TORONTO – Entrance into Toronto’s top schools can be a challenge for many students but it gets a lot harder if you don’t live in a particular neighbourhood or district boundary.
Lately, it’s become more and more common for parents to skirt around the rules in a desperate attempt to enroll their children into some of the city’s most desired education institutions.
“Parents renting apartments and never using them, just so their kids are legally in that area,” explained Toronto District School Board trustee Jerry Chadwick. “Parents who have gone to houses in a catchment area of a particular school and paid people to sign a fake lease for them.”
Schools like Sir Wilfred Laurier receive top marks for a number of programs which parents highly covet.
“Laurier has an international baccalaureate program so parents want their kids to go there but only a limited number of students get into these programs,” said Chadwick.
However, some education officials say attending schools outside a catchment area can lead to lower enrollment which can impact staffing numbers.
The situation has reached a level where some parents have now taken matters into their own hands.
“Following people home, checking on their addresses and being the sort of parent enrollment police,” said TDSB trustee Sheila Cary-Meagher.
To correct the problem, trustee Chadwick believes a possible long-term solution would be to revisit school boundaries.
But until then, education officials at the TDSB say all of its schools are as good as any.
“If they go to any school in the TDSB, they’re going to get a good education,” said Chadwick.
-with a report from Global Toronto’s Jennifer Palisoc
Comments