Parents of students of Q’Shintul Mill Bay Nature School are protesting the sudden discontinuation of the special program that is the basis of their children’s education.
As recently as 2022, Q’Shintul Mill Bay Nature School was expanding, but an email on April 2 informed parents of children attending the school that the nature-based learning program will be reduced from its current Kindergarten through Grade 7 configuration to a K-2 satellite school for George Bonner Elementary.
The decision was made during a closed meeting of the Cowichan Valley School District’s board of trustees.
The nature school’s Parent Advisory Committee is formally appealing the decision and have requested a consultative process. A petition has been started and can be found at www.change.org/millbaynatureschool but parents say they’ve been given limited time to act.
A news release issued April 11 by the school’s PAC said parents were given an April 15 deadline to notify the district of where their children would attend school next fall.
The nature school’s PAC said parents and teachers met with representatives from the Cowichan Valley School District on April 4 and were told the reconfiguration was due to projected population growth and the decline in enrolment seen this school year. They were also told that because the school district was only cancelling a program/learning model and not closing the school outright, they were not required to consult with the community prior to making their decision.
School District spokesperson Jeff Rowan said the district simply needs the space the Mill Bay site provides.
“Discovery and Bench and George Bonner are full. The Mill Bay school program has currently about 90 kids in it,” he explained. “When we looked at the Kindergarten registrations, and we wanted to make sure we gave it a chance to have a full opportunity for school of choice — we wanted to make sure we waited as long as we could — the Kindergarten registration for next year, there’s 11 kids interested in coming.”
Rowan said the current students will have three options: any student can still remain at the school for the year 2024-25, or no matter where they’re from they can move over to George Bonner, because that’s where potentially some of their classmates will be, or they can return to their home to school back in their catchment area.
“As families we are extremely disheartened to learn of this decision, the manner in which it was made, as well as how it’s been communicated to our community,” said Hilary Henegar, a member of the school’s PAC. “Despite the province’s attempts to build decolonized, inclusive education into our system, our school district is failing to support the very beacons of hope that are incubating and proving child-centred, nature-based models that support diverse learners.”
In the past, district brass have taken a collaborative approach to finding community-based solutions when faced with projected population growth and potentially tough decisions related to its schools. That’s not happening with the nature school, say parents.
“As parents who very intentionally chose this school and way of learning for our children, we are deeply troubled by the reasoning offered up by the district to end the program as we know it,” said PAC member Jaime Blacklock. “This decision does not respect our children or the beautiful community we have built with the staff and families — all of whom have invested significant time, resources and energy to help the school grow into what it’s become over the last six years.”
Rowan noted after the letter to parents and April 4 meeting, a second meeting was held April 11 to continue to engage parents.
“The first meeting we listened to their questions and answered them as best we could and took away questions that we didn’t have all the answers for, and then [April 11] tonight we had a little presentation on some of the numbers in most sites and answered any more questions,” he said.
Rowan said the district has a responsibility to make sure they are using their facilities well.
“What the reconfiguration does is it would mean over three years, all the kindergarten kids from Bonner and Mill Bay catchments would go to Mill Bay School, and then the school would be a full school. This would also reduce the population at George Bonner, which is projected to hit over 500 in the coming couple of years,” he said. “The Mill Bay site, we’re not closing the school but there will be a reconfiguration. There will be a changeover in the program, but the young kids might be able to have a nice opportunity with some nature experience, and while a little bit different, it’s a great site for nature.”