ST. PAUL/ELK POINT - When classes resume for the 2020/21 school year, students at two outreach schools within the St. Paul Education Regional Division may be dispersed into other schools, following a recommendation by the superintendent to close the Elk Point Outreach School and Horizon Outreach School permanently.
Horizon Outreach is located at 5509-46 Street in St. Paul, while the Elk Point Outreach School is located at 4902-51 Street in Elk Point. Combined, the two schools have an average of 20 students.
Superintendent Glen Brodziak recommended the closure of the schools during a meeting held on April 29 with the board. In the past, the provincial government gave $62,000 per outreach site. With the new funding formula, provincial funding is set at $150,000, regardless of how many outreach sites are being funded by the school division.
SPERD has three sites that fall under the outreach funding, the third being in Myrnam. St. Paul Alternate Education Centre does not fall under this category.
When looking at the financial side, Brodziak explained that for a class to be be sustainable, it requires 15 to 20 students. Next year's projections for Elk Point Outreach is 12 students, and the projection for Horizon Outreach is eight students.
"There's a clear trend of 20 students total," said Brodziak, adding, numbers from past years were used to come up with the average. He acknowledged that both outreach schools "have been amazing programs," and teachers at the schools will be used in other positions within the division.
The superintendent says he believes students can do well in other existing schools in their communities, and staff will work hard to make these students successful.
A viability report was conducted prior to administration bringing the recommendation forward. It was also noted that there are models being used in Ashmont, Mallaig and Two Hills for students who learn best in different environments, and those models will be replicated.
Brodziak said it is a "very difficult but necessary decision" to close the schools.
The division has a policy on school closures, which allows for public input. Therefore, the decision made on Wednesday was not to close the schools, but rather approved a notice of motion to see a motion put forward at the board's next regular meeting on May 13.
The board will be tasked with deciding if there's merit in the recommendation. Parents of current students will be contacted to let them know of the upcoming motion.
Trustee Ruven Rajoo acknowledged that a lot of thought goes into closing any school site, but asked administration how students would be properly transitioned into other schools.
Brodziak said there would be individualized program planning, individualized transition planning, and while the approach may be different, he was hopeful it would be better for students.
Board Chair Heather Starosielski noted that no students would be located outside their community.
Trustee Justin Anderson made the motion to move forward with the process, serve a notice of motion. The motion was carried.
Feedback
Carole Kulczycki says she is against the potential closure of the schools, specifically Elk Point Outreach.
"Both my sons attended the EPOS. My eldest managed to graduate with a lot of support and convincing in 2019. If he wasn't at the EPOS he would have dropped out," said Kulczycki in a letter she sent to the St. Paul Journal and St. Paul Education and other local politicians.
"My youngest (son) has attended EPOS since 2017 and has amazed us," said Kulczycki. "We held him back in Grade 1, and before attending the EPOS he was done. He was in a position of failure. It was a battle every day to get him out the door. He was lost and had we not made the change he would of been a dropout."
Since joining the Outreach School, she says her son has caught up to his peers and is looking at graduating in 2021.
"Losing this school will be devastating not only to the students, but also to the community of Elk Point. The students at EPOS volunteer countless hours shoveling sidewalks and driveways for seniors and those incapable of this. So many kids need this school too get through," wrote Kulczycki, adding, "Not everyone learns the conventional way of school curriculums.The outreach (school) is a great place for these individuals to be taught at their level."
She asked the division to reconsider the recommendation to close the outreach school in Elk Point.
