Hello neighbours.
As many of you know, the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) has done an extensive review of their current elementary program model along with relevant external research to come up with a new proposed model, slated to start in the 2026/2027 school year. The proposal centers on community-based education, increased access to bilingual learning environments, and inclusivity. There is a lot to like about the proposal and it fundamentally makes sense to redistribute resources to neighbourhood schools and have students attend the school closest to their home, with required supports brought to the student.
Unfortunately, for the neighbourhood of Woodpark, the redistricting has had the opposite effect for many families of young children. Woodroffe Avenue Public School, the closest school to much of the neighbourhood, has been reassigned as a grade 4-8.
The youngest members of Woodpark (JK to grade 3) would be required to go to Regina Street Alternative School, which would be repurposed as a French Immersion and English Essential facility (and renamed a community school).
I moved to Woodpark in 2024 with my family. One of the key considerations in our housing decision was proximity to elementary schools offering French Immersion. Woodroffe Avenue Public School is 750 m from our house, mostly along relatively quiet suburban streets. Regina Street is 1.3 km from our house and across the LRT/Richmond/Byron construction zone (or as the navigation app Waze recently called it “unnamed construction road”).
Our children are 3 and 1 so I am still learning about the school system. Hearing from other parents in the neighbourhood, it is clear that Woodroffe Avenue Public School is the hub for the community. In this particular case, redistricting will move the children of Woodpark further away from the school increasing their commute. With the construction challenges, which are expected to continue into 2027, this is not walkable. Therefore, it seems counterintuitive to the community-based education the board is trying to achieve.
Woodpark is a thriving, dynamic community that has and will continue to face significant changes over the next few years. We will have two new LRT stations and increased density with the approval of the Lincoln Fields Secondary Plan and other new developments in and around the neighbourhood. My family moved here because we believe in the future of Woodpark as a walkable community with good access to transit and schools.
I respect the time and effort that has gone into the OCDSB’s plan and by no means am proposing that they throw the whole thing in the garbage or start from scratch. But I do think that more consideration needs to be given to this neighbourhood and how the geographic boundaries for the schools have been applied. I call upon the Board of Trustees and Director of Education to listen to the concerns of Woodpark parents and residents and revise their plan accordingly.
There are other issues raised by parents that I haven’t discussed here but are worth mentioning including the loss of the alternative program and a reduction in the number of special program classes.
Neighbours, feel free to add your own comments and feedback in the space below. The Woodpark Community Association (WCA) will be preparing a letter to elected officials outlining the views expressed. I also urge you to provide your views directly to the school board by completing the OCDSB’s survey on the proposed elementary school model, attending a Community Meeting and writing to the politicians and officials listed below. The deadline for input is Tuesday March 25, 2025.
Stephanie Hultgren, P.Eng, WCA Board Member
Resources:
Elementary Program Review | Engage OCDSB – proposed model including survey, community engagement sessions, and timelines
Contacts:
School Trustee | Suzanne Nash | |
Chair of the Board of Trustees | Lynn Scott | |
Director of Education | Pino Buffone | |
Ottawa West-Nepean MPP | Chandra Pasma |
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