Westisle community questions school review's ability to improve education
New rural and regional development minister says process is moving too quickly
The gym at Westisle Composite High School was packed with hundreds of people on Tuesday night, many wearing T-shirts that read "We The West", as community members rallied together to support rural schools.
Is it your intention to actually lower the standards of our entire education system so that all students are receiving an equally less than stellar education?- Stephanie Kinch
Before the public school meeting for the Westisle family of schools was a rally in the foyer of the school with music, speakers and food from 5:30 until 7:00.
The meeting itself lasted five hours, wrapping up just after midnight. Parents, students and graduates were among the many speakers who talked about the importance of these schools in their lives.
The Westisle family of schools has two schools up for possible closure, Bloomfield and St. Louis Elementary. The report also recommends adding French immersion to O'Leary and Alberton Elementary, stricter zone enforcement, and says the recommendations will allow for 28.94 instructional full-time equivalent (FTE) to be redistributed to help with overcrowding and class sizes in other schools.
'Underutilization is not the problem'
Stephanie Kinch has three children at St. Louis, and spoke on behalf of St. Louis Home and School. She said the review needs to be stopped.
Kinch asked if the tax dollars saved by closing schools would stay in the community, or in West Prince at all.
"Will rural P.E.I. once more suffer for the betterment of the urban area?" she said.
"The motto of our province is the small under the protection of the great, but it is starting to feel like it is the small working for the betterment of the great."
Kinch spoke about the achievements of students at rural schools, asking how better learning for all would be possible by closing those schools.
"Is it your intention to actually lower the standards of our entire education system so that all students are receiving an equally less than stellar education?" she said.
The problems aren't with rural schools, she said, it's with overcrowding and building maintenance needed in urban centres.
"Underutilization is not the problem, it is the result of a problem, and that problem is population growth," Kinch said. "School closures are in no way going to solve this problem, they will only add to the problem."
Near the end of the meeting, when asked during the open mic portion of the event, Susan Willis, the chair of the Public Schools Branch board of directors, said this process is about finding the best way to distribute resources.
"I believe that that is one way to have a positive impact on learning for all children," Willis said.
Concerns about losing teachers/staff
Jason Ramsay gave a presentation on behalf of Bloomfield Home and School. He drew attention to the recommendation to redistribute 28.94 FTE to deal with overcrowding and class sizes in other schools.
Ramsay said losing that number of teachers or support staff would improve the student/teacher ratio for central schools, but would increase the ratio of students per teacher in the Westisle family of schools.
"This is not better learning for all, this is better learning for central at the expense of far east and far west. We would be foolish to let a single FTE leave the Westisle family now knowing what this process is all about," he said.
"The bleeding of rural P.E.I. must stop."
Ramsay said the need to bring in FTE from rural areas is a result of poor management of the influx of immigrant families by the P.E.I. government.
Criticism of timeline
As with speakers at other school meetings, many said the timeline of the process is rushed, and doesn't allow enough time to do things effectively.
Pat Murphy, newly appointed minister of rural and regional development, had taped a video message to be played for the crowd. In it, he said the process is moving way too fast, and it has been focused on utilization when it should be focused on student outcomes.
The last public school meeting in this round of the process will be for the Montague family of schools on Feb. 27 at Morell Regional High School.
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