Support specialized programs & schools made possible by optional attendance!

So many students have worked so hard to get into these specialized programs and are very passionate about it. Taking away these programs would hinder students and crush their dreams instead of improving their learning experience.

I am the assistant principal flutist in the Vancouver Symphony and I attended the Claude Watson program. It was a privilege and a huge leg up to me to be able to interact on a daily basis with some of the best young musicians in Toronto. The music majors in my year alone went on to study at major prestigious conservatories in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, among others, and most of us have since returned to become significant contributors to Canada's arts scene. Aside from myself, my classmates now hold titled positions in the Calgary Philharmonic and the Winnipeg Symphony, and have played with every major orchestra in Toronto and the surrounding area. I suspect that I wouldn't be the person or the musician I am today without the Claude Watson program and the incredible pool of talent I was immersed in while I was there. It would be a loss to Canada's arts community at large if my peers and I hadn't had this vital program to jump-start our careers.

Providing varied programs for kids with different strength and interests is THE way to respect diversity and equity.

The specialized programs are so successful. I could not believe someone wants to get rid of them!

This is an outrage. These three parents(at least thats what I heard) think they can take the entire program down just because their own kid didn't get in! I go to Claude Watson and I know that we have AMAZING teachers and the art program should NOT be taken down! Of course there will always be some kind of hatrid towards this. So I would like to thank all the people who are supportive of this.

The TDSB Enhancing Equity Task Force would like to phase out specialized programs such as Claude Watson, IB, SATEC and much more! Instead, they would like to implement opportunities in local school clusters.This would effect thousands of students and teachers across the board and would be getting rid of some of the most prestigious programs, not only across Canada, but in North America. Once this is implemented, optional attendance will also be phased out. These new programs that would be implemented would either be worse in quality or require more funding. The reason the current programs are so successful is because of the passion and devotions that went into the creation of them. Their reputations have been built up over many years. This petition is to allow the voice of students, teachers, and parents to be heard!

What use would it do to restrict talented students form their own chosen path if everything is suppose to be 'equitable'? Equitable by definition is 'fair and impartial'. If eliminating these programs is considered 'fair' and 'non-marginalizing' to students all over Toronto WITH talent and passion, then the TDSB has just violated what they stand for. Why eliminate a program that has been praised with highly educated graduating students, and that WORKS? And if the opportunity is to be given to everyone, but not everyone takes it, (for example, not everyone in a smaller high school will want to take art, or technologies, wich means the class may not even RUN) then wouldn't it be easier to just EXPAND ONTO these programs? Seriously, I think this is one of the most idiotic moves the TDSB has ever taken.

Please keep the Gifted Program and Tops Program.

THIS IS SO STUPID. literally i understnad they want to promote equity but its really not because they are taking away our privileges just to help others!!!!!!

Equity doesn't mean giving everyone the same treatment, it means giving everyone what they need to achieve, and getting rid of specialized programs would just mean that more people won't have access to the programs they need to succeed.

Equality of education doesn't mean to sacrifice some special gifted programs. Every kid has the different gifts, those gifted programs supply them the chance to dig out more potential gifts and contribute to the society later. They also need high quality education. Equality means right program for right students.

It’s very regret to hear such comments! The students in the arts program are filtered by by strict audition process, they spend much efforts and time to get in the specialized program, is this fair to them?

The purpose of specialized schools is to allow potential to flourish. Taking away those opportunities and forcing everyone into regular track programs would leave so much potential untapped. Those schools exist for people who want to push themselves harder or are aiming for a specific field. Programs like IB (which absolutely cannot go; international is in the name) and TOPS are designed for science/math-minded people, whereas those like Claude Watson are designed for artists who wish to further their skills. Students enter these programs because they want to. It is not for lack of opportunity that others don't. TDSB isn't promoting equity, it's taking it away.

No two people are same, why same way for education

This is ridiculous. It is counterproductive to TDSB's goal or promoting equity.

Specialized programs highlight academic achievement. Removing them would do more damage than good.

I strongly support the arts and I believe getting rid of any arts programs would be cruel

Artists are the most marginilized and under appreciated people in society. This will further discourage students from striving to become artists, because no groups or support systems will be in place to allow them to nurture their interests. I’d rather have quality over quantity. And why don’t they add more specialized programs to create “equity”, rather than take away everything good about the tdsb.

This is stupid.I can not beleive the TDSB would dare do anything like this.All they are doing is destroying the next generation and phasing out arts and crafts from school and instead teaching simple and stupid material!

Discouraging academic achievement is doing no good to the overall good of the society.