October 6, 2011
Dr. Jennifer Adams, CEO, OCDSB
Dear Ms. Adams.
My two youngest children attend Devonshire School and have since Kindergarten. I can truthfully say that Devonshire has always provided outstanding teachers, involved Principals and excellent school grounds and facilities. I am very pleased to report that both of my children speak excellent French thanks to the English French Immersion program offered from SK-onward and they have been privileged to attend many extra-curricular cultural and athletic programs throughout the school year thanks to a devoted school council.
If there was one issue that has remained a constant over the past seven years that we have attended Devonshire, it is the issue of transportation, both to and from school.
The total attendance of Devonshire and Connaught Schools is just under 600 students between the ages of five and twelve years old. The Ottawa Carleton District School Board policy no. 068 TRA has allotted a total of only two buses to be shared between both schools. As each bus can only hold a maximum of 72 students, you can imagine there would be a substantial shortage. This fall, for instance, over 50 families applied for an empty seat on one of the two buses; only twelve were awarded. Of that twelve, a pitiful three of those seats were for Devonshire students.
The OCDSB transportation policy indicates that for the ages of six and older, the maximum distance acceptable to walk to and from school be less than 1.6 kilometres from school. To put that into perspective, Devonshire School is located on Breezehill, almost equidistant between Gladstone and Somerset Street. We live on Cambridge Street North, also equidistant between Gladstone and Somerset. The route to and from our house and the school, much like the other fifty families without transportation, consists of heavy road-construction and street closures, crossing major intersections such as Preston and Bell Street and unfortunately still inherent to our area, street crimes and gangs. Crime statistics, as reported by the 2009-2010 Crime Trends for Somerset ward 14 indicate that during the 2009-10 year there was a reported 3 homicides, 2 attempted murders, 306 assaults including sexual assaults, 6 abductions, 170 criminal code traffic violations and 105 drug offenses.
To add to the issue, there is little to no childcare in this area to speak of. A small after-school program is offered at Devonshire and Connaught Schools but the waiting list is long; long enough in fact that my daughter has been on it since before she was born! Hintonburg Community Centre had filled up before the 10-11 school year had even let out and our own Plant Bath Community centre does not offer any after-school programming for its residents.
This fall, my daughter started first grade this year; no doubt an exciting time in the life of a six-year old. In order to accommodate my School board policies, I have had to take a reduced work week, thus cutting my annual income by over 20%.
I, like most parents of Devonshire and Connaught schools enjoy living in the downtown core; the access to all of the best that this City has to offer is practically right at our doorsteps and for the most part, that is why we live here. Sadly, raising and educating our children here however, is becoming more and more expensive, inconvenient and problematic.
I am not ignorant to the financial woes of the OCDSB; having worked in non-profit and the Public Sector for ten years I am well versed in cost-cutting, however, and I say this without equivocation, not one single cent should ever be spared in the area of health and safety of our children. Making a six year-old child walk the streets of the downtown core for a total of nearly 4 kilometres each day so that she can gain an education is akin to third-world infrastructure and should not, nor will not, be tolerated by any parent, much less over one hundred parents in Canada’s Capitol City.
I have fulfilled my obligations as a parent; I have bought the requisite school supplies, the lunches, the wrapper and nut-free snacks, the non-laces, non-marking indoor and outdoor shoes, I have ordered and paid for the milks and the pizzas and even donated extra snow-suits to families in need. For the most part, my child is well rested, has eaten a peanut-free breakfast and knows the rules of the playground. Check, check and check. Now, the responsibility is turned over to the School Board. The OCDSB must fix this situation immediately. Whether it means adding more buses or creating a street-safe program that provides escorts and cross-walks, it is the responsibility of the OCDSB to do as their credo states, “meet the individual needs of the students, parents and the community at large”[1].
I am more than happy to further discuss this situation, should you have any additional comments or questions. In the meantime, I will continue to drive my daughter to and from school, morning and afternoon until you have resolved this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Moore
213 Cambridge st N
613-286-1529
CC.
The Joint Steering Committee of the OSTA
Deborah Kuffer, School Principal, Devonshire School
Jennifer McKenzie, Public School Trustee
Diane Holmes, Ottawa City Councillor
Paul Dewar, MP, Ottawa Centre
Gerry Nott, Publisher and Editor in Chief, Ottawa Citizen
CBC Ottawa Morning News
Ottawa Police Department, Somerset Ward
