Blog

Dear Anna Maria,
Thank you for taking on the topic of small school closures. Across this country, small schools–often the backbone of their rural communities–are crushing under the gavel. I have a unique perspective of this issue. The impending school closure I draw your attention to is Petite Riviere Elementary, in Petite Riviere Lunenburg Co. NS. . My experience with this school may shed more light on the gravity of this situation and its affect on rural Canada at large.

In the early 70’s I taught my first year of teaching and then retired. I had found the educational system in NS not child-friendly. Just before heading off to art school in Mexico my mate, artist Gregg Tracey and I stayed in Petite Riviere where artists Don Pentz and John Cook were giving an intensive art course at—you guessed it–Petite Riviere elementary. People came from around the province to attend. Petite was already, at that time, a centre for the arts.

When we returned to NS we settled in the Petite school area. 15 years later, as my son was approaching school age I began to check out the school system to see if it might be a good place for Tim to attend. I was, in fact, so delighted in the innovation and high creativity alive in that school, I rejoined teaching and began my true teaching career. Tim attended Petite for 7 years over which time the rich arts curriculum along with innovations in all areas of learning helped him along his path of becoming an international award-winning independent filmmaker.

I loved teaching. I loved that school: its parents; its grandparents; its staff and most of all, its kids. As a term teacher, my position at Petite was not secure. A number of times I was sent to other schools to fill vacancies. I got a good look around the system and saw many good schools and dedicated teachers. I worked hard to settle in and do my best but my heart was always called back to Petite. During one year at Petite, I even turned down a permanent position so I could stay in this small community school where the community truly trusted me with their children. It was risky to turn down a permanent job, especially when teachers were being laid off, but it was the only thing my heart would allow. And, it turns out–it was a good decision. That next year was my best yet: I was going into my 4th year in a row of teaching Grade Primary/Kindergarten at Petite. I had reached the place where I had at least one parent in my classroom every morning––all morning––5 days a week. This was incredible! Extra hands and hearts available to the children; mothers, fathers–even grandparents really learning about how kids learn; and a new writing program thriving. I had for several years taken on writing in the Primary Classroom as my greatest challenge. I was convinced that kids who could speak from their hearts could write from their hearts. That special year allowed me to stretch my limits and study my kids and how they were approaching the task of writing. They began to teach me what they needed to be successful. By the end of that year, all children were expressing their hearts at their own developmental level, with help as needed–and they saw themselves as writers with a voice! Had I not been there, in that school with that dedication to innovation and community support I have no doubt I would have failed to reach that level of teaching.

And there was another gift from my experiences at Petite: my own creativity and my optimism soared. I realized that any learning problems were already well engrained by the time a child was 5. I knew I had to go back to the beginning and prevent these problems. The more I considered this the more exciting it got. The fact is Petite Riviere Elem planted the seeds in my heart for a book which would not only help parents along their challenging path but it could also prevent the learning, behavioural, relationship and/or health challenges that 25% of Primary students arrive with. In 2013 my book was published.
What my writer’s voice needs to say now, loud and clear is that Petite Riviere Elem is a jewel in the system. There are many good schools here in Lunenburg. Co. but there has, for decades, been a special flair for creativity, innovation and mind expansion at this school.

The Ivany Report, a report on what’s going wrong in NS and how to turn things around “emphasizes the need for more vibrant private sector growth to strengthen rural communities. It is important also to recognize the essential role of the public sector in providing good quality and widely available health, education, and other public services, so that depopulation of our rural areas can be stabilized”. (http://www.wechoosenow.ca/overview/)

Well, Petite Riviere Elementary is doing just that! For a number of years, young people are moving into the Petite school district from across Canada for the lifestyle––and the school. I have never seen so many new babies in a rural area!  Also, organic farmers are being supported by this community resulting in an excellent local food system.

Petite Parents highly support their school in ways a school board could only dream of. I believe Ray Ivany would consider this school a gem–proof of what is possible when a community and its school nurture the strengths and gifts of their children and create a world with a very positive future. Rather than closing this school and damaging its thriving community (did I sat thriving–in rural NS? YES! I did!) we should be doing two things: protecting it and learning from it.

[There is a fascinating political story behind this story revealing that the NS Dept. of Education is willing to provide $6 million for renovations but the school board refuses to ask for it. I have attached a link to recent articles on this situation to inform you:  http://petiteforthefuture.ca/in-the-news/]

Thanks for reading this.
Nancy Tracey
author of The First Five Years, Nurturing Your Child’s Ability to Learn http://brunswickbooks.ca/First-Five-Years/

My family lives in Crousetown – and I love to visit. Who knows, it might be my home too someday. Right now, my nephews are scheduled to go to PR school – it’s the reason they moved to that neighbourhood instead of an urban setting of Bridgewater. I’m afraid that the community revival will be jeopardized if the school closed.

I didn’t get it when my parents fought for our little school in Cape Breton to stay open. I couldn’t imagine what they meant by it being the heart of the community — well our community suffered. The next generation didn’t stay. The community sports teams, youth centres, girl guides and boy scouts all folded due to limited enrolment – and a few years after that all the churches were forced to close. It was too long a drive to the big town (where we were bused for school) to join the same groups there. We couldn’t stay for tutorials or join after school programs or go to the library – all things the bigger school promised because we were bus students. We had to get on the only bus to get home. Grade 7-12, I was a “bus student”. The poor little primary kids were falling asleep to and from school.

Our village is now a shell of its former self. Homes boarded up, no resale value. The few independent businesses were forced to close. I’d like to think the fate of the village I call home is unique – but it’s not.

This is predictable, this needs to stop. Please, please see that this is more than a legal interpretation of an old, unintentional motion of a school board. Do the right thing, follow your conscience and support Nova Scotian families.

Jo-anne Crisp

Mr. Maguire,

Thank you very much for your detailed response, you are actually the first board member to respond to one of my emails. I feel that open and honest dialogue is how we can move this issue forward.

Before I address your points of rational individually, I would first like paint for you the feelings of the process that is felt by the parents and community members affected by this impending decision. I want to do this because I want to create the understanding for you, if not already fully aware.

To the community members of Petite, the actions of the board seem to be of wrong-headed process. They feel that the municipal government of Lunenburg County, all of the other parents of affected children, all of the community members of Petite, Broad Cove, Cherry Hill, Voglers Cove, Pleasantville, Centre, etc, our MLA Mark Furey, the Education Minister, even our MP in Ottawa, all want the school to stay open. The only people that want the school closed are the 8 elected members of the school board and board staff. They feel frustrated that all of these people want something honest and simple, to raise their children locally, however a small number of individuals representing a board, that they don’t fully understand, is planning on closing down their community hub and busing away their young children. Also they feel that the board has the power to change their decision, but are hiding behind false reasons to protect themselves from setting a precedent or following a secret plan for ultimate regional consolidation, eating up every small rural school possible.

That may or may not be your thoughts of the situation, as your previous email stated, but to those you represent, whose children you affect, feel that way over this issue.

To start, you mentioned the decision was made 4 years ago and you used this information from that process heavily. As I’m sure you’re aware, the province halted the school review process calling it flawed and set in motion a new process. The process used to review our school was the flawed one stopped by the province, however the board voted two weeks before that provincial decision, locking in our school for closure.

With that consideration, could it not be viewed by the public in this region that their school is unfairly on the closure list? How does this encourage confidence in the school board? I don’t believe it does.

Also the data on school enrollment is greatly outdated, and higher enrollment numbers are forecasted for Petite for the foreseeable future. However, not increased enrollment for Pentz.

The busing numbers that you have been provided seem greatly underestimated. I could understand an average bus time for Pentz catchment area to be in the 30min bracket, however, 50 minutes and greater for the majority of the much larger Petite catchment area. Does the board staff provide these numbers? Or have they been independently provided? Much skepticism is felt amongst a public that believes the board has its own motives.

As for the A&A justification, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Let me get this straight, the board never requested the money, so they don’t believe it’s there. Is that accurate? The Minister of Education, wrote the board, as well spoke on the CBC that monies could be available if requested. Why didn’t the board request that? There is still time to request that money. You mentioned you wanted to find a solution for both schools, that being your reasoning. The people of Petite and Pentz are reasonable people. We believe that a closure of one of the two is reasonable and that students from one attend the renovated one, bringing the enrollment and attendance to a high and acceptable level. With Petite’s larger catchment area, unique setting being off a busy road, many feel Petite would be most suitable for this A&A.

It cannot be denied that the Stantec report stated that an A&A would be the best value for money and education requirements. What is the purpose of funding an expensive study to ignore its findings?

I have no doubt that Hebbville Academy is a fine school with lots of great amenities. The recent student assessments showed that Petite students did exceedingly well in comparison to those throughout the province. My two stepchildren did not go without, educationally speaking, because they attended a rural school. It’s also just not about extra programming or newer computers, it’s much more than that. At a small local school, where supportive community members and their neighbors surround them, they are taught lessons of community and building a strong social fabric. They understand the importance of playing and building forts in the woods, or visiting the sheep right next door, or taking a walk to the river to learn about a healthy ecology. They get their hands in the soil in the school garden and they help prepare healthy food from that garden. They don’t become lost in the crowd or bullied on a crowded playground without it being properly addressed. They learn to build friendships right in their community and they help rise up the younger children too. These lessons will stay with them for a lifetime.

I went to a small rural school in Antigonish Country, now closed. I have very similar experiences. I’m not sure if you went to a small school, if so, I hope you think back to those times.

I applaud your proposed motion for saving whatever rural schools are not already closed by the time it’s addressed.  I feel that deep down you want to keep future rural schools open but that Petite Riviere Elementary is not one to start with.  The current provincial policies may favor regionalization however in this case, The current Minister of Education is saying to you, “all you have to do is ask, and we will allocate the money to keep one of these schools open”.

My community and I are pleading with you, one board member at a time, starting with you to make this decision right. You have the power to will it, to win over your other board members to right this wrong. If you want to save rural schools, please start with ours.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Stephen Besaw