TDSB Launches Initiative to Support Learning in Inner-City

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) today launched a dynamic and innovative program to better support inner-city students in their quest to succeed in school.
The Model Schools for Inner Cities Initiative was launched simultaneously at the first three participating schools where extra staff, counsellors, community outreach workers and other resources are available to students living in circumstances of poverty. These resources are designed and co-ordinated to support students’ desire and ability to learn and achieve
their full potential in school.
TDSB Chair Sheila Ward, Toronto Mayor David Miller, MPP Kathleen Wynne, Parliamentary Assistant to Education Minister Sandra Pupatello, TDSB Trustees Sheila Cary-Meagher, Stephanie Payne and Patrick Rutledge, Director of Education Gerry Connelly, staff, students, and representatives from the community health and education fields celebrated the opening at all three schools simultaneously.
“We know that poverty, social stress and cultural alienation are barriers to learning for some students,” Ward said. “The Model Schools for Inner Cities seeks to provide students with the necessary skills to make a difference in their lives. Working with and providing tools for parents and the community is part of the Inner City Initiative and each designated school will become a hub for its neighbourhood.”
Trustee Cary-Meagher, Co-Chair of the Inner Cities Advisory Committee, Chair Ward, Mayor Miller and MPP Wynne spoke at Nelson Mandela Park Public School and were joined via videoconference to Trustee Payne at Firgrove Public School in Jane-Finch, and to Trustee Rutledge at Willow Park Junior Public School in Scarborough.
“It is unfortunate that in a city as prosperous as ours, inner-city circumstances exist in pockets across Toronto,” said Mayor David Miller. “I commend the TDSB for having the vision and showing the leadership in developing and launching this important initiative that enables inner-city students to grow up with choices and have every opportunity for success.”
The City of Toronto, Toronto Public Health, the TDSB’s Foundation for Student Success and the faculties of education of York University and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto all partner with the TDSB in the areas of research, professional development and staff support in the Model Schools.
“Student achievement is the result of good teaching, good schools and the proper conditions to encourage and support learning,” said Kathleen Wynne, Member of Provincial Parliament for Don Valley West. “The Model Schools for Inner Cities initiative is a sign of the Toronto District School Board’s commitment to helping all students succeed and I applaud the Board for taking on this innovative approach that works hand in hand with the community.”
Sheila Cary-Meagher, TDSB Trustee for Ward 16, Beaches-East York, who was
a driving force behind the initiative, said that the Model Schools will benefit everyone, not just the students of the three participating schools.
“Every student who is marginalized in the learning process, for whatever reason or circumstance, is at risk of becoming a marginalized adult in our society,” Cary-Meagher said. “The Model Schools for Inner Cities is built on proven examples and approaches that can help some of our students better succeed in school. This is the right thing to do and I am proud that we are moving forward with this program that truly supports the needs of the whole
child.”
The TDSB struck a Model Schools task force in November 2004 to develop programs specifically designed to support students in inner-city neighbourhoods (defined as areas with high concentrations of families living in poverty). The task force drew on extensive research and data that shows a direct link between poverty and lower student achievement and input from the community.
In January 2006 three schools - Nelson Mandela Park, Firgrove and Willow Park Junior Public Schools - were selected to be the first three Model Schools. Their experiences and practices will be shared with schools across the city. Four additional schools are planned for September 2008.