SCHOOL CLOSURES AND THE ‘BIG BOX SCHOOL’

1. SCHOOL CLOSURES AND THE ‘BIG BOX SCHOOL’ (In BC)

2. Between the 2001-02 and 2005-06 • school years, BC has seen the closure • of 134 public schools. • Declining enrolment in virtually every district is to blame, according to B.C.'s Ministry of Education.

3. Asked how concerned they are about schools • closing, fully 75 per cent of the public express concern. • As to how to handle the problem, 79 per cent support a special government funding initiative to keep schools open, with close to half (47 per cent) strongly supporting this kind of initiative. -recent public opinion research conducted by CUPE BC.

4. Why is it good for the system? More money ! • Under Ministry of Education guidelines, • school districts must have an average • utilization rate of 100 per cent for their • elementary schools or 95 per cent for all schools • district-wide to qualify for capital funding to build • new schools. Improvements! • New buildings can be built, old buildings can be improved • streamlined collection for buses, school transit - fewer cars on • the road better for the environment. *** by acting prudently now we can avoid catastrophe in the future***

5. CENTERING THE COMMUNITY! • school trustees hope that closing a limited number of schools will • lead to more stability and better prospects for the schools • remaining in the district. • larger schools are a product of increased population density and improved public transit services, and thus tailor well with plans to reduce CO2 emissions. Eleanor Bond, Elevated Living in a Community-Built Neighbourhood (from iSome Cities series)(1998),acrylic on line

6. O’Neill is mindful of the fact that while the Liberals continue to increase • funding to private and independent schools, public schools like Forest • Grove are forced to close their doors because of reduced enrolment, • invariably caused by Liberal economic policies that have caused • thousands to move away from BC’s so-called “heartland.” “What will it take to wake this government up to the fact that their cost-cutting and re-engineering in education will burden this province for years to come, by taking away good quality, accessible educational services?” - Barry O’Neill, president of CUPE

7. Why is it not the best solution? (bad) The future….. • We are currently in a period when public school enrolment is declining in most districts largely due to demographic realities. We also know that by 2015, and perhaps earlier, enrolments will likely start to increase again. The rural communities…. 2 hour bus rides After-school play Extra-curricular activities Billeting Public Space • Marie Beck, a mother in McLeese Lake. "Can they handle being on the bus two hours a day?" she asks. "Can mom and dad handle being away from their kids Monday to Friday? What are these people doing? How can they mess with our lives like they are? I don't get it!" • Parents, workers and school boards in some districts have agreed to fewer public • school days to keep their community schools open • While the government and school boards often encourage walking to school as a form of healthy exercise and an environmentally responsible choice, school closures remove that option for many children.

8. BIG BOX SCHOOLS "Big box schools, just increases the chance of failure, as students cease being individuals and become numbers.” “The bigger and more encompassing any system becomes, the less attention it can pay to the individual components of that system.” "When a school closes, young families don't want to settle in that community because there is no school," according to BCTF's Lanzinger. "So there is a downward spiral for that community." “Big box schools, just increases the chance of failure, as students cease being individuals and become numbers. No wonder kids do drugs and tune out!” http://thetyee.ca/News/2007/09/07/BogBoxSchools/

9. And more BIG BOX SCHOOLS…. “In the interior thousands of kids are sitting on buses for 3-4 hours. Our nearest highschool is about 60 km. This means 80 or more for some kids, with the buses having to make dozens of stops both ways. Our neighbour's daughter sat on the buses for 12 years and she's now one year from her Master of Science with honors, planning for her Doctor of Science. Others push brooms, but it is their choice.” “Our son like all children in this area have been and still are doing, sat on the bus for 3 1/2 hours every day when attending highschool, but we accepted this when we moved here.” “Vancouver has at least 2 more 'big box' schools, John Oliver and Winston Churchill. I don't know the student populations at present but both have held around 3000 at times in the past. The shops, science labs etc. were excellent. The kids that get lost in the education system tend to get lost no matter what size the school is unless there is someone looking out for them.” “As for densification, there's no question that it's profitable for developers. It's also better for environment as it reduces overall individual consumption.”

10. And one more…. “What matters is not the size of the school, but the quality of it. Large schools can pool resources and offer the kinds of programs and facilities most small schools can only dream of, from larger and better-stocked libraries, to athletic facilities, to science labs, to fine arts studios, to auto repair shops.”

11. Some Questions to ponder, to discuss….. Could big-box schools encourage a more worldly outlook on life for students who get to travel to other communities and come in contact with many different people? LOCAL vs. GLOBAL vision ???? Do you think that the trend towards big-box schools is more feasible for the future than maintaining rural, more sparsely populated schools? Is it okay to sacrifice the valuable time of a child in order to include them in an educational trend that could perhaps benefit them, but perhaps not ? Gordon Neufeld and others have stated that it is very important to have an emotional connection with students in order to promote school success. How do you do that in a big box school?

12. http://www.bctf.ca/IssuesInEducation.aspx?id=10398 http://www.cupe.bc.ca/index.php4?id=1993