Dozens of members of a group opposed to building a super high school in North Bay (and closing West Ferris Intermediate and Secondary School) were waving signs and cheering, after honks from motorists along Lakeshore Drive near Judge early Monday morning.
Commuters responded with a steady stream of car horns, although one must only assume that some were objections to the terrible driving habits of other motorists.
This is the target audience for this group. Residents of West Ferris on their way to work whose children and grandchildren would be bussed to the centre of the city if the original preferred option of staff to combine three schools (West Ferris, Widdifield and Chippewa) into one super school at the Chippewa Street site is adopted June 27 when trustees make their final decision public.
Concerned parent Karen Matthews was on hand with her son at the rally. Matthews indicated that her son would be among the first to go to the super school for seventh grade. "Research has shown that it is not ideal for kids to be in a school that size. Kids who are in the middle sector, who aren't high-achieving or special needs, fall through the cracks because there is just not support for them."
Mayor Al McDonald joined the ranks, as did Chamber of Commerce president Peter Chirico and former Chief of Police Paul Cook.
At a meeting Monday at 6:30 p.m. at West Ferris, stakeholders who have applied in advance to speak will have the opportunity to address the board of trustees, with most presentations expected to be on the topic of the high school options. There has been little opposition to combining three grade schools into one school at the current WJ Fricker site.
The ARC committee recommended a two-school system with schools to be renamed and rebranded at the current Widdifield and West Ferris sites. The two schools were recommended to be rebuilt, but refurbishing seems more likely in this scenario due to budget constraints.
NNDSB staff recommendations included a refurbished two-school system, with the Chippewa site included as a possibility, in addition to Widdifield of the north-end site. This was the same group that proposed the three-to-one school in the first place.
Career educator Garth Goodhew, who spoke vehemently against the proposal at an ARC committee meeting in February, was on hand Monday morning at the corner of Lakeshore Drive and Judge Avenue.
"Our main goal is to make certain that the super school is not built here in North Bay. A high school of 2,200 students, as shown by educational research, it just doesn't work. The research tells us that high schools of 800-1000 do a number of things. One, you can offer a very wide range of options. Two, it's a much more personal setting. A really outgoing youngster will survive no matter what we do," said Goodhew, adding that teenagers at risk will more easily find support systems in a smaller school setting.
