SGDSB Supports Recommendations of LSHS 7-12 Advisory Committee
Lake Superior High School in Terrace Bay, supplied photo.
TERRACE BAY, ON – Tuesday, May 22nd, Superior Greenstone District School Board heard, as part of their regular meeting, Report #40 from two members of the Lake Superior High School 7-12 Advisory Committee.
Lindsay Costa, a Teacher at Lake Superior High School in Terrace Bay, and Tosha Borutski, a Parent Council Representative from Schreiber Public School, told the board that the Lake Superior High School 7-12 Advisory Committee had met 3 times investigating whether a 7-12 model would be feasible to potentially begin as of September 2013. LSHS, explained Costa, has struggled with small school population and in an effort to save money, the committee discussed possible benefits and disadvantages such a move could have, among these;
ADVANTAGES
- Grade 7/8 students having access to the resources at LSHS like family studies, art, music, science labs, tech facilities and extra-curriculur activies and clubs at the high school that would benefit them
DISADVANTAGES
- Students being bussed on highway
- Potential bullying issues
- Union issues
- Supervision
- Leadership Issues
- Timetabling, and others.
The committee believed that all of these would have to be looked at in more detail if it were to go ahead. The committee, she went on to say, had discussed with Director of Education David Tamblyn, that if LSHS became a 7-12 school a lot of ground work would be needed including much work to convince both students and parents that the change would be a positive move for all schools involved. “We need to do more marketing and promoting this model in our community” reiterated Costa.
The committee had also looked at the issue from the elementary schools’ perspectives, trying to consider what would happen if Schreiber and Terrace Bay Public School were left with only Kindergarten through Grade 6 and how this could possibly be enhanced.
Tosha Borutski then read the formal recommendations from the SGDSB Lake Superior High School 7-12 Advisory Committee to the board;
“We believe further study is needed to determine the implications of our elementary ‘theatre schools’ should the Grade 7 and 8 students be removed.” began Borutski.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
- The Committee recommends that the School Board increase public awareness of the positive aspects of the 7-12 model through open houses, tours at the high school facility and
- That parental concerns pertaining to transportation be addressed,
- That we continue to provide opportunities for elementary students to become familiar with the high school setting through after school programs or, perhaps, even a full day once a month.
Director Tamblyn, and the board, thanked Costa and Borutski, and the advisory committee, for their work. Tamblyn endorsed the report and a motion was passed to implement the recommendations as described by Costa and Borutski.
QUICK FACTS
- View the agenda (PDF) from SGDSB’s May 22, 2012 meeting
- The LSHS 7-12 Advisory Committee included the following members:
SGDSB Administration
David Tamblyn, Director of Education
Kim Asmussen, Principal SCPS & TBPS
Linda Palmer, Prinicipal LSHS
Committee Members
Tosha Borutski, Parent
Sara Curtis, Teacher/Parent
Horst Prager, Teacher
Leslie Blackwood, Teacher (Alternate)
Terry Bell, Parent
Lindsay Costa, Teacher
Barb Maine, Teacher (Alternate)
