Wonderful news.  Also, where there’s a fracture, a permanent break follows—i.e.:  choice for parents.

Unrepresentitive, just like KIPP.

I think I’ll reserve judgment based on just one year of EQAO results. If it’s as great as you’re suggesting the results should be similar or better next time.

It’s too soon to be championing the success I think.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for choice but let’s wait and see.

Dean = Doug

Chuck and “Dean”  I agree that it is too soon to tell.  The point I was making is that IF the achievement at the school is on an upward trend it will not really be because of the focus as much as the attention to basic skills, hence my long ago caveat.

Dean—you are on thin ice here and you know why.

My point was tht there’s been a break away from the status quo of no choice for parents.

Of course I agree that only time will tell if this school is achieving or not.  The unions and bureacrats may not want one school to be a shining example of how curricula should be taught, so they could pressure the school to water everything down and only deliver an afro-centric theme (which, without proper instruction, will be of little or no value to the children).

I was disappointed that the writer in sited article felt compelled to state that black children can achieve high test scores—as if we ever doubted this!  When putting pen to paper, one should really be more carefull, and try to think of the people about whom they’re speaking…

Well,

It would appear that his hiatus has improved his spelling and grammar a little, but the Dougma remains. 

This is a little off topic, but two articles in today’s Owen Sound Sun Times about my Board speak volumes about why parents both here on this forum and in the community are fed up with the status quo.

Several families have launched multi-million dollar lawsuits against teachers, principals, and the board over bullying.  Bullying, not some much by students, but by teachers.  Some complaints go back three years. Over that time, parents have repeatedly tried dealing with the Board, only to be dismissed by board officials.

That is why “Dean’s” (Doug’s) dismissive attitude is so galling.  It only feeds the frustrations and anger already felt by parents and drives them away from public education to seek alternatives.  Why the education and union bureaucracy cannot understand that is beyond me.

Although too little time has gone by to make a certain judgement about this Afro-centric school, the early signs are encouraging.  Why Dean/Doug is against it is also puzzling.  It is a public school within the public education system and students are taught by certified teachers.  The students are also among the disadvantaged, a group the Doug/Dean claims to champion.

The only reason he would have to dismiss it is because it does not fit into his narrow vision of the education system - hence Dougma.

Interesting blog, Wayne.  Regarding ‘Dougma’ (lol) I will also add that he sees this as a threat—the TDSB has broken away from the rigid form of education where there is very little to no choice for parents.  There’s a crack in his highly structured, union- secure world, and light is shining through.  Where there’s a fracture, eventually comes a permanent break—and the sooner the better

If this school continues to show good results, how long before it gets fenced in by additional rules or we are told that it has good results only because it skims the students ?

TDSB was wondering a while ago, why haven’t parents applied to create alternative schools within TDSB.
Who in their right mind would start fighting a huge system that’s set up to prove that nobody can do better?
Who in their right mind would even try to start something knowing that at any time a new principal can be imposed on them, or new teachers can decide they want to teach in that school or - if God forbid - they use direct teaching methods how long before the MOE “curriculum” and methods are imposed on them?
I don’t think the public system as it is today is able to try anything different in good faith. The system is settled in its ways and has huge inertia.

That’s why I think public charter schools, independent of the school boards and free to choose their teaching methods and their teachers - including non-certified teachers - are the only way to have some lasting changes.

Do I think everything is going to be perfect? No.
However, I think though that it would be much better, unless public shool charter legislation forces them to teach in a certain way.

Public charter schools will use our money to educate our future citizens well.
How they choose do it should be up to each individual school and the parents that choose that school provided they can prove every year that their students meet the standards.

I predict the scores will increase and be significant overtime, based on their school program.

“COMPONENTS FOR THE AFRICENTRIC ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL PROGRAM

School Leadership
Approaches to Teaching
High Expectations
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
Mentorship
Precise Teaching
Monitoring Data
Community Partnerships
African- Based Curriculum Infusion
Social Environment
Parent and Community Engagement “

http://www.tdsb.on.ca/SchoolWeb/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=10423&menuid=25010&pageid=21646

What caught my eye, is precise teaching. A method that is receiving high praise in all quarters, much to the dismay of progressive education advocates, where they see the child as being in the best position, and knows best what to learn, how to study, when to practice. Unlike precise teaching, where if the child is making acdemic progress, than the instruction method is correct for the child. If the child is not making progress, than the instruction method needs to be change, so the child can practice and learn. From my understanding, precise teaching looks only at the progress data, which determines and guide the instruction techniques.

Precise teaching is making headways in all aspects of education,

“?Precision Teaching has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an exemplary education model for regular and special education.  Results of a large, four-year implementation in Montana improved the results of students receiving Precision Teaching from 19 to 44 points above children in the control group on key subtests of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (Beck, 1979).  Other research has recognized its importance as well (Sindelar, Mondra & L. O?Shea, 1990) (Slocum, Street & Gilberts, 1995).”
https://www.mastermindprep.com/content/research+citations/2033

“

Wayne, the multi-million suit against the board, is not surprising to me.

“Until that Grade 5 teacher at Holland-Chatsworth school, their daughter was normal, happy, confident, friendly and “tried to please her teachers,” Cameron said.

That school year, she became angry, depressed, self-loathing and suicidal, her parents said.

“Everything changed that year. She came home crying. She called herself stupid. She stopped trying to work at anything. She felt she wasn’t worth anything,” Cameron said. “She didn’t like herself anymore. As the year progressed she would say that she wanted to kill herself.”

Eventually, Cameron represented 14 families whose children were “falling apart” and who asked Bluewater school officials over many months to act on their complaints about the teacher and one other.

Two of those families now are among four who filed multimillion dollar lawsuits in August alleging their children were bullied and abused by teachers at three different Bluewater schools—and in one case also by students.”

Not off topic to me, in the sense that progressive education policies and teaching, is actually causing a lot of grief at the home front, when children are having learning difficulties. In fact, when the father states, ” Everything changed that year. She came home crying. She called herself stupid. She stopped trying to work at anything. She felt she wasn’t worth anything,” Cameron said. “She didn’t like herself anymore. As the year progressed she would say that she wanted to kill herself.”, it is common complaint amongst parents who have children that are struggling in learning.

It is not isolated, and I quickly discovered, I was not alone dealing with my child saying the exact same things, as the child above. In my child case, it was a combination of good intentions and teachers insisting she was lazy and not focus enough, rather than investigating the underlying cause of my child’s failure to progress. I never suspected bullying by the teacher, was a factor, until my child was nearing the end of grade 6.  when I was told by other children, the incidents that made other children think that my child was stupid, and felt justified in their actions, by looking at the actions of the teachers.

Enough said, except that the actions of the teachers in my child’s early school years, made it that much more difficult to get back my happy go-lucky child, Very painful to me to this day, and I can certainly feel this set of parents’ pain, because I lived my own version, with the same type of incidents described in the suit, except for one, the explicit detail of cancer and death.  “Their personal injury lawsuit alleges the two teachers’ abuse included reprimanding their daughter “in an embarrassing manner and tone in front of her classmates, belittling (her) educational efforts in assignments and tasks, violently ripping apart (her) work in front of her classmates, speaking in explicit detail of cancer and death, refusing to clarify assignments . . . name calling, physical force and more.” The other claims are similar.”

The students according to the research in the LD files, that are at the greatest risk are the quiet, well-behaved students who are struggling in some aspect of learning or in all aspects of learning, for bullying behaviour by the school staff. In this law suit, it appears the parents did their homework, in recording the events as they   happened in real time along with any documentation, or otherwise the suit would not have gotten off the ground. I be very interested on the outcome, and if indeed a court will hear their case.

Going back to my beginning, I believe this story is very much part of the topic of this post. The AFRICENTRIC ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL is a type of school, that I believe offers a program, that eliminate as much as possible, the frustration, stress, and actions that are taken by staff, when children are not learning, under the progressive education label.  What the story of the school, never did state, is the reaction of parents. I bet some of the comments would be, my child is learning, my child is back to her happy self, or I always knew my child could learn.

But some would be just plain relieved, that their child is no longer being bullied by anyone, and instead is showing pride in who they are, including learning. I believe that effective teaching, and using methods that works for the individual student, when running in a rough patch, reduces behavioural problems both at school and at home. More importantly effective practices creates a learning environment, where all students can reached their potential, and not just the opportunity that is offered in the crazy progressive education policies and dogma.

http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2781743

TDSB was wondering a while ago, why haven?t parents applied to create alternative schools within TDSB.

No. You are misremembering here. Parents have applied, and succeeded, in creating **dozens **of alternative schools within the TDSB. This history goes back to the 60’s, perhaps even before. Parents have a good deal of input into principal and teacher selection at such schools. The problem you cite, of a new principal or teachers hijacking the vision and purpose of the school, is actually a well-documented problem in USA charter schools.

One example is a school that was founded on Core Knolwedge and Open Court teaching principles, but where the next generation of parents found they wanted Guided Reading and Whole Language, so they fired the principal and hired new staff to teach the way the public schools did. That’s democracy for you. It also illustrates the fact that only a minority actually want “rigorous academic standards.”  Those most voluble on this point are almost all people without children in public school.

Alternative schools can also offer different organizational and instructional models not possible or feasible in other schools.  They can use direct teaching if they wish. There are over 40 alternative schools in the TDSB; the majority of the ones at the elementary level were started by parents and a few by teachers or by teachers and parents together.

What I did report, that you are recalling here, was that parents have not applied to start an alternative school whose focus would be on “traditional” or direct teaching methods or curricula such as Core Knowledge, Direct Instruction, Multi-Sensory Structured Language Teaching (MSSLT, more commonly called Orton-Gillingham), or something similar. There’s a whole department at the board dedicated to helping parents start alternative schools—but no one has so far proposed any such model. This seems to indicate a lack of interest in same.

I continue to be amazed by the fact that among all the advocates of “choice” here I seem to be the only one who has significant knolwedge of the choices that are, and long have been, available, or how to expand their range.

TDSB offers more alternative schools than any other school board in the country, to the best of my knowledge, but legislation offers all Ontario boards the same opportunity, and other boards do have a range of alternative schools. After TDSB, Ottawa-Carlton comes next, with a number of parent-developed schools.

The fact remains, however, that only a small number of families are interested in alternative schools, and even fewer are interested in involving themselves in starting new ones. Of those few, apparently NONE are interested in starting schools along the lines that SQE favours, emphasizing exlicit teaching, researched-based methods, sequential curricula, and the like.

I don?t think the public system as it is today is able to try anything different in good faith.

Alternative schools are able to do this. For a long time a number of TDSB alternative schools have achieved superior results and their methods are certainly different.

OK, I don’t get it.  Why would some alternative schools be able to get away with, for eg, direct instruction, while others are monitored so closely so as to not be allowed to do any DI?  Which way is it—either schools have complete freedom or they don’t.

Precise teaching is making headways in all aspects of education,

Nancy is apparently referring to Precision Teaching.  It is *not* a teaching method, so the term is actually a bit misleading. Precision Teaching is a measurement system for monitoring learning by taking data on a regular - daily or even hourly - basis on student learning, using a semilog graph to chart speed (“celeration”) of learning. These data make rapid and empirical instructional decisions possible.

The Montana project a blurb she cited refers to is the Great Falls project, funded by the U.S. government in the 1970’s, as I recall, and headed by Ray Beck who is now (unless he has retired) with Sopris West.

Precision Teaching is, however, absolutely NOT “making headway” in all—or any—areas of public education. It is very much an embattled remnant, as anyone in the PT community will tell you. It has had some influence in the U.S. by providing impetus to the burgeoning Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) movement, but CBM is *not* Precision Teaching.

Ironically, PT had its originis in Ontario in the 1960’s-1970’s, with one of its earlies practitioners being Eric Haughton who was on the faculty of Loyalist College (I believe) in Belleville. His wife Elizabeth pioneered application of PT principles to primary grade children in Belleville and subsequently (after Eric’s premature death) at her own learning centre in California.

PT data management does not lend itself to regular grade applications, but some practitioners in the autism field are making use of it. Google “Alison Moors” and “Michael Fabrizio” for more information, or Rick Kubina at Pennsylvania State University for research on its applications in elementary math and reading.

TDSBNW,

Perhaps what you are seeing is exactly the problem I have been referring to.  Let’s say you spent $40,000 on a brand new, super-safe, fuel-efficient vehicle, and got into an accident as soon as you drove it off the dealer’s lot.  Then you found out that the accident was due to a manufacturer’s defect - you would launch a huge lawsuit (as parent’s in my board are doing).  What you wouldn’t do is go back to the dealer and say, “Well, that one was a dud, have you got another model I could try?”

The problem with angering parents is that they take their children and leave - and they don’t come back.  They certainly don’t look at alternative schools in the same board.  Therefore, no, people here at this blog are not interested in looking at alternative schools in the TDSB and don’t know about them.

In my area, the Catholic Board has maintained its numbers and even shown a slight increase, despite rapidly falling numbers due to declining enrollment in the public system.  In fact, I just heard from our superintendent that we will continue to suffer from the declining enrollment problem after 2020, not 2017 as originally predicted.

OK, I don?t get it.  Why would some alternative schools be able to get away with, for eg, direct instruction, while others are monitored so closely so as to not be allowed to do any DI?  Which way is it?either schools have complete freedom or they don?t.

If you walked into any classroom at my school at any time, you would likely see direct instruction going on. The teacher is actively teaching, students are listening, responding, writing or following the text as per the teacher-led discussion or presentation.  This is in fact what the MOE is encouraging.  The idea that there is lots of chaotic student “discovery learning” going on is not a reflection of reality. Classrooms are quiet and orderly, teachers are actively teaching, not guiding from the side.

However, Direct Instruction is a curriculum—a commercial product—combined with explicit protocols for presentation and assessment.  It is not approved for use in regular grade classes, but the MOE does allow it in certain settings.It is used in some of the provincial Demonstration Schools.  Waterloo Region DSB is using DI Corrective Reading in 95 schools. Some other boards use it for specific Special Education needs, and several of the language programs are appropriate for students with autism. It has the most extensive and positive research base in the literature, going back 50 years, but this is mostly with Special Education or high-risk populations and not with regular grade students. Direct Instruction does not lend itself to whole-class teaching.Charter schools that use it organize their students into small instructional groups based on mastery level, not grades.

To the best of my knowledge, alternative schools are not in the MOE loop for policing curriculum implementation. They all have unique design features and can use different instructional methods and materials but have to relate them in some way to the required Ontario Curriculum. However they have a good deal of latitude in how they do this. No one has tried or even made a serious enquiry about starting an alternative school that would feature Direct Instruction curricula or protocols prominently.

However, one must be careful in using the acronym “DI.” In most writing today it refers to “Differentiated Instruction” (required by the MOE) which is not what we are talking about here.  Direct instruction, meaning teacher-directed instruction, is alive and well and mandated by the MOE and policed to ensure it is happening.

“Complete freedom” vs. “no feedom” is a false dichotomy.  Schools do not have “complete freedom” (and should not—they should have to comply with laws regarding safety, building standards, fire regulations, and a number of other things) but alternative schools have much more latitude in curriculum implementation and teaching procedures than other schools.  That is their raison d’etre

Therefore, no, people here at this blog are not interested in looking at alternative schools in the TDSB and don?t know about them.

Then why are we talking about the Africentric school?

And it doesn’t need to be about the TDSB. People in other boards can also start alternative schools. The legislation is there.

What is NOT there? The demand.  That’s the market reality. The demand needs to grow, or nothing will change. Four or five people posting on a couple of blogs do not constitute a critical mass.

TDSBNW, perhaps my anger at the current situation is getting the better of me and distorting what I’m hearing; sorry I’m not trying to twist what you are saying.

“There?s a whole department at the board dedicated to helping parents start alternative schools?but no one has so far proposed any such model. This seems to indicate a lack of interest in same.”

“... apparently NONE are interested in starting schools along the lines that SQE favors .. “

Maybe that’s indeed the case, I don’t know.

What I hear from the parents I talk to is the following; perhaps they are not representative, I don’t know.
Most of the parents that I’m talking to are immigrants from various communities: Chinese, East-European, Iranian, Korean, Indian from India or Africa, the Phillipines.

- They are appaled by the fact that not only the schools and the teachers not only do not teach the basics but they don’t even consider it to be their duty. Almost all of them either tutor their children at home themselves or pay for tutoring usually Kumon in early years and later on tutors from their communities.

- They are bewildered and outraged at the type of homework sent home that bears very little relationship with what is taught in class.
A lot of homework seems to be either very loosely defined project work - that a lot of times are really just glorified craft projects even in grades 7 for example - or asks students to “research” and “discover” concepts that have not been taught with very loose or no guidance.

How does building a first-peoples traditional lodge out of pipe cleaners sound to you as social studies homework for grade 5? What is a student supposed to learn from that?

- They are annoyed that they can’t figure out what the report cards actually mean and how does their child compare to others.
If they talk to teachers and try and raise concerns about learning, they are told that it’s only them and their child that has a problem and since no class average or class results are posted anywhere they can’t find out if that’s indeed the case or not.

- A lot of them say that if they want their child learn anything they have to teach them because school is just daycare and even not a very good day care because students with behavior problems are allowed to bully other students with impunity because of their disability.
The teachers would do nothing other than tell the regular children not to take it to heart because the bullying student is not aware of his actions!

- Not one parent that I’ve ever talked to was aware that parents can start schools.
Even if they were, I don’t think they would be interested;the parents I talk to have to work to earn a living so what are they supposed to do ?

Look, I’ve had to deal with a few relatively young, canadian-educated and certified teachers and with one exception - a chinese-canadian - I was extremely dissapointed.
They have no concept whatsoever that they need to teach in a sequential way, that students need a LOT of practice and a LOT of very SPECIFIC feedback in order to learn something solidly.
Class management skills? If the students are not loud, they can do whatever they want.

So yes, ... maybe we don’t know what’s going on.
Where is this information?

By the way I’m starting a personal research - just talking to people - to find out how many parents are aware that report cards may have “transferred” on it and what that means.

“What I did report, that you are recalling here, was that parents have not applied to start an alternative school whose focus would be on ?traditional? or direct teaching methods or curricula such as Core Knowledge, Direct Instruction ..”

Hmm .. are you saying that parents have recently applied to start other types of alternative schools? What kind?

See ... logically.. as a parent to seriously want to start an alternative school

1) You first have to be very sure that a regular school would not be good for your child before your child even starts school so that to have a chance to start a school that would benefit your child.

Most parents, not knowing the today’s realities in public schools and not wanting to have to travel far every day would probably give the public school a try.
Only after they have wasted 2, 3, 4 years would they realize that it would have been better to have started differently. By that time they are so busy trying to help their child, they don’t have time to start something that would not benefit their child.

To me in this situation would be either socially discriminated groups - such as blacks, groups that have very definite views about education such as Waldorf, Montessori, perhaps music education or sports, religious groups or homogenous social groups that simply want their children to rub shoulders with like peers.

2) Then you have to have the time to figure out what you want to ask for, to have or to find a group of people with the same beliefs as you that have children at the same stage or have several children so at least some of them would be able to attend.

To me number 2) sounds like something that mostly upper-middle class or upper-class where the mothers can afford to work part time or stay home with young children for a few years would be able to do.

Regular, middle-of-the-way parents who just want a “traditional”, direct instruction, teacher-directed type of education don’t know about 1) until its too late to be of any use for their child and even if they wanted to try to something condition 2) is prohibitive.

In my previous post I was speaking only about starting an elementary alternative school.

I consider the elementary years the most important because if the foundation is not there, learning more advanced concepts is next to impossible.

I’m sorry if my previous post was unclear.  I thought I wrote plainly enough, but there was obviously some latitude for interpretation that I didn’t anticipate.

I used the analogy of buying a dangerous ‘lemon’.  Once people have been suckered by a company, they don’t tend to go back to the same dealer for more.  They go elsewhere.  Therefore, when I wrote, “people here at this blog are not interested in looking at alternative schools in the TDSB and don?t know about them.”  I meant they are not interested in them as an alternative to the schools they want to leave and would not choose them. Therefore, yes, you do know more about those alternatives than they do.  Sorry if my language was unclear.

Furthermore, if we wish to parse meaning out of language:  being interested in the results of one school does not translate into being interested in them as an alternative option.  As far as the TDSB schools are concerned, you shared your knowledge of those schools with us, I merely responded to your post.  For most people living in rural Ontario, the range of choices available in Toronto, Ottawa or KW might as well be on the moon - regardless of District those options are not available here.

Finally, I made an observation about people posting here.  I may be wrong, but I doubt it.  Most bloggers posting here are very angry with the public education system - regular, alternative or otherwise.  You may not like my statement, but that does not negate the fact that many people feel this way.  If you wish to change the observation, change the reality upon which it is based.

Europe, Nancy, Bev and others, you don’t know how dearly I would love for you to have a voice in the way elementary education is delivered.  If students had a solid grounding in the basics, it would make my job so much easier (there’s another lazy teacher for you!)   But I don’t really mean make my job easier from a workload standpoint.  I mean it would take away the difficulties of dealing with students who are bored, angry, frustrated, ashamed and depressed because they can’t seem to grasp the simple things.  I’m finding it more and more difficult emotionally to deal with students who have given up on themselves and are opting out on their future.  I know it makes some of my colleagues angry when I say that we are raising a generation of young people functionally unable to cope with life.  That, too, is a reality based upon observation.  I wish it were easy to change that reality.

Finally, I made an observation about people posting here.  I may be wrong, but I doubt it.  Most bloggers posting here are very angry with the public education system - regular, alternative or otherwise.  You may not like my statement, but that does not negate the fact that many people feel this way.

In point of fact, I neither “like” nor “dislike” anything you said: I have no opinion. I simply wished to correct the record, since you misrepresented (inadvertently) what I posted some months back.

I believe you also unintentionally misrepresent the views of others who have posted here on the issue of alternative schools, in the TDSB or elsewhere. I took the trouble, early in the summer, to read every post and every comment here. A number of regular posters remarked on the fact that the TDSB’s expansion of alternative schools bodes well for the “choice” movement.  Indeed, it does. Interest in how parents in TDSB have successfully expanded choice may help others in other boards do the same.

Sure, regulars here are angry—one would have to be brain dead not to see that. It does not follow from their anger that there is nothing to be learned from successful attempts to broaden school choice that might be replicated elsewhere. Of course no one here is “interested” in TDSB schools on the personal level—in the 18 months or so that this blog has been in existence, only a handful of parents of public school students have posted comments here at all. The “regulars”  here do not have kids in public school (except for Nancy, who is in NL and whose last child   will graduate in 2 years).

From Europe asks some thoughtful questions, but you have persuaded me that my answering them here will serve no useful purpose. I authorize Malkin or Doretta to give him/her my email address if s/he wishes to ask questions about curriculum, assessment, starting alternative schools and the like and I will do my best to answer them privately.

The absent of many parents not making comments, does not mean nor should it be interpreted as parents who are not interested. A great many parents, spend years without ever making comments, for many different reasons. I spent 4 years, reading and learning, before I dare to comment. When I did, it was on a political blog.
I had many reasons why I did not comment, but in the end it boils down to feeling comfortable voicing your own opinion.

As for people expressing interest in alternative schools, or for that matter starting one, trying to find detail information is a difficult task. Searching on google, one gets everything from a to z, on the alternative public schools, as well as the private schools and home schooling. On the board sites, since I could not find obvious information on the how-tos, but one is left with the distinct impression, that it is up to the party to phone, for the information. By the little bit of searching, it confirms my impression, and belief that starting a public alternative school by parents, is only for the few, who have the skills, the ability, the knowledge and support from the board. What really adds to my impression, is the information that is not there. The information on the how-tos, and if it is on the site, it is buried deep.

On the Toronto board site: “In all alternative secondary schools students complete credit courses.  Courses may be delivered through large group instruction, smaller cooperative groups, an independent study program, or other forms of learning that are negotiated with the teachers. Programs and program delivery models vary from school to school.  Each school?s small student population typically includes a variety of ages and grade levels and provides a nurturing environment for students who benefit from having staff know them individually.  Different secondary schools begin at different grades and offer different pathways where ?success is the only option?.

Each alternative school, whether elementary or secondary, is a school of choice and has its own distinct culture.  With such a wide range of alternative schools representing a host of different program delivery models, it is important for students and their families to visit a variety of alternative schools before choosing one that best meets their needs. ”  http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=122&menuid=490&pageid=379

Note, no link for starting an alternative school. Nor did I see one on the Ottawa site.

While I was on the google page, I ran into articles written by economists. I thought to myself, what does this have to do with alternative public schools?  It turns out, the alternative public school structure, is a deliberate method, of offering a narrowed amount of choice within the public school system, by offering programs that targets a specific minority group of parents and their children, to turn-off most parents who really want a solid education for their children. The reason underlying is that parents make decisions on schools, based on their own values and experiences. The educrats know this, because selection of schools based on values and experiences by parents take place in districts, where two public schools near each other, one is losing students to the other school. The school gaining the students, are offering something that is important to the parent’s values and experiences.

I have seen the same thing, in my own 12 years of public schooling in Ontario, as well as my children’s education.  As a result, education boards have the rule, the child must attend a school within the zone your residence is in, to prevent the kind of situation where one school is loosing students to another. It has been my observations and experience, that school boards who have such rules in place, makes it very difficult for a child to transfer to a school outside of their zone. Back in 1999, I had to phoned the Ontario Ministry of Education to get the transfer. When the board did call, the guy said, you didn’t have to go that far up the ladder, to get results, in a snotty voice. I was not getting anywhere with the board, since April, and I thought I might as well go to the top, since it was only two weeks before the start of another school year. Presently, the school that I wanted my child transferred from, is on life support due to falling enrollment, and may be close in the near future. Meanwhile the other public and Catholic schools in the zone are filled to the brim with students.

I have found often when writing in making comment, how often my concerns, experiences are discounted, dismissed, for various reasons, not by parents, but by people who have insider’s knowledge of the public education system. The same people, who may make a sweeping assumption, that parents are not interested in education topics such as alternative schools. We are, but the present set-up of alternative schools and the lack of information, makes it very difficult to discuss it. More importantly, for most parents, alternative schools are the schools for bad behaviour, french immersion, or some other variation, and is reinforced when looking at alternative schools. Even if a parent decided on a alternative school or another public school across town, there is an uphill battle dealing with the administration rules, that would put off a lot of parents, and would not not even go the extra mile, by picking up the telephone.

Under the Toronto board:

“Students also have the opportunity to access schools outside of the school that is designated to serve their residential address by applying on optional attendance. Acceptance at these schools is subject to space availability and program suitability. The procedures, conditions and timelines relating to optional attendance are described in the Optional Attendance Policy and the Optional Attendance Operational Procedure

Each year in January, schools are classified as limited or closed to optional attendance based on the space they have available for the upcoming school year.

A school classified as limited can accept students on optional attendance. A limited school is not obliged to accept all students who apply on optional attendance. Acceptance is conditional upon space being available in the appropriate grade and program.

A school classified as closed cannot accept any students on optional attendance. Only students residing within the school’s attendance area will be accepted.

If a school is classified as limited, and you are interested in applying to that school, please contact the school’s principal.”
http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=97&menuid=320&pageid=248

My question is, do parents under the Toronto board, have as much choice as some have declared, and the freedom to exercise the choice, with the present administration rules setup and design?

TDSBNW,

I’m sorry if I misrepresented what you have said in the past.  I honestly don’t know the situation you are referring to, but I apologize.

I also thought that this forum was a place where people are allowed to voice their opinions plainly.  Sometimes plain talk can be offensive.  Clearly I have offended you and I’m sorry for that as well.

But I don?t really mean make my job easier from a workload standpoint.  I mean it would take away the difficulties of dealing with students who are bored, angry, frustrated, ashamed and depressed because they can?t seem to grasp the simple things.  I?m finding it more and more difficult emotionally to deal with students who have given up on themselves and are opting out on their future.  I know it makes some of my colleagues angry when I say that we are raising a generation of young people functionally unable to cope with life.  That, too, is a reality based upon observation.  I wish it were easy to change that reality.

Wayne,I work in schools and school boards and everyone agrees with you.
I train teachers to remediate reading problems that were created in the early grades and have left the kids just as you so aptly described them.And we discuss openly how to stop the messes but that`s terribly difficult-as the MOE is STILL not advising or enlightened on research based instruction.
You have the heart of a caring teacher and call a spade a spade-to my surprise TDSBNW ,you remain part of the cover up and you are defensive-the truth is every day educational malpractice is played out and they get away with it-because by the time a parent is ready to save their child`s life-they are in a private school with a huge loan or 2nd mortgage or a Catholic Board-I must say though-not all Catholic boards are enlightened and achieving results.

Keep up the good work Wayne-you have a lot to offer!

“I continue to be amazed by the fact that among all the advocates of ?choice? here I seem to be the only one who has significant knolwedge of the choices that are, and long have been, available, or how to expand their range.”

I wouldn’t assume that TDSBNW.

Re: why haven’t parents outside of TDSBNW applied for alternative schools?

Because:

a) they don’t do their homework
b) they’ve been led to believe that “alternatives” are an “urban” perk.
c) the public system conditions parents well to keep them stupid or direct them to faux-parents groups like People for Education instead of groups that really give a crap about parental choice.
d) groups like SQE are also seen to be organizations directed at large urban centres and focus limited attention on the north, rural/small towns. (I know that media all across the province receives SQE releases and some rural/small town networks have had Doretta on, but the biggest bang for SQE is the larger urban centres I think.)

Wayne - I think that folks here have very good reasons to be angry with the public system. I’m pretty sure that there are lots more out there who suffer in silence and frustration. 

“Four or five people posting on a couple of blogs do not constitute a critical mass.”

I agree with you on that statement TDSBNW but that critical mass may be seething in silence and not connected to blogs or joining school councils - should they have to? 

Wayne - I’ve got news for you re: rural/small towns having limited alternatives. See. You have bought into that myth. That’s becoming less and less true. As a matter of fact there’s news of a new private school opening in Huron County - north end thanks to several school closures there. Also in Huron County - an existing private elementary is looking to expand into secondary within in the next two years AND, yet another private school (secondary this time) is looking to expand into the elementary panel. Each of those three offers something different.

Jo-Anne

Thanks.  I believe you mentioned your work before, But it’s somehow didn’t register with me.  You must find it very challenging.  I don’t think I would be up for it.

Chuck,

I agree with you, there are a couple of small private schools in Grey and Bruce counties too.  I was using the term alternative to apply strictly to schools within the traditional board system like the afro-centric one in TO as opposed to private/charter schools.  Other than some secure custody facilities, I can’t see boards like Bluewater going in for this kind of approach - it would mean they would actually have to work with the public! lol

For me any changes to elementary schools would come too late to make a difference for my son.
As I have to work, right now I have no interest in lobbying for an alternative elementary school.

For better of for worst, my competence is computer science not leading people, doing marketing, doing PR and knowing how to say things just like so to fly under the radar or to convince people that are on the edge.

So why do I sometimes write on this blog ?

Because I believe, just like Wayne does that we
“...are raising a generation of young people functionally unable to cope with life”
and that we, as adults are responsible.

I also believe that if this trend continues in 20 years Canada will no longer be the nice, stable society with relatively small differences between the richest and the poorest that it is today.
I think it is going to become a society unable to sustain its elderly, a society where you are either rich or very poor where social unrest would be a regular occurence.

The middle-class jobs are going to other places, and not only because of price. Indians may have an accent, but the ones that our children will compete against for these jobs can read, write, spell well they know math (they able to even verify computer results!) and they know the world doesn’t owe them anything (the way our kids tend to do).

So I hope that the lone soul that tries to find information about how to help his child will find this site and see the his/her troubles are not unique, will find some solutions and would spread the word.

The media perpetrates myths and feel-good images about the state of today’s education, for the political parties is a matter of votes - and teachers seem to be organized to vote for the politicians who favor their interests, teachers at their school tell them that it’s only their child who has a problem or that is only them that has a problem with the system ... .what’s a parent to do?

Maybe if more parents had information when their children are younger we could gradually do something about it.