Long Post Alert

Sometimes I just need to get my thoughts out to clear my head, and writing them down really helps. Here we go…

Maplewood Secondary School Promises
The story began December, 2023. Right before the winter break, we learned that our kids' school, Goulbourn Middle School was affected by boundary changes due to the construction of a new, highly anticipated secondary school. The new school, now known as Maplewood Secondary School within the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), was set to open in September 2024.

While the new build brought excitement to the community, it also brought sadness and a sense of adjustment. Goulbourn Middle School was an absolute treasure. It may have been showing its age, but the energy, creativity, and support within the school were incredible. To prepare for the new school coming, both of our children had to say goodbye to their beloved middle school. For my eldest, the timing was just right because he was transitioning to secondary school anyway. For my youngest, it meant moving a year earlier than expected—just one year at her middle school before moving to Maplewood Secondary School.

The announcement that multiple grades were moving from Goulbourn Middle School earlier than planned in order to populate Maplewood Secondary School was made just before the winter break and it was jarring for students, parents, and teachers alike. However, we put on brave faces and we made the best of the situation. We poured our hearts into Goulbourn until we had to say goodbye this past June. The support, professionalism, and love we experienced at that school were unforgettable.
We attended the Maplewood information night in February 2024, where we got a glimpse of what the new school would eventually look like. It was an exciting time! Promises were made—some were hopes, but many were solid commitments that parents and students were counting on as they anticipated the first day at the new school. The idea of making history as the first kids in the school, the first to graduate—it was all so thrilling!

As summer approached, we were both excited and cautious about what lay ahead.
As summer progressed, we started hearing rumours about portables being built at what was the original secondary school before Maplewood was built. Rumours swirled, but we waited for an official communication.

In July, we finally received the official communication! The rumours were acknowledged, but we were assured that the portables were just plan B - the contingency plan. The new school would likely open on time, but they were being prudent with planning.

Ok, we understood. We got it.

Then, last week, we received an updated message - plan B was modified. Our eldest would start Grade 9 schooling at home, virtually, and our youngest would be sent to a school outside our boundary, in a completely different subdivision in Ottawa—Bells Corners, to be exact. This understandably ruffled some feathers. I worked with my kids to see the positive side and reassured them that it was just plan B - the contingency plan.

Today we received official confirmation that the OCDSB is activating Plan B.
I have so many thoughts swirling in my head, but here’s what I’ve managed to collect so far:

Be Resilient: Your Kids Will Be Fine
Listen, I get it. We don’t always get what we want. We need to adapt and be resilient. I understand that. Our family experienced a double job loss within weeks of each other, and we relocated across the province. I get adjusting and being resilient. I love teaching my kids this skill and helping them develop it. But here’s the thing—don’t talk to me about instilling resilience in my kids when there are deeper issues at play.

Being Accountable
Yes, we can be resilient, but who is accountable for the fact that hundreds of families were informed just days before school starts that they need to manage modified school start times to accommodate a longer bus ride to a school in another part of the city? Who is accountable for ensuring we have the necessary support for one of our kids to study at home because there’s no physical location for them to attend school?

This comes on the heels of challenges like strikes, a pandemic, and a driver shortage. All things that parents have been managing so we can support our kids’ education.
So who should be accountable? The province? The builder? The school board? The trustees? Maybe all? Maybe there are problems we can work together to fix? Right now, I really don’t understand the root cause or the complexity of the challenge to get us to a point that a promised school is not ready.
What is really tiresome is that the impact continues to fall on the parents, families and children that value the education experience that continues to get shifted and modified.

Optional Education Standards?
I think about our children’s fundamental right to education. Then I think deeper about the quality of education they are receiving. Over the years, it feels like school and education have become optional. The system has an obligation to provide adequate schooling and resources. Asking parents to ensure we have the right technology so our kids can complete their studies (with no in person interaction with new peers) is unacceptable. We had enough of this during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s still pretty raw for me and the impacts will be experienced for years to come with this generation.

Layered stress - lack of buses

Another layer of stress that parents in our neighborhood are dealing with is that many families just learned within the past couple of weeks that they either don’t have buses or only have AM or PM runs for the new school. This is after a year of inconsistent bussing in 2023-2024. It was so bad last year that parents created a grassroots Facebook group to support each other and spark change.
Can you imagine a time when having a physical school, a teacher, or a bus driver might not be guaranteed? These were things that were assumed to be fundamental givens when I was growing up.

So, let me say, unapologetically, that I am tired. I am frustrated. I am sad.
This was supposed to be a fresh start for both of my kids in a new school. We were to celebrate this new school after the community waited for it for well over a decade. After the pain of leaving our treasured middle school, we were looking forward!
Don’t get me wrong, I know this is temporary, but that doesn’t mean I have to just accept it. It doesn’t mean I can’t be mad, sad, frustrated, or that we shouldn’t hold individuals accountable.

I do understand it’s a complex problem, and if it were simple, it would’ve been solved by now.

But please, don’t tell me to just get over it and that my kids’ resilience is being tested and this experience will be good for them. That just feels like a really cheap response and we deserve better.

#onetiredmom
#alwaysadvocating
#maplewoodsecondary
#stittsville
#OCDSB