Grandmothers, retired teachers protest 'cuts' at Mount Forest school

MOUNT FOREST – Students are struggling, teachers are burnt out and the school doesn’t have enough resources to support either of them. 

That was the message from about a dozen grandmothers and retired teachers gathered in front of Mount Forest’s Victoria Cross Public School on June 23. 

They held signs that said “stop the cuts,” “enough is enough” and “we need vice principal Dickieson.” 

The final straw that pushed them to rally outside the elementary school was news that vice principal Tim Dickieson would only be there half of the time come September. 

Dickieson is set to spend mornings working at the Mount Forest school before making the nearly 50km trek to Elora to work as vice principal there in the afternoons. 

Upper Grand District School Board spokesperson Heather Loney said the change was made “following  careful review and consideration and [is] not a reflection of the dedication, professionalism or effectiveness of any individual staff member.”

Loney added, “We understand that families and community members care deeply about the supports available to students at their local schools ... Our focus remains on ensuring students have access to safe, supportive and inclusive learning environments.”  

Retired Victoria Cross teacher Donna McFarlane, who organized the protest, said, “Our kids are our future ... We have to take a stand.”

As teachers, parents and students walked by on their way to the school, most thanked the protestors and many paused for a hug. When students asked why they were there, the women took time to answer questions, spurring conversations amongst the kids.

“You guys are wonderful,” one passerby said in a voice thick with emotion.   

McFarlane taught in Mount Forest for three decades and said Victoria Cross has always been a high-needs school, with many low-income households and single-parent families. 

But as the school’s needs continue to grow, its resources keep shrinking, she said.

Janice Benson was a resource teacher at Victoria Cross from 2007 to 2013, and said there were 17 educational assistants (EAs) when she worked there. Board officials confirmed there are now 16. 

EAs are trained to work with students with “serious needs,” McFarlane said, and as needs increase but staffing doesn’t, EAs are resorting to wearing “armour” to protect themselves from children whose needs aren’t being met. That includes vests, knee pads and elbow pads, said  Patty Sinnamon, whose daughter is an EA and has come home from work with bruises and bites. 

At least one Victoria Cross EA needed to take a leave after being injured by a struggling student, McFarlane said.

Teachers and students should not be afraid to go to school, added Caroline Wollis, whose children and grandchildren attended the Mount Forest school. 

Benson said when she started at Victoria Cross there were self-contained classes for students needing one-on-one support. These separate classrooms no longer existed by 2013, something she said was a big loss. 

Having separate classrooms for special education is important, McFarlane said, because it’s unrealistic for teachers to continue teaching fractions while handling a student who just flipped a table. 

“There’s nothing worse than ... having your classroom held hostage by a student who needs help and we don’t have the resources to help them,” said Helen Craigie, who taught in Kenilworth from 1997 to 2017. “Something has to be done. Something has to change.”

The students acting out are not the problem, McFarlane stressed – they are acting out because school staff don’t have the resources to provide the required support. 

Flora Burke’s children attended Victoria Cross about 20 years ago, and she said her son, who has a learning disability, “was given exactly the help he needed.” He’s now living a successful life as a police officer, but that may not have been the case had he not  received that support, she said.  

“We just want them to have proper help,” McFarlane said. “We have to go back to what works.” 

Julie Pugliese, who has three grandchildren at Victoria Cross, said Dickieson has been an awesome support to her family, so she came to the protest to show the vice principal support. 

McFarlane said principal Jonathan Walker and Dickieson work well as a team to support staff and students, especially to make plans for students who are struggling and acting out. 

She worries how things will look next year, with Dickieson absent in the afternoons. And she blames provincial funding for the change. 

“(Premier Doug) Ford has taken so much. He has no focus on education. He is slashing programs like crazy,” she said. 

Protestor Daphne Rappard said the province is making cuts in the wrong places – “too much money is wasted on administrative bureaucracy.” 

Sinnamon said she’s concerned about the futures of children in Mount Forest and across Ontario. 

“It’s time we stand up and make our voices heard,” she said. 

And the protestors want to see the province held accountable for the harms they say it is causing. 

Ministry of Education officials did not respond to the Advertiser’s request for comment. 

McFarlane said teachers don’t want to strike, but feel their hands are tied because the province is not listening to them. 

Many current teachers told McFarlane they wanted to attend the protest, she said, but they feared professional repercussions for doing so. 

“It’s demoralizing when you have all your supports taken away,” she added.  

McFarlane wrote a letter to Minister of Education Paul Calandra, inviting him to “a round table discussion about the special needs of rural schools.” 

The letter was signed by everyone at a recent Retired Women Teachers of Ontario meeting in Palmerston – that’s about 75 signatures, she said. 

“Many struggling families are being relocated to our rural towns where cheaper housing is available. Unfortunately, no extra services have accompanied them to assist with needy student populations,” the letter states. 

“We ... have decades of successful school experiences and are willing to share helpful suggestions that would be easily implemented to improve the present situation. 

“We hope that you will accept our invitation to chat about these simple recommendations that would improve the quality of life for our local students, teachers, educational assistants, principals and vice principals.”