Parents Outraged as Parry Sound High School Shifts to Online Learning

The Near North District School Board has announced that students in grades 9 through 12 at Parry Sound High School will begin the academic year with remote learning. This decision comes as the school remains partially demolished, leaving parents frustrated and concerned about the impact on their children’s education.

Parents received an email informing them of this abrupt change just before the new school year commenced. “As of last night, that was the official email that we received from the school board saying that grades 9 to 12 would be going online. There wasn’t an apology or a detailed explanation,” said Amy Black of the advocacy group Parents for Parry Sound. The lack of communication has heightened anxiety among families regarding academic delays.

Many parents, including Jacob and Lesley Kennedy, expressed worries about how this shift to online learning could affect their children’s future. “What’s the backup plan? No timeline was given. No commitment to a backup plan,” Lesley Kennedy stated. She emphasized the potential consequences for her Grade 12 child’s post-secondary applications, adding that the rush to implement alternative plans felt disorganized.

The school board’s email included a document addressing safety concerns but failed to provide a specific timeline for returning students to in-person classes. Despite this uncertainty, the Kennedys remain cautiously optimistic. “I want to put some hope into it and I’m hopeful that there were five things outstanding to get the students into the old high school,” they said, indicating a desire for resolution within the month.

The decision to move to remote learning has been met with widespread criticism on social media. Many parents have likened the situation to the emergency remote learning implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that this change lacks justification. “COVID was an emergency and remote was implemented. This is due to incompetence,” remarked Kim Durocher in a Facebook group dedicated to parental advocacy. Others, like Jennifer Limbert Gall, voiced frustration over the board’s sudden shift to online learning, stating that it adds to the stress already felt by students.

Black reiterated the sentiment that students are receiving an inferior education compared to their peers in other regions. “The online learning, we just feel that our kids are being expected to accept subpar education. This whole situation, as we’ve been saying from day one, was avoidable,” she told CTV News.

Compounding parental frustration is a recent procedural failure at the school board level. A motion requesting the Minister of Education to investigate the board passed with support from four of the seven trustees. However, the motion became null and void because the director did not attend the meeting, violating policy set by the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association. As a result, all motions from that meeting will need to be revisited at the next board meeting scheduled for September, leaving parents feeling powerless.

“We’re really confused and frustrated at this point,” Black said, questioning the accountability of senior administration. “If the ministry can’t step in and intervene, then who can?”

The advocacy group recently met with local Member of Provincial Parliament Graydon Smith to voice their concerns, but the meeting yielded little resolution. Parents reported that Smith asked them to propose solutions, a request that they felt was misplaced. “We stated at the very beginning, we are not here to table solutions. This is your job,” Black asserted.

With limited time and resources, the group has initiated a petition directed at the Minister of Education, seeking urgent intervention as they feel left in the dark regarding the school year’s plans.

While students from junior kindergarten through Grade 6 are scheduled to attend McDougall Public School, and grades 7 and 8 will report to Nobel Public School, parents remain concerned about safety issues related to the McDougall facility. This school was also set to close in favor of the delayed construction of the Parry Sound K-12 school, leaving parents anxious about the adequacy of the current arrangements.

As the situation unfolds, parents continue to advocate for clear communication and assurance regarding their children’s education, facing an uncertain start to the academic year.