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Bluewater secondary education at a tipping point |
Education/Letter To Comment on this article Click Here |
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Dear Citizens of Saugeen Shores:
Although a shrinking student population is starting to affect Saugeen District, it remains an excellent secondary school. Not only does SDSS offer the full spectrum of vocational and academic courses, it also features a range of extra-curriculars rare for a school of this size, such as musical theatre, and football. As long as enrolment remains above 650 students, there is no good reason why SDSS cannot continue to offer such a broad range of opportunity for your young people. Unfortunately, our board faces declining enrolment as our communities undergo demographic changes. There are simply not as many teenagers as there used to be. Twenty years ago, SDSS had about 1100 students. At this moment, secondary education in Bluewater is at a tipping point. Should the trustees vote to spend budget money to maintain exceedingly small high schools, and so vote against supporting the variety of student opportunity available at secondary schools like SDSS, all students in Bluewater, including those at Saugeen District, will see the available range of educational experience shrink to the point where many will not be able to pursue their talents and interests during and after school. The schools will simply become too small to support enough staff to teach, supervise, coach, facilitate and mentor as many programs as we now offer. What’s more, there will not be enough students to adequately fill a number of optional courses, clubs and teams. To earn their post secondary prerequisites, some students will be forced to complete courses on-line. Should the trustees choose to close high schools exceedingly small according to the Ministry of Education’s funding formula, and subsequently enrol those students at secondary schools including SDSS, they will vote to give all students in Bluewater access to the kind of fine arts, sports, shops, music, and optional academic courses our current SDSS students enjoy. Not only that, but in mandatory courses students will receive instruction appropriate to their individual aptitudes and abilities, something much less likely to occur in split level classes. The undersigned teachers are determined that Saugeen District Secondary School remain a place where your teenagers have access to a full spectrum of academics, fine arts, technological training, bands, athletics, and required courses at levels appropriate to the individual student. These teachers believe that young people who have access to such variety have much better chances to achieve personally motivating and fulfilling futures – something we all hope our children will find.
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Your trustees have not heard from you. Please let them know that you support giving all students access to the broad educational experience offered by secondary schools like SDSS. You can find their email addresses at www.bwdsb.on.ca – “Meet Your Trustee”. Adrian Kahgee Al Walker Alyssa Dunlop Anne Marie Benedict Bethany Boyd Bill Madden Cheryl Porter Christine Hilbig Dave LaFlamme Deb Bell Erin O’Sullivan George Condy Ian Burbidge Jan Sanagan Jennifer Frankum Jodi Combe Jodi Mahon Joe Chappell Jonna Ebel Keith Day Kevin Darlington Lesley Parker Lesley Turcotte Lucy Watts Margaret Wysman Mark McNeill Michelle Hasson Nancie Darlington Smith Norm Stoner Pat Joynt Pete Buttenaar Randy Millar Richard Devereaux Shannon Ferguson Stephanie Cameron Susan Walker Tamara Fenton Tim Smith Tom Franklin Scrolling stops when you move your mouse inside the scroll area. You can click on the ads for more
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