Saturday 29 September 2012

Africentric high school has low turnout


After years of academic research, intense media scrutiny and rowdy debates, Toronto’s first Africentric high school class has launched in Scarborough — with six students.
Officials are blaming delays in promoting the program, which follows the elementary-level Africentric school that launched in 2009 and counts over 200 pupils and a waiting list.
The Toronto District School Board planned to kick off the high school program in 2013, but decided last spring to run a pilot program. Grade 8 students were notified in June, months after most had picked their high schools.

Thursday 27 September 2012

TDSB academies offer specialized learning experiences (with audio clip)

This is my first post for The Toronto Observer, the final module of our reporting courses. After publishing an East York-focused newspaper every two weeks, we have a semester of publishing a hyperlocal news site that focuses on Scarborough, along with two issues of a print magazine.

For my first article, I filed an audio clip and some photos, both of which you can find on the site.

Academies like the vocal music module at Heather Heights J.P.S.
are helping fill schools with declining enrollment.
Dylan C. Robertson photo
Fifteen students stand in three groups across their classroom, waiting for teacher Fiona Hopkins to count them down.

“3… 2… 1—”

One group starts singing the first lines of Barges, a traditional campfire song. The other two groups follow, creating a layered chorus.

The class consists of 11- and 12-year-olds, most of whom are wearing cartoon sweaters. But rhythm, melody and harmony are already familiar to these Grade 6 students at Heather Heights Junior Public School, near Ellesmere Road and Scarborough Golf Club Road.

See my report in The Toronto Observer.