TVDSB looks to redraw zones to ease overcrowding in high schools

The initial Attendance Area Review Report will be presented at the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) planning meeting Tuesday night — the first step in a long process to better balance attendance in the city’s public high schools.

“What's happening here is we have certain schools that are oversubscribed and other schools that are under-subscribed from a usage. One of the requirements the Ministry of Education has for us is to ensure that all of our education spaces are being utilized fully,” says Geoff Vogt, superintendent of facility services and capital planning at the board.

The other facet of the review and rebalancing is to prepare a business case to take to the Ministry of Education to build a new high school in North London, where there has been tremendous growth in the population.

“This is an initial idea. We want to strengthen it. We want community voice in this. And ultimately, you know, final recommendations would form out of that public,” Vogt said.

No changes are expected to take place until at least the start of the 2024 school year, and there will be an opportunity for public input starting as soon as the end of this month.

Former director of education and now lecturer with the faculty of education at Western University, Bill Tucker, says it is extremely important for the community to get involved in this process

“This is where they're going to go out to the community, parents, students, stakeholders and get that feedback,” Tucker says. “I've seen that time and time again where the community brings very unique and specific recommendations based on the needs of each community, the senior team. They've done their homework, they've talked to ministry officials.”

Projections released in the attendance review show a projection that will see nine high schools in London eclipse 100 per cent capacity if the status quo is maintained. The highest being Central at 149 per cent.

Gus Riveror-Barrera, associate professor with the faculty of education at Western University says there is detailed research that shows this kind of overcapacity is a detriment to student achievement.

“The overcrowding that may occur in in common areas of the school, because you can have a new portable, you can have five, ten new portables, but then you have the same library and you have the same gym and you have the same bathroom,” Riveror-Barrera says.

If approved Tuesday, the plan will go to the Board of Trustees at the end of January, with public consultations taking place in February and March.

Another opportunity for the public to have a say will be in June after the final report is submitted to the Board of Trustees.