To Relevant High Society Board Members and Administration,

RE: PETITION FOR REVERSING THE CLOSURE DECISION

The decision made by Relevant Society to shut down the high school graduation program grades (10-12) has been rather shocking to the families of not only the High school students but also to the families of the Elementary school children. We, the parents are not clear as to why the school has made this decision as the newsletter that accompanied the re-registration has not given clear indications as to why such drastic steps have been taken without consulting the parents. The school chose to announce the closure with 2 paragraph explanation which is not only unprofessional but rather disrespectful to the families that have been a great part of Diamond and Relevant school community and a contributor to the school growth and success as well.

This is a formal petition to request the Society to reverse their decision. This petition is supported by the High school families and the Elementary school families. We are requesting Relevant to recognize that the step to petition is due to the fact that we love the school and appreciate the service, Education and safety the school provides for our children.

Below are the reasons for this petition;

1. There is no clear explanation about the closure. The reasons about creating more space, focusing on middle school, and parking lot are not concrete enough to justify eliminating the graduation program.
2. The school does may realize that parents who choose to enrol their children in a private Elementary school have a goal in mind for their children to graduate from a private high school. The decision to shut down high school does not favour the Elementary program and so many parents feel their efforts driving to the school and paying for school is wasted especially if children are to end up in the public school stream anyway during crucial high school years.
3. The school expressed their intent to focus on middle school failing to realize that it will cease to exist after grade 7. Parents will not enrol their children for grades 8 & 9 just to then pull them out again and go through the adjustment phase in another high school.
4. Relevant students are doing well and are highly ranked in the district compared to other schools. There is no evidence that lack of space or lab or resources is a factor that is hindering the school’s performance in any way.
5. The school should have consulted with parents prior to making a decision. Parents are stakeholders who are greatly affected by this decision. Many parents have moved closer to the school, have multiple children in the school (in Elementary and high school) and are now in the midst of considering pulling their children out of Elementary school as they cannot be driving distances to pick up and drop off. We are not sure if enough thought was given to the closure decision especially thinking from a parent’s perspective.
6. A school unlike any other organization is a community where not only there is an exchange of goods and services but rather community connections and long lasting friendships are made. A decision of shutting down with one year notice (not thinking about how students would connect and integrate into other schools especially the upper grades) speaks volumes on how the school is run and managed. This has indeed effected parents’ perception of the school and has created an uncertainty as we are reluctant as to what the future plans will be. Another letter or notice shutting down the entire school may follow? We can’t really tell what is going on and there is no transparency as to what the real reasons are.

We are expecting the school to hold a meeting with all parents rather than a “small group at a time” approach. Due to the sensitivity of the matter, the school will have no other choice than to meet with all the parents as not doing so is very disrespectful for the parent community. We will hold off on re-registering (all grades) until we hear from the school. Again, the intent of the petition is to consider reversing the decision of closure and make a commitment to parents in writing.

Thank you in advance for your time.