Royale

Report

Check Recommendation no. 6-19 on page 227.

Deaf leaders and people in Ontario intend to fight hard if the McGuinty government takes up and follow this recommendation.

Reform of Provincial Schools

The Ministry of Education directly manages a number of schools for the deaf, Demonstration Schools for students with learning disabilities and a School for the Blind and Deafblind; these are located in Belleville, Brantford, London, Milton and Ottawa. About 800 students are served in these eight schools. Most of the students live in residence on the schools' property. School staff members are provincial employees. The provincial schools budget for 2011-12 is $72 million.

The Commission believes that the Ontario Public Service is not the optimal governance arrangement for these schools. Alternative programming in school boards should be considered instead of Demonstration Schools for students with learning disabilities; this would allow students to live with their families. Schools for the deaf need a critical mass to offer a wide range of programs and services, especially at the secondary panel, yet enrolment has declined significantly; these schools should be consolidated.

Recommendation 6-19: The government should close the Demonstration Schools and reinvest savings to expand alternative secondary school programs in school boards.The three Schools for the Deaf in Belleville, London and Milton should be consolidated into one site to achieve a greater critical mass of students from primary grades through secondary school. Savings should be reinvested in the consolidated school for the deaf and in enhanced opportunities for deaf learners in school boards, colleges and universities. The Ministry of Education should transfer the oversight and management of the Brantford site and of the newly consolidated school for the deaf to one or two English-language school boards, and transfer the oversight and management of the Centre Jules-Léger (School for the Deaf) to a French-language school board.

Deafness

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Banjo

I hope the news will spread across the province like a wildfire.

deafdyke

How about close one of the Deaf Schools, and then designate the two left, one for multihandicapped dhh kids (with early childhood support for "just" dhh kids) and one for acadmic kids?

Miss-Delectable

Interesting to see how this will play out.

If they had to merge three deaf school then they should leave Belleville alone and merge London and Milton together.

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"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."
- Helen Keller

deafdyke

Or maybe a good idea would be to PUSH enrollment in deaf schools for dhh kids. Also why not encourage neighboring provinces to send their kids to deaf schools? I know in Alberta, mainstreamed HOH kids can end up at "mainstream" but in life skills (meaning for mentally handicap)

Banjo

From what I read, there are over 4,000 students in Ontario.