The recent decision to reopen Tytler as a French Immersion school to ease enrolment pressures at Edward Johnson may leave Ward residents with mixed emotions. Having hugged goodbye to their beloved neighbourhood school in 2013 I’m sure there were some smiling faces when it was announced that Tytler would reopen.
http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/5341280-tytler-public-school-to-be-reopened/
However, that smile may have been short lived. Although Ward residents may have their school back, it won’t be for their use. Children who live across the street will still have to find their way to King George, Edward Johnson or Lemon.
Although it may seem counter intuitive to have to bus, drive or walk a significant distance when an open school is throwing distance away, the board decision is probably still the right one.
The reopening is still an interim step. Children who will be going to Tytler (East of Victoria and South of Speedvale) will eventually move to a new school being built in Guelph’s East End. So Tytler’s future is still to be closed, meaning residents would have to relive the closure again in a few short years.
http://www.ugdsb.on.ca/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=54762
The reality is that parents and children in the Ward community have seen enough disruption over the past few years and by having their children remain in a single school for the long term will create some consistency and stability that many families have lacked in recent times.
A. A. Blair in Guelph 