Parents of Sagonaska children face off against education minister

By Joseph Quigley

BELLEVILLE – The parents of students at Belleville’s Sagonaska Demonstration School were ready for battle Wednesday night as they went into a meeting with Ontario’s education minister over the future of the school.

Sagonaska, which serves children with learning disabilities between grades 6 and 9, is being reviewed by the provincial government, along with the other three demonstration schools in Ontario. Enrolment for the schools has been suspended, and Education Minister Liz Sandals has not said whether they will close.

That uncertainty is what the parents wanted to end at Wednesday’s meeting with Sandals, held at the Dundas Street West school. The media were barred from the meeting.

Lesley Lehman, chair of Sagonaska’s parent council, told QNet News Thursday morning that the parents were not able to get concrete answers from the minister.

“We really hammered and forced her to give a statement, to give us timelines, and she was very hesitant,” Lehman said. “If she’s going to close the school, she needs to let us know when. And additionally, if she’s not going to close the school, then she needs to let us know so that parents can make plans for September 2016.”

The parents told Sandals and the consulting firm hired by the government to oversee the review process some of the success stories of Sagonaska, she said. Parents also gave their reasoning for why the schools should remain open.

In a speech to the minister, a copy of which was provided to QNet News, parent Kimberley Leger said: “My view is that Sagonaska Demonstration School is an exemplary school that provides severely learning-disabled students an opportunity to be on a level playing field with the rest of Ontario’s students.”

At one point, Lehman said, there was not a dry eye in the house as parents told their stories about the impact Sagonaska had had on the lives of their children.

“As you’re listening, you’re basically replaying your entire life – your hopes and your dreams for your children getting washed away as they’re diagnosed with a severe (learning disability),” she said. “There were some emotional, emotional times in the meeting last night.”

A request from QNet News for an interview with Sandals or anyone else from the education ministry was refused.

“To protect the privacy of our students and due to the volume of requests we are not able to provide access to school facilities to the media,” ministry spokesperson Derek Luk said in an email.

But the parent council gave reporters access to a planning session it held at the Fairfield Inn and Suites a few hours before the meeting with the minister.

Scott Myers said he wants families in the application process for Sagonaska to have more of a voice while the province reviews the school. Photo by Joseph Quigley, QNet News

The session featured several speakers. One was Scott Myers, a parent from Petawawa whose daughter is in the application process for Sagonaska. Learning that his daughter’s application was on hold was devastating, Myers said.

“Originally, when we found out about Sagonaska, we thought that our prayers were answered,” he said in an interview before his speech. “Then we got the notification that the application process was put on hold and basically felt like the carpet was pulled out from underneath us.”

One point that the parents stress is how quickly students are able to make progress in reading at the school.

Irene Kaufman said her son, Zachary, has made significant strides this year thanks to the program at Sagonaska.

“We had tried absolutely everything that we could possibly think of before Sagonaska, to see if there was anything else available,” Kaufman told QNet News. “I know with Zachary, he has overcome many obstacles” at the school.

“Sagonaska brings up their grade levels enough and (provides) self-confidence to get their reading skills up to a level (at which) they can function normally and carry on to college and university,” added Willie Kaufman, Zachary’s father.

The parent council also opposes an enrolment cap that the education ministry has placed on demonstration schools. A maximum of 40 children can attend each school, despite the schools’ capacity being two to three times higher.

That issue was highlighted by politicians who attended the parents’ planning session, including Prince Edward-Hastings Conservative MPP Todd Smith  and Windsor West MPP Liza Gretzky, the New Democratic Party’s education critic.

Gretzky is in the process of bringing a motion to Queen’s Park calling on the government to immediately lift the enrolment cap and to keep the demonstration schools open. The motion is to be debated on April 14.

Gretzky and Smith said their parties are committed to trying to keep the schools open.

“We’re going to hold this government to account,” Smith told the planning session. “You’re going to help us hold this government to account – to make sure we do everything we can to keep these schools open.”

Belleville Coun. Paul Carr, who also attended the planning session, said he will ask city council to advocate for Sagonaska.

“The city of Belleville needs to get behind this,” Carr told QNet News. “It is benefiting our residents right now and so I think it’s important that we throw support behind it.”

Lehman said that even if the government decides to close Sagonaska, the parents are going to keep fighting for it.

“If the schools do close, then the minister’s just going to be in for a much, much bigger fight.”