Acton Schools Frequently Asked Questions

A Boundary Review Committee will be established with composed of

• A non-affected Superintendent and a non-affected Trustee will jointly chair the Boundary Review Committee

• All members of the Steering Committee (for more information see School Boundary Administrative Procedure​)

• P​arent representatives from all affected communities

Principals of affected schools are not on the Committee, but may be called upon to verify information as required.

Once the Board has approved the initiation of a school boundary review, the Superintendent of the affected Family of Schools will establish the Boundary Review Steering Committee and lead the school boundary review process. This committee will consist of:

• Family of Schools Superintendent(s) of all affected areas
• Superintendent from a non-affected area
• General Manager of Planning Services

• Trustee(s) for all of the affected areas, including Trustee who will co-chair the Boundary Review Committee

As necessary, the committee may also include the following supplementary members.

• Superintendent of Program
• Superintendent of Business Services
• Superintendent of Student Services

This review grew out of discussions between Acton administrators (past and present) from the three Acton schools and Scott Podrebarac, Superintendent of Education for the Acton family of schools. Discussion points were a range topics from student academic achievement to student wellness to retention of Acton students in the Acton community. The idea of creating a grade 7-12 facility in Acton grew out of those discussions with the following rationale:

• Fewer transitions for Robert Little PS community.
• Optimize enrolments at Acton District HS; improved course offerings at Acton District HS.
• Aligns K-6 schools to Primary(grades 1-3)/Junior curriculum (grades 4-6).
• Enhanced community supports co-located within McKenzie-Smith Bennett PS (explore EarlyON Centre, Child Care options and other supports).
• Diversity of student success supports and learning options for Intermediate students at Acton District HS.
• Balances enrollments at the two Acton elementary schools (McKenzie-Smith Bennett PS and Robert Little PS)

For the 2020/2021 school year, Robert Little PS would become a JK to Grade 6 English program school and a Grade 2 to Grade 6 French Immersion (FI) school. Therefore, all existing English and FI students currently enrolled in Grade 5 would remain at Robert Little for Grade 6.For the 2021/2022 school year, McKenzie Smith Bennett PS would become a JK to Grade 6 English program school. Acton District HS would for the 2021/2022 school year would be hosting the Grade 7 and 8 English and FI program students, along with all the Grade 9 to 12 students. So Acton DHS would become a Grade 7 to 12 school.

If grade 7 and 8 students move to Acton District HS, transportation policies for these students do not change. These students may still access transportation services if they meet the current minimum distance for elementary students (JK-8) of greater than 1.6 km.

Students attending the Life Skills programs that currently accommodate students in Grades 4 -8 would be given 3 options. They could choose to remain at MSB until the end of their grade 8 year, they could choose to go to Silver Creek in Georgetown for grades 7 and 8, or they could elect to attend the Career Pathways Program at Georgetown High for grades 7 -12. The choice of the right program would be discussed with each child’s needs in mind and in collaboration with parents.

There are two HDSB schools in Burlington that are grade 7 to 12 English and FI schools - Burlington Central and Aldershot District.

As with all Elementary students in grades 1-8 in the HDSB, students will have 6 periods per day and two nutrition breaks.

The timetabling decisions will be made by the administration at the school. All schools with grades 7 and 8 have differing rotary subjects. The rotary subjects vary per school based on staffing, facility and program decisions at the school. For example, a music teacher may also teach language arts to the same students. In the same school, another class could have a different music teacher and a different language arts teacher.

Yes. This is a shared facility with staff supervision during class time and nutrition breaks.

Extra-curricular athletic teams are defined by panel (elementary/secondary) and age of child in secondary school. There are Halton and provincial age requirements which outline extracurricular participation. Each grade level is represented in student leadership (e.g., Student Council, Student Parliament, Student Senate etc.). The student leadership is a school-based decision. Both Aldershot School and Burlington Central Schools have grades 7-12 student leadership. There are also many extracurricular opportunities for grades 7-12.

School dances are run by panel. Elementary dances are held for students in grades 7 and 8. Secondary dances are held for students in grades 9 - 12.

No. Panel specific announcements are shared by classroom teacher and/or posted electronically.

No. Elementary students and secondary students have separate eating times in the cafeteria and are supervised by their elementary teachers.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes. Grade 8 graduations are held at the end of the year. Intermediate excursions across Halton vary with the time they occur (e.g., some schools go camping in the fall, others travel toward the end of the year, etc.). This is a school-based decision but most Grade 8 classes offer some form of overnight experience.

Yes. Shared spaces include, but are not limited to, the technology shops, the library, gyms, outdoor facilities, cafeteria, auditorium, etc.. This offers Grades 7 and 8 students enhanced access to specialized learning spaces.

Most of the classes for grades 7 and 8 are located in proximity to each other in a section of the school. Given the school facility differs from school to school, students use the washroom closest to the area in which they are learning. School staff work to coordinate this through timetabling and supervision.

This would be determined at the school by the staff.

No. Staff and administration at both schools work with grade 6 feeder schools on a regular basis to support the transition to grade 7. Students and parents attend information evenings prior to grade 7. Students are rejoining older students and in some cases siblings from their elementary school. Parents and students at both grades 7-12 schools report very high levels of safety and belonging as shown by our Have Your Say Data collected annually.

Yes. In our grades 7 - 12 schools, there is a Principal, an elementary Vice Principal and a secondary Vice Principal.

Transportation qualifications remain the same and are based on the grades students attend. Students in Grades 7 and 8 qualify for bussing if they are more than 1.6 km from their school while those in Grades 9-12 qualify for bussing if they are more than 3.2 km from the school. In the case of the Acton Boundary Review, the proposed changes would result in approximately 20 more students qualifying for bussing using this years students as a sample model.

Yes.

Yes. There are agreed upon transfer protocols that we follow that do allow for staff to switch over should they choose.

When a school is over 100% utilization, it means that there are more students then there is space within the school building and portables may be needed to accommodate students. In secondary schools, the utilization of a building is more flexible where school administration have more opportunities to accommodate students inside the school since not all students are in classrooms at the same time (ie. lunch breaks over multiple periods). Depending on how school administration structures the school daily schedule and students timetables, it is possible that portables would not be required at Acton DHS in Option 1.

The Boundary Review Steering Committee (BRSC) looked at Brookville PS, Limehouse PS and Stewarttown PS communities when the study was initiated in September 2019. After some discussion it was concluded that Brookville PS, Limehouse PS and Stewarttown PS will not be included in this study. Even though the current Acton DHS boundary includes some portion of the Brookville PS, Limehouse PS and Stewarttown PS catchment areas, it was determined that the purpose of this boundary study was to help improve student learning outcomes for students in Acton and that changing the boundaries for Brookville PS, Limehouse PS and Stewarttown PS was not required to help achieve this.

The Halton District School Board follows the School Boundary Review Administrative Procedure for its boundary review studies. The final decision for a boundary review study is made by the Board of Trustees by a vote.

There are a number of steps that a boundary review study follows. In general for this study:

• The Boundary Review Committee (BRC) reviews options and recommends a preferred option(s) and any other input to be considered and sends to the Boundary Review Steering Committee (BRSC). 
• The BRSC considers the recommendations and other input from the BRC and can make possible revisions. 
• The Superintendent that is responsible for the boundary review study and is a member of the BRSC writes a board report and presents the report to the Administration Council and the Director of Education.
• The Director of Education can make further revisions to the recommendations in the board report and then shares with the Board of Trustees for a decision.  

The Board of Trustees votes on the recommendations made in the board report.

In the School Boundary Review Administrative Procedure, an Integration Committee is formed once a decision has been made from a boundary review study. The committee plans and integrates students and staff affected by the decision. A Superintendent of Education would chair the Integration Committee and the committee can be made up of but not limited to school board staff, parents and students.

The Board has two existing grade 7-12 models in Burlington, Aldershot District and Burlington Central. At the BRC meeting on Tuesday, January 28, 2020, a presentation will be made by Michelle Lemaire, Principal of Burlington Central, on their grade 7-12 model. This will help in presenting some details that potential could be in Acton if the boundary decision is made. The slide deck and notes from the BRC meeting will be made available on the Acton schools boundary review website after the meeting.

Families who have students in the Life Skills program at MSB will have three different pathways they can choose in consultation with School Board staff.

1. Remain at MSB for their Grade 7 and 8 years
2. Transition to Silver Creek in Georgetown for their Grade 7 and 8 years
3. Start in the CPP program at Georgetown District High School early and stay for grades 7-12.

All three options will be made available and we will work with each family at the end of their grade 6 year to support the selection of the option that best fits the needs of their child.