east-credit-transition-planning-committees
Mandate of the Committees
Following the adoption of a resolution by the Board of Trustees to consolidate and/or close a school, a Transition Committee will be formed. The purpose of the Transition Committee is to act in an advisory capacity to address the needs of students and staff at all schools involved in the consolidation through consideration of, but not limited to, the following:
-
Artifacts and School Traditions
- Opening and Closing Ceremonies
- Student Transition Activities
- Accommodation and Program Needs
- Transportation
- Develop Communication Strategy
Terms of Reference
East Credit Transition Boundary Maps
Composition of the two committees by school (East committee comprised of which schools, South committee comprised of which schools):
1. East Credit Transition Planning Committee (South): St. Dunstan, St. Bernadette, St. Herbert
2. East Credit Transition Planning Committee (East): St. Gertrude, St. Valentine, St. Gregory
Meeting Dates
For St. Dunstan, St. Herbert and St. Bernadette (East Credit Transition Planning Committee South) the dates will be the following:
November 7 – St. Herbert at 6:30 p.m. SUMMARY NOTES
January 23 – St. Bernadette at 6:30 p.m. SUMMARY NOTES
March 27 – St. Herbert at 6:30 p.m. SUMMARY NOTES
For St. Gertrude, St. Gregory and St. Valentine (East Credit Transition Planning Committee East) the dates will be the following:
November 7 – St. Valentine at 6:30 p.m.
SUMMARY NOTES
January 16 – St. Gregory at 6:30 p.m.
SUMMARY NOTES
March 6 – St. Valentine at 6:30 p.m. SUMMARY NOTES
Community Update Bulletins
Check here for regular updates on the transition planning process:
East Credit Transition Planning Committee Q & AFollowing are Q & As arising from the East Credit Transition Planning process. We will add to this section as progress through the transition planning process as questions come forward.
1. How will all of the St. Gertrude community be accommodated at St. Valentine?
As outlined in the May 24th board report, it is anticipated that four (4) portables would be required to accommodate any over utilization at St. Valentine. With a decline in the number of new kindergarten registrations, along with fewer flex boundary students it is projected that the use of portables will only be required for the short-term (5-years). Planning staff continue to review enrolments on an annual basis and should this enrolment trend change, consideration will be given to a more permanent long-term solution.
2. How will the St. Valentine site accommodate the extra buses from students currently residing in the St. Gertrude boundary?
STOPR will work with the bus operators and the school to appropriately plan the arrival time of each bus, similar to other Catholic and public schools across the region. School staff will ensure coordination on the school site in both the morning and afternoon pickup and drop-off times. In many cases, buses conduct multiple runs in the morning and afternoon, thereby staggering the total number of buses that access a site at any given time. Only after the 2017/18 school enrolments have been finalized, including kindergarten registration in January, can STOPR determine the number of students that qualify for transportation. STOPR will begin planning bus routes this coming summer for the 2017/18 school year.
3. Will my child qualify for transportation from St. Gertrude to St. Valentine?
For regular track students that are directed to St. Valentine from the current St. Gertrude catchment area, the following will apply:
- All students in grades K-6 inclusive and residing east of Mavis Road will be eligible for transportation to St. Valentine.
- Grade 7 & 8 students residing in excess of 2.0 kilometers from St. Valentine will also be eligible for transportation.
City of Mississauga Traffic Safety Council Reports:
February 22, 2017 / Additional Agenda
March 29, 2017
4. When did the new boundaries come into effect for St. Valentine, St. Bernadette and St. Herbert, and why?
At the May 24, 2016 Board meeting, the Board of Trustees approved the closure of St. Dunstan and St. Gertrude and corresponding new boundaries. Staff is responsible for the implementation of those boundaries in consultation with the Family of Schools Superintendent, school principals and the local Trustee(s). In an attempt to limit the number of transitions that new students would be required to make over the course of one year, the proposal (as outlined in the board report) was made by staff to have the new boundaries for St. Valentine, St. Bernadette and St. Herbert come into effect July 1, 2016. Students currently attending any of the schools scheduled for closure in June 2017 also had the option to register at their new school(s) for September 2016. The flex boundary application process is always available for anyone wishing to attend a school outside of the boundary in which they reside.
5. Why was St. Gertrude included as part of the East Credit Pupil Accommodation Review process?
As noted in the Ministry of Education Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline 2015 “…pupil accommodation reviews include a school or group of schools to facilitate the development of viable solutions for pupil accommodation that support the guiding principles.” St. Gertrude is directly adjacent to the East Credit review area and it was determined that including St. Gertrude in the review area provided a viable solution as identified in the Initial Staff Report as Staff Option 1. St. Gertrude offers both a regular track English program and a French Immersion program. Relocating these two smaller programs to other schools in the review area offered a potential solution for this grouping of schools. Programs of choice within the board, such as French Immersion, Extended French, Gifted, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement and other regional programs, can be relocated as accommodation needs change. The rationale for the inclusion of St. Gertrude has been shared with the Board of Trustees and the school community throughout the pupil accommodation review process.
6. Transportation
Will our children be bused across Mavis Road?
JK to grade 6 students residing east of Mavis Road will be eligible for transportation to St. Valentine. Students in grade 7 and 8 are subject to the eligibility under the board's transportation policy.
How will our students cross Creditview Road?
Transportation eligibility for students residing west of Creditview Road is subject to the board's transportation policy.
Will we have an idea what time buses will be picking up our children?
As per standard practice, bus stop locations and pick up/ drop off times will determined in the spring when STOPR begins its planning process for the new school year. The location of bus stops and pick up/ drop off times are subject to the total number of students enrolled at a given school and where they reside within the catchment area.
Will school times be adjusted to accommodate all the buses?
School bell times are scheduled in conjunction with bussing routes and, as noted above, will be determined in the spring in accordance with the regular process for determining bell times, system wide. This process is done in conjunction with the school principal.
Will we automatically get a bus from St. Dunstan to either St. Herbert of St. Bernadette?
No. Transportation for students residing within the current St. Dunstan boundary are subject to transportation eligibly under the board's transportation policy.
Will FI students from St. Gertrude get busing?
No. As per the board's current transportation policy, bussing is not provided for students attending a French Immersion program.
Can it be considered?
To date, there has been no reconsideration of this policy by the Board of Trustees.
How do we know how many FI students will actually go to St. Gregory or pull out and go to St. Valentine?
The enrolment projections developed for the purposes of the East Credit PAR assumed that all existing FI students will transition to St. Gregory. Unfortunately, final enrolment numbers will not be known until such time as students and their families make their final decision as the school they wish to attend.
7. Child Care
Will we know about day care PLASP & Family Day Care?
Board staff has meet with our licensed child care providers operating programs in the East Credit schools to discuss school-age programs (4-12 year olds). These programs will likely need to be expanded to accommodate larger numbers for the 2017/18 school year. Staff will be working with the operators and school principals in the coming months to ensure a communication and registration plan is in place that readily enables parents to register for these programs at their new school locations. We will also ensure that schools provide sufficient classrooms to accommodate these programs. Kindergarten registration information has also been forwarded to the child care operators. It is common practice for the childcare providers to participate in registration nights. Arrangements in this regard are made between the school and onsite provider directly.
When will we know if our students will get day care? St. Bernadette – Family Day Care, St. Herbert – Family Day Care.
The YMCA is currently working with parents and other provides to relocate students from the St. Dunstan YMCA child care centre to centres. More information will be shared with the transition committees, once it is available.
When can we register for day care/PLASP/Family Day Care?
Staff continues to work with our childcare providers and more information will be shared with the transition committees, once it is available.
8. Flex Boundary Application Process for St Gregory students who are not in the French Immersion program
The current flex boundary process will be followed for those student wishing to attend St Gregory who are not in the French Immersion program.
The process below would be followed.
APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO OTHER THAN NEIGHBOURHOOD SCHOOL
a) Application shall be made, in writing, to the Principal of the school to which the student wishes to transfer, with a copy to the Principal of the home school.
b) The Principals concerned shall discuss the application and a decision shall be made and conveyed to parents/guardians as soon as possible by the receiving Principal.
Note:
• All registration policies regarding admission of new students apply to students being admitted under this procedure.
• In all cases, transportation is a parental responsibility and will not be provided by the Board.
• Please note the paragraph regarding athletic activities on the LETTER GRANTING PERMISSION FOR ADMISSION UNDER THE FLEXIBLE BOUNDARY PROCEDURE – SECONDARY SCHOOLS (Appendix 2)
• In cases of 'capped' schools, students will be directed to a specific host school. (Refer to Section 4, Admissions – Capped and Overflow (Host) Schools, for further information).
• Special Education placements are determined through the Identification, Placement, Review Committee (IPRC) process.
THE PROCESS
The parent(s)/guardian(s) of the student may request to have the student attend a school other than his/her neighborhood school. The conditions under which the student may be permitted to attend are as follows:
a) The availability of accommodation within the class(es) of the school to which application for admittance is being made. School Principals will approve flexible boundary applications only when the addition of flexible boundary students can be accommodated without class reorganization, without addition of portable classroom facilities and without additional resources;
b) The availability of space within the school, taking into consideration the short and long-term implications with respect to the potential growth within the school's attendance area and the expected timing of that growth. School Principals must provide appropriate space and class sizes to accommodate students from their own school area and/or students from the overflow school prior to accommodating students from outside the school's attendance area.
PLEASE NOTE: Priority will be given to those students coming from St Gertrude school through the flex boundary process.
9. Staffing
How will administrators, teachers, and non-teaching staff be reassigned?
Administrators will be assigned based on past practice through the Director of Education. Teachers and Education Support Workers will be assigned as per the language of each respective collective agreement.
What is the Board's policy and/or practice with respect to the assignment of Principals and Vice-Principals?
See above.
Would the Board consider staff administrative transfers/assignments to receiving schools as part of the transition process?
Administrative transfers/assignments are based on system analysis and needs.
Does the Collective Agreement (CA) govern the school assignment process for teachers and non-teaching staff? If so, what is the process as set out in the relevant provisions of the CA(s)?
Yes. Each collective agreement has an established process.
Has the Board and the applicable unions or teachers' federation discussed the possibility of entering into a Letter of Understanding (temporarily amending the CA for this specific situation only) to give St. Gertrude staff priority with respect to positions at St. Valentine and St. Gregory? If not, why not?
The Board will communicate with staff and OECTA will communicate with its members at the appropriate time based on agreed upon procedures and staffing timelines.