Boundary Review Committee votes to CLOSE OUR JUNIOR HIGH

Unhappy with this?  – HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO

Feelings amongst the Parents of Park West School are those of disbelief and dismay that the Boundary Review Committee has voted to close their Junior High and move the students to a neighbouring community.  The people believed that the Boundary Review Process of which their children, school and community had been drawn into would be one of transparency, fairness and would be conducted with  accurate data and information.  Above all else people believed that the best interest of their children would be front and center.

 On January 27, 2014 the very first meeting, and it became clear that this would not be the case.  The consultation turned into an information session, Community input could only be provided by writing on paper table cloths or by submitting recommendations by email to a 2013boundary email address. No consultation was going to happen at this meeting!

 Inaccurate and misleading information was distributed to the public at this meeting along with suggestion for the people to be part of the process by addressing their questions and concerns to the 2013boundary email.  People were informed that their questions, concerns and suggestions would be reviewed and responded to,  but  a standard “Thank you for your comments” addressing your concerns, questions and comments is not acceptable.

Does this Boundary Review reminds you of the story of “Little Red Riding Hood”?   The wolf misrepresented and dressed up for success to get the preferred outcome (in this case our children to fill underutilized space).  At the end of the story the wolf’s true identity is revealed.  Our story is still in progress, lets stand united and work towards changing the outcome of losing our Junior High School.

Things you can do to show your support to keep Park West School P-9

Continue to write letters, emails, etc. to express your disappointment with the process that has been imposed on your children, school and community.  Let all those involved in this process know what Park West School means to your child’s education, your family and your community. (a list of links are provided under the show your support tab)

Your child, our students, are more than just a number.  We need to demand more from our education system and the people who orchestrate these reviews.

The solution is more than a boundary Review.  Park West should be removed from the Boundary Review Process

• It was included based on a false premise that “there is a positive migration pattern that has continued to cause increased enrolment for a number of years”.
• Subsequently the HRSB provided forecasts showing that numbers are in fact expected to decline.
• Further, they misstated their numbers by 100 students or 15% by excluding portables to support their premise.
• HRSB staff is aware that boundary enforcement is an issue at Park West but refuse to address it.  Verification of a false address is not enforcement of a boundary.

Boundary enforcement will allow Park West to continue to successfully operate as a P-9 school using existing boundaries.WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1. Be sure to attend the Parent Meeting – Date and Time TBA
2. Be sure to attend the Public Presentation by the Boundary Review Committee – Date and Time TBA.

This will be your opportunity to address the committee and ensure your voice is heard.
If you wish for Park West School to remain P-9 with its existing boundaries it is extremely important that you show up at the meetings and express your views.