Brantford Accommodation Review St' Pius X School St' Bernard School St' Mary School

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Brantford Accommodation ReviewSt. Pius X
SchoolSt. Bernard SchoolSt. Mary School

• Presentation to Accommodation Review Committee
  (ARC)
• October 6, 2009

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Ministry Directive

• On October 31, 2006, the Ministry of Education
  issued Pupil Accommodation Review Guidelines to
  provide direction regarding public accommodation
  reviews undertaken to determine the future of a
  school or group of schools.
• The guidelines are to ensure that decisions
  regarding school closures are made with the full
  involvement of the local community.

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Contd

• The Ministry guidelines recommend accommodation
  reviews should focus on a group of schools rather
  than examine a single school.
• The guidelines require school boards to develop a
  school valuation process using a generic School
  Valuation Framework that assesses four
  considerations.

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Considerations

• Value to the student.
• Value to the community.
• Value to the school board.
• Value to the local economy

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Value to the Students

• Quality of the learning environment at the
  school
• Student outcomes at the school
• Range of course or program offerings
• Range of extracurricular activities and extent of
  student participation
• Adequacy of the schools physical space to
  support student learning
• Adequacy of the schools grounds for healthy
  physical activity and extracurricular activities
• Accessibility of the school for students with
  disabilities
• Safety of the school
• Proximity of the school to students/length of bus
  ride to school.

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Value to the School Board

• Student outcomes at the school
• Range of program or course offerings
• Availability of specialized teaching spaces
• Condition and location of the school
• Value of the school if it is the only school
  within the community
• Fiscal and operational factors (e.g., enrolment
  versus available space, cost to operate the
  school, cost of transportation, availability of
  surplus space in adjacent schools, cost to
  upgrade the facility so that it can meet student
  learning objectives).

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Value to the Community

• Facility for community use
• Range of program offerings at the school that
  serve both students and community members (e.g.,
  adult ESL)
• School grounds as green space and/or available
  for recreational use
• School as a partner in other government
  initiatives in the community
• Value of the school if it is the only school
  within the community.

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Value to the Local Economy

• School as a local employer
• Availability of cooperative education
• Availability of training opportunities or
  partnerships with business
• Attracts or retains families in the community
• Value of the school if it is the only school
  within the community

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Accommodation Review Committee

• The Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) will
  consist of
• One trustee, normally a trustee representing the
  area under study
• The appropriate Superintendent of Education
• The Associate Director, Corporate Services
  Treasurer
• From each affected school
• the school principal or designate
• one teacher
• one non-teaching staff member
• three parents, one of whom will be a school
  council chair or designate

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Committee Chair

• The Board will appoint a Chair of the
  Accommodation Review Committee, who will not be a
  trustee. The Chair will convene and chair
  meetings, and will, in cooperation with the
  Associate Director, ensure that the Committee
  successfully carries out its obligations under
  this Policy.

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4 Public meetings

• At the first public meeting, describe mandate,
  outline study process, and give the public a
  briefing on the data and issues to be addressed.
  The Committee will also describe the School
  Valuation Framework. The Committee will receive
  input.
• At the second public meeting, the ARC will
  present its Draft School Valuation Factors with
  respect to the schools under consideration and
  will receive community input.
• At the third public meeting, the ARC will provide
  community information on the options to be
  considered and will receive community input.
• At the fourth public meeting, the ARC will
  present its Draft School Valuation report and
  recommendations to the public and will receive
  community input. The Committee may make changes
  to the report based on feedback at the meeting.

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Timelines

• Notify community within 10 days of establishing
  ARC
• First public meeting no earlier than 60 days
  after appointment
• ARC will report to Board no earlier than 90 days
  after appointment and no later than 120 days
• Administration will report to Board no earlier
  than 30 after ARC report

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Exceptions

• Where a replacement school is to be rebuilt by
  the board on the existing site or located within
  the existing school attendance boundary
• When a lease is terminated
• When a board is considering the relocation of a
  grade or grades, or a program, where the
  enrolment in the grade or grades, or program,
  constitutes less than 50 of the enrolment of the
  school
• When a board is repairing or renovating a school
  and the school community must be temporarily
  relocated to ensure the safety of students during
  the renovations
• Where a facility has been serving as a holding
  school for a school community whose permanent
  school is under construction or repair.

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Purpose of Accommodation Review Committee (ARC)

• The purpose of an ARC is to ensure that in
• keeping with its obligation, Board staff and
• members of our Catholic Learning Community
• consistently be aware of best educational
• practices, assess the effectiveness of current
• situations and make appropriate decisions to
• ensure suitable and equitable learning
• environments for all students.

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What is an Accommodation Review

• An Accommodation Review is a public
• process where a school or group of
• schools undergo an assessment to
• consider possible boundary changes,
• redirection of specialty programs, or
• school consolidation with the intent of
• ensuring an equitable learning
• environment for all students.

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Why an Accommodation Review at this time

• ST. PIUS/ ST. BERNARD
• Ministry of Education announced an opportunity
  for capital investment in school system, the
  Prohibitive to Repair program.
• Evaluated the cost of bringing a school to its
  original condition vs. the cost of a new facility
  using a Facilities Condition Index (FCI)
• under this program Board staff recommended St.
  Pius and St. Bernards for possible funding.
• through discussions with Ministry staff a
  proposal for consolidation was developed.

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Why an Accommodation Review at this time

• St. Marys
• In 2008 the Board retained Watson and Assoc. to
  prepare enrolment projections for the next 15
  years.
• The review indicated that the enrolment at St.
  Marys would decline to less than 100 pupils in
  the next few years.

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Process

• ST. PIUS/ ST. BERNARD
• Complete Pupil Accommodation Review
• Work with the Ministry to finalize funding
  approval which reflects the outcome of the Pupil
  Accommodation Review (PAR) process.
• If Board proceeds with consolidation
• Board responsible for ensuring costs are within
  benchmarks.
• Board must receive approvals for key milestones
  before committing. Project Scope
• Tender
• Costs over benchmark

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Process

• ST. MARYS
• Complete Pupil Accommodation Review
• Review options
• If Board proceeds with consolidation
• Review needs of receiving school.
• Identify funding for improvements, if any

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Board Project Enrolment
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School Projected Enrolment