Big changes could be coming to OCDSB elementary schools. Here’s what you should know

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The OCDSB is looking at overhauling its elementary programs.

The decisions that will be made by the end of the year could mark the most momentous and contentious changes in more than a generation, affecting about 50,000 children and their families. The French immersion model is likely to change, more special needs students will probably be integrated into local schools, some programs may be cut and more students will go to their local school.

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The current elementary program model was formulated during an era that prioritized program choice and in many ways focused on the needs of the highest-achieving students, said a report released last month.

“While the current program model has, over the past quarter century, served the needs of many in the community, we know that many others have been underserved. There is an immediate need to rethink what programming the District offers, how and where it is offered, whose needs are served, and how schools may be redesigned to better meet the needs of current and future generations.”

The review has been a long time coming, said veteran trustee and board chair Lynn Scott, who was also chair of the board when first amalgamated in 1998.

“We hear over and over again that people would prefer to send their kids to the school down the street where they can walk rather than having them bus halfway across town,” she said.

Q: Why review elementary school programs?

A: The current program model has undergone numerous structured and ad hoc revisions, sometimes focusing on the system and sometimes on a school or a group of schools. At the same time, Ottawa has grown outside the Greenbelt, and the population is much more diverse than it was a quarter century ago.

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“The number of programs and where they are located has resulted in a patchwork of school configurations and grade structures as well as program offerings,” director of education Pino Buffone told trustees last month.

Q: What’s the main goal?

A: To keep as many students as possible in neighbourhood schools and address inclusivity, diversity, equity and accessibility.

According to OCDSB figures, elementary schools may have 900-plus students or less than 200. That is causing inequities between schools and students. One of the problems is that some schools, primarily those that don’t offer French immersion, have low enrolment.

“Streaming” is the practice of choosing between two education options. Educators have argued that it’s discriminatory because it forces families to make decisions for their children at a young age, with little opportunity to change their pathway once a decision has been made.

Streaming occurs with students as young as three and a half years of age, Buffone told trustees.

“Our system and our structures are placing them on pathways they can’t get out of without a tremendous amount of work against the system” he said.

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“One of the guiding principles of the review would be not to have schools that students bypass in order to get to other programs. There are some schools where over 80 per cent of the student in the community don’t attend that school.”

Q: French immersion is a popular program. Why change it?

A: It’s a human rights issue. Many families — especially newcomers and low-income families  — may not recognize that French immersion is an option. Boys are more likely to drop out of French Immersion than girls. Almost two-thirds of OCDSB students are in early French immersion in Grade 1,  but that drops to 43 per cent by Grade 8.

“We know that there’s a significant disparity between English and early French immersion,” said Trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth. “We know from our own data that children in early French immersion are more likely to meet standards in every subject than children not in French immersion. That means those other kids are not getting the same quality as the kids in French immersion in terms of access.”

Some schools are under-enrolled because they don’t offer French immersion, she said. “So we are exacerbating inequalities within schools rather than saying we should have programs within every single school that are equally strong and we give every child the same opportunity to succeed.”

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Q: Does that mean the board will consider moving to a single model of French immersion?

A: It could. But what form that will take is not yet clear.

One example of a single model is the one at the Ottawa Catholic School Board, which offers 50 per cent French instruction in kindergarten and 25 per cent French for all students in Grades 1 to 3.

There has already been speculation about a similar model at the OCDSB. But it’s unlikely the OCDSB will choose a model with such a low percentage of French, said Trustee Lyra Evans. One possibility is that the OCDSB will adopt a “unified” program with a high level of French for everyone.

“To the best of my understanding, we have the capacity to offer 50 per cent of French to all students in Grades 1 to 3,” she said. “We may be able to get to 60 per cent, but it may not be the same in all grades.” (Currently, early French immersion students in Grade 1 get 80 per cent French, dropping to 60 per cent in Grade 2 to 6 and 5 per cent in Grade 7 and 8.)

There’s still a lot of math to be done. There’s a shortage of French teachers and any changes to French programming must consider the number of hours of French instruction required by the province, which affects student pathways in high school and a student’s chances of graduating with the requirements for a French certificate.

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Q: How will the review address integrating students with special needs? 

A: Most OCDSB students with special needs get programming at their community school in the regular classroom. The board also has elementary Specialized Program Classes, known as SPCs, with a total of about 1,250 students in 66 sites across the city. There are 11 types of elementary SPCs for students with specific exceptionalities, such as autism and giftedness.

While SPCs can be partially integrated, most are fully self-contained. There’s a growing body of research that challenges the idea that specialized program classes meet learning needs, said the report framing the review. SPCs can segregate students from their peers and limit access to curriculum or growth opportunities. Students are transported out of their communities and they reinforce stereotypes and stigma, said the report.

“The objective is to provide more support and better service that’s not so far away,” said Scott. “It depends on whether we can find ways to serve students properly in their local school.”

The key to integrating special needs students successfully will be ensuring there is support such as education assistants in the classroom. As it stands, they’re concentrated in SPC sites. Under an integration model, they would have to cover the entire system.

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Q: Are there any other potential major changes on the table? 

A: All congregated elementary classes will be under consideration, including the elementary gifted program which has 85 students in five sites in Grade 1 to 8 core French and three sites with a total of 115 French immersion students in Grade 5 to 8.

The board has two schools for students with developmental delays: Clifford Bowey and Crystal Bay.

There are also four elementary alternative schools — Lady Evelyn, Riverview, Churchill. and Regina Street — and one Grade 7 and 8 school, Summit.

Alternative schools operate under a set of core principles, including mixing students of different ages in a classroom and balancing student-directed and teacher-directed learning. A 2010 staff report concluded that the alternative schools are not substantially different from the board’s regular English program and recommended that the designation be dropped. That didn’t happen, but enrolment in some of the schools is on the decline.

Q: Is the intent of the review to close schools or lay off teachers and other education workers?

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A: It doesn’t appear so. Right now there is a provincial moratorium on closing schools, although that may be lifted at any time. There would, however, be savings on school bus transportation.

“This is not about school closures or school openings. It’s about the configuration our district to best serve the needs of our students, ” Buffone told trustees.

Q: Are changes a done deal? 

A: Nothing has been decided. There are a number of scenarios from minor adjustments and enhancements to exploring other models to maintaining the status quo.

“Every change is challenging and not every change is popular. The only decision we’ve made is that we have to have a really good look at this,” said Scott.

Q: What happens next?

There’s a tight timeline. There will be online and in-person events, including public meetings, online surveys and focus groups.

Meetings begin on Monday. Here’s the schedule:

• Monday, May 13: Kanata Highlands Public School, 425 Terry Fox Drive, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
• Monday, May 13: Ottawa Technical High School, 485 Donald St., 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 22: D. Roy Kennedy Public School, 919 Woodroffe Ave., 7 to 8:30 p.m.
• Wednesday May 22: Glashan Public School, 28 Arlington Ave., 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Wednesday May 29: Longfields-Davidson Height Secondary School, 149 Berrigan Dr., 7 to 8:30 p.m.
• Wednesday May 29: Sawmill Creek Elementary School, 3400 D’Aoust Ave., 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Wednesday May 29: Avalon Public School, 2080 Portobello Blvd., 6:30 to 8 p.m. 

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Feedback will be reviewed over the summer. Proposals will start to shape the plan this fall, with the presentation of a preliminary report to trustees in September and additional reports as required in October, with more public input.

Recommendations on the new program delivery model will be made in November, and decisions will be made by trustees. After that, planning will begin with timelines, staffing decisions, curriculum modifications and other operational matters, such as changes to school busing.

Implementation will begin in the fall of 2025, although it may be phased in. 

Q: If there are changes, how long will they take? 

A: That’s up in the air. Some trustees have been in favour of a quick change, others say it will take time.

Evans argues that rolling out a new French immersion model would need a “staggered” approach, starting with the first incoming class of Grade 1 students.

Kaplan-Myrth contends that this is a transformational change based on human rights and equity. “We can’t do that bit by bit so that it takes another generation of children to get through and to actually have their needs met.”

Scott points out that it took five years to roll out full-day kindergarten.

“If we consult well and explain this in a way that every ordinary parent can understand and have a good set of reasons for any change, it will be easier.”

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