WWJr Major School Change Brief - 29 October 2015

Westwood Junior High School - St Lazare

LBPSB 2015 Major School Change Brief Submitted by the 2015-2016 Governing Board

Consultations and process: The Westwood Jr (WWJr) 2014-2015 Governing Board discussed

Major School Change at two meetings in the spring of 2015, and prepared a draft brief for this

first meeting of the 2015-2016 Governing Board, held on 29 September 2015. The community

was consulted in the process in the following manner: first, the school principal sent a letter to all

members of our community outlining the Major School Change Process, and included the email

address of the Governing Board Chair so that anyone could provide input. Second, all members

of our community were invited to attend a special meeting about Major School Change, held in

advance of the June 2015 regular meeting. Third, the 2014-2015 Governing Board met with

members of the Westwood Senior High School Governing Board sub-committee in the spring of

2015, to discuss and share ideas around Major School Change, since our two schools are closely

linked. Finally, our draft brief was circulated to the Westwood Senior (WWSr) High School

immediately after our September 2015 meeting, and members of our community were given

opportunity to view and comment on the Major School Change Brief, as the draft was emailed to

our community in early October 2015. This final brief was unanimously approved at the 27 Oct.

meeting of the Governing Board.

Status Quo: Fundamentally, WWJr is a school that "works" and it needs to stay as it is: a grade 7

and 8 school in St Lazare. Everyone involved with the school, and the parent community, feels

that a "junior" school in our region is an excellent way for our children to transition from their local

elementary schools to the high school level. This transition can be a difficult one, socially and

academically, and as such, WWJr offers a welcoming environment for our kids to grow into

teenagers. We see significant problems with altering, in any way, the grade levels at WWJr, and

our colleagues at WWSr feel the same way. From their perspective, students entering grade 9,

from WWJr, are well positioned for the final three years of their high school experience.

Overall, the building and grounds of WWJr is exceptional: the school is well situated in the

community, and the local community, on a regular basis, uses its facilities. The school is a true

asset for St Lazare. The school is relatively new, has excellent infrastructure, and has good

classrooms, office space, cafeteria, athletic facilities, and gymnasium.

Change: We are well aware of the budgetary issues that the school board is facing, and things

have to change, and WWJr is not immune to this, especially since the school is not at capacity.

We present, below, some ideas, under four headings, that we feel will help increase our

enrolment, and help maintain our school as a vibrant learning environment.

1. Demographics: We believe that the school board could consider some re-zoning to help

increase enrolment of WWJr. As a specific example, Les Cedres could be included in catchment

area for WWJr (they currently are bussed on-island, to Macdonald High School, which arguably

is a long distance through less than ideal traffic conditions). Part of this arguments is based on

how students attended elementary school with a group of children in Les Cedres, but then would

WWJr Major School Change Brief - 29 October 2015

have to split up for high school depending on their zone, which could be just blocks apart. Keeping

a cohort of students together from elementary school (e.g., from Evergreen or Birchwood) on to

the transition to high school, is important. This would not only help WWJr with increasing

enrolment into the future but could be much more important into the future as development in Les

Cedres continues. The school board cold consider re-zoning as a potential option for this Major

School Change process.

2. Building usage: We see potential is using the school for an adult education complex, in

evenings. The off-island population has grown considerable over the past decade, and will likely

continue to do so. The school board could consider WWJr or WWSr as an ideal location for adult-

education that would serve a growing population. Traveling onto the Island of Montreal is never

easy, and is a considerable distance for those interested in adult education. Any movement

towards using the school as an adult education complex would require more detailed consultation

with the local community, and would have to be done in consultation with WWSr as either schools

could be used for this. Related, although some of our facilities are used by the local community

off-hours, there is still opportunity for more usage of the building after-hours.

3. Transportation: We have significant transportation needs for our school, given the large

catchment area for WWJr. Although busses are expensive, they are essential so that school-age

children have access to public education. We do, however, reiterate the need for after-school

buses (at least Mondays) and bus routes need to be increased. This will cost, but will have

benefits in the long-term, as additional sports and activities could keep students engaged after-

school, in turn helping to make the school a more attractive and popular option for families in the

region. In the long-term, we see this as helping the enrolment at WWJr.

4. Programs: We believe strongly that programming at WWJr is excellent, and we argue that

current programs should continue. In particular, the Matrix Program is at capacity, and many

families in the area see that program as a viable alternative to local private schools in the region.

We also suggest that it may be possible to consider a sport concentration program for WWJ,

perhaps something like hockey program. We do see opportunity for growth in enrolment at WWJr

with these options, especially given the early end-time for the school. Also, the proximity to local

facilities (e.g., St Lazare sports complex) is an advantage. We are currently content to keep our

French programs as they are.

To finish, we would like argue that the board has a larger responsibility to communicate effectively

about the excellence of its school, including off-island schools. We know that LBPSB has very

good programing, excellent graduate rates, and a teaching and administrative staff that are

exceptional. Families in the area, however, often look to other school boards and to private

schools for their children, and the reasons are often not based on objective and rational reasons.

The board could benefit long-term by investing in a strong communications strategy about the

excellence of its schools, and get into the local communities to work to stop the flow of children

selecting other boards, or private schools, for the wrong reasons. We believe the right kind of

sustained marketing and promotion can help us increase enrolments in some of the schools, and

WWJr would certainly benefit from such efforts done by the board.