Support specialized programs & schools made possible by optional attendance!

If you phase out specialized programs, you’ll be making it that much harder for kids to find their passions and actually enjoy school.

Sadly, TDSB proposal still proposes to phase out optional attendance, meaning each child will be forced to attend their neighbourhood school. Problem with that is TDSB does not have the money in short or long term to have full "buffet" programming in each school or cluster of schools. Wiping out optional attendance is wiping out the future for some kids. Equity = having optional attendance in place.

It is insane to kill those successful programs. Those programs have been proved to grow many many talents in the past. And they are Canadian Futures! Yes, we want equality, but why couldn't TDSB considering to learn from those successful program?

Young talented students require these specialty programs to flourish. Trying to achieve equality by shutting down high quality programs does not make any sense to me.

ESA was an incredible experience for me. I'm so grateful that I had the chance to dance every single day while in high school. I am now a TDSB teacher and have experienced myself how much the arts are undervalued and underfunded in the school board. I appreciate the need to increase access but let's please find a way to do that while keeping these specialty schools open.

Save Etobicoke School of the Arts! ESA changed my sister's life for the better, forever! This is nonsense. Make it stop.

I cannot stress how worth it these programs are. I would not be where I am today without Canterbury High School's art's program. I would be heartbroken if someone didn't get the chance to explore the arts in high school because they didn't have the means.

As an autistic and mentally ill child receiving no help or even acknowledgment from regular public schools as far as academic struggles or bullying, I don't think I would have finished high school or even survived if I wasn't afforded the opportunity to change social environments and go to an art high school followed by an alternative school.

As an artist, as a teacher and as a parent/aunt of two ESA grads I can say this extreme measure is not the way to deal with the program at hand. It is reactionary and ill informed in my humble opinion.

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Improve the quality and access to arts education at the elementary level: more itinerant instrumental programs, for every school, what about itinerant Music theatre programs....art, film, etc.... to remove places of excellence does not help the students who feel they don't have access... help them get as much exposure and preparation as possible So they aren't left behind. Don't penalize the students who have advantages! Also, city programming, after school programming must be expanded to serve all Areas, so all young people can be inspired to become Passionate about arts, sports, tech, math... whatever gets them Excited to get up!

Education is about to provide all the kids what they need to achieve their most potentials. My son is in gifted program which works well. Please keep the program, not only for him, but for all the students that fit into the program. Thanks

My specialized arts school gave me the confidence and tools to chase my dream and I've been doing it ever since. I'd HATE if that experience got robbed from other young creative minds.

Former Claude Watson School for the Arts student

As an ESA alumni I can honestly say that without attending that specialized school I would not be the person I am today. Having a creative outlet throughout high school was really beneficial for grades and our mental health. Don’t do this.

Specialized programs are important to the students. Please keep that.

Specialized programs in TDSB is paying the part of most important roles in education system in Canada to build and sustain the competitive edge in the international standard. Without them, the country will keep falling behind from other countries for sure.

As a graduate of the Claude Watson program, I find proposals under your recently published draft report not only saddening but alarming. Under clause (A) of the Task Force's recommendations; you have undoubtedly taken an ambitious and important turn in decreasing differences between schools but unfortunately, the plans that have been sought out to achieve will not only fail to decrease differences, but will make matters worse for both the District and the students overall. As a community member, I envision the result not being limited to a decrease of unique inter and intra-school opportunities for students and a reduction of the prestige and pride that has set the Toronto District School Board apart for many years. Surely, better solutions can be found to address the concerns of the Task Force. Eliminating these programs will be a detriment to the District's legacy and students seeking to take a non-normative approach to education. This approach would have been sound had it been executed years ago; years before programs like Claude Watson had become deeply engrained in the community and had become entities unto themselves. Your decision not only affects current students but also prospective applicants who spend years preparing and envisioning an acceptance from the Claude Watson School for the Arts. As a graduate of the Claude Watson program, I speak on behalf of countless fellow graduates when stating that this program offered one of the highlights of my educational career. From the teachers to the extracurricular activities and opportunities afforded to us, Claude Watson stood apart from a normal high school education as we were able to immerse ourselves in a field and skill to an extent which is only provided university settings. While I am greatly concerned for the opportunities offered to students in marginalized communities, I do not believe that eliminating great programs like Claude Watson will result in an "allocation" of resources to those less fortun

I was a student of the Claude Watson Arts program at Earl Haig and would not be the person or professional I am today without it. It undoubtedly played a pivotal role in my life and phasing out the program would be doing a disservice to the upcoming generations.

Specialized programs and schools, allow the school system to be inclusive because they are successful in meeting the diverse needs of all students. I strongly oppose phasing out specialized programmes & schools.