OUR LADY OF SORROWS HOLY ANGEL’S ST. MARK ST. LOUIS ST. LEO School Accommodation Review Public Meeting – May 20, 2015

St. Leo School Details St. Leo was built in It is the oldest Catholic School in Etobicoke. This history is important. St. Leo is located in the centre of Mimico beside St. Leo’s Catholic Church. It is within walking distance to Lake Ontario, nature trails, the Mimico Public Library, the Mimico Arena, the GoTrain (class trips downtown), Amos Waites Waterfront Park, the Mimico Tennis Club, the REC ROOM (before and after school child care) and LAMP Community Health Centre (outreach and resources). It is directly adjacent to the current Mimico Adult Centre which has the potential for a joint TCDSB, City of Toronto and TDSB community hub. Current enrolment is 53.2% at 244 students. OTG capacity is 459 students.

St. Leo School Details con’t FCI is currently 47.9% According to last status update provided by TCDSB in the last round of Ministry inspections in the FCI was 44%. In 12 years the FCI has not improved but is actually 3.9% higher. St. Leo has been historically passed over for renewal needs and revitalization. St. Leo will begin French Immersion for the 2015/16 school year. This alone will boost enrolment. St. Leo has a very active parent council and is very involved in the greater Mimico community. John English (TDSB school one block away) is over-capacity at almost 800 students - many of whom attend St. Leo’s Church.

St. Leo Concerns Closing St. Leo in an effort to right-size is not an option. The Church and Diocese also do not want this land sold out of the TCDSB. Selling this land would be short-sighted and a mistake. The amalgamation of St. Leo and St. Louis into the current St. Leo site is desirable but only with either a new school or significant revitalization of the present one. With an FCI of 47.9%, the present state is unacceptable and becomes even more so with an increased school population, placing greater pressure on an already wanting facility.

St. Leo Concerns con’t We are concerned because we have lost Catholic families to the TDSB. We are certain (based on letters from Catholic families who have left and chosen not to enroll their children as well as surveys in the community) that the low enrolment at St. Leo is directly related to deferrals of renewal and maintenance needs by the TCDSB. *Note this was a “strategy” that was “encouraged” to speed up the process of getting a new school for St. Leo - something the school community has been led to believe would happen for many years.

St. Leo Concerns con’t We are concerned that with the rapid gentrification of South Etobicoke, particularly with “top-ups”, town home and condo developments, the TCDSB is not offering young families in our area a viable and comparable option to TDSB schools. Ultimately this is lost enrolment and resource dollars for Catholic Education. We are concerned that in an effort to accommodate our sister schools, we will once again get the short end of stick.

St. Leo Influencing Factors St. Leo’s Church is located adjacent to St. Leo’s School. This is ideal both geographically and symbolically as the relationship between Church and School is at the core of Catholic Education. St. Leo parent council has been aggressively fundraising for the last three years to make significant improvements to our play yard, technology, sports teams and religious celebrations as well as actively generating increased parental involvement in all facets of school life. The school is now an amazing example of community, positive energy and thinking outside the box for new and long-term visions. Check out our 20/20 and Ecoteam plans on our website.

St. Leo Influencing Factors Con’t St. Leo is currently in a partnership with Humber College in their “Design, Situate and Build” Graduate course to install an innovative eco structure this summer Our parent council has raised18K for a greening project happening this summer, secured donations of rockery as well as trees from Humber College. Additionally, we are working with Humber and Moss Architects on a design for the entire block (including the Mimico Adult Centre) which includes a community hub / recreation facility as part of the long-term vision for the entire community.

St. Leo Influencing Factors Con’t As the oldest Catholic School in Etobicoke, St. Leo is approaching its centennial. As the mother school, it has a shared tradition with every daughter school in this SARC. In fact the Holy Sisters from Our Lady of Sorrows Church commuted to St. Leo’s to teach. It boasts incredible alumni (more current NHL players from St. Leo than the province of New Brunswick). Its historical relevance must be considered in a new school plan or a revitalization. Under no circumstances is St. Leo’s 90 year old history expendable to solve an immediate budget crisis. It is an historical treasure.

St. Leo Recommendations We are interested in amalgamation with St. Louis students south of the QEW, in a new building. If this is not possible our current site must be revitalized to accommodate our larger enrolment. We are adamantly opposed to the closure of St. Leo. We are interested in boundary changes that will right-size all schools in the SARC.

Map of St. Leo’s City Block

Map of Mimico Area