the process has been shaken, to say the least.
More to come as this sinks in and more information becomes available.
The press release is here.
In short, LaVérendrye is being split in two. Starting in the 2015/16 school year, all Nursery, Kindergarten, and Grade 1 students from LaVérendrye will instead attend Sir William Osler. Grade 2-6 students will continue attending LaVérendrye.
My initial impression is that the WSD Board of Trustees, when given a hard choice, selected the simplest possible option without regard to the children it will affect or the costs it will incur down the road.
The option to split LaVérendrye's program was presented as part of the initial consultation with parents in May 2014, and was soundly rejected with only 2 of the 46 respondents supporting it. I have a hard time believing that level of support has changed in the year since.
The Sir William Osler option presented as part of the most recent consultation process clearly indicated it would be a new program and that existing LaVérendrye N-6 students would be grandfathered. While I didn't support that option, it would have been, in my opinion, a better choice than this. At least then families would not be split apart.
There are apparently plans in the works for a long-term solution, implying that maybe splitting LaVérendrye is temporary. I can only hope that is true... but my faith in the process has been shaken, to say the least.
More to come as this sinks in and more information becomes available.
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.
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.
Monday, March 16, 2015
Infographic: Fort Rouge Schools by the Numbers
Sources:
- Winnipeg School Division. Accomodation of French Immersion Students: École LaVérendrye.
- Google Maps. 290 Lilac Street to 340 Cockburn Street.
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:
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:
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.
- CBC: spot on the 11:00 news, including LaV parent Trina Larson and Earl Grey parent Kathy Heppner (skip to about the 1:30 mark)
- Winnipeg Free Press: Parents make plea to stop school swap
- The Sou'wester: School swap the only option: community council
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