Parents, students, alumni at odds with Vancouver School Board over Ideal Mini School relocation

he Vancouver School Board got an earful from Ideal Mini School parents, students and alumni Wednesday evening over its decision to relocate the school and its students.

The school board held a public delegation meeting to discuss the move.

Earlier this month, the school board announced it would be moving Ideal Mini School’s 125 students to Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School’s campus, prompting plenty of pushback from students and parents.

”The question and answer period held with students and families was quite terrible,” said Chandra Lesmeister, a parent.

“We felt dismissed, we were not heard and questions were not answered. Emotions are high and no evidence of a plan was presented.”

The plan is to use Ideal’s building for students from the overpopulated Sir Wilfrid Laurier Elementary.

Ideal Mini School parents and alumni argued the school can’t be replicated in a larger learning environment and said they didn’t feel the board was listening to their concerns.

”(The VSB) has shown an astounding lack of communication and an astounding lack of transparency through this entire process,” said Sonya Vallis, an Ideal Mini School alumna.

“(The board) has refused to answer questions from parents and caregivers, and has refused to explain (the) reasoning behind this decision.”

The VSB has previously issued a statement regarding the decision.

“Due to limited space at Laurier Elementary, the district decided to relocate the Ideal Mini program to Churchill Secondary starting from September 2023. This move is necessary to make room for in-catchment students at Laurier Elementary. Churchill Secondary has enough space to accommodate all the current students enrolled in the Ideal Mini program,” staff said in an email.

“The district has exhausted all other space options at Laurier. All 12 classrooms in the main building, as well as the two portables on site, are currently being used for instructional purposes.

Earlier Wednesday, Ideal Mini School students walked out of class and marched to the Vancouver School Board’s office in protest of the potential relocation.

“A lot of people come to this school because they’re looking for academic enrichment with a tight-knit community and it’s really hard to have that when you’re inside a school with 2,000 kids,” said Liam Nevard, an Ideal Mini School student.

by Global News