'One-size-fits-all doesn't work': York parents fight education changes

Some parents protesting York Region District School Board removing applied Grade 10 courses as part of de-streaming effort

Newmarkettoday.ca
May 6, 2023
Joseph Quigley

York Region District School Board (YRDSB) math classes have become a problem for Rozanne Treger and her child.

With the board deciding to end applied math this year, Treger said the academic level, meant to prepare for university, proved too challenging for her child.

“The board is imposing university on kids that either don’t have the ability or the desire,” Treger said.

Concerned parents are pushing back against the YRDSB efforts to advance de-streaming in earlier grades. The board removed applied course options for Grade 10 math and history this year, leaving students to choose between the more advanced academic option or locally developed courses not from the provincially made curriculum.

This is a step beyond the province de-streaming math in Grade 9, creating a new curriculum for a singular course. The move aims to create more equity in the school system by avoiding pigeonholing students early.

But Treger said the YRDSB extending that to Grade 10 courses was a step too far and exasperated an issue with de-streaming. Some students with a variety of learning disabilities can struggle with a more advanced curriculum, without a good alternative, she said.

“They’ve created a new problem in order to fix an old one.”

Heather Crerar is another York Region parent who said her child has been affected by the lack of an applied course. The Stouffville mother said her son has struggled with math, and with ADHD and an auditory processing delay, the sole option of a Grade 10 academic course proved too much. Despite tutoring, studying efforts and support from teachers, the material was too difficult in a subject her son was weak in.

“It was tremendously damaging to his mental health. His stress levels last semester were unbelievable. He withdrew from us. He was unhappy all the time. It was a noticeable difference,” she said.

She added they had to work with their son over the years to ensure he did not feel dumb just because he learned differently.

Ultimately, Crerer said, her son failed the course and now faces some kind of credit recovery or summer school, but she does not want to put her kid into summer school, having him effectively “punished” for something she sees as discriminatory.

“I’m quite outraged, frankly, at the grotesqueness of doing this,” she said. “There’s a reason why not everyone is a NASA scientist. There is a reason why not everyone is an accountant. The bottom line is not everyone is good in math.”

In Treger’s case, she said her child could not handle a Grade 10 academic course, so they are working on a private option she is paying for out of pocket for the credit.

“It’s not very equitable that I’m going to be paying $1,200 for my daughter, and that students who don’t have $1,200 to spend, they just won’t get their credit,” she said.

But streaming students presents its own equity issues, and Ontario was the only province in Canada to stream as early as Grade 9 until 2022. YRDSB senior manager of corporate communications Licinio Miguelo said data show streaming disproportionally and negatively affects students of specific identities, with students from low-income households, those with disabilities, or those who are Indigenous or Black most likely to be streamed into applied programming.

“Board and provincial data show that students who began Grade 9 in applied programs were much less likely to be able to access post-secondary options,” Miguelo said. “Recognizing the negative effects of streaming in early high school, we are in alignment with a number of other boards in eliminating some applied programming in Grade 10 ... As with any course, our skilled educators and school staff work with students to ensure they have the learning opportunities and support they need to be successful in school.”

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development found early student selection harms students without raising average performance. It said such selection should be deferred to upper secondary education.

“The way education systems are designed can exacerbate initial inequities and have a negative impact on student motivation and engagement, eventually leading to dropout,” the organization said in a report cited by the province.

Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation York Region president Muna Kadri said de-streaming is an effort the union supports, but how it is done matters.

“When properly implemented and fully resourced, de-streaming can positively affect student learning and narrow gaps in student achievement, especially for priority students,” Kadri said. “We are concerned about implementation and believe the moral imperative of de-streaming requires better supports for students, teachers and education workers.”

The Ministry of Education is continuing to progress with de-streaming in Grade 9, with plans for it to apply to English next year, but it has yet to implement any such mandates for Grade 10 courses.

NewmarketToday did not receive a reply from the ministry to a request for comment before publication deadline.

Parents opposed to the loss of applied courses plan to attend the next board of trustees meeting May 9 and have applied for delegations there, Treger said. They hope to see the YRDSB reverse its policy, which is ahead of the Ministry of Education.

It has been a fight ongoing for months, Treger said.

“A one-size-fits-all doesn’t work.”