Latest news with #Sketchley
Global News
5 days ago
- General
- Global News
Beloved Toronto principal to remain at school after students protest planned transfer
A beloved Toronto school principal whose planned transfer students protested will remain where he is, a school board superintendent says. Barrie Sketchley, the principal of Rosedale Heights School of the Arts, will retire at the school he founded 33 years ago next June, Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Supt. Jennifer Chan said in a letter to the school community Tuesday. 'Based on direction from the Supervisor appointed at the TDSB by the Minister of Education, the decision has been made for Principal Sketchley to remain at Rosedale Heights for the 2025-26 school year until his retirement in June 2026,' Chan wrote. 'With over 30 years of dedicated service to Rosedale Heights, Principal Sketchley's deep connection to students, families, and staff has shaped the identity of the school and we look forward to a wonderful school year ahead under Principal Sketchley's continued leadership.' Story continues below advertisement In June, Sketchley's high school students walked out of class in protest after the board sent a letter indicating he would be moving schools due to a series of principal and vice-principal promotions and transfers. View image in full screen Students at the Rosedale Heights School of the Arts walked out of class on June 12, 2025, in protest of the Toronto District School Board's decision to transfer long-serving Principal Barrie Sketchley. Photo By Megan King / Global News Sketchley, 82, built the school into one of Toronto's most inclusive and creative high schools, parents opposing his move wrote in a letter at the time. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy They claimed a policy that allows parents to participate in the decision of principal transfers was not followed, and were told by the school's advisory council to reach out to Education Minister Paul Calandra if they were concerned. Katrina Matheson, chair of the advisory council, said in a letter Tuesday that the reversal is a 'win-win' for everyone involved. 'Principal Sketchley's remarkable dedication and leadership have shaped the spirit and success of RHSA for over 30 years. His return ensures continuity, stability, and the kind of thoughtful leadership that has made Rosedale a place where creativity, inclusivity, and student growth thrive,' Matheson wrote. Story continues below advertisement 'We know that this team will guide RHSA through a year filled with learning, inspiration, and celebration. Most importantly, this decision recognizes what matters most: our students. Their voices were heard, and their best interests remain at the heart of this decision.' — with files from Sawyer Bogdan and Megan King
Global News
12-06-2025
- General
- Global News
Hundreds of Toronto students walk out of class after beloved principal shuffled by board
Hundreds of students at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts have walked out of class in support of their beloved principal, who is being transferred to another school. On Thursday., June, 12 students at the high school located at 711 Bloor St. E. walked out of class to protest the transfer of the school's long-serving principal, Barrie Sketchley. On Monday, the Toronto District School Board sent a letter home to students that, along with a series of principal and vice-principal promotions and transfers, Sketchley would not be moving schools for the following school year. 'Principal Barrie Sketchley will transfer to Principal at Harbor C.I., where he will be an outstanding addition to the school following the departure of their Principal,' the letter reads. Sketchley founded the Rosedale school 33 years ago. A letter from parents opposing the move said he built the school into one of Toronto's most inclusive and creative high schools. Story continues below advertisement Sketchley, 82, is one of the longest-serving principals at the school board, the letter says. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'After so many years at RHSA, Barrie Sketchley should be able to retire from Rosedale, not some other school that he might lead for just a year or two,' said Katrina Matheson, chair of the school's advisory council. The parents claim a policy which allows parents to participate in the decision of principal transfers was not followed. Matheson said that the students are devastated by the news, adding it will also impact the students at the school he is being transferred to when Sketchley retires two years after the move. The devastation was made clear on Thursday when the students spoke out against the move during the demonstration, with one describing Sketchley as a fierce supporter of the arts who always shows up for the students. 'Removing him now just before retirement is not only unfair, it's unjust,' the student said as a crowd of hundreds chanted Sketchley's name. The letter sent from the school board also praised Sketchley for his years of service, saying he is a 'caring, dedicated and exceptional leader who has touched the lives of thousands of students and families over his decades-long principalship at Rosedale Heights.' The school's advisory council is encouraging parents who are concerned about the transfer to reach out to the Minister of Education Paul Calandra. Story continues below advertisement 'The ill-timed transfer of Barrie Sketchley against the wishes of parents and students speaks to the existence of larger governance failures within the TDSB. We are counting on Minister Calandra to ensure that educators, parents and students are treated with dignity by the school board,' Matheson said.
Vancouver Sun
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Toronto parents rally to save job of long-serving principal at arts high school
For more than three decades, Barrie Sketchley has led Rosedale Heights, an art-focused high school near Toronto's tony Rosedale-Moore Park neighbourhood. Now more than 80 years old, Sketchley's fate will be decided on Monday when the board of trustees votes to approve — or reject — suggestions on principal assignments made by Toronto District School Board (TDSB) staff. Sketchley is expected to be forced to leave the school he helped build into something students and parents say is pretty special. And they are outraged and upset, racing against the clock to save his job. This is all happening against a backdrop of a number of controversies involving Canada's largest school district. Just last week, Ontario's Progressive Conservative government introduced legislation to give the province more oversight over local school boards. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. It was two weeks ago that parents and students first heard that Sketchley was expected to leave. The TDSB has a policy on transferring principals between schools; while this is meant to ensure that good principals are being moved around, parents haven't always been happy with the decisions. When Zara Kheiriddin, a 15-year-old Grade 10 student at the school, first found out that Sketchley was going to be moved, she acted quickly: with a friend, she organized a petition to keep him — and secured nearly 300 signatures from fellow students and teachers before Sketchley himself shut it down. 'It's like, resounding, that most of students and parents and the staff, too, want him to stay,' said Zara. 'It's the school where I've felt the safest personally from, like, bullying and typical other — the kind of stuff you get in other schools.' Zara is the daughter of National Post columnist Tasha Kheiriddin, who, in turn, wrote to Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra expressing concern over Sketchley's transfer. 'The community is asking for fairness, respect for a principal who has given everything to public education, and the right to maintain leadership that reflects the school's unique mission and values,' Kheiriddin wrote. 'I urge you to look into this matter immediately.' Calandra's office did not respond by press time to National Post's request for comment. 'It just shows that not only do they disrespect parents, they're disrespecting a valued educator who's given so much to the community. That they would force him out in this way is appalling,' said Kheiriddin in an interview. On Monday, trustees from the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) will meet to discuss Sketchley's future. Given Sketchley's age, some are concerned that a transfer would be a de-facto forced retirement. Weidong Pei, the trustee for Willowdale, wrote last Thursday to Clayton La Touche, the director of education at the TDSB, formally arguing that Sketchley should be allowed to remain at Rosedale. 'Transferring Mr. Sketchley at this stage of his career — which would in effect amount to a forced retirement — would not only be undignified, it would also deprive RHSA and the TDSB of one of our most valued and effective school leaders,' he wrote. In an interview, Pei said that he's hoping the decision can be reversed, and if Sketchley chooses to retire, he can do so 'on his own terms.' Scores of parents and students have emailed trustees to protest Sketchley's transfer. 'This is not the right thing to do,' said Pei. Deborah Williams, the trustee who represents the area of Toronto where Rosedale is located, declined to comment on the specifics of Sketchley's case. Katrina Matheson, the chair of the parents' council at Rosedale, said people are 'just really shocked at how disrespectful it is,' to be moving Sketchley after so many decades of service. He has been a TDSB teacher and principal for more than 40 years. But there's another lingering issue, too. Within the walls of Rosedale, there's a burgeoning controversy about the student selection lottery. Since Rosedale is an arts-focused school, students are required to submit expressions of interest in attending. However, 20 per cent of seats are reserved for people from visible minority communities and First Nation, Inuit and Métis students receive priority admissions. In the past, Rosedale itself made decisions about which students would attend the school, but now it's handled centrally, at the TDSB. Parents and staff told National Post that Sketchley allegedly objected to this loss of control, and is perceived as a troublemaker by the TDSB. Sketchley himself declined to comment, citing TDSB policy. 'There's people who skip classes and talk about how annoying it is to go to an art school and that they're only there because their friends are there, or their parents make them go there,' said Zara. The TDSB declined to comment on Sketchley's case, saying it cannot comment on 'any decisions that have not been approved by the Board.' 'The next round of decisions with regard to principal assignments — which happens routinely across our system throughout the year — will be made at upcoming Board meetings in June,' wrote TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird in an email.
Edmonton Journal
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Toronto parents rally to save job of long-serving principal at arts high school
Article content Just last week, Ontario's Progressive Conservative government introduced legislation to give the province more oversight over local school boards. It was two weeks ago that parents and students first heard that Sketchley was expected to leave. The TDSB has a policy on transferring principals between schools; while this is meant to ensure that good principals are being moved around, parents haven't always been happy with the decisions. When Zara Kheiriddin, a 15-year-old Grade 10 student at the school, first found out that Sketchley was going to be moved, she acted quickly: with a friend, she organized a petition to keep him — and secured nearly 300 signatures from fellow students and teachers before Sketchley himself shut it down. 'It's like, resounding, that most of students and parents and the staff, too, want him to stay,' said Zara. 'It's the school where I've felt the safest personally from, like, bullying and typical other — the kind of stuff you get in other schools.'
