Decisions have been made surrounding the transition year, September 2019 – June 2020, for AMDSB’s Stratford Central and Northwestern students, grades 7-12.
Students will be together at Stratford Northwestern Secondary School.
We received a lot of input for consideration from thoughtexchange, and for this, we are grateful.
Here’s what you told us:
- Maintaining high quality education with minimal disruption to learning during the transition year is priority.
- Protect time after school for co-curricular activities.
- Don’t split the school day for students.
- Keep all students together in one location.
- Keep timetabling consistent for all students.
TRANSITION Phase (September 2019 – June 2020): Further Details
AMDSB is committed to minimizing the disruption to learning and ensuring the smoothest transition possible for our students.
Everyone Will Be Together
AMDSB is presently examining the use of satellite spaces such as the Stratford YMCA and the addition of portables, and a tentative timetable is currently in development to ensure that we can accommodate the majority of students on the main campus.
Transportation (both city and school buses), co-curriculars, lockers and many additional details are under consideration.
Consistent Timetables
During the TRANSITION year, start and end of day times will be similar to the existing schedules for both school communities and will remain within the current busing windows.
Parents and students made it clear via thoughtexchange that current school day times are preferred over a split day. We honoured those thoughts and are currently working out the details to ensure school day times remain similar to current schedules for all students.
One Course Calendar
There will be one course calendar offered to all students during the transition year, so that every student will have access to a full breadth of programs.
Sense of Belonging
We are committed to the development of a sense of belonging for all students, focusing on the most important priorities. We are working on scheduling, staffing, program development and planning activities to help unite our students and staff for the upcoming year.
There will be many people from both SCSS and SNSS involved in the careful planning of this move so that we can help ease the transition for all students. AMDSB encourages the involvement of community, staff and students and is committed to open, honest, and transparent communication throughout this process.
There will be additional opportunities for students and parents to provide further input into how to make the TRANSITION year run smoothly.
“The steering committee is looking at the details that matter to our students such as locker space, transportation, clubs, and sports teams. There will be additional opportunities for students, staff and parents to provide input into how to make the TRANSITION year run smoothly”.
— Jodie Baker, Superintendent of Education (Stratford Region)
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