Latest news with #TorontoDistrictSchoolBoard
Toronto Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
TDSB blocks some trips, film screenings related to Israel-Palestine as parents accuse board of double standard
The Toronto District School Board will not allow any school trips to an exhibit on the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel or screenings of an Oscar-winning documentary about the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a school has come under fire for an alleged double standard on what activities it approves by parents and community members. The decision comes as more than 230 frustrated parents and community members issued an open letter Monday to their local trustee over the blocking of a student-organized screening of 'No Other Land,' a documentary by Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers on the destruction of a Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank.
Vancouver Sun
4 days ago
- 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.
Toronto Sun
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
LILLEY: High time province puts kibosh on wasteful boards renaming schools
Legislation comes after Toronto District School Board voted in February to rename several institutions Get the latest from Brian Lilley straight to your inbox A Toronto District School Board sign is shown in front of a high school in Toronto on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018. Photo by Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS Enough is enough: That's the message from Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Legislation introduced at Queen's Park last week will give the provincial government the authority to step in and correct school boards sooner – including when they try to rename schools. That means attempts to rename schools honouring people like Sir John A. Macdonald, Egerton Ryerson or Henry Dundas will need permission from the minister. 'I am, frankly, as done as all parents are and teachers are with a school system that has turned into a political battle zone,' Calandra said last week. 'Teach our kids, give the parents, the teachers the resources they need or we will step in and do the job for them.' His decision to introduce the Supporting Children and Students Act at Queen's Park came about after a string of stories of boards behaving badly. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In London, Ont., the Thames Valley District School Board spent tens of thousands of dollars sending administrators to the hotel at the Rogers Centre for a retreat. That came as the board was in the middle of cutting resources for students. Read More That looks like peanuts compared to the $190,000 spent by the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic School Board on a trip to Italy to buy religious art for a new school. An investigation into that trip saw the province order board trustees involved in the trip to repay close to $50,000 of the trip's cost. Meanwhile, the Toronto District School Board voted in February to rename Dundas Junior Public School, Ryerson Community School and Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute, a move that will cost significant funds. Despite the law being introduced after the decision, it will, if passed, still cover this daft move by the TDSB. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'If a board began using a new school name on or after Jan. 1, 2025, but before the day section 5 of Schedule 2 to the Supporting Children and Students Act 2025 came into force, the minister may require the board to apply for approval of the name,' the bill says. Calandra made it clear that he's not in favour of Toronto's renaming plans, calling it a waste of money. 'At the exact same time, they're telling me that they have to maybe close school pools down or they have to fire teachers,' Calandra said. The minister's move to bring sanity to the system should be welcomed by all. Sadly, that's not the case with union officials, school board associations and opposition politicians denouncing the legislation, some even saying the problem is a lack of funding. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The real issue here is that the system is under financial strain,' the Ontario Public School Boards' Association said in a statement. RECOMMENDED VIDEO It seems pretty clear to anyone who is watching that there is a real problem with school boards spending money on the wrong things, including their pet political projects. 'I want politics out of the schools first and foremost, right?' Calandra said. 'I don't need trustees to develop curriculum. I don't need them to give me advice on global affairs, but what I need them to do is put money into classrooms and into our teachers so our students can succeed. When they move away from that mission, I will have the authority under this legislation to put them back on track and ensure that they're focused on their main mission.' Ontario spends $30 billion per year on elementary and secondary schools, a figure that works out to about $14,000 per student. We aren't getting value for our money and a big part of that is wasted spending at the board level. The scandals that Calandra reacted to are egregious. If he wants to find the real waste, he will start looking into the consultant class inside every single school board. That's where the real financial waste will be found, along with many of the political problems he's trying to root out. Editorial Cartoons Sports Toronto & GTA World Toronto & GTA
Vancouver Sun
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Ontario education minister steps in to prevent erasure of Sir John A. Macdonald, Ryerson and Dundas from Toronto schools
The Toronto District School Board has been stopped from erasing the names of Sir John A. Macdonald, Egerton Ryerson and Henry Dundas from its schools. The new legislation, introduced by Ontario education minister, Paul Calandra, on May 29, will require a board to apply to the minister before changing the name of an existing school. If a board began using a new name on Jan. 1, 2025 or afterward, the law would still enable the minister to require a board to apply for approval. Then it will be open to the minister to approve or reject the new name. 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. The legislation, Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025 , takes aim at school board accountability, in particular financial mismanagement. 'I should be able to move quickly when it is very clear that a school board has lost its way. The legislation I introduced today, if passed, would allow me to do that,' Calandra posted on X. I should be able to move quickly when it is very clear that a school board has lost its way. The legislation I introduced today, if passed, would allow me to do that. The legislative basis for shutting down the TDSB effort is the prevention of boards from 'misspending dollars meant for education on wasteful things, such as the time and resources that the TDSB put into the renaming initiative,' says Allan Williams, executive director for the Canadian Institute for Historical Education (CIHE). 'The CIHE is very pleased with the draft legislation introduced by Minister Calandra yesterday that would give him the authority to prevent the misguided attempt by the TDSB to remove the names of Macdonald, Ryerson and Dundas from the three Toronto schools,' says Williams. 'We have been calling on the Ontario government to take the steps necessary to prevent or overturn the schools' renaming, so we're happy today and thank Minister Calandra. But draft legislation can take time to become law, so we urge him and the Ford government to move quickly on this.' Earlier this year, the CIHE called on Premier Doug Ford to intervene and prevent the TDSB from removing the three names. It also sent a representative to a meeting of the TDSB's Planning and Priorities Committee. Those efforts seemed to be for naught, as the board announced in late February that it was going ahead. Williams says the CIHE petition to stop the TDSB will stay online for signing until the proposed legislation is a done deal. Historian J.D.M. Stewart calls the government's move 'a rebuke of the TDSB and its flawed process for renaming these schools, a process that inexplicably did not include consultation with historians.' On a positive note, Stewart says, this is 'an opportunity to learn more about our history. The last several years have been filled with misinformation and misunderstanding.' The new legislation was hailed by education consultant Paul Bennett in a post on X. 'Historic School Names Saved in Toronto! Ontario Education Minister @PaulCalandra intervenes to halt erasure of John A. Macdonald, Egerton Ryerson and William Dundas from Toronto schools,' he wrote on Friday. Breaking News: Historic School Names Saved in Toronto! Ontario Education Minister @PaulCalandra intervenes to halt erasure of John A. Macdonald, Egerton Ryerson and William Dundas from Toronto schools. The @tdsb as been stripped of its powerto change the names. #cdned #ONTed The move came just two days after the Ontario government decided to remove the plywood box surrounding John A. Macdonald's statue at Queen's Park , restoring it to public view. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Toronto Sun
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
EDITORIAL: Time to stop war on our history
The statue of Sir John A. Macdonald covered at Queen's Park in Toronto. Photo by BRIAN LILLEY / TORONTO SUN Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra has stepped in to restore sanity to out-of-control school boards that have wreaked havoc in schools. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Under sweeping legislation introduced this week, any plan to change the names of schools must get provincial approval. The new law will be retroactive to Jan. 1. That means three schools named for Sir John A. Macdonald, Egerton Ryerson and Henry Dundas could retain those titles and not be rebranded, as the Toronto District School Board decided earlier this year. At the same time, an all-party decision by a legislative board has voted to unbox a statue of Macdonald that was crated up and left as an eyesore on the grounds of the legislature. This is all welcome news. For far too long, leftist politicians have listened to uninformed activists and maligned the history of this great nation. More than a dozen statues across the country have been defaced or destroyed. Vandals have taken words and deeds out of context to sully the names of the people who built this land. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. At a time when our neighbour to the south is threatening our very existence, we cannot allow the very heart of this nation to be destroyed from within. In Ottawa, the National Capital Commission (NCC) arbitrarily renamed the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway to Kichi Zibi Mikan, an Algonquin name. The NCC is a Crown corporation that manages most government-owned lands and infrastructure in Ottawa. It's time for the commission to revisit that decision and restore Macdonald's name to the parkway. In his recent biography of Macdonald, history professor Patrice Dutil outlines how Canada's first prime minister was responsible for getting a railroad built across this land and unifying a fragile country. While he had little to do with residential schools, Macdonald saved thousands of Indigenous lives with vaccination efforts during a smallpox epidemic. His Franchise Act of 1885 gave Indigenous people a vote. It was repealed by his Liberal successor, Sir Wilfrid Laurier. There are fears the statue will be attacked again once it's unveiled. We urge politicians and police to step in to prevent such lawlessness. It's time to restore and respect those who built this country and not allow hooligans to take a wrecking ball to our history. Toronto & GTA World World Columnists Crime
