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The Tedious Board paints itself into a corner
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) trustees are holding their noses, but it may be that the relentless hemorrhage of some 5,000 students every year (along with the resulting surplus of space in schools and parents' resistance to school closures) is going to force the board to agree to a group of "private-school-like academies". More here.
Clearly, the board is in an approach-avoidance conflict. If the board doesn't offer the kind of schools parents want, parents and students will continue to vote with their feet and enrollment will continue to decline. On the other hand, the trustees suspect and fear, deep in their hearts, that the new schools will be very popular, with favourable reviews and long waiting lists - much more popular than the white bread progressive schools they favour and which enjoy a virtual monopoly at present.
If the trustees dither much longer, there will be no possibility of launching the new academies this September. If it weren't so important, their indecision would be amusing.
I’m not convinced a ““private-school-like acadamies” school still operating under the control of the TDSB really offers much benefit. The problem, IMHO, is that they’ll still be bound by all the constraints of being in the board; work rules, seniority, policies, etc. One of the great things about a private school is that it is the fredom to try out new or alternative ways of operating, staffing, budget allocation, etc, etc.
Likely just more of the same old with a new paint job.