Grades 7 & 8 students being moved into the High School to Help in Declining Enrollment.

[Christine Gulutzen]

We are presently going thru the Accommodation review, we have felt from the very beginning that the School Board wants to solve the declining enrollment In the Elementary and Secondary schools, by taking the grades 7 and 8 out of the elementary schools and placing them in the High school. Parents have been very vocal about not wanting this to happen. The ARC came up with a proposal that would close 4 elementary schools and build one Large centrally located school to prevent the children going into the high schools. The Board Staff presented the Idea of closing 2 schools and combining the children into the other 3 schools listed in the AR and moving the 7 and 8 into the highschool. (it is funny because at the same time the elementary school teachers are advertising in the papers and radio complaining about over loaded classroom sizes in the intermediate divisions),

Parents are irrate with the situation and are bombarding the Trustees with emails of concern. Our Trustees will make the final decisions in June, but at the same time are very much in favour of the move to the high school.

Children are forced to grow up so fast and the communities in mention are majority Rural communities.

How can this be a good Idea? If the Children are supposed to be the main focus of the Board?

[Bill MacPherson]

The Upper Canada Board voted last spring to move to a 7 to 12 model in all families of schools by 2012, except for two that do not show sufficient enrolment decline. It was done through an exhaustive process known as Boundary 2020. The final result ended with the closure of 13 schools, the adoption of the 7 - 12 model and an overhaul of the French Core and Immersion programs. We are now into the implementation phase which will see the first changes occuring in September 2009.

[Christine Gulutzen]

How did the parents react? Did they have a say before the vote was made?, or was this the only solution the Board could find.

[Bill MacPherson]

It was not a popular decision, except in areas where a local secondary school was in jeoprady due to severe enrolment declines. The coterminus Catholic Board embraced this model almost 10 years ago in many communities with little or no input or opposition. Input was gathered through the ARC process and trustees were aware of these oppinions as the decision was made. It was adopted by a sweeping staff report known as Boundary 2020. To say the least it was an emotional and difficult decision making exercise.

[Christine Gulutzen]

Thanks for your reply, I was able to read some of the news articles that the teachers put out with regard to Boundry 2020, I can relate to what was said.

[Catherine]

Christine - one way to determine just how willing your board is re: considering the suggestions/recommendations of the ARC and community re: school consolidation or changes is to look for the boards 10 year Capital Plan(which is something the gov't mandated boards to have AND for boards to get the input of the community and school councils). Consultation should have happened with your parents at that time...did it? In my community of schools the school councils consulted with their parent community and submitted written statements of support and or concern.

The 10 year plan is the footprint that determines the direction your board proposed to take. My impression is that despite what the ARC's say boards with these plans are following them to the letter and steering the ARCs in that direction.

I bet your proposal really caught your board by surprise. It's a really interesting proposal, but in the end I'm betting your board follows their Capital Plan....and so much for community input.

7 & 8 students will be going to the secondary school in my community also, and parents are split, secondary kids hate it, but it's pretty much a done deal....and if you ask me the trustee roles have been diminished throughout the new review guidelines leaving communities dependent on board staff and in the case of PTR schools under more supervision by the Ministry.

What IS happening though is that because the only alternative is the Catholic school in our area is that the moving of 7 & 8s into the high school is giving parents more choice at the elementary level.

Parents can choose the public elementary school which will be JK-6 with a Balanced School Day (two 40 minute breaks) schedule, and mediocre achievement levels, OR, parents will be able to choose the Catholic elementary which offers JK-8 and has block scheduling but retained the traditional one lunch and two recess schedule.

If there are 7&8 in another school in your area you can always check on the MOE's School Finder to see how they've managed with student achievement before and after the changes.

[Bill MacPherson]

In our area, one of the contributing factors to the move to 7 to 12 grade structuring was the fact that the local Catholic board used it almost exclusively in all their secondary schools. They did have the advantage of more new schools and as each was built they were configured as 7 - 12 schools. The public board while moving to the same model is handicapped by an inventory of 50 year old schools and limited capital to deal with an aging and outdated infrastructure. We also have a K to 12 school which serves it's community well.

[Catherine]

Meanwhile in other parts of the province I hear that Senior Public schools are closing and their 7 & 8 kids are going to the elementary not secondary school.

Just goes to show that different regions are doing different things, and hopefully whatever's best for their students.

[Annie Kidder]

We took a look at Middle Schools in our Annual Report. Here's what it says:

Though grades 7 and 8 are formally a part of the elementary school curriculum, and their teachers are in elementary sections of teachers’ federations, these grades are considered transition years. Researchers and educators across North America agree that these grades are key to student success, and are a “stumbling point” for many students.

In the United States, many school boards are moving away from the “middle school” model, because researchers have found a drop in student achievement in those years. In the U.S., the most common move is back to Kindergarten to Grade 8 schools, but some researchers find value in moving these students into high schools.

They say that in high school, the young teenagers have people to look up to, they are forced to look forward to the future, and they are more connected to the continuum from success in Grades 7 and 8, to graduation from high school. They also say that high schools tend to have more specialized classroom space (better science labs etc.) and students are more likely to have access to specialist teachers.

On the other hand, parents stay more involved in Kindergarten to Grade 8 schools, which supports students’ success, and Grades 7 and 8 students in elementary schools can act as leaders in the school.

Whichever way it’s done, there seems to be agreement that it is definitely better for students to change schools less often.

Declining enrolment is forcing boards to make decisions about 7 and 8 schools. Ironically, those decisions might just end up making things better for students in the long run. I think when our kids are young it's hard to imagine them in with all those huge high school students - but it might not really be so bad. As a parent of one high school student and one university student, I know now that they survive; and that they survive exposure to all sorts of things and influences. And now that I've survived most of it, I can see the value in letting them grow up, in letting go, and in the independence and responsibility that might come with going into a building with older students.

Which is not to say that staying in the elementary school is a bad idea either. But....

Maybe, really, we should be looking to Finland - which does better than any other country on all the international educational comparisons - where the kids stay in one school until they're sixteen. Then they have to make huge choices about their direction.

[Ross Button]

Having participated in the review, it was a bit of a railroad process with a preconcieved outcome on the part of the UCSDB.

The process (ARC) was exhaustive but the majority of the recommendations were discarded. The process was quite long and drawn out.

The model makes sense where enrolment is low and there is a problem that is being fixed.

The model makes less sense when enrolment is high enough. The big difference, not mentioned by Bill, is that the Catholic Board build physical schools around the 7-8 + 9-12 model with schools in a school. It's quite a different implementation than the UCDSB doing.

Not quite an apples and apples comparision.

[Cathy]

Kawartha Pine Ridge has had 7-12 years for quite a few years. It can and does work qutie well.

I don't presume to speak to your board's particular needs but I do know that the 7-12 model works. Steps are taken at the school to allow for the 7/8's to have a full 7/8 experience (i.e. Grade 8 trips and grads the same as in a JK-8 school), as well, play yard decisions are made and hallway movement times are organized to ensure best possible outcomes for behaviour etc. We have hosted other school boards on tours of our 7-12 schools and I am sure would be happy to do so at any time.

Contrary to popular parental belief the Grade 12 boys don't prey on the Grade 7 girls----they have no interest in them at all--, there is not a rapid and unexplained increase in drug addicted Grade 8's, there has been no increase in incidents of older more mature high school students picking on the 7/8's. Frankly, they want nothing to do with each other socially or otherwise. (although I am sure somebody can come up with random examples---but this could happen even without 7/8's being in the same building). When we introduced this most recently a parent stood up in a public meeting to talk about how poorly behaved the secondary students were and that they didn't want their son or daughter exposed to that....and then they were gently reminded that two of those secondary students were the older siblings of that Grade 7 student.

What does tend to happen is an easier transition to high school, teachers are able to make connections to like subject teachers for curriculum connections (i.e. Grade 7/8 math teacher working with Grade 9 math teacher), kids feel connected to their schools in a different way--perhaps because the connection starts younger. There is also some thought that for kids at risk it might be easier for the Grade 8 student who struggles to see that there is a place for them in high school because they can get tech there or something else that will engage them....but haven't actually talked to anyone to see if it is happening.

I don't know if this helps or not. As I said I don't presume to know the particular circumstances of this school board or these schools but this has been the experience we have had.