As concerns grow that the province might eventually decide to close alternative schools altogether, Bay Ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh has written to the province to keep Regina Street Alternative open as a community school.
In late December, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board announced the five alternative schools in Ottawa would not see junior kindergarten enrollment come September.
In a letter to Bob Plamandon, the supervisor appointed to oversee the OCDSB, Kavanagh said parents were “shocked” to learn that no new students would enter the school next fall.
Kavanagh called it “a slow-motion closure” and such a move “runs counter to the province’s stated intention of fostering thriving, local community schools.”
This is not the first time Regina has been at risk of closing.
In 2016, the education facility faced the same fate, but trustees voted to keep it going. Since then, the OCDSB voted in favour of scrapping the alternative program altogether, but Plamandon reversed the highly controversial elementary review, including boundary changes, months later. What’s in store for alternative education, though, remains unclear.
Parents of children at alternative schools are urging the province to turn them into community schools and say they could then be used to help address overcrowding at nearby schools. Regina has a capacity of around 300 students, but has recently been hovering between 200 and 190.
“I understand that the board is working on addressing the challenge of overcrowding in some schools, and under-enrolment in others, and I firmly believe that Regina Street School could provide a solution to overcrowding in some of the neighbouring schools,” Kavanagh said.
“I strongly encourage you to work with the board to expand program offerings at this school, and to reinstate kindergarten enrolment for the 2026-27 school year, to avoid a further decline in enrolment, and eventual closure,” she added.
Kavanagh said Regina is a “gem” in the neighbourhood and noted its proximity to Mud Lake, where students can take learning outside the classroom.
The OCDSB intends to share more details about its future plans before the end of the school year. It says no boundary changes will be made for the 2026-2027 school year, but future adjustments could be made if new French immersion and English with core French programs are introduced.
There is also still uncertainty about whether trustees will be back at the board table. Education Minister Paul Calandra previously said he’s keen to remove the position. Typically, trustees are elected during the municipal elections, which take place in October.