Coalition of concerned parents and educators ask Education Minister Stephen Lecce to pause the TDSB Student Interest Program

Written By Bruce Yu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO, ON – A petition asking Ontario Minister of Education, Hon. Stephen Lecce to pause the lottery-based Toronto District School Board Student Interest Program (adopted May, 2023) (“SIP”) has been posted by Toronto Asian Parents Association (TAPA), Guardians Vote, ConcernedParents4ArtsTDSB, TOPS Parents Group, and Save Our Schools TDSB (SOS TDSB).

“The TDSB is not being honest about the goals and the new application process of the Student Interest Program and the lottery system,”

“They say they are designed to increase access to students, but consequently deny access by weakening the programs over time and shifting kids into their home school, regardless of interest or ability.” said Bethany Bergman of ConcernedParents4ArtsTDSB. 

Since the inception of the SIP there have been serious concerns regarding its transparency, accountability, rollout, and outcome(s) for students throughout the TDSB:

  • Lack of transparency. The TDSB’s purported goal of creating equitable access to programs through the SIP lottery is not in fact designed to improve access, but to pave the way for the closure of specialized programs and schools in the TDSB within five years. This five year plan to eliminate choice for parents and students including eliminating optional attendance and specialized schools was openly discussed in a meeting of TDSB officials on December 8, 2021. The minutes to this meeting were obtained by a parent group by way of a Freedom of Information Request.

  • Expression of interest - or not. TDSB has no plan to evaluate a student's "expression of interest" on the SIP application. They are asking students to spend time on a portfolio they have no intention of reviewing.

  • Disguised cost-cutting measure. The lottery is a means of diminishing enrollment in specialized schools and sending teachers instead to “home schools”. The TDSB Director envisions a school model that would remove all student choice and limit kids to their “home school” which is contrary to the TDSB “student choice” narrative.

  • Poor outcome. There is no data that a lottery system that removes merit from the selection process will prepare kids for post secondary success. Independent research shows that a lottery does not increase access for racialized students but disengages kids who want to pursue their passions. 

  • Poor learning environment. Students who strive for excellence in their related discipline benefit by being placed in classes with similarly skilled and motivated students. The lottery system places students with mixed levels of learning and aptitude together, making it impossible for teachers to follow a specialized curriculum and destroying the standards of specialized programs.

  • Plagiarized staff reports. A staff report presented to trustees on the SIP was corrupted by plagiarism and concocted by a TDSB staff member from the research department. This report was then used by trustees as a basis for decision-making affecting thousands of students. 

  • Waitlists. Waitlists for programs were arbitrarily closed or deleted, leaving students and parents with no information about participation in SIP and no options other than their home schools.

  • Violence in schools. When students are not provided with engaging programs the incidents of school violence increase. This was the conclusion of the Roots of Youth Violence report authored by the former Chief Justice of Ontario Roy McMurtry and cabinet minister Alvin Curling in 2008. The TDSB has failed to implement many of these recommendations.

  • Student mental health. In a 2022 TDSB survey, students showed a significantly lower level of belonging at school. The TDSB’s one size fits all approach to education does not engage students. Another analysis of a 2020 cross-national research study of Canadian youth aged 11 to 15 revealed a higher prevalence of hopelessness, loneliness and nervousness, and a lower level of self-confidence among youth in grade ten than youth in grade six. In all cases, girls reported having positive mental health less frequently than boys. Returning to merit-based specialized programs for students with demonstrated levels of high achievement and high commitment, will better equip students for successful career paths, and thus will increase feelings of belonging, and reduce stress about inadequate career preparedness.

  • An actual solution. The most equitable way of giving students the equal opportunity to access specialized learning opportunities is by providing more exposure to them in earlier grades. Enriching arts, academic and sports programs at the middle school level would allow students to explore their interests and compete for the program of their choice in secondary schools.

“The TDSB needs to pause the Student Interest Program and return to a system that considers both merit and interest. We implore Minister Lecce to act before these programs are destroyed and a generation of kids loses out,” said Susan Lee, President of TAPA.

By instituting the lottery system in the SIP the TDSB has made no effort to prepare students for the demanding programs they will face after high school. Instead of setting kids up for success, the TDSB has set them up for struggle and dropping out, further diminishing the quality of specialized programs.

Media Contacts

Bruce Yu
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