We're partnering with Mad Science to offer a Spring after-school enrichment programs, starting on April 17th. This is a paid, optional program that take place in the school.

Program: Fantastic Forces
In this program, kids explore a variety of introductory topics in engineering, physics, and chemistry as they learn how science can be applied in everyday life. They learn about concepts like bridge construction, the forces of flight, how air pressure can be used to move things, and more! Weekly Topics: Current Events, Fundamental Forces, Che-mystery, Science of Magic, Fantastic Fliers, Super Structures, Under Pressure, and Wacky Water

• Open to: Dovercourt students in Grades 1 through 6.
• Dates and times: Weekly on Wednesdays, from 3:25pm to 4:25pm, starting April 17th and ending June 5th.
• Capacity: 20 students. Registration is available on a first come, first served basis.
• Cost: $168. 

Learn more and register here.

We have an update on the Campaign Against Education Cuts from the Toronto Schools Caregiver Coalition:
 
Hello everyone,
 
Last Tuesday, March 5th, 2024, the Toronto Schools Caregiver Coalition had an organizing meeting with parents, caregivers, and guardians. Trustee de Dovitiis (Ward 4), Saman from Progress Toronto, and Jennifer Huang from Labour Council, Toronto and York Region also attended the meeting. 
 
We are officially in the TDSB budgeting season.  If you agree that our schools need more funding, please take action. We need all hands to get what our children deserve. Keep in mind that per pupil funding is down by $1,200 since 2018. For a school of 300 students that's $360,000.
 
Preliminary school staffing allocations will be released on March 18th. In the meantime, TDSB staff is projecting a $200,000,000 deficit. 
 
Cuts to VP positions and SK/JK (based on declining enrollment) have already been proposed and accepted by the Board. Adding another $200,000,000 on top of that means that dramatic cuts will be put on the table at the budget committee meeting on March 19th.  The full Board votes on the budget on April 2nd.
 
The coalition's proposal is as follows:  

• The Trustees should REJECT staff-proposed 'balancing options' presented on March 19th, and PASS a budget that does not make further reductions to education services to accommodate the so-called "structural deficit" (i.e., when provincial funds don't increase to cover unavoidable inflationary losses and other external costs or legislated limitations on spending). 

Don't be scared of a provincial takeover.  This course of action does not risk provincial takeover, nor does it necessarily advocate for risking provincial takeover in the future (that will warrant another debate down the road).  The Trustees' obligation to the province is to pass a balanced budget by June 30th.  The Trustees are free to amend in June any budget that passes in April by regular vote.  What we have in this brief moment, just this month, is the opportunity to empower our Trustees to make a statement on April 2nd—this could be a potentially game-changing statement.
 
The reality, which we all have experienced, is that there is not enough funding for education from the province. The reductions that have already been imposed over the last 6 years have had huge effects. So many of our kids are academically behind, and our schools lack staff and resources to help them catch up.  Our special ed kids are being deprived of their right to education, and the same is true for ESL kids who get abandoned in a corner with an iPad running Google Translate. There are not enough caretakers to keep our schools clean and safe.  There are not enough lunchroom supervisors, social workers, or supply teachers. Children and youth are experiencing poor mental health, bullying, and racism. The lack of books and educational materials, the sad state of our libraries, dilapidated buildings and classrooms are all part of the poor studying conditions that over the years have become normalized.  So many students are being improperly served, and still the cuts keep coming.  
 
To keep their jobs, the Trustees must accommodate the funding calculation that the district receives from the province.  That means that they half-heartedly point blame at the province, but otherwise have to pretend that everything is fine.  Many of the Trustees have grown accustomed to looking us in the eye and pretending that it's possible to make $200,000,000 in cuts and still deliver the same quality of education. We all know it's not possible.  
 
If we, the public, are going to have any hope in making a successful demand of the province for more funding, we need our Trustees, the education advocates we elected, to act on behalf of our kids ‘well-being.  We need them to publicly make a statement that the funding from the province is not enough. This budget could be that statement.
 
If we can get the Trustees to pass an "unbalanced budget" on April 2nd, then we can turn to our Members of Provincial Parliament with more than our opinions and our lived experiences. We would have a public document that demonstrates in black in white precisely how much is needed.  It would give us a concrete number that we can demand.  It would give us just the tiniest bit of wiggle room that could break the double bind that we find ourselves in, between the Trustees and the provincial government, that effectively leaves no clear decision-making party to hold to account.
 
Here is our action timeline (summarized in this shareable link: https://bit.ly/ON-budget-action and the attached flyer)
 
Now through end of March Break

• Email your trustee(s) and tell them that you want them to ignore staff-proposed "balancing options" and formally pass an "unbalanced budget" on April 2nd. Remember, we don't just want them to reject a balanced budget.  We want them to adopt a budget that actually disregards the arbitrary constraints of the provincial funding calculation. (A note from Dovercourt SAC: Our Trustee is Alexis Dawson, who can be emailed at [email protected].)
  
• Attached to this message is a flyer.  Please print some copies.  Take them with you and hand them out tomorrow at pickup, or when you go to the park this weekend. Talk to other parents. Explain what is happening here, and the significance of it.
  
• Please share your story about what your school has lost to cuts, or what you feel is missing, at fundourschools.ca.  (Note: this link was set-up initially for union workers to share their stories, but a "parent" button will be added shortly).

On March 18th

• Be ready for preliminary reduced staff allocations to come into effect at your local school on the 18th.  Ask your principal about it.  Share the news with people on social media but more importantly, in person.  When parents are horrified, hand them the flyers. Ask them to email their trustee.

March 21st @ 7PM - "How to Make a Delegation"

• The coalition is co-hosting a training led by Progress Toronto that will teach you (and also your kids!) how to effectively make a public delegation on this issue.  You can RSVP here: https://bit.ly/3Itvsm0

March 26th @ 4:30PM - Public Delegation Meeting - TDSB Finance & Budget Committee

• The TDSB Finance, Budget & Enrolment Committee has set aside one meeting in March for public delegations.  We are looking for at least 5 people to join us.  We have two volunteers already, and an elementary-aged daughter might join us too. Student delegation is incredibly effective, and we strongly encourage it.  But if it's not your cup of tea, or your child's, maybe you know someone who would want to.  And no, you don't have to attend the training to make the delegation. Just let me know. 

April 2nd 

• 4PM - Rally @ TDSB Headquarters (5050 Yonge St.)  Labour Council is coordinating a union-led rally against funding cuts. All are welcome to join. 
• 7-10PM - Silent Protest During the Budget Vote Meeting.  We want at least 20 people (parents/caregivers/students) in the room as Trustees are having their debate and voting on the budget.  That means we need at least 60 people to commit, because likely not everyone will stay the whole time.  In fact, we think we should allow for hour-long shifts. Again, please RSVP here:  https://bit.ly/3Itvsm0

April, May, & June

• After the budget vote, we will turn our attention to the provincial parliament. 
• Following the strategy set by the Labour Council, we are going to be focusing on meetings with MPPs in the Progressive Conservative party to tell them what we've lost since they took over, and what needs to happen next. 
  
• If you have a conservative MPP and are up for being part of a group meeting of this nature, please let me know.  Don't worry, there will be training. 

Thank you!
The Toronto School Caregiver Coalition
[email protected]

Hello Dovercourt Community,
 
I’m writing with an update on the TDSB budget town hall meetings that were held on February 20th and 21st. Unfortunately, the meetings were not that different from the ones held in previous years. They were not done in the spirit of consultation but rather to share information. The presentations were fast-paced and difficult to follow. Here is a link to the slides that were presented:
https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/aboutus/Business%20Services/2024-25%20Budget%20Town%20Hall%20Slides.pdf
 
The most important piece of information that was shared is that more cuts are coming (on top of all the cuts from previous years). The Toronto School Caregiver Coalition (led by Katrina Matheson) is preparing a letter to be sent to the Trustees on Monday March 4th. On that day, a preliminary 2024/25 budget will be proposed. Cuts will be recommended because the staff don’t have the authority to present an ‘unbalanced’ budget (unlike Trustees). We need your support in opposing these cuts. Please sign the caregiver coalition’s letter by Sunday March 3rd as it will be sent to the Trustees on Monday, March 4th.
 
Here is the link to the letter:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a5iiDhksDQ_AXyZe75YlJ9Ol8s2aAX6J2Z_aBz7Tw6E/edit?usp=sharing.  
 
We are also looking for parents/caregivers/guardians to attend the March 26 meeting as delegates. If you are interested, please get in touch with me [email protected]
 
It is crucial that we continue mobilizing against these cuts and that parents/caregivers/guardians create a common front with unions and progressive Trustees. Education workers, the Elementary Teachers of Toronto, the Labour Council and the OSSTF/FEESO have started their own campaigns against education cuts https://www.fundourschools.ca
 
Jana
Alejandra Gonzalez Jimenez
On behalf of the subcommittee Against Education Cuts