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We are a small, tight knit community. Changes to any one of our
schools affects us all.
In making final decisions, there are some things we would like
you to consider.
As a result, we would like to begin by identifying our concerns
and then provide some insight into our priorities.
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• QES is the only single track EFI school in the Perth family of schools .
• We are families residing both in the town of Perth AND in surrounding rural communities
who choose to send our children to QES for EFI
• Important information is lacking in the report to make informed recommendations. Some
examples are;
• 2016-17 enrolment data is missing.
If families are forced to move:
•How many will opt for EFI?
•How many will opt to switch School Boards?
•How many will choose dual or single track schools?
•How many of our children are actually being displaced by the new boundaries?
•How much grandfathering will occur?
•127 students are to come to QES, yet the report shows a net gain of 66 students.
What is the reason for the discrepancy?
• The school board needs to determine a reasonable bus ride time for children. There are
currently children on the bus for as long as 1.5 hours to get to school in the morning. These
are adult commute times being imposed on children as young as 3 years old.
AS A RESULT
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Now for some Background
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If QES becomes a dual track school, the Board needs to consider the possibility that it
will lose students to the Catholic School Board. The uniqueness of a single track
school is more likely to be considered preferable to St. John School.
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What the draft is suggesting, is that we repeat this sequence of events all over again.
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Should this option occur, here is what we anticipate some of the
impact will be:
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Take for example Andrea’s Story:
In 2014, Ethan and Zoey were separated from their peers who were
relocated at Stewart School as a result of the change in EFI
boundaries. If the proposed changes are implemented, Ethan will
move on to PDCI, Zoey will be separated from her peers again and
relocated to Stewart or could be grandfathered and stay at QES. Her
youngest, Amelia, will be forced to enrol at Stewart. Her 3 children
could all be in different schools -- 3 different school times, 3
different busses and 3 different parent councils.
This is only one of numerous similar stories. We have all heard QES
parents tell stories of comforting their weepy children to sleep after
they lost their best friends and cohorts to the changes in 2014.
Here are several other ways QES will be impacted by these changes
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Note that we understand the need for accommodating
displaced children, but a realistic and sustainable plan must be
developed.
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We will further explore these priorities as we go forward.
PAUSE
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Our research has provided some sobering insight.
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We can deduce based on the feedback from families who already went through it,
that our children have already faced periods of “low social adjustment” as they
adjusted to changes. The Board is recommending that our children go through this
again?
Keeping our community together is one of our priorities because academic success
aside, the health of our children must be paramount.
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Our board already has difficulty recruiting French qualified teachers.
Interesting research conducted by The Centre for Advanced Research on
Language Acquisition identified that
teachers in single track Early French Immersion Schools:
“…appeared to be more satisfied with resources at their school and their
overall teaching situation.”
Job satisfaction is certainly likely then to lend itself to improved French
teacher retention.
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Keeping QES as a single track EFI school for The Perth Family of Schools will produce
students who are more likely to continue their studies in French immersion, helping
the Board improve its retention rate and meet its goal.
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Students at QES have already experienced one significant disruption of their peer
groups. They should not be exposed to another disruption.
Finally, we would like to say that we do not envy the board’s
position. We understand that changes need to be made and
that these are difficult decisions for which we have provided
points for thoughtful consideration. To reiterate…
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