Toronto board to launch year-round schooling pilot program

TORONTO - The Toronto Catholic District School Board has tentatively approved year-round schooling at two elementary and two secondary schools for the 2009-2010 school year.

The decision was made at the board's Nov. 14 meeting.

This will mean students will get 50 days of instruction followed by 15 days of vacation.

"Our sense is... that some students might benefit from being out of school for that shorter time and it's easier for parents to find places for (their children) for a shorter time," said TCDSB chair Oliver Carroll.

This is the first time any school in Toronto will have year-round schooling. Only a few other schools have year-round schooling in Ontario, including Canada's largest year-round school, Roberta Bondar Public School in Brampton, Ont.

"We don't know of a Catholic board that offers Catholic schooling in the province," said the board's media relations officer Mary Jo Deighan.

The school locations have not yet been decided. Either new schools will be built, retro-fitted or at the high school level it will split between the current system and a year-long academic program.

The board outlines that if a school is retrofitted it may need to come up with $10 million in its budget.

The board will first look at locations in the nine priority neighbourhoods designated by the City of Toronto and the United Way, including Malvern, Jane and Finch, Jamestown and Lawrence Heights.

"This may be something that can help," said Carroll. "Those are the areas we'll look at first and gauge the support and interest and then move on from there."