When Allison Hanvey began planning where to send her youngest child to kindergarten, she always assumed it would be Westboro’s Churchill Alternative School — the same school her oldest child already attends, just steps from their home.
But one day before students were sent off for Christmas break, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board issued a memo stating junior kindergarten would be eliminated from alternative schools come September, with no new enrolment permitted. Long-term plans were not immediately made clear.
Hanvey said even during the highly controversial elementary program review last year, it appeared the school would stay open, despite the removal of the alternative program.
“It has left us with hard decisions to make. We could keep our oldest at Churchill, which has been an incredible school and a really welcoming environment, and then put our younger child at another neighbourhood school like Hilson or Elmdale. But that would mean two drop-offs,” Hanvey told KT.
“The other option is we move our oldest to the same school as her younger sibling, but then we are moving her out of the alternative program that has been so beneficial thus far,” she added.
What makes the decision more challenging, said Hanvey, is the board’s lack of information sharing. Hilson’s French immersion program will be leaving the school, and it is unclear what will be offered in its place.
There is also uncertainty over whether the alternative program will be scrapped altogether, and whether their oldest child would eventually need to move schools as a result. Parents worry that if no new enrolment happens at the school, it will be forced to close.
“Will Churchill eventually get enrolment again? If that’s the case, maybe we’d put our youngest somewhere for a year and then move back to keep our oldest in an alternative,” said Hanvey. “It feels like we’re needing to make the decision a little bit blind.”
Amy Cada also has concerns over what the future holds for Churchill. She has two daughters, including a six-year-old in Grade 1 at the school. Her youngest was set to be enrolled there in the fall.
Like many parents, Cada said her family initially chose the school for her oldest because of what they saw during kindergarten information sessions.
“We had three options, Hilson, Broadview, and Churchill for the OCDSB. And we went to all of the information sessions, and we were honestly just blown away by Churchill. We didn’t know anything about the alternative program or the school before,” she said. “But the teachers were so passionate, and the parents also just had wonderful things to say.”
Like Hanvey, Cada said the prospect of moving her daughter to a much larger school is unappealing.
“We walk into the school, and everyone says hi to my daughter by name. And I just don’t think that’s something that you would get at a large school. And it’s been really good for us,” she said.
Ottawa is currently home to five alternative schools, including Lady Evelyn in Old Ottawa East, Riverview in the east end, Regina in the Lincoln Fields area, and Summit in Hampton Park.
Last spring, trustees voted to phase out the program over about 10 years. In the fall, Bob Plamondon, the supervisor appointed by the Doug Ford provincial government to take over control of the board, said the elementary program review would be scrapped. As part of that, proposed boundary changes would not take effect.
There was hope this might save alternative education, but the board has not said what comes next. The board had previously stated that it was looking for surplus buildings that could be sold to help address budget pressures.
Cada and Hanvey worry that this could happen to Churchill.
“It does really feel like it’s leaning that way at this time, just with the fact that they said they have no plan for future enrolment,” Hanvey said.
Plamondon has not given any interviews since taking on the supervisor role in the spring, and many parents say it has been difficult to speak with him or any school board officials since the elimination of trustees.
Cada said Plamondon spoke with her after she interviewed with CBC, and that it was a positive interaction.
“He seems like he is willing to listen and to try to come up with a solution. But he needs some sort of evidence that there is a viable catchment for Churchill between Broadview and Elmdale, which are the two big schools where students go,” she said.
In her December memo, new OCDSB director of education Stacey Kay said the board is actively working on accommodation challenges and managing overcrowding as it establishes boundaries for schools currently under construction.
Kay said the board is also “discussing timetables, including an anticipated timeline for decisions regarding these schools and schools that surround them.” That is expected to come at the end of this school year.
Parents worry that it may be too late, and believe the solution lies in opening Churchill as a French immersion school for new enrolment only. That would allow other schools to retain their current student populations.
Hanvey noted Broadview is already over capacity, with 869 students in a building designed for 806.
“It would start with a new kindergarten cohort, which is a new group, a new age of students. This would also alleviate the pressures other schools are facing,” she said.