Support specialized programs & schools made possible by optional attendance!

We, as parents with two talented kids attending TOPS program and Claude Watson School for the Arts, strongly disagree with the proposed changes to eliminate the disparities of schools. On the contrary, we believe competition and varieties should exist to meet the different needs of the students. General schools should be encouraged to learn from those successful programs and improve their quality of education. Eliminating those wonderful programs is harmful to the existing public education system. Another concern is how practical the proposed changes are. Are teachers well prepared? Are students well prepared? Are schools well prepared? It is not a trivial to ask teachers to teach students of all levels. The economics of scale tells us it's always cost efficient to educate students with similar needs as a group not individually Does TDSB have the extra resources and expertise to scatter them among different schools? Are there any North America City implement similar changes in their education system? And what are the results or feedbacks? We certainly don't want our kids be the guinea pigs, as these decisions will have significant impact on their future development. With the intention to attract high tech companies and booster local economy, Ontario just strategically decided to increase 25% STEM graduates over the next 5 years. In our opinion, TDSB needs more schools specialized in science, arts to better prepare students for future needs. TDSB should increase the number of specialized schools instead of eliminating them so more students have opportunities. People have different ability levels, and the needs of children with greater ability also need to be accommodated. Equity doesn't necessarily mean treating everyone the SAME way, it should mean equal consideration and accommodation for ALL the students, including both fast learners and slow learners. It is ridiculous to sacrifice the needs of these talented kids under the name of equity just to make som

I don't believe that phasing out special programs can be beneficial for their current participants. My special concern is gifted program where kids who were not interested in studying while in usual class suddenly thrive and show their full potential. One teacher of the usual class cannot accommodate learning possibilities of all the students with different studying capabilities.

Both of my children attended a specialized arts school. They benefited greatly from the chance to bond with like-minded creative people. In their later professional careers they soared in both the arts and the sciences. The specialized schools nurture different and exciting ways of thinking. Please don't phase them out. Aiming for generalized mediocrity is never a good idea.

As an alumni, parent and staff member of Earl Haig SS, I find this action to be the wrong direction for the TDSB to be going in. We need to ensure that all avenues of ones excellence is brought to the top not minimized.

The effort to phase out specialized education is an incredibly short-sighted miscalculation. Students first. More funding, not less.

To achieve equality,enforcing uniformity in education is worst possible kind , which rather diminishes the passion for learning in the talented than increase those in the others.

diversify is the first word that I learned when I just landed in Canada. While the basis of society is changing

As a former CWSA student, I am opposed to TDSB from Phasing out Specialized Programs. Access to these specialized programs should be available through the public system not only be available to those who can afford them in a private school.

Etobicoke School of the arts fostered my love for, and extensive career in, contemporary arts and as a community organizer.

I am a product of specialized programs and schools, I attended Claude Watson School for the Arts. My daughter now goes to a specialized school. Not all children fit in the same box and need different learning tools and structure.

Things called "Task Force" should not be in the education system.

as a former CWSA student, one of the originals, I completely oppose any motion or action that aims to phase out specialized arts programs. these programs are where many students can thrive. Arts are an integral part of our culture and society and should never be seen as less important than the core subjects.

ESA absolutely offered me the most inclusive space I had ever experienced and has completely shaped my life path in an incredible way. There needs to be another, more creative way to address the issues at hand rather than shutting the school. That would be an absolute tragedy.

Both my children benefited greatly from the CWSA program. They are both adults now and I see how the program helped them in their lives.

As a former student I can attest to the effectiveness of specialized programs. If your concern is that the student body are not culturally diverse enough, then you need principals from ALL schools recommend the programs to their students.

Please keep specialised programs. It opens up doors which otherwise remains closed to different segments of our city.

Absolutely ridiculous idea to even put this out there as a recommendation. These kinds of programs are so needed in the system. I am sick and tired of things being watered down to accommodate the lowest common denominator. If we continue on with this typer of thinking, we won't be spitting out any remarkable kids at all. My Son is in the gifted program right now and I am so glad he got in. He is with like minded kids and was wasting away at his old school. He is excelling now and is far more involved in everything (in and out of school) because of it. He will most likely be auditioning for one of these schools you are trying to shut down, or diminish. I don't really want the future of his education stunted because of some sort of 'equity' initiative. On paper, it looks noble...but in reality, we all know that what it means is that the kids at the bottom don't move forward...the kids at the top end of the spectrum are pulled down so that the board can have data stating that the equalization is working. That's how it seems to work in all parts of our society. Levelling it out never benefits the kids at the top. Please reconsider this!!!

I was in the first grade four class of Claude Watson School for the Arts. I have fond memories of how my parents told me that they had signed me up for a weekend arts camp. They did not want me to be aware that it was in fact an audition for a new school. "Camp" ended and half way through grade three I was told by my parents I would be going to a new school in September. At first I did not want to leave the friends I had, but come September, I met and made new friends that have proven to be friends for life! Not only that, I remember how we were vigorously tested during the years I attended Claude Watson School for the Arts. We had to do aptitude tests in all academic subjects so we could be monitored as to how we were doing in keeping with the standards of the province at the time. We always scored one to two grades higher than the standard at which we were supposed to be at. My arts and academic education came to an end at grade 8 when I moved overseas to an International School where there were arts classes, but no where near the level of expertise and quality of what I experienced at CWSA. I came back to Canada and finished my high school at Victoria Park Secondary school as it offered the International Baccalaureate program which I had begun in Europe. To this day, I feel that Claude Waston gave me the most well rounded education of the three schools that I attended. The environment was positive. Students were encouraged to explore their artistic interests. And most importantly, education was not segmented into subject matter. I remember how we made masks in visual arts class only to incorporate those masks in developing a routine with them in Mime class. Puppets were also made and for drama class we used those puppets to write plays that were performed for parents and fellow students. The library was well used and the Librarian was as well known to the students as were the teachers. Students from older grades mentored the younger students. Teaching was from y

As a private Educational Consultant and Academic Coach, I have seen dozens of young lives saved (both in the figurative and literal sense) by the specialized programs offered in arts-based schools. Not all learners fit into the round holes that were designed several decades ago, and which the TDSB insists on perpetuating! Trying to force square pegs into these round holes only results in students who loathe school, who tend to demonstrate academic and social struggles, and who often develop mental illness.

I spent five years of my elementary and middle school education in a gifted program, and four years in the math and computer science (MaCS) program at William Lyon Mackenzie C.I.. The combined experience of a classroom with like-minded individuals, and math and enrichment centred curriculum inspired my interest in the sciences and has lead me towards the academic success I have achieved so far and will continue to achieve. Specialized programs allow immersion for students with specific interests, fostering an environment for academic and artistic exceptionality. I might not be in the position I am in, working towards my Bachelor of Sciences degree with goals of practicing medicine if not for the environment I've studied in for the past nine years. My sister, who is in the Claude Watson program at Earl Haig, is able to take a surplus of all of the visual arts courses that she could ever want, many of which wouldn't be available at non-specialized schools. Getting rid of programs such as these would be a huge mistake. The variety that these offer allow for students to learn in the proper environment for each individual. It is not "unfair" or "inequitable" for opportunities to be available to those who would thrive better by making use of them.