A plan to establish a new Africentric program inside a Toronto high school had some feathers ruffled on Tuesday, with students at Oakwood Collegiate fearing the change will come at the cost of diversity.
"This is one of the most diverse schools I know. There are Asians, blacks, whites. It doesn't matter. It is a diverse school," one student told CTV Toronto on Tuesday.
"We all can come together, whether it is clubs, sports or just socially, and by doing this they are trying to base a school off of one race. You can't do that."
It was only in 2009 that Toronto District School Board (TDSB) opened a black-focused elementary school.
Now school board officials say Oakwood Collegiate, located on St. Clair Avenue West near Dufferin Street, should house a high school with the same focus.
Jim Spyropoulos, TDSB co-ordinating superintendent for inclusive schools, says it is important the board consider new ways of reaching students.
"It is an exciting time for us to be able to look for solutions that are out of the box, that are creative and innovative and are going to allow us to do some different things for a group of students which has traditionally underachieved," Spyropoulos told CTV Toronto on Tuesday.
"It is time to do some different things and take some different types of risks."
On Wednesday, the program and school services committee will vote on plans to open the Africentric school starting in September. The board of trustees will vote on the committee's decision two weeks after that.
Board staff says space was a consideration in their decision to base the Africentic school at Oakwood. The high school has 730 students but has space for at least another 300.
However many students don't agree with the plans, claiming it could divide the current multicultural environment at the school.
An online petition against the plan has already gained 181 signatures and a Facebook group has garnered 327 members.
Vivian On, a student at the school, posted a message on the website saying: "I don't understand why they are causing segregation.
‘I think that we, the students at Oakwood, and the community should have a vote about this proposal and whether or not we approve."
Others attempted to set the record straight.
"It's just an Africentric program they're not making the school Africentric," said Tommy Carlberg, another student of the school.
A public meeting is being held in the school's cafeteria on Tuesday at 7 p.m. to discuss the plans.
With a report from CTV Toronto's John Musselman
