Discussions

Toronto School Board Ponders Controversial Black-Focused Schools  
Tuesday November 6, 2007  
CityNews.ca Staff  
 
Is it a solution or segregation? Well, that sort of depends who you ask.  
 
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is looking at the controversial idea of black-focused schools again, an idea that's been rejected in the past, as some of its members complain that the education system is failing students of colour.  
 
At least one may be opened as early as next fall if the TDSB goes ahead with the proposal. A report is being prepared on how such a facility would work in the context of the public board, and two community meetings are planned over the next week to discuss the pros and cons. When asked, GTA residents seemed mainly opposed to the idea.  
 
"You're segregated. Why would you do that?" asked one man.  
 
"Toronto is multicultural, so I don't think separating the classes or the people makes sense," noted Edi Chehore.  
 
However some expressed enthusiasm for the idea. Diallo Masters opined, "I think that's a very good idea. More black influence."  
 
The hypothetical African-centred alternative school would run from junior kindergarten to Grade 8 and aside from highlighting black history and achievements would also employ more black teachers and mentors.  
 
"We've spoken to some of the kids and what they're saying is that the curriculum does not focus on who they are in a positive way," said Louis March of the African-Canadian Heritage Association. "It's time for change ... the current status-quo system is not working."  
 
Such schools already exist in U.S. cities including Detroit and Washington, and though there aren't any black-focused schools in Ontario yet there is a grade school and high school for First Nations students and an alternative high school for gay and lesbian students.  
 
But while some school board members and community leaders believe the schools would be a good idea to help address the lower graduation rates among black students, others aren't too crazy about the idea, warning it amounts to segregation.  
 
Premier Dalton McGuinty appeared opposed to the idea when it was proposed by more than 500 parents and students in 2005 - he said at the time he preferred the idea of bringing various cultures together in schools instead of separating them.  
 
"I don't think it's a good idea," the premier said. "I'm not personally comfortable with that."  
 
The concept was first tabled more than a decade ago, in 1995, by the province's Royal Commission on Learning.  
 
Parents have reportedly asked for three schools in the city's east, west and south ends. Meetings to discuss the idea will take place Thursday, November 8 at 7pm at North Albion Collegiate at Kipling and Finch Aves., and then on Monday, November 12 at 7pm at Northview Heights Secondary School on Finch Ave.  
 
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