TORONTO -- The city's first high school level africentric program is now in the hands of just one teacher after enrolment numbers fell short of expectations.

 Board officials say the teaching staff was pared down from three to one after only six students enrolled for the first semester.

Spokesman Ryan Bird conceded the board only spent a couple of months promoting the Leonard Braithwaite program, currently housed at Winston Churchill Collegiate.

A promotional campaign that saw officials speak to students at nearby elementary schools, attend local festivals and roll out newspaper ads was only launched in May, Bird said.

Bird said the board will continue to promote the program, adding interest is expected to pick up for the January semester.

"We're hoping that once we promote this to more people, more people will enrol," Bird said.

But Toronto city councillor and former school trustee Josh Matlow said the low enrolment numbers may simply be a sign the program isn't resonating with its target group.

The program's mission -- to teach the ordinary high school curriculum through an africentric lens that highlights contributions from the country's black artists and intellectuals -- won't appeal to students bent on gaining a fuller picture of the world around them, Matlow said.

 "(Students) want to go to schools that will prepare them for success in our diverse society," he said. "Kids from every background can learn about their own background and about their friends."

The high school program is a continuation of the Africentric Alternative school, which opened in 2009 but only accepted students up to grade 7 last spring. Grade eight courses are available as of this month.

The school, which currently has an enrolment of 147, was created to address higher dropout rates and gaps in achievement in black students.

Bird said the africentric approach to the standard curriculum can help people feel more engaged with their studies, boosting their incentive to stay in school.

He said that the program was created after consultations with the community, who thought it was an important step.

Matlow said problems in education within certain ethnic groups should be addressed in ways other than creating separate schools.

"We need to reform the curriculum to ensure that every school reflects the diversity of the city," he said. "Black kids should learn about black people and their contributions to Canada's history, but so should everyone else."