~edit~ The petition has been removed since it’s completion and submission. ~edit~
The Dufferin Peel Catholic School Board placed a classroom of high-risk teenagers (Section 23 classroom) in St. Vincent de Paul Elementary School in Mississauga. This decision was made without consulting the community and without notifying parents of the children in the school.
No other school boards in the GTA place teenagers in elementary schools, especially those that are high-risk. We are concerned about the lack of transparency and safety risk to our elementary school-aged children.
Feel free to review the St. Vincent de Paul & Section 23 menu above to find the history & conclusion of this case.
I am very dissappointed that parents were not aware of this change that was happening at ST Vincent De paul regarding the section 23. I truly believe that everyone needs a chance especially for education and children, However i feel that these children will not fit well with this program at ST Vincent De paul due to feeling different and left out,therefore they need a place where they belong.
Agreed Joanna. High Risk teenagers do not belong in elementary schools. Apparently St. Pio of Pietrelcina in Mississauga also has a Section 23 classroom. Ask your own child’s school to make sure they aren’t hiding something.
My heart goes out to these kids, they do have a right to education and another chance, but there must be a better place to house age appropriate section 23 classrooms. Open comunication between school and home should be in place. This the duty of the CSAC.
100% aggred to the post above… I do not feel ky kids are safe anymore. A mother mentioned (in the meeting on Wed Oct 12) her daughter was afraid to come to school, because there were “scary and strange kids” in the school (please note that Section 23 class is right in front of Grade 1 class.!!!) How ironic this is. The principal had nothing to say about this.
Many parents, including myself are very concerned about this. One member of the School Board (cannot remember his name) mentioned that these kids come “from very horrendous backgrounds” but yet kids and parents should not be concern???
I (and i can say all the parents that assisted to the meeting on Oct 12) have nothing against Section 23 kids, they are just kids that have issues and deserve 2nd chances. We have an issue with the School Board placing them in an elementary school. We have issues with the Principal not informing us that a “New Programm” was been implemented in our school. We have an issue with Section 23 studens been 4 steps away from GRADE 1 CLASS!!!!
~edit~ the principal ~edit~ fail me as a principal.
I am very upset as no answers were given at both meetings which I have attended. Section 23 kids do have a right to attend school but age appropriate…grade school children in grade school and high school students in high school – end of story. This program should be removed from our school.
Agreed ~edit~ the principal ~edit~ have fail us as principal.
I completely agree with all of the above comments. It’s so scary that our precious children, are not being watched over! The representatives of the school board and special program all talk about our duty as Christians, to accept and embrace one another. I don’t know any ONE parent at St. Vincent thats not, accepting and loving to there fellow christian.
My question is what about the school board staff and special program staff were is there Christianity???!!! What about HONESTY??? And love and protect our children??? We are a ‘unique’ school YyyAa! We only have 220 students ….. thats less than I have in my entiere immediate family!! SO yes we R unique we are a Christian FAMILY!!… this means we don’t hide the truth, we dont turn our backs, when need answers, we dont deceive and throw mud, at those who have the God given Right in this FREE LAND we call Canada home to us All.
AS a true Canadian, a ture Catholic we love and protect eachother and this is what I expected from Our children’s CATHOLIC school…. So don’t throw the Catholic card at US parents!! WE know the definition of a TRUE Catholic! Our St. Vincent de Paul was renowend for his Compassion, Humility and Generosity, this we have given to the section 23 students that were thrown in our school. For the same reasons they should be housed in an appropreate enviroment, NOT an elementary school and segregated from the Christian community, how is this going to help there state of mind???
I am very angry with Catholic school board and Catholic school, I can not believe how they failed to communticate with us the Parents. Our kids are in this school thinking they are safe and learn good values, and I ask you how if the Principal can not be honost with us the Parents, how can he set examples for the little ones, can’t see it. Yes everyone diservse a second change but not next to my children for steps away.
It is very upsetting that highschools don’t want these kids back as they pose a risk to the students, but we are okay to have them around grade school kids… We are putting our children at risk…Once incident will be one incident too many! There are night school facilities that are empty during the day, that can be used to house these children…why are we not using them!
Let’s be clear. The teenagers in Section 23 deserve a chance and a proper education. My heart does go out to them however, they should not be placed in an elementary school especially with vulnerable grades 1 and 2 across the hall. The Dufferin Peel Catholic school board needs to pony up the money so that the teenagers in Section 23 get classroom in an appropriate setting.
What a NIMBY rant….a handful of at- risk kids, carefully supervised and there’s a hot bed of indignation!? What if one of your precious kids who are ‘so afraid ‘ of these undesirables ,grows up to have some serious issues and needs a warm SAFE couple of years…away from the scary intimidating high school?! What happened to TRUST the staff that are looking after these kids? Mind ur business and stop making a mountain out of” What might happen”.The space is in THIS school…so it’s being used here, and a few others.Not the principals fault, as he gets his orders from the board.
why not put the kids next door in the high school?what does this have to do with NIMBY? why would we trust a group of people that lie to us since the beginning?
for all we know the principal does not care , about anyone but himself cause he said “the program” will stay period and the reason for this might be ,because this is his last year at St.Vincent de Paul therefore he just wash his hand and on his eyes he will leave as an example principal….on that note he called the police and parking enforcement on parents today that were parked on the street,in 7 years nothing like this ever happened before but this is the way “the principal” is reacting to our complaings horrible bad morning for the parents…..not fare he basically is declaring war on the parents …what a shame Mr. Principal
Putting ‘at risk’ kids in the high school next door doesn’t help why they were withdrawn in the first place.A small non-confrontational elem. school feels safe..reminds them of when they were little etc., so is a good plcement for them.The principal has no say on what the board decrees. The parking gets to be a problem and he should be enforcing the ‘parents can’t just park or wander into school as they please’.Some of you writers will never see the other point of view, but one can only hope ,as I’ve said, that YOUR adolescent NEVER needs compassionate schooling.
@g jarem: You’re right my kids are precious to me as I hope that yours are precious to you. You make it sound like that’s a bad thing but all children are precious. One doesn’t hope that their child ends up in a section 23 classroom, but let me tell you if they ever stuck my teenager in an elementary school, I would be livid. It is not a good place for teenagers. Section 23 teens need to be out of elementary schools. It’s not good for the teens and it’s not good for the younger kids. Only the board benefits with some financial savings. And that’s not always a good reason to do something.
I understand that these teenagers are high risk so they shouldn’t be put in an elementary school. They should be in a separate building with their own teacher because they do have a right to education.