Government Continues to Force Families to Fight for their Children’s Future; NDP
Queen’s Park — Today, NDP Education Critic Lisa Gretzky and MPP Teresa Armstrong released the following statement after attending rallies calling on the government to commit to keeping provincial and demonstration schools open in the long term. Provincial schools for the Deaf support students who are Deaf or hard of hearing while demonstration schools provide 1-2 years of highly specialized programming for students with severely learning disabilities.
“This government continues to keep parents in the dark about their children’s future. It was only after families rallied in their communities and marched to Queen’s Park to demand that their children have a school to attend next year that the government finally opened enrolment. Now, families completing 2017-18 school year application are again forced to fight for their children as the future of these schools after 2017 remains uncertain. Parents deserve to know that these schools will be there for their children and our next generation of learners deserve the same opportunity to succeed. It is time for the government to commit to the long term future of provincial and demonstration schools,” stated Lisa Gretzky, NDP Education Critic.
“This government knows that extraordinary work is accomplished at schools like Amethyst Demonstration School and Robarts School for the Deaf in my community of London. Despite acknowledging the success of these schools time and time again, the Liberal government continues to ignore parents, children, alumni and education workers calling for these schools to remain open after 2017. No parent should have to live under the stress of not knowing where their child is going to school or if the school can meet their specialized educational needs,” stated London-Fanshawe MPP Teresa Armstrong.