(Artist Rendering of the Stittsville Secondary School. Drawing: Edward J. Cuhaci & Associates Architects Inc.)
The new Stittsville Secondary School (SSS) is scheduled to open in September 2022 and the Stittsville Secondary School Working Group is tasked with the consideration of two proposed boundary options for student enrolment at the new high school. The Working Group is seeking public input. The Working Group membership, created for the boundary study, consists of representatives from each of the study school communities, local community associations and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board staff.
At the January 27th meeting of the Working Group, the members were presented with the two boundary options to consider. The planning zones were made public at the November meeting of the Working Group.
Option ‘A’ —
The new SSS would be populated with Grades 7 to 8 ENG/EFI/MFI and Grades 9 to 12 ENG/IMM students with an attendance boundary that includes all Planning Areas west of the Carp River/Terry Fox Drive. A. Lorne Cassidy Elementary School would become a Kindergarten to grade 6 ENG/EFI/MFI school, with the grades 7 and 8 program relocated to the new SSS. Students residing north of Fallowfield Road would also attend the new SSS for grades 7 to 12, these schools also include the new Fernbank Elementary and Stittsville Public School.
Those students that reside south of Fallowfield Road would attend Goulbourn Middle School for grades 7 and 8 and would continue attendance at South Carleton High School for grades 9 to 12.
Westwind Public School would remain as a K to grade 6 ENG/EFI school, but students residing north of Fallowfield Road would attend the new SSS for grades 7 through to 12. Those students residing south of Fallowfield would continue to attend Goulbourn Middle School and would then attend South Carleton High School for grades 9 to 12.
The portion of students that reside east of Eagleson Road will remain attending Goulbourn Middle School for grades 7 and 8.
Option ‘B’ —
The new SSS attendance boundary would be comprised of the K to 6
English Program with Core French attendance boundaries of Stittsville PS, Westwind PS, the new Fernbank ES, the portion of the Castlefrank ES (K-3)/Katimavik ES (4-8) attendance boundary west of the Carp River/Terry Fox Drive and the portion of the A. Lorne Cassidy ES attendance boundary east of Spruce Ridge Road.
Students residing within the western portion of the current A. Lorne Cassidy ES K to 8 ENG boundary (west of Spruce Ridge Road) would attend A. Lorne Cassidy ES for K to 6 ENG/EFI/MFI and then feed to Goulbourn MS for 7 & 8 and then continue to feed to South Carleton HS for 9 to 12.
Students residing within the eastern portion of the current A. Lorne Cassidy ES K to 8 ENG boundary (east of Spruce Ridge Road) and north of Fallowfield Road would attend A. Lorne Cassidy ES for K to 6 ENG/EFI/MFI and feed to New Stittsville SS for 7 to 12.
Considerations from Option A would still exist. Option B creates two different feeding patterns for EFI students attending A. Lorne Cassidy ES and Westwind PS. Students residing north of Fallowfield Road would feed to the new SSS for grades 7 to 12. Students residing south of Fallowfield Road would feed to Goulbourn MS for 7 & 8 and South Carleton HS for 9 to 12.
Both boundary options move towards the creation of a family of schools attendance pattern for Stittsville area schools. All Stittsville area elementary schools would have a standardized K to 6 grade structure. These options will address key study objectives and issues, in particular to determine the attendance boundary, program offering and opening grade structure for the new Stittsville secondary school. The OCDSB will involve consultation with all school communities in Stittsville, Goulbourn and Rideau to establish a sustainable attendance boundary for the new high school.
However, while many factors are to be considered under both Option A and B, one stands out — the fact that it is very probable for portables to be present on the new secondary school property one year after opening. With a projected rate of 99% for enrolment upon opening in 2022, the school would not be able to serve future student growth from within the proposed boundary area.
The role of the Working Group is to provide local input and advice to both proposed options and provide regular updates to school councils – the group is reaching out to also seek the public’s input.
A scheduled April 2020 Public Consultation Meeting will provide another opportunity for parents and guardians to provide feedback on the proposed options being presented in April. All residents affected by enrolment at the new Stittsville Secondary School are encouraged to attend.
The Planning Manager is Karen Ostafichuk, with Lisa Gowans and Janet MacDonald being two other planners working on this project. They have noted that these two preliminary options were used to start the discussion, but that other options could be possible. A final decision by the OCDSB regarding the review is currently scheduled to take place in June 2020.
To see more detailed maps, read and submit comments pertaining to each individual school and the affect the boundaries may have on each, visit https://ocdsb.ca/board/consultations/planning_reviews/new_stittsville_secondary_school_study.