By Doug Draper
Welland Riding MPP Peter Kormos has written an open letter to Ontario Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky, slamming plans by the District School Board of Niagara to establish a school for a select group of “poor” students in Niagara as an arrogant act of “apartheid” and “roulette-wheel education.”
Welland Riding MPP Peter Kormos
“This is a repugnant proposal that does nothing to address poverty,” said Kormos, the NDP’s justice minister said the February 2 letter to Dombrowsky on the decision the DSBN made this past month to move forward with plans to bus 150 kids – picked by lottery – from “poor-income families” across Niagara to the old, recently closed Empire Elementary School in Welland.
The Niagara public school board, working on launching this “DSBN Academy” with Brock University, Niagara College and other partners like Betty-Lou Souter’s Community Care agency, argues that by segregating these students and giving them some special attention, it might be possible to improve their chances of going on to college or university.
“This is a co-ordinated, concentrated response to poverty in Niagara,” Kim Yielding, p.r. person for the board told members of the local media lately.
Kormos calls it a response that is “arrogant” and “condescending,” and one that will only further stigmatize the parents and families of children in Niagara who are now suffering the indignities of poverty through loss of jobs or down waging – in many cases where the parents, themselves may have university or college degrees.
The low-income school Niagara’s public board is proposing, says Kormos in his letter to the education minister, “isolates and segregates “poor” children and creates an educational apartheid. It suggests that “poor” children should be kept with their own kind.
Our public system,” continues Kormos in his letter to the minister, “requires that every student, poor or not, in every school have equal access to educational opportunities and special supports if necessary to fulfill their academic potential. The DSBN proposal undermines the fundamentals of public education. … Please condemn this proposal and use all of your authority as Minister of Education to put a stop to the DSBN’s outrageous condescension.”
Niagara At Large is posting the full text of Welland MPP Peter Kormos’ open letter to Ontario’s education minister below. Then scroll down and share your own comments on this issue.
The Hon. Leona Dombrowsky
Ministry of Education, 22nd Floor, Mowat Block, 900 Bay Street, Toronto ON M7A 1L2
Dear Ms. Dombrowsky:
Re: DSBN Academy School
You are no doubt aware of the District School Board of Niagara’s plan to establish an “Academy School” for 150 grade six and seven “poor” students from across Niagara who will be bussed to Welland. It is being described by Board spokespeople as an “anti-poverty” exercise, amongst other things. Students who have even one parent with post-secondary education are not eligible (DSBN doesn’t understand that even college graduates can be poor); the 150 chosen will be selected by lottery (surely roulette wheel education is abhorrent).
This is a repugnant proposal that does nothing to address poverty (those 150 will, at the end of each and every school day, be bussed home to impoverished households). It isolates and segregates “poor” children and creates an educational apartheid. It suggests that “poor” children should be kept with their own kind.
Our public system requires that every student, poor or not, in every school have equal access to educational opportunities and special supports if necessary to fulfill their academic potential. The DSBN proposal undermines the fundamentals of public education.
Please condemn this proposal and use all of your authority as Minister of Education to put a stop to the DSBN’s outrageous condescension.
Sincerely yours
Peter Kormos
(Share your comments on this issue below and visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater Niagara region.)
Niagara At Large 
Years ago one of my son’s friends was absolutely outraged that his mother had received a Christmas basket, as this meant that he was “poor” and his friends and neighbors would know. With this new school, I can guarantee that those children who are accepted by the Board will know they are “different” by being poor. As my mother often said over 60 years ago, it is easier by far to give than to receive. The Board may be thinking that they are “giving” what is best for children, but how do they know? I agree wholeheartedly with Peter Kormos, and would add, the best “gift” the Board can give is to all the children in its care, not just those they deem to fit their specifications.
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This plan to segregate low income students came as no suprise to me when I saw the name of Betty Lou Souter as one of the proponents supporting this preposterous plan.
Her personal involvement in devastating our Southern Tier Health System was not enough ,,,,now the education system in Niagara is the next target of this misguided soul.
Lets hope the publoc outcry will be successful in reversing this decision.
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I wrote to the chair of the Region regarding this proposed DSBN/Souter segregation and his reply was He does not support this dictatorial plan.
P.S
Somehow, someway madam Souter has managed to instill her presence in socially sensitive organizations in the Niagara Region and in so doing she has managed to dictatorially subject the peoples to a malaise that is surely cancerous, evil and beyond the scope of human decency. How she managed to be chosen as the NHS Board chairwoman is an example of malfeasance in its worst form and many people including the writer would like to know who it was that instituted or proposed this selection. Her actions in this capacity were totally dictatorial and led to censoring by the ONA and a complete breakdown of the team work necessary between the Doctors and the NHS. Re; Dr Shragge and her determination to over rule the NHS by laws and keep this person on as the chief of Staff even as the doctors fought to get rid of him. (She threatened Legal Action)
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I am seriously concerned about this, as are others. During the last Municipal Elections, not one of the incumbents, Dalton Clark, Laura Campbell, and the rest, said one word about this while campaigning for theier elected office.
This is ostracizing, marginalizing, deeply distressing. Why would anyone of us ever regard any of the long-time trustees with any trust anymore? Bad politics, certainly. Complete disregard for the public good, that too. Every trustee who ran for re-election, without mentioning this in their campaign, is to be dis-“trusted.” As one who has always, as have most of us, contributed to Community Care St Catharines-Thorold, must now also look askance at Souter and her claims to ‘speak for the downtrodden’.
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I once wrote an article entitled ” How to Fire a Volunteer” It would be good reading material for the Board members of Community Cares and the Board of the NHS. Souters archaic thinking has led them to disasterous results in both Health Care and now the Education field.
P ack her suitcase and she can join her pal Sevenpifer under a palm tree and let good governance with common sense return to Niagara before more damage can be done.
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I ran for DSBN Trustee for St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake in the recent election. I was honoured with 5729 votes, and despite widespread media reports that I won, I actually lost. Many people still think that I won and I want to distance myself from this issue as I believe it is wrong on many levels, as many have eloquently expressed across the media.
During the campaign, we candidates all attended 3 DSBN Trustee Candidate Nights. This idea was NEVER mentioned by the incumbents when discussing issues and proposals to better our education system.
It is notable that at each event, the DSBN hierachy was very well-represented and seated directly in front of me and due to the alphabet, also in front of Dalton Clark and Lora and Lynn Campbell, who were all sitting trustees.
Linda Kartasinki, Jim Watson, the 2 DSBN’s PR staff being Brett Sweeney and Kim Yielding, the Director’s Executive Assistant and others were in attendace. On top of that, on at least one occasion, they videotaped our entire event. Why such interest and monitoring of an event that the public has historically taken such little interest in? Other DSBN events did not apparently have the presence or the taping.
Dalton Clark, Lora Campbell and Lynn Campbell (the latter who was DSBN Vice Chair at the time) should be held accountable as to why they did not disclose this during the election time. I ask the media to do so.
Dalton Clark has been quoted as saying he knew the Academy wouldn’t be popular. Ask him why he didn’t tell us about the Academy before the election!
Don’t forget that the day after the October election, the DSBN sitting trustees voted to move the Don Reilly Centre to NDSS, which is another major matter that was never discussed during the election. That agenda was only posted on election day so non-trustees did not know about it before voting day.
Please make these elected officials accountable. Only the media can do this as the trustees are not responding to the public’s request for accountability.
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Oh my goodness. I cannot believe that we have segregation in our public school system. If there is any politicians that were elected in the Province of Ontario either Federally or Provincially other than Peter Kormos that are in agreement with him please come forward. Betty Lou Souter is not a proud Canadian and not a proud Ontarian if she goes through with this totally distasteful proposal.
I was a poor child going up and when I had to put my address on my application forms for employment I was discriminated against, because I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. That was in the 50’s. Even in school my peers looked down on myself and the others from the area I grew up in with distain.
Poverty is not a childs fault and it took me countless years to realize thet it was not my fault that my parents had to do manual labour on farms in the summer and my dad did winter works programs so that we could have a roof over our heads and food on our table. Hypocrits like Betty Lou Souter and gang need to be put in these families position for 1 month on their incomes and lets see how she likes it.
Most of the Niagara region less than fortunate families have not always been poor, but because our government has allowed employers to leave the country and take the jobs with them either union or non union has contributed to this hardship.
Do Not Brand These Children With This Lablel or we will have countless young people taking their own lives or going down the wrong road in life to be able to have what RICH PEOPLE HAVE!
THIS IS 2011 AND ALL CHILDREN SHOULD HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS TO EDUCATION WITHOUT A LABEL. COME ON PEOPLE LETS GET RID OF THE LIKES OF BETTY LOU SOUTER WHO ALSO CHOSES TO TAKE THE AMERICAN WAY AND SEGREGATE OUR CHILDREN. POOR CHILDREN ARE NOT UN EDUCATABLE JUST POOR!
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This concept is appalling on so many levels. Why not use the funds to improve learning opportunities for all children who struggle regardless of social standing. It’s an embarrassment to our community to be associated with such a backwards and primitive idea.
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it’s encouraging to see knowledgable people stepping forward for our youth and education system. Frankly, as an oold retired person who is a product of the public school system when teachers rode bikes to school. They wanted to teach! I wonder what is going on in class rooms nowdays. My children pay tutors for their children who do
attend the public schools. Personally, I’ve attempted to share my math only to discover their apprehension and understanding of basics is saddly lacking. Our MPP Peter Kormos is right on – all of
our children should be getting their education in public schools – God knows the system is costing us enough. of course, from reading the above comments I realize it’s the Hypocrits NOT TEACHERS who are sucking education out of OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. My experience has shown me, the poor kids will be tomorrows best leaders. By all means, support them now in every public school.
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This type of proposal is not too surprising for Niagara, in my opinion – given the range of experiences I’ve had in listening to stories by low income people and how they are treated by the various people at the top of public agencies (like DSBN) and private organizations (charities, hospitals). It is a recipe that will drain resources out of existing schools where the 95% of the other low income people who do not enrol or do not get admitted into the academy will be. This also promotes an individualistic, internalized definition of poverty’s roots, as opposed to attempting to address its actual causes. It assumes people are poor because they are not educated, their parents are not interested and engaged or that their parents are negligent … addressing poverty of the parents will almost always fix the poverty in the children. See my blog at http://browneassociates.blogspot.com/ where this is addressed in more detail.
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I applaud this initiative, and believe it is a great step in the right direction, though I think the application will require some tinkering. But that’s ok, we will learn as we go on.
When people start going on about how these children will be mocked, segregated and so on, I feel that they are viewing the issue from their own narrow, usually priviledged perspective. Too many studies, stats analysis, anecdotal reports and even, amazingly, conventional wisdom agree on one thing about up-bringing. Children from well-to-do and educated homes do better than those from poorer, less educated homes. Natural selection? I think not. Again the research argues against. Consider the life of a child from a richer, more educated family. They are well-nourished, and constantly exposed to so much richer an environment than a poor kid. They are sent to extracurricular classes and activities, enriching summer camps, and even when they get home are challenged by their parents’ broad knowledge and the no-doubt huge number of books in the house. A poor child, by contrast, often goes to a home where the parents do not have the advantage of extensive education, might be illiterate, probably grew up in similar circumstances of deprivation, certainly are not sent to extra-curricular activities and fancy summer camps which are usually far beyond their reach. A school like this might begin to address this kind of disparity of opportunity in the lives of the less lucky children. Why should today’s Political Correctness stand in the way of tomorrow’s adults’ opportunities? This is an attempt to disrupt the cycle of poverty, and whether it succeeds or not, I applaud the willingness to make the attempt.
The one thing I would suggest in its application though, is remember that the people being catered to are equally people, and their views and opinions in this matter deserve respect and attention. Look up Bill Strickland, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and see what he has accomplished with schools of this sort for older children. But take note of the respect and attention he accords his target “market” (he gets funding from other sources, not his clients) and their preferences. Unless the people who are involved have some say and stake, it is unlikely to succeed.
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To me, the only way to break the cycle of poverty is to get the parents out of poverty. Niagara is a cesspool of poverty with plant closures and the emergence of a major low wage service sector economy, which will do squat to get people out of poverty. These children will still return to the same old, same old, and will still never have the cultural advantages of people from middle and upper incomes. Further, children at these schools will find other ways of demonstrating rankism. This has been known in inner city schools in the United States that primarily serve lower income children. This is called gangs.
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