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Schools to close during 2010 Olympics

Board believes it has reached a compromise; some parents feel they are not being heard

Despite parents pushing for schools to stay open during the 2010 Olympic Games the Howe Sound School District wants to close the Whistler high school for three weeks and two days and the elementary schools for one week.

“Not only does this fly in the face of what we have said, they have added another two days of closure,” said high-school parent Linda McGaw.

Asked if she felt the board was listening to parents she said: “absolutely not.”

Whistler Secondary Parents Advisory Council recently passed a motion stating that they would only support a two-week closure for the Olympics, which would bring them in line with other high schools in the district.

“This will be very hard for my son and others in a similar situation to make up that kind of time in their graduation year, that is my huge concern,” said McGaw

“I feel that the school board, for whatever reason, is willing to play around with the future of these children and I don’t think that is part of their mandate as a school board.”

The latest 2010 school calendar came out of a school board meeting on Nov.14. It proposes:

• Spring break for all schools in the district be moved from March 8-12, 2010 to Feb. 22-26, 2010.

• Whistler Secondary will also be closed for an additional two weeks prior to the moved spring break and two days following the moved spring break resulting in a total closure from Feb. 8 to March 2, 2010.

• Pemberton, Don Ross and Howe Sound Secondary schools will be closed for an additional week prior to the moved spring break, for a total closure from Feb. 15 to 26, which corresponds with the Olympic period.

McGaw is also very upset that Whistler council waded into the discussion, unanimously supporting a motion to close the high school for three weeks and keep the elementary schools open.

“I thought that it was completely unacceptable for our council to get involved in that way,” she said.

“That is not their job to get involved in education like that. So my question now is, if the council was prepared to come out in public and say that, there has got to be something pushing pretty hard behind the scenes here for the secondary school.”

Although no contract is in place yet the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Games has stated that it would like the high school facilities for accommodation and other uses during the Olympics.

Howe Sound School Board chair Dave Walden said it’s likely the board will hire a professional negotiator to work out the contract details with VANOC and talks will begin soon.

Walden could not say how much money is under discussion but he did indicate that some of it could be used to help pay for any programming the school board puts in place for district youth during the Games.

The decision on the school calendar is a compromise, said Walden, between those who wanted the schools closed for the entire Games and those who wanted them open.

“We very much listened to parents but unfortunately there are other things we have to consider as well,” he said.

“So with some reluctance people compromised and this was the compromise.”

The original calendar proposal was for Whistler’s two elementary schools to close from Feb. 15 to 26. The latest proposal keeps the elementary schools open Feb. 15-19 and closed during spring break.

A big part of the problem, said Walden, was ensuring that the missed days could be made up as days of instruction. If spring break was not moved to be part of the high school closures it would have meant that those schools would have to make up all the lost days throughout the year and there just isn’t time to do that.

Currently there are several places lost days could be made up, including the possible use of teacher’s collaboration days, starting earlier in September 2009, having a shorter Christmas break in Whistler, and perhaps going later at the end of the school year.

Added to the issue of lost days was the uncertainty around how many kids would miss school during the Olympics, making it impossible to teach the curriculum at that time.

Discussions are at an early stage to look at what kind of programs will be made available to students during the break, both at the elementary and high school levels in all communities.

The municipality is looking at an Olympic work experience/volunteer program for youth aged 15 to 17 and another program aimed at 13 and 14 year-olds administered by the Youth Centre. Program details are still being worked out.

But that’s not a complete solution said McGaw.

“They can’t all volunteer, they won’t all be interested in volunteering,” she said.

“I cannot believe there is this attitude that because they are teenagers they can look after themselves. That is not true.”

Teachers, said Howe Sound Teachers Association spokesman John Hall, may be open to the possibility of leading educational camps during the break in the elementary school.

“There is an indication of that but I don’t know how strong it is,” he said.

The RMOW’s Sharon Fugman said the municipality is committed to making the Games a success for the community and that means taking part in discussions around activities for local youth if the schools are out.

She did, however, express disappointment that the school board had decided to close the elementary schools during the Games after it had been made clear that there was no capacity within municipal programs to absorb the school children.

“We will continue to work with VANOC, the school district, PACs and others but there are real limitations,” she said.

The chair of the District Parent Advisory Council, Cathy Jewett, was also disappointed to see the elementary schools close for a week.

“On behalf of parents who will have children in elementary schools we are disappointed that they did not use our recommendations,” she said.

“But we do see that they have at least reduced the initial idea and are going to a one week spring break closure in the second week of the Olympics.”

Jewett believes it is unlikely that the closure at the high school can be changed but if programs for elementary school youth are not put in place in the community there may be a push to keep those schools open for the entire duration of the Games.

“My understanding is that they will re-visit the spring break if they cannot determine that there is adequate childcare in Whistler,” she said.

Pemberton parent Sheena Fraser was at the Nov.14 meeting and believes the school board’s decision was a heartfelt one.

“I felt for the school board, it was not an easy debate,” she said.

“It was long and definitely heartfelt. Is it going to make everyone happy? No. Is it an OK compromise for the elementary schools? I say yes.”

Fraser who will have a child in elementary school at Games time does not support closing the schools. But she said at least with a plan in place she could organize childcare during a time when she is likely to be very busy.

“I am hopeful that the local recreation groups will come forward and offer programs that will normally be offered in (the March spring break) along with Whistler-Blackcomb,” said Fraser.