Lambert Hall
It's a sad comment, not only on the public educational system, but on education in general when a school is forced to close because of a lack of support in the community.

Lambert Hall was started four years ago with a vision of providing an alternate source of education. Jacalene Scott, owner of the school located at Maple Square Mall in Port Elgin, wanted the community to have an option when it came to the education of its children.  Unfortunately, she got little support from the local community.

"We only had two students from Port Elgin, five from Southampton and the remainder were from the Saugeen First Nations.  From the outset, we wanted to provide a school where everyone was equal and where the parents were involved.  Our First Nations community seemed to instantly recognize the value of an alternate educational system, unfortunately however, very few others did."

The First Nations community did indeed recognize the value of a private education, where classes with fewer students were the norm and where the arts, including music, were a vital part of the curriculum.
 

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They also recognized that school uniforms eliminated the stigma, based on what parents could afford, when it came to clothing their children for school, everyone was the same.  The students were there to learn and not to compete in a peer-pressure fashion parade.  At the same time, the students learned not only the 'three Rs' and more, but they also learned etiquette and respect for each other and their community ... something that seems to be sadly lacking in the public school system.  They competed in poetry classes and debates and they learned self-confidence.

Is the school closure a loss to the community? Absolutely.  Is it a loss to the students?  Even more so.