The Ideal Location for Churchill’s Ideal Mini
Students hold signs outside VSB headquarters to protest the decision to move Ideal Mini School from its current building | Photo Credit: Ideal Mini School
On Apr. 12, students and parents from Ideal Mini School received a letter from the Vancouver School Board (VSB) about the relocation of their students and faculty to Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School’s campus in the following school year. In this letter procured by The Nest from an Ideal Mini student, the VSB stated that “due to limited space at Laurier Elementary, the District has decided to relocate the Ideal Mini program to Churchill Secondary” and that “the District has exhausted all other space options at Laurier.”
This announcement was given 10 weeks before the end of the 2023-2024 school year. The VSB cited the move being made because of increased enrollment demand into Laurier Elementary, where there are “37 Laurier catchment students who have been placed at nearby schools.” The district wants to accommodate additional students at Laurier including waitlisted Kindergarten students by transferring the 125 Ideal Mini students into the main building of Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School.
Following this announcement, an emergency public delegation meeting was held on Apr. 26, where students, parents, and alumni protested the latest changes. During the meeting, Ideal Mini’s Parent Advisory Council (PAC) chair, Jennifer Uegama, said that the VSB’s decision came “without prior notice and without fair process.”
Uegama criticized the VSB for the lack of notice and the lack of a plan to relocate the students and integrate them into the main school, which currently houses around 2000 students. The VSB had said that they “will collaborate with administrators to locate the program within Churchill building in a way that maintains the cohesiveness of the learning community,” but has not communicated with Ideal Mini staff, students, or parents any plans to do so.
Administrative Policy 381 of the VSB’s Policy Handbook states that the district will prioritize student needs by “making informed decisions and engaging in open communication with rights holders and stakeholders.”
In a response to a question from VSB trustee Jennifer Reddy about students being informed of the move, Uegama also shared that the letter given to Ideal Mini students was also given to the Churchill and Laurier communities.
“Not only has the VSB not considered individual students, they didn’t even consider individual schools.” She stated.
The VSB has had contact with students in the program, holding a question period at Ideal Mini on Apr. 19. Leo Robinson, a student of Ideal Mini, said in an Apr. 20 interview with Vancouver Is Awesome that during this question period he “didn’t feel that much has been taken into consideration.”
The VSB commented in their letter that “District staff will work to facilitate a transition by organizing meetings to answer questions, address any possible concerns, and facilitate tours of the new location” in the following weeks for Ideal Mini students.
In an emailed statement to Vancouver Is Awesome, the VSB responded to the student protests stating that “the relocation of a District choice program is an operational matter that does not require Board approval.” This information would apply to other District choice programs as well, including some elementary school programs, though it is unclear through the VSB website if other mini school programs also apply to this label.