Pupil Accommodation Review Committee Victoria Park Elementary School - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 1

Pupil Accommodation Review Committee Victoria Park Elementary School

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 2

Our Community

“When you first come upon Topham Park you quickly sense the pride of ownership that is painted on the face of every home in the neighbourhood. This is a tightly knit community of only a few hundred homes situated on quaint boulevards and pretty culs-de-sac. Its the type of neighbourhood where children have chosen to return as adults to raise their own families. “ * “Topham Park was an apple orchard until 1944, when the crown purchased this property for War Veterans housing. The Topham Park neighbourhood was developed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation between 1944 and 1946. The streets were given military names like 'Warvet' and 'Valor'. Some streets were named after military men. “ **

• Victoria Park Elementary School has existed for over 100 years – was developed as a rural schoolhouse

prior to the development of Topham Park

• There are many residents of the neighbourhood, who are second and third generation, who can describe the

community and the school as it was in the early half of the 1900’s.

• The current school was erected in the early 1950’s, but on grounds that served as the community school

location for generations before

* Toronto Neighbourhood Guide: http://www.torontoneighbourhoods.net/neighbourhoods/east-york/topham-park ** Toronto Neighbourhood Guide: http://www.torontoneighbourhoods.net/neighbourhoods/east-york/topham-park/history

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 3

Ministry of Education PARC Guidelines

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 4

Ministry of Education – PARC Guidelines

• “Guidelines

– The Guideline ensures that where a decision is taken by a school board regarding the future of a school, that decision is made with the full involvement of an informed local community and it is based

• n a broad range of criteria regarding the quality of the learning experience for students.

– In recognition of the important role schools play in strengthening rural and urban communities and the importance of healthy communities for student success, it is also expected that decisions consider the value of the school to the community, taking into account other government initiatives aimed at strengthening communities.

• School Information Profile

– School boards are required to develop a School Information Profile to help the ARC and the community understand how well school(s) meet the objectives and the Reference Criteria outlined in the Terms of Reference. The School Information Profile includes data for each of the following four considerations about the school(s):

• Value to the student
• Value to the school board
• Value to the community
• Value to the local economy”

(http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/reviewGuide09.pdf)

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 5

Value to the Student

• Proximity to students encourages and supports a walkable community
• Program offerings include:

– EcoClub, Chess Club, Scrabble Club, Silver Birch reading club, drama programs, Folk Fest participation, district track-and-field participation, Bollywood dance, district cross-country participation, basketball club

• Safe private playground

– Fully accessible school to provide access to all school rooms and resources – Fully accessible bathroom facilities – Fully accessible school grounds with ramps and electric doors to the front (drop off/pick up zone) and back (playground) – Preschool aged children have a separate, age appropriate playground that is fenced within the school grounds – Overall school playground is fenced, gated and strictly school grounds (not public park) – Playground space, green space and paved space provide a wide variety of physical activities

• School offers a library, a large gymnasium with portable cafeteria-style tables for lunch, a computer lab, and

kitchen (used by students, staff and ISP classes for life skills)

• School, student and staff size contributes to easy identification of anaphylactic students to provide increased

health-and-safety awareness

• Integrated, non-profit daycare provides affordable, community based pre-school and before/after school care. This

includes nutritious meals and snacks, and proximity to classrooms

• Engaged and active parent council and Home and School Association supports and funds programs such as

Scientist in the School, regular community activities (Movie Night, Disco Dance, Fun Fair, Craft Night), purchase books for the classrooms and libraries, fund buses and supplement admission fees for fieldtrips, monthly meetings with childcare provided, operates a lunchtime milk program, provides graduation photos for all graduating students, etc.

• School pride – logo wear (Go Sharks!)

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 6

Value to the Student - continued

• Victoria Park offers a Primary Intensive Support Program (ISP) and a Junior ISP

– TDSB Special Education Report indicates:

• “Particular areas of focus in the behaviour ISP include social skills training and the development of

self control, adaptability, and responsibility.” – The size of Victoria Park, combined with the full accessibility for physical disabilities, makes it an ideal school to offer this program.

• The ISP students are integrated, where appropriate, to classrooms, performances and activities with

the other students.

• The student body is an appropriate size for integration – not overwhelming volume of kids and noise,

students often know all other students by name, students develop a kinship with each other

• Senior grade students routinely and eagerly spend their lunch hour with the ISP students to provide

mentoring and social integration opportunities

• Provides an enlightened and real life education to all students as they interact with and learn about

their peers. – An investment of $75,000 has been made on a Snoezelen environment (“Snoezelen Multi Sensory Environment incorporates a specialized selection of sensory equipment to help students adapt their responses to sensory stimulation and to help meet specific educational goals.”) – The value that the ISP brings to the regular stream students and the ISP students is immeasurable. This program ties many of the key points of the TDSB Vision of Hope to the environment of Victoria Park:

• “Social justice and gaining passion for the plight of disadvantaged students”
• “Learning for All”
• “Understanding that all students do not learn at the same way and at the same rate”

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 7

Value to the School Board

• Integrated daycare funds capital improvements to their areas of the school

– Tiago Avenue Community Childcare has been providing non profit, affordable daycare in the school for

• ver twenty years. It is highly regarded and an asset to all aspects of the school and community.

– Daycare provides rental income to the TDSB year round – Daycare contributed fifty percent of funds required to build outdoor storage – Daycare contributed fifty percent to the development of the pre-school playground – Daycare provided all capital improvement costs to the daycare rooms (previously a gym) – Daycare contributed funds to the school fax machine, tvs and vcrs.

• Facilities are used twelve months of the year (daycare operational during all school holidays including March

break, PA days, summer holidays, and Christmas break)

• Wide breadth of extracurricular offerings as provided by the teachers and with support from parents and the

Home and School Association

• Provides volunteer opportunities for local high school students – particularly through community based

activities such as the Fun Fair, Disco Night, Movie Night, and Craft Night

• Daycare offers co-operative education placements for ECE students to further their studies in Early Childhood

Education, as well as high school co-operative education placements.

• Numerous recent upgrades provides safe, fully accessible facility for our ISP and regular stream students
• Provides an appropriate integration environment to promote and foster empathy, social awareness, and

community involvement.

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 8

Value to the Community

• Offers affordable, non-profit community based daycare employing six full time staff and several part time
• employees. The daycare has been in operation for over twenty years and has remained financially viable
• Home based daycares operating in the community are based on proximity to school and are also critical in

supporting working families

• School grounds immensely popular within the community

– Has age appropriate play equipment for preschool age and school age children – Has paved surfaces regularly used for bicycle riding, scootering, ball play, and skipping – Has a baseball diamond and soccer field and long jump – Is fully fenced and gated and strictly school owned property – Is the only playground available in the immediate area

• School grounds used as a practice location for several community sports associations

– Softball/T-ball – Soccer – Volleyball

• Home & School Association regularly offer community based events

– Disco Night – Fun Fair – Movie Night – Craft Night – Parenting Seminars – Parent book swap and Meet and Greets Events are widely attended and immensely popular in the community

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 9

Value to the Local Economy

• Tiago Avenue Community Child Care employs six full time staff and several part time staff
• Home daycare providers in the community thrive based on proximity to the school
• Daycare (home daycare and Tiago Ave daycare) critical to enabling working families

– There are over 50 children in the community attending the integrated daycare and home daycares

• perating in the Victoria Park ES population
• Provides a safe and popular meeting location for sporting activities and student based social activities
• Provides co-operative education programs for ECE students (Daycare)
• Provides co-operative education programs for high school students (Daycare)
• Provides high school volunteer opportunities during community based events
• Attracts and retains families to the community

– Noticeable real estate growth in the area – Community members are investing and growing their homes – Family oriented community with local grocery, entertainment, school, park, transit and daycare “The Toronto District School Board recognizes that child care programs in schools are an integral component of the education system. Our commitment to a strong partnership is reflected in our Child Care in Schools policy adopted October 28, 1998. “ (http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=160&menuid=610&pageid=479)

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 10

Toronto District School Board Review Criteria

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 11

PARC – TDSB developed Review Criteria

• “TDSB has established a vision that shall guide the work of the Pupil Accommodation Review Committee.

The following criteria are to be referenced during the review process.

• Minimal grade transitions

– Aim for no transitions from JK-8, where opportunities arise in local revitalization processes; – Where JK-8 configurations are not practical, local processes will devise solutions that will minimize transitions.

• School Size

– Aim for a minimum size of 450. In general, a larger school of 450 to 650 students receives more staffing and is therefore more likely to have the ability to assign specialty teachers than a smaller school.

• Utilization

– Aim to achieve between an 80% and 90% utilization rate for reorganized schools (based on Ministry standards). “

(http://www.tdsb.on.ca/wwwdocuments/schools/area_review_committee/docs/P20120301%20- %20PARC%20Terms%20of%20Reference%20v.9.pdf)

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 12

Minimal Grade Transitions

(Aim for no transitions from JK-8, where opportunities arise in local revitalization processes; and where JK-8 configurations are not practical, local processes will devise solutions that will minimize transitions. )

• As presented in the TDSB Ward 16 Forum in February of 2012…..”Research Says”:

– “No particular grade-span configuration guarantees student achievement and social adjustment. “ – “The quality of teaching and instruction, leadership, high expectations, and staff development all play a much larger role in student achievement than the grade-span configuration of the school a student attends” – “The type of program offered and the quality of the learning environment, rather than grade

• rganisation, is the critical factor in determining student success”
• As reviewed, the unique programming offered at Victoria Park Elementary School is providing, and will

continue to provide, a student body that is well informed, socially aware, empathetic, supported and empowered

• The transition to middle school has been viewed as a positive step in providing the opportunity for the

senior students to undertake a longer commute to school, and engage in further studies of interest to them as provided by a larger population

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 13

Minimal Grade Transitions - continued

• Feedback from the community is overwhelming in favour of retaining a JK-5 program at Victoria Park ES
• Research does not support that a transition from primary to middle school is detrimental to the students:

– “There has been abundant research examining how early life experiences affect achievement. In this article, we investigate the transition from elementary to junior high school at a developmental stage where numerous changes have an impact on students. Using nationally representative survey data, we found no differences in academic achievement between students who transitioned to grade seven from an elementary school in comparison to those who remained in the same school.” *

* Canadian Journal of Education 2007: http://www.granderie.ca/portals/0/board/canadian%20study%20on%20middle%20school%20transition.pdf

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 14

School Size

(Aim for a minimum size of 450. In general, a larger school of 450 to 650 students receives more staffing and is therefore more likely to have the ability to assign specialty teachers than a smaller school. )

• No primary schools in Topham Park (and area) were built to accommodate 450+ students.
• The community is built based on community values in providing public space for families, walkable

schools, and community services.

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 15

Utilization

(Aim to achieve between an 80% and 90% utilization rate for reorganized schools (based on Ministry standards).)

• There is NOT currently, and there is not projected to be, any utilization concerns at Victoria Park

Elementary School

• The current utilization (81%) is actually understated considering it does not account for the lower student

ratios in the ISP and Diagnostic classrooms.

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 16

Option 4 Proposal

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 17

Option 4 Model – Victoria Park

Victoria Park should continue to operate as a JK-5 school

• The unique aspects of Victoria Park ES need to be acknowledged and respected
• School has modernized to support and embrace physical accessibility (ramps at entrances, bathroom, electric doors)
• Daycare contributes rental income 12 months of the year which includes provisions for water, hydro, and custodian
• Minimizes capital expenditures required to migrate to full day kindergarten programs
• Provides the ideal environment for integrated learning with the ISP stream – investment in Snoezelen environment,

size of student population allows for successful integration, allows familiarity between students

• Provides the ideal environment for accommodating students with physical disabilities
• Provides a quality education to the students – including a large, secure playground, a very large gymnasium, a wide

breadth of extra curricular programs, and unique ISP integration programs.

• Community and local economy is dependent on the school and the school grounds

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 18

Option 4 Model – Victoria Park

Derived from PARC Proposed Option 1

• Retain Victoria Park as a K-5 school
• Retain Junior and Primary ISP programs
• Move Diagnostic Kindergarten program to Selwyn/GA Brown
• Updated classroom differential removes classroom surplus and deficit in both schools

Additional cost savings and revenue potential

• Share Principal with GA Brown/Selwyn and

assign a vice-principal to Victoria Park

• Enable more program sharing between

GA Brown/Selwyn and Victoria Park

• Market Victoria Park school to outside clubs

to generate additional permit revenues

– Wheelchair sports, Snoezelen environment, Scout/Guide troops, Parks and Recreation programs

• Verify viability to proceed with the TDSB no-cost solar plan – eliminate electricity costs and

provide energy back to the grid for revenue generation

Victoria Park Elementary School

April 2012 19

Option 4 Model – Victoria Park

1 Difference Existing/Proposed Permanent Classroom Spaces Capital Revenue Potential? Capital Costs Is Bussing Required? Tiago Avenue Community Childcare Program/Community Partnerships ISP (Primary and Junior) Gifted, MID, Diagnostic Kindergarten Programs (special Education, French, Other) Proposed Permanent Classroom Spaces Proposed Model utilization Proposed Model Ministry Rated Capacity Proposed Model Headcount Enrolment JK-5 JK-8 Grades Served O’Connor Victoria Park Presteign GA Brown/Selwyn