This week, I attended a public meeting for the Rainbow District School Board’s accommodation review of South End schools. My children attend two of the schools involved.
I also have a wider interest on the impact on children, neighbourhoods and communities.
I was very moved by what I heard. No one present could not have been. An accommodation review conjures the spectre of school closings. Those who feared their small school might make the list were there to speak of the value of that school to them, to their children, and to the community.
What was very clear was that a school closure would not just mean a stressful change, longer bus rides and less family time, and worries about larger class sizes in an unfamiliar setting.
It would be taking away their home, which was defined not just by their own house, but by the life they could have there in a tight knit community, with its own school at its heart.
There are many studies that have shown that small, neighbourhood elementary schools are best for children and for community. Academic success, social and behavioural measures, physical health and fitness, sense of belonging and identity, carbon footprint: all are better. The emotion in that room spoke as loudly as any of them.
Now the Accommodation Review Committee will discuss the options. While they do so, the other three school boards will be having similar conversations, at various stages of this process.
The city will continue to wrestle with its own version of an “accommodation review” for arenas and other community facilities. All of them will probably agree on what would be best for families and communities. All of them will likely decide they cannot afford to do so.
These related discussions (about schools and community facilities) need to come together. By coming together, a goal of strong communities and neighbourhood schools can be agreed upon, and partnerships can make it happen.
So – will it be business as usual, or will new creative solutions be found that will strengthen our community and be the best result for all children? We’ll all find out over the next six months.
Naomi Grant
Greater Sudbury