NLESD School Review Process

2019-20
Dorset Collegiate School System Review (Phase II)

The Board of Trustees of the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District recently undertook a review of the Dorset Collegiate School System in the fall of 2019. with the potential for closure of a school or schools within this system. During the March 28th public meeting of the Board of Trustees, the Motion outlined below was passed. Therefore, the District will proceed with the following system adjustments only when an extension to Dorset Collegiate is ready for opening at a future date.

MOTION: Dorset Collegiate School System, Dorset Collegiate (7-12), Green Bay South Academy (K-6), Brian Peckford Primary (K-3)
WHEREAS the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District is committed to providing the best possible educational programs for students; and
WHEREAS a reconfiguration of grading and a reorganization of schooling in the Dorset Collegiate School System is required to achieve that objective; and
WHEREAS in order to accommodate the students in one location infrastructure requirements must first be addressed;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that: Conditional upon the opening of an extension to Dorset Collegiate to accommodate K-6 students from Green Bay South Academy (K-6) and Brian Peckford Primary (K-3):
1. Dorset Collegiate will be reconfigured from Grades 7-12 to Grades K-12;
2. Green Bay South Academy (K-6) and Brian Peckford Primary (K-3) will close;
3. The student attendance zone for Dorset Collegiate will be rezoned to include the current student attendance zones for Green Bay South Academy (K-6) and Brian Peckford Primary (K-3).

Initially, a Notice of Motion was brought forth at the December 7, 2019 meeting of the Board, on which the District conducted consultations with the school community.

The review began following the October 26, 2019 meeting of the Board, focusing on potential school system improvements in areas of declining enrolment and involved initial consultations with the school councils and/or school community. For all early information and the initial feedback shared during the first round of community consultations, please visit the archived website here (Fall, 2019).

The Dorset Collegiate school system includes:

This school system is represented on the Board by Zone 7 Trustee Thomas Kendall.

Please find below the historical information outlining the:

Correspondence/Memos
Systems Review Presentation
Information Booklet
Consultations
Process Summary
School System Contact Information.

NUM	DETAILS
1.	Correspondence/Memos Correspondence provided by the District to the school community can be found below: Memo to Families - Results of the March 28 Board Meeting; Dorset Motion Passed (28/03/2020) (PDF) Memo to Families - Reminder; Community Meeting Presenters (14/02/2020) (PDF) Memo to Families - Release of ThoughtExchange Report (05/02/2020) (PDF) Memo to Families - ThoughtExchange Deadline (24/01/2020) (PDF) Memo to Families - Public School Community Meeting Announced (21/01/2020) (PDF) Memo to Families - Release of Updated Booklet/Launch of ThoughtExchange (15/01/2020) (PDF) Memo to Families - Notice of Motion (19/12/2019) (PDF) Memo to Families - Notice of Motion (07/12/2019) (PDF)
3.	Information Booklet In the interest of ensuring an informed community discussion ahead of the March 28, 2020 meeting of the Board of Trustees, the District releasedan updated Information Book for the Dorset Collegiate School System Review, originally released during preliminary community consultations on November 4, 2019. Information Booklet (15/01/2020) (PDF)
2.	Systems Review Presentation Please find below the recent Board meeting presentation of the school system review. Board Presentation for the Dorset Collegiate School System Review (07/12/2019) (PDF)
5.	Process Summary As of the Notice of Motion on December 7, 2019, the process for the Dorset Collegiate school system review included: Consultation with the school communities; An inclusive survey mechanism (ThoughtExchange) provided for individuals to outline their thoughts and opinions on the motion(s) being considered during the review (Round Two); A public school community meeting scheduled in the area to invite presentations, scheduled in advance, to be made to the Board; A report on the results of the ThoughtExchange opportunity provided to the school community; and At the March 28, 2020 public meeting of the Newfoundland and Labrador English School Board in St. John's, trustees will vote on the motion. Additionally, all communications and consultation activities undertaken with this school community prior to December 7 can be found on the Dorset Collegiate School System Phase One Review (Fall, 2019).
4.	Consultations It was extremely important for members of the school community to be able to provide their feedback during this process. The District provided a number of opportunities for school community members to have their voices heard. ThoughtExchange An opportunity for community members to present views and opinions of the changes proposed was made available to the school community through the online consultation tool ThoughtExchange in January, 2020. As part of the school review consultation process, the school community was asked to provide their input on a question related to the Motion being brought forward at the March 28 meeting of the Board. Below, please find the ThoughtExchange report on the results of this consultation. What are your thoughts and perspectives on the Motion for the Dorset Collegiate School System, as outlined on the District webpage? Please review the ThoughtExchange report results here. The results of this ThoughtExchange will help Trustees understand your community's perspective in advance of the March 28 public meeting. All voices matter, so your participation is crucial and valued. Please take the time to thoughtfully participate before 11:59 p.m. (NT), Sunday, January 26, 2020. Please note: Any member of the school community who may have issues connecting with ThoughtExchange using technology (internet connection problems, computer access, language barriers, etc.) should connect with the school administration of a school within this system. District schools are committed to ensuring families are able to provide their valuable input into this process. School Community Meeting The District held a public school community meeting on Wednesday, March 4, at Dorset Collegiate, Pilley's Island. Members of the school community who wanted to make a presentation to the Board of Trustees were invited to do so by making their intentions known in advance.
6.	Contact Information Should you have any questions about this process, please contact the Director of Schools for your school system: Dorset Collegiate High School System (Brian Peckford Primary, Green Bay South Academy, and Dorset Collegiate) Paul Rose · 637-4000 · paulrose@nlesd.ca.

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