A News Brief from Niagara At Large
When the District School Board of Niagara makes up its mind it is going to do something, it does it.
Whether it is closing the only secondary school it operated in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake (as it ultimately did last year), or opening a first-of-a-kind school in Ontario for low-income students, it doesn’t seem to matter how much concern is expressed by people, right up to and including the province’s education minister, Leona Dombrowsky.
This is one school board that – like it or not – sticks to its guns, and so it did this February 22 when a majority of board members voted to move forward with its plans to open the controversial ‘DSBN Academy’ this coming September in Welland.
A motion had been tabled at the February 22 by one school board trustee, Jonathan Fast, to rescind the plan but it was overwhelming rejected by all but one of his fellow trustees in front of gallery of Niagara residents that were split on a school some see as a form of segregation. This January Dombrowsky expressed concern that setting up a special school for low-income students could result in a form of “stigmatization” for the children that go there.
The board insists that the school is not about segregation but providing students from low-income homes the extra attention they need for educators to enroll and succeed at college or university.
Niagara At Large will have more news and commentary on this issue later. In the meantime, we encourage you to share your views in the comment boxes below.
(Visit Niagara At Large at http://www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater Niagara region and beyond.)
Niagara At Large 
CONSULTATION a fine word that defined means COMMUNICATION..
In the past we have seen the NHS type of CONSULTING and NOW
The DSBN type CONSULTING and guess what Betty Lou Souter has in Oar in on the actions of both groups, By invitation only, Behind Closed doors and the other more devious method of censuring members who might speak out a warning as was done to Dr. Topil Abraham
Am I surprised…Hell No the only surprise I have is the realization that this type of Bull…. takes place so often in the Niagara Region and with the same participants pushing the agendas
LikeLike
I find this entire issue frustrating. Of course as a concerned citizen I want to see disadvantaged children given the assistance and encouragement to succeed. This plan doesn’t feel right. First it’s modeled the Preuss School in San Diego through the U. of Cal., San Diego and private donations as a college preparatory school for minorities. Noble indeed, however the DSBN’s proposal is entirely publicly funded through our tax dollars and thus should be accountable to those same taxpayers who are footing the bill. What is also disturbing is $17000.00 to send two groups of DSBN employees to San Diego to learn about the Preuss School again on the public nickel.
Surely, there are successful Charter schools within close proximity to Niagara like Buffalo, New York City or the Great Lakes Region whose funding is largely public and whose main criteria is to assist disadvantaged children.
There is a role for Brock and Niagara College to partner with the DSBN but has this been pursued? There are other organizations that promote excellence in science such as the Canadian Biotechnology Education Resource Centre (CBERC) my brother co-founded in 2000. According to him Brock and the Niagara school districts are not using this resource at all.
The point is there were many options for the DSBN to raise the bar for disadvantaged children but chose an expensive, and non conforming funding model for its program. There needs to be some accountability here.
LikeLike
What makes a school slated for closure because of upgrade and money concerns now become an option for someones new plan? As someone who schooled in the 50’s and 60’s who saw less fortunate rise to the tasks required and of course there was ridicule of people from peers who will always find a way to be big at someone elses expence. It’s a social fact that will not go away with this “lame duck”. Obviously someone is profiting from this or it wouldn’t be suggested. The busing price alone will be exorbant and the stigma of riding this bus will probably do more harm than good. Being with achievers makes you achieve to do better>>
LikeLike
This plan does not surprise me nor shock me, coming from Niagara … even if this plan actually WORKED (which I don’t think it will), but aren’t we only expediting the exodus of even more youth from Niagara Region, as once they secure their college or university training, there will be no jobs to be had here in Niagara, so they will only move elsewhere.
Also, the solution to breaking the cycle of poverty rests in getting the parents out of poverty. It seems that all of these “lame brained” policy makers that are concerned about child poverty don’t seem to think the parent’s poverty has anything to do with it. By continuing to ignore this relatively large elephant in the room of this discussion, I don’t see any success in this program.
LikeLike