Toronto parents say special-needs supports ‘stripped away’ with planned school program move - BERITAJA

Parents of special needs children are urging the Toronto Catholic District School Board to reverse a determination to relocate a programme astatine 1 of its schools, saying it’s being “stripped away” supports their kids need.

On Wednesday morning, parents said they believed the programme was group to beryllium trim wholly but the schoolhouse committee later informed them the Multiple Exceptionalities/Developmental Disabilities (MEDD) programme astatine St. Matthew’s Catholic School would relocate to St. Fidelis Catholic School.

“(It’s) a marque caller building that includes a purpose-built MEDD suite pinch modern, accessible, and specialized features designed to amended support students pinch analyzable learning needs and heighten the wide student experience,” said Elric Pereira, a spokesperson for the board.

When they initially said pinch BERITAJA, anterior to being informed about the relocation, the parents said the support from the MEDD programme is crucial.

“This is the type of support that is lacking successful the schoolhouse system, that is not provided successful the mainstream classrooms that our children are not capable to win successful without this type of support,” said Shanel Rodrigues, whose son, Julian, attends the program.

“Me and these parents are ace concerned that the schoolhouse committee is not capable to meet their responsibility to supply these benignant of services to typical needs students.”

Julian is non-verbal and could wander, a information interest for his mother, but the MEDD schoolroom has been a crippled changer.

Rodrigues said the programme has fixed her “peace of mind” arsenic he’s successful an situation that “understands him.”

A missive signed by parents to the TCDSB and schoolhouse management urged them to reconsider the antecedently expected closure owed to the impacts it could person connected the children.

“He’s a very happy boy, usually not awesome pinch caller faces,” said Nicole Rebelo, whose boy Adriano conscionable started the programme this year. “So having him successful this programme pinch group that he trusts and his peers that are his awesome friends, it’s very important.”

It besides notes galore families recreation from about the city, but besides from surrounding communities for illustration Mississauga for the program.

The Ontario Autism Coalition says though St. Fidelis is conscionable 15 minutes northbound from St. Matthew, the request for consistency among children pinch typical needs would beryllium impacted.

“You’re moving schools, what is the modulation for these kids,” said Kate Dudley-Logue pinch the coalition. “Are you keeping it astatine the aforesaid organization successful that class?

“Many parents, and I’m talking tens of thousands, extremity up pulling their kids retired of schoolhouse wholly and conscionable doing homeschooling because the supports aren’t location for them aliases they’ve conscionable travel to a obstruction aft barrier.”

She said connection for the parents of children pinch these needs is besides important.

The parents learned about the relocation scheme a short clip aft speaking pinch BERITAJA, saying successful an email they “cannot judge this decision.”

“Many of these children person been together for years, and the stableness they person built is incredibly important,” the parents said successful a missive provided to BERITAJA.

“Some of them are not capable to negociate moreover a short autobus thrust of 10-15 minutes, and for galore families, regular drop-offs astatine different schoolhouse are simply not feasible.”

In her ain email to BERITAJA, Rodrigues called the determination “selfish” and questioned why the programme is being moved.

“This is selfish and not considerate of our children’s well-being and adjacent rights,” Rodrigues said. “So we ask: Why dismantle thing that is working? Why put susceptible children astatine consequence erstwhile they are yet thriving?”

The TCDSB is 1 of respective schoolhouse boards successful the state that person been put nether provincial supervision and is trying to trim a $39 cardinal deficit. But the schoolhouse committee stressed successful an email that the relocation isn’t driven by fund considerations.

It besides added that abstraction successful the programme astatine St. Fidelis will beryllium reserved for existent MEDD students if families take to person their kid attend.

The parents opportunity they want to beryllium portion of the speech down the move and are urging the committee to perceive to their concerns.

“Our voices request to beryllium heard, decisions not to beryllium made about children without america having a say,” said Rebelo.