School swap has emotions running high in LRSD

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This article was published 06/07/2022 (1423 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SOUTHEAST WINNIPEG

A number of local parents have shared their concerns about a proposed school building swap in Louis Riel School Division.

On June 7, the division’s board of trustees voted five-to-three to approve a swap between nearby Windsor Park Collegiate (1015 Cottonwood Rd.) and Collège Béliveau (296 Speers Rd.), which will be in place for the 2024-25 school year.

The proposed swap is among a number of changes approved by the board, which also include catchment area changes affecting feeder schools, in an effort to accommodate the continued growth and demand of French immersion programming in the division.

Windsor Park Collegiate, which is a larger building, is an English school and Collège Béliveau is French immersion. Part of the proposed catchment change will see J. H. Bruns Collegiate in Southdale become the English high school for Sage Creek instead of Windsor Park Collegiate.

Ina Prokipchuk is a Windsor Park Collegiate alumna whose son Michael organized a walkout at the school on May 16 in protest to the changes before graduating in June. Prokipchuk is disappointed and disheartened by the proposed changes. She was among a group of parents that presented to the division’s board on June 4.

One cornerstone of her concerns is that prospective enrolment decline at Windsor Park in the coming years, coupled with the different infrastructure at Béliveau, will affect programming such as the legacy of its musical theatre program, band and guitar programs, and wood and metal shops, as well as its competitive sports teams. She questions, for example, if the school’s hockey team, which was relaunched last fall, would be sustainable in the future with a smaller school population.

While several town hall events were held in May, Prokipchuk believes there wasn’t enough consultation up to that point — not least, she said, because parents across the division had supported the board when Bill 64, called the Education Modernization Act by the provincial government, threatened to eliminate them altogether.

“This has happened all quickly. None of this makes sense,” Prokipchuk said, noting the town halls were “fast and furious.”

“A big part of our success at Windsor Park, for example, has been our musical theatre program, and having our stage on site. Yes, we can rent somewhere such as the Centre culturel franco-manitobain, but what will be become of the program? We also have a special needs program at Windsor Park, which accommodates students with special needs. How will this be affected?”

Christian Michalik, LRSD’s superintendent, said he understands this is a complex issue with lots of moving parts and that it’s impacting members of LRSD’s community. He said he wants to continue consultation and communication moving forward.

“When engaging with the community in matters like this and we understand there are impacts. We are well aware of that and are playing close attention to that. With our dialogue with the different communities, this is still very much a journey together,” Michalik said.

“This decision hasn’t been an easy one to make, and we accept there will be challenges ahead, and we’ll be addressing them moving forward. In terms of programming, this is an opportunity to talk about programming in the future, and we’re looking forward to having conversations with students and their families and their teachers in the future about that. There’s lots of work in front of us, and we’ll be spending lots of time mapping out the future.”

Michalik said special programming, such as the program for students that individuals and specific needs, will continue when the school swap goes ahead.

Another WPC alumnus David McAvoy, an LRSD parent of two young kids, also has frustrations about the process and why the changes had to be voted in so quickly. He also has concerns that Windsor Park’s sports programming will be affected.

As a member of the contingent of parents that recently presented to the trustees, McAvoy is proud of the efforts the group made to passionately present its collective voice.

“As a group, we all took time off to put together the presentation, as we wanted to offer alternative data and offer other answers and solutions,” McAvoy said.

“At the end of the day, I want the French immersion kids in the division to have the same opportunities as the English students.”

At present, Sage Creek — a growing community to the east of Windsor Park — has a dual-track elementary school and stakeholders are awaiting construction of a second school in the community.

Go online at lrsd.net for more information.