Support specialized programs & schools made possible by optional attendance!

I can't overstate the impact that the education I received at ESA has had on my life. From learning how to think critically at an early age to a robust exposure to art that complimented my education and that continues to inform my work as a designer, ESA is like no other school in the TDSB. The students who apply and are admitted to this school receive an artistic and rigorous education unlike any other in the district, and go on to fulfilling post secondary and graduate careers, and many go on to continue their artistic work in the Canadian artistic community. studies have shown and continue to show the impact arts have on education, and ESA is the best of the best. To lose this school would be an absolute shame. This is where the best kind of teaching is done.

Speciality programs are necessary. Seek out ways to include marginalized students instead of eliminating these long standing, excellent educational schools.

I loved this school. It made me who I am today. These specialty programs are necessary for those of us who don't fit into conventional programs. I've known some students who turned their whole life around because of attending ESA. Please don't shut it or the other specialty programs down.

The driven for our society to move up is: Reward those who want to do more and better! Parents will seek private education if they want their kids to build up skills in current connected global. What kind of family will be impacted mostly if TDSB cancel the special programs: Lower income family; Single parent; Less educated parents... Their kids will not be given equal opportunity, even though they are talented and hard working kids.

Don't be robotic poilitical right ,Respect the kid's learning character, provide those kids who have more intelligence an opportunity to keep learning motivation, not just kill their learning enthusiasm

This is outrageous

Not happy if TDSB stop these special programs.

Better diversity for our children, exposes them to find new interests and develop them

Specialty schools allow diverse student needs to flourish.

I sign this petition

Going to an arts school was incredible beneficial for me as a student, considering the way I learn is arts based and I wouldn’t have gone to the program I’m in now in university nor have been the same person if I had not gone to an arts school.

The specialized program should not be cancelled. It will be losing opportunity for the group of people who have talents on certain area.

Education should be catered for students’ needs. To remove Specialty Program under the name of “equality” is totally unacceptable.

Don't phase out specialty schools! They create wonderful opportunities for kids who would not otherwise succeed in the regular system. Changed my life.

We've got to keep the things that have helped people thrive. If specialized programs are to be phased out, one must be selective and observe the well-being of the students in these programs, and at least keep the programs that have helped people feel freer in their tenure of education.

Rosedale heights is the reason I was able to find what I want to do in life and helped to get a head start on those dreams. If it wasn't for that school I wouldn't be on the path to the career I am and be fulfilling my life goals.

To make society work, we have to invest in children first.

Kids are different from each other. There have to be special programs for special groups of kids. This is a common sense!

Special programs have their place! There is no point to create many schools with mediocre programs, but nothing exceptional! It's totally unrealistic.

Going to Etobicoke School of the Arts changed my life. When I first heard about the school, I was living in a bachelor apartment with a family of four. We didn’t have the money for extracurricular activities, so I would stay home everyday and draw; always wishing I had a space or community with the same interestes. So when I heard about this school, it felt like a safe haven I had to go to. I don’t know if I would have pursued the arts after high school if it wasn’t for ESA. It opened so many doors, prepared me with the skills and support to dare to think of going after my dreams. It was this amazing outlet to funnel my creativity, all the while encompassing me with likeminded individuals. The community post-graduation has been equally as inspiring. Watching the programs grow to afford even more opportunities for the younger generations is a site to see. I can’t imagine the chances that would be missed, or the students who might have otherwise been lost if the TDSB follows through with their proposed equity cuts. It would be a tragedy for the arts.