By Dave Babbitt – Special to the Sydenham Current
Some days I dare myself to dream.
Based on my personal policy of not complaining about something without offering an alternative, this week I offer a recent “vision.”
It’s an old story now, but I’m not happy that there is no instrumental wind music course being offered at WDSS. However, having spent 31 years working for the same school board, all of which were in the very building I speak of, my head is not buried in the sand. I know how the system works and the number of students in a school affects which, and how many courses can be offered at a school.
There are many potential approved courses on the books of the Ministry of Education, but offering them all at WDSS would be a completely unreasonable thought. Boards are given X number of dollars to work with and that includes staffing, related equipment, and in some cases, ongoing costs. Administrators are required to make tough choices, some rather uncomfortable, regarding what courses will be offered in their school.
For instance, many years ago now I felt that it was in the best interest of our WDSS students to jump into the quickly advancing area of multi-media education that the Ministry referred to as “Communications.” The course would include video editing, audio design, graphic design, and several other areas that would fall under the description of “communications.” I felt that WDSS was going to be left behind when it could potentially be on the cutting edge of this rapidly advancing area.
I approached the principal at the time who quickly said “no,” because “offering such a course would decimate the numbers in the Visual Arts courses.” That would effectively render some art teachers “no longer required” in their area of expertise, forcing them to be reassigned outside of the art department, not to mention the significant investment needed to acquire the equipment required to offer such a course.
It was a difficult decision for sure, but I felt that it was a poor one, effectively leaving our students behind with a monetary and staffing-based decision.
So now to my vision.
Many other school boards have specialized “arts-based” schools that serve their most creative students. For example, the Thames Valley District School Board offers the Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts in London, and the Essex District School Board has Walkerville Collegiate Institute, renowned for its specialized program, the Walkerville Centre for the Creative Arts.
The Lambton Kent District School Board has nothing even remotely similar to serve our artistic population.
The Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts offers a complete academic curriculum consistent with programs in all elementary schools, but uniquely provides an enriched arts program in dance, drama, visual arts, and music. Students from across the city must apply to attend and are accepted starting at the Grade 4 level. There are 10 classrooms of 28 students from Grades 4 to 8, and attendance in all school activities is mandatory. Dates for all performances are posted in June for the upcoming year, and school activities are to take precedence over outside commitments.
If a student registers to play hockey, it must take a back seat to school performances. Now that’s a role reversal.
Students of Lester B. Pearson are also frequently included in the Grand Theatre High School Project, a large annual event supported by both the Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board, in which arts students from across the area participate in a large-scale musical production mentored by professionals in the field.
The Walkerville Centre for the Performing Arts is a similar program requiring all students to audition for a place. The artistic opportunities those schools offer are only a pipe dream here in Lambton-Kent.
My dream would be for the Lambton Kent District School Board to create an arts school for our students modelled after both of the programs I’ve mentioned. Providing a specialized learning experience, taught by the finest specialists in their field, in a state-of-the-art facility, is precisely what I dream about.
An important element of my dream is that the school be located right here in Wallaceburg — at WDSS. Wallaceburg District Secondary School is the most central point of the twin-county board, as evidenced by the countless board-wide meetings that took place there when I was still on staff.
The Matt Miletic Tartan Hall was repurposed as a meeting room, fondly referred to as “the pizza room” by many students, because of the frequent meetings in this glass, fishbowl-like space where passersby could observe both discussions and the often-provided lunches.
If any board personnel have been reading this, they have assuredly already dismissed my idea. But if education is for all students, I feel that our most artistic students are being overlooked. Yes, there are a few excellent arts programs in the LKDSB, but the opportunities are not equal for all students.
When SCITS and St. Clair Secondary schools were amalgamated to form Great Lakes Secondary School, a multi-million-dollar, state-of-the-art performing arts centre was built onto what was formerly St. Clair Secondary School. I have been in the facility, and it is beyond beautiful. It has the best of everything, including seating, a large stage, lighting, sound, great sightlines, backstage facilities with drama and music spaces attached, and excellent acoustics.
What do we have here in Wallaceburg?
WDSS had the music room removed and replaced with a $1.8-million “community hub” renovation that the band is not even allowed to use to hang coats, warm up before a concert, or store instrument cases.
When the provincial government removed the right for local boards to set tax rates and fund schools, it was intended to level the playing field between large urban centres and smaller rural boards like ours. If that level playing field truly exists, then the LKDSB should invest in WDSS and rethink what it is offering students across the two counties.
Would creating an arts-focused school affect programs in other schools? Perhaps somewhat. But education is supposed to be about opportunities for students, not staffing. Bringing our most dedicated arts students together in one facility, with the strongest educators and the best opportunities, is an easy decision to me.
Try to imagine the large-scale musicals, concerts, art exhibits, dance programs and plays — and all of the people that would be drawn to Wallaceburg.
And just think… a theatre our WCB could play in.
Now cue the dream sequence music.
