Schools for 21st century
Nearly two-thirds of Ontario's students live in urban or suburban centres. These growing areas are vibrant places where many young people thrive and some fail. In February 2008, a group of people (academics, community and parent leaders, a city councillor, early childhood experts, school board trustees and staff, members of ethno-racial community organizations and representatives […]
Public debate & cost analysis first!
Toronto Star Editorial – April 03, 2008Move cautiously on school board Ten years after Mike Harris's Conservative government created the Toronto public school board by amalgamating seven smaller boards, few would argue it is working well. Peddled at the time as a way to cut costs and rationalize operations, the amalgamated board has lurched from […]
Starving for Funds
Toronto Star Letters to Editor Apr 02, 2008 Education Minister Kathleen Wynne's threat to Toronto District School Board trustees to come up with a plan to dismember the board by May or she will do it for them is scarily reminiscent of former premier Mike Harris's approach to the Toronto school boards before he unilaterally […]
School trustees fight back
'This is just like Mike Harris,' trustee says of edict from minister to restructure school board by MayApril 1, 2008 Kristin Rushowy TORONTO STAR Trustees for the Toronto District School Board have reacted angrily to a May deadline from Ontario's education minister to change how the board is run, and are rejecting her warning that […]
devolution by June or we’ll impose
'For 10 years, there's been a feeling that the board hasn't come together' Education Minister KATHLEEN WYNNE Make suggestions for devolution by June or we'll impose changes, ministry tells Toronto mega-board Toronto Star Mar 31, 2008 Kristin Rushowy Education Reporter Toronto trustees have two more months to figure out a way to create a better […]
Equity and Safety Demand
Letter to all TDSB trustees Save the PoolsEquity and Safety Demand ItHealth and Fitness Requires It Drowning is the second leading cause of injury-related death among children under age fifteen and African American children ages 5 to 19 drown at a rate 2.3 times that of their counterparts. Economically disadvantaged children cannot afford swim lessons, […]
Bus muzak ‘creeps out’ kids
The Daily News (Nanaimo) Thu 27 Mar 2008 Source: Canwest News Service U.S. school bus lines are replacing the noisy banter of children on the morning ride to school with BusRadio – a new service that reaches onemillion listeners on 10,000 buses in 24 states. The company provides buses with a free GPS system, a […]
Rebuild Tax System
Province's economy looks better in the rearview mirror than through the windshieldToronto Star Mar 24, 2008 Hugh Mackenzie Is the party really over? When Ontario Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan rises at the traditional time of 4 p.m. tomorrow, there's a good chance he'll be delivering the last of the easy budgets – the kind […]
Student Literacy Boost
Toronto Star Mar 24, 2008 Louise Brown Education Reporter They're in Grade 1 and 2, but they sound like literacy professors. "Hey. You dropped your rubric!" calls one 6-year-old, pointing to one of the small yellow checklists the teacher gives to each child that outline the points they should cover in their answers. Another boasts […]
EAs support special needs
LETTER TO THE EDITORTheStar Mar 07, 2008 Re:Jobs of classroom helpers at risk March 5 As an elementary teacher with the Toronto District School Board and a parent of children with special needs who have attended Toronto public schools, I am yet again appalled to hear that the board is debating further cuts to education […]