More than 160 students apply to Toronto public’s specialty schools
February 14, 2012
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Louise Brown
EDUCATION REPORTER
There hasn’t exactly been a crescendo of demand, but enough students have applied to Toronto’s unusual new specialty schools — especially the two singing academies — that board officials say they all will open this fall.
Of the 165 students who have applied so far, 20 per cent go to schools that aren’t part of the Toronto District School Board — likely Catholic or private — which means this boutique- style public school experiment with all-boy, all-girl, sports and vocal elementary schools, believed the first of its kind in Ontario, is succeeding in boosting enrolment in a board that sorely needs it.
“We’re doing more than just shuffling the deck (between TDSB schools); there’s a positive buzz from outside the board and we have enough students already for each new school to open with at least one class,” said director Chris Spence, whose board has been losing 4,000 students a year to declining enrolment.
With the first loose application deadline this Friday, Spence would not say how many have applied so far to each school, but the biggest draws have been the two vocal music academies slated to start with Grades 4 to 6 this fall in empty portions of Heather Heights Junior Public School in Scarborough and Ryerson Community School in downtown Toronto.
“Who knows, you’ve got the popularity of The Voice (TV show) and American Idol and maybe some students see these schools as an opportunity to explore their passion for singing,” said Spence. “What’s great is all the connections between music and math I hope will work well in the classroom.”
Heather Heights principal Brian Bennett said singing, which is already popular at the school, will be treated “like a core subject” at the new vocal academy. “But they don’t have to have musical training or even talent — just a real passion.”
The board approved nine specialized elementary schools for the fall, partly to offer some of the choices that can draw students to private schools, and also to engage struggling students who may have a passion for sports or music.
The school with the smallest response so far has been the all-girl “leadership academy” at Highland Heights Junior Public School in Scarborough, with just enough applicants for about one class to date. To principal David Williams, this could be because girls generally do so well academically, parents don’t think they need a special learning environment.
“And many of them do fine in regular classes, but the outside world is still not equal and girls still often face a glass ceiling for which an all-girl school can help build confidence and leadership skills,” noted Williams. He said each girl in the Grade 4 to 6 program will be assigned a mentor. The school will bring in frequent female role models from business, sports and the arts, and teachers will use the latest research on how girls learn.
Nearby Silver Springs Public School has separated boys from girls in the core subjects in Grade 7 and 8 for two years with great success, said principal Rhonda Cohen-Pierobon.
“It’s been terrific; there’s less drama, and both boys and girls say they’re more comfortable answering questions without being judged by the opposite sex,” she said. “And they have different learning styles; boys need to move around more and have incentives, whereas girls need time to talk, sometimes on tangents, and they also like working in groups.”
More than 20 students are believed to have applied to the all-boys’ program to be housed in part of The Elms Junior Middle School in Etobicoke. The all-girl, all-boy and choir programs all have room for up to 150 students each once Grade 7 and 8 are phased in over the next two years.
Five other neighborhood schools are changing their focus to sports, health and wellness. Current students need not apply to these unless they live outside the catchment area, although already waiting lists have begun.
For upcoming information nights and to apply go to www.tdsb.on.ca and click on Elementary Academies.
Specialty schools
• Girls’ Leadership Academy in Highland Heights Junior Public School, near Birchmount and Finch Aves.
• Boys’ Leadership Academy in The Elms Junior Middle School, near Islington Ave. and Highway 401.
• Vocal Music Academies in Heather Heights Junior Public
School, near Ellesmere Rd. and Scarborough Golf Club Rd., and Ryerson Community School, near Dundas and Bathurst Sts.
• Sports and Wellness: Shoreham Public School, near Jane St. and Finch Ave.; James S. Bell Junior Middle School, near Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Brown's Line; Carleton Village Junior and Senior Public School, near Keele St. and St. Clair Ave. W.
• Health and Wellness: Rene Gordon Elementary School, near the Don Valley Parkway and York Mills Rd., and nearby Donview Middle School.
Note: This article has been edited from a previous version that incorrectly stated the location of James S. Bell Junior Middle School.