A New Organizational Model For Elementary & Secondary Schools

Robert Kirwan, B.A. (Math), M.A. (Education)
Independent Education & Career Planning Agent

  

   It would appear as if most of the students of the Walden area who are enrolled in the Rainbow District School Board will soon be experiencing what could be a new organizational model for elementary and secondary schools in the province.  

   Board administration has recommended that three elementary schools in Walden be closed and that students be consolidated into a new, much larger school for JK to Grade 6 while all of the Grade 7’s and 8’s would be housed at Lively District Secondary School with the Grade 9 to 12’s.
 
   We are only just beginning to see the effects of a new trend in school organization in this part of the province, but it should be clear that what is being proposed in Walden is inevitable if our school system is going to be in a position to better prepare young people with the skills necessary to become successful contributors to society in the future. The model is working quite well at
Marymount Academy and there are already other schools in the area where elementary and secondary school students share the same building.
  
   The only way schools of the future are going to be able to adequately fulfill their responsibilities is by organizing students in a way which is more conducive to the development of the learning skills necessary for the 21st century. And when you examine the needs of our children, it makes far more sense to offer education in two distinct settings.
  
   Children have one set of needs as they move from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6, and they have a completely different set of needs as they move from Grade 7 to Grade 12. Therefore, the sooner we can move all students from Grades 7 to 12 under one roof, the better. And, unfortunately, that may mean that it is necessary to close some of the smaller elementary schools and build larger, more central ones to accommodate the enrolment from JK to Grade 6.

REFLECTION:

   First of all, quality of education is directly related to the competency of the teachers who are actually working with the children. It doesn’t matter where your son or daughter goes to school. It is the classroom teacher who is going to make the greatest difference in the growth of your child.
 
   Larger, newer schools tend to have the most up-to-date facilities and supplies which assist teachers in providing for the needs of their students.

   The larger the school, the less likely it is that you are going to have a lot of split grades and the more likely it is that students will be organized in a way that is more conducive to meeting their individual needs.

   Larger schools provide principals with a wider selection of staff who may be qualified to provide for the special needs of all students in all grade levels.

   You can therefore do a lot more with your students in a large school setting. Small schools served their purposes when they were first built, but times have changed and we must have the resources to prepare our children for the world of today and tomorrow, not the world we were accustomed to yesterday.

   Secondly, we know that there is going to be a critical need in the workplace for more graduates with skills in the trades areas and the cost of outfitting schools to give young people exposure to this training is enormous. Most secondary schools already have the equipment necessary for the delivery of these specialized programs.

NEW DIRECTION PROMOTED BY GOVERNMENT
 
   For example,
the Liberal government announced in January 2008 that they are about to spend $150 million over the next several years to improve education for students in Grades 4 to 8 by introducing programs such as outdoor education, home economics and shop. It is easy to implement outdoor education programs at any level, but when it comes to home economics and shop, the $150 million won’t even come close to equipping our elementary schools with those facilities. However, moving Grades 7 and 8 into secondary school buildings where those shops and home economics facilities already exist makes much more sense.  The province is also considering starting co-op programs for Grades 7 and 8 so it would make more sense to move them to secondary schools where those programs are already in place.
 
   Education Minister Kathleen Wynne stated “We know that if we're going to be successful in getting more kids through high school and going on to post-secondary or into apprenticeships, they must be fully engaged by the time they get into Grade 9. It's way too late if we wait until Grade 9." 

MORE CONDUCIVE TO TRANSITIONS PROGRAM
 
   It is perfectly clear that the period from Grade 7 through 12 is the time when one discovers his/her true passion for life and when natural talents and aptitudes begin to blossom. The more exposure to a wider variety of options we can provide students from the beginning of Grade 7 right through to graduation at the end of Grade 12, the better.
 
   This re-organization would even benefit the “Grade 7, 8, 9 Transitions Program” which is intended to help students make the transition from elementary to secondary school.
 
   By gathering everyone under the same roof during the six years from Grades 7 to 12, we are better able to offer children a chance to explore the skilled trades, the arts, information technology and all of the other possible paths they can follow. We can also offer them a whole new way of learning and get them involved in positive school based and community based activities that will prepare them take their place in society. Participation in extracurricular sports and activities would be encouraged within a secondary school setting since there are usually so many more things going on at this level than in the elementary schools.
 
   Critics of the new school organization model state that they do not like the fact that their Grade 7 and 8 children may be exposed to the sex, drugs and violence that is often associated with high schools. However, when you speak to parents of Kindergarten and Grade one students they are quite happy with the prospect of removing the Grade 7’s and 8’s from the elementary school settings because of the negative influence those older children have on the younger, more impressionable primary grade children.
 
   However, despite all of our fears and concerns, we must remember that schools are only a “means to an end” for our children. Students are not going to remain in their current schools forever and in this day and age it is quite common for children to be uprooted from their school for other reasons emanating from changes in the lives of their parents. Seldom will you find a Grade 6 class today where all of the students have been together in the same school since JK.
 
   Therefore, if schools are truly a “means to an end”, and if most of the older, smaller schools were built to accommodate the baby boomers who grew up in a different era, then consolidating children into larger, better equipped buildings for JK to Grade 6 and into secondary school buildings for Grade 7 to Grade 12 is something that we simply must consider and move forward with as soon as possible. The children entering school today have a completely different set of needs than the children of yesterday.  We are simply going to have to adjust and get used to it. This is the way it is going to be. Let’s make it work.

 

 
The Learning Clinic is The Private Practice of
Robert Kirwan, B.A. (Math), M.A. (Education), OCT
4456 Noel Crescent, Val Therese, ON P3P 1S8
Phone: (705) 969-7215    Email:    rkirwan@thelearningclinic.ca

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