Dear Mr. Goldring and the Planning Department:
The Primary Gifted program which is a regional special education program, no longer has adequate space at its current site, Charles R. Beaudoin Public School, for the 2012-2013 school year. The Halton District School Board has decided to temporarily split the program, sending one or two primary classes to Ryerson Public School next year.
Adding portables to Charles R. Beaudoin P.S. would eliminate the need to split the gifted program between two schools. It is our understanding that the lack of portables at Charles R. Beaudoin P.S. is a legacy zoning issue resulting from complaints by neighbours of the school. There is no reason according to School Board or City policy not to place portables at the school. The traffic on Clubview Drive is well below accepted limits, despite it not being a major road, and the school footprint allows for the placement of portables.
This school is a provincially funded school in need of government-supported portables that are included in the blueprints for this building. Every other school in Burlington has the ability to have portables placed as needed, with Charles R Beaudoin P.S. being the glaring exception. Rather than temporarily moving children to accommodate projections, rezoning the school property will resolve many of the issues this school will face in the next few years. Failure to do so promises that this issue will be in front of you again next spring and throughout the projected population blip in this community, continuing to cause conflict within the Millcroft community. If the Municipal government is not going to allow the required portables, perhaps the Provincial government needs to step in.
Many gifted children, all of whom are on Individual Education Plans, are averse to change. Sending them from their home schools to Ryerson P.S. and then, eventually, to Charles R. Beaudoin P.S. will potentially cause significant psychological distress to these children. Also, if the current primary gifted classes get more than seven incoming students this year, the Board will be forced to send another classroom of children to Ryerson. These children have already moved from their home schools to Charles R. Beaudoin P.S. and now face two more potential moves in the next few years (to Ryerson and then back to Charles R. Beaudoin) which is unacceptable.
The primary gifted teacher(s) sent to Ryerson will face multiple classroom moves and a lack of support from other teachers teaching gifted students.
There are a number of French Immersion students from the Headon Forest area who will be relocated to a new school this coming year due to the recent North Burlington Elementary Boundary Review and space constraints at Charles R. Beaudoin P.S. Moving these children who have been attending the school for many years, while keeping most of the regional gifted program at Charles R. Beaudoin has caused some animosity towards the regional program from community members. These families have been promised that they can stay if there are sufficient portables. Adding portables to Charles R Beaudoin would allow the school to remain a co-operative and supportive environment for all children.
Petition:
I am a parent/legal guardian of a Charles R. Beaudoin student or incoming student and I support the placement of portables at Charles R. Beaudoin P.S. to accommodate the program.
