Dear Fellow Parents, Guardians and UBC/UEL Residents,
We are facing a crisis in our schools and need your continued support. Our local schools need to be rebuilt and expanded!
We need you to e-mail the VSB school trustees and provincial government to let them know action is needed NOW. Let them know that students, parents, guardians, and area residents have waited too many years for the same school facilities that exist in Vancouver. We all pay through our taxes for public schools. Our children have a right to publicly funded schools.
A critical decision on the future of our schools will be made June 19, and the decision-makers need to hear from as many of us as possible before that date. They need to be reminded that hundreds of families in the UBC/UEL
area are affected and concerned, and that we insist on fair treatment.
Go to our webpage http://www.rebuilduhill.ca and send your message in one easy step.
You can call the VSB Office of The Secretary Treasurer directly at 604-713-5286.
You can contact us by email rebuild.uhill@gmail.com
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A number of emails from U Hill parents and community members, that were copied to our email, have been added below for information.
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24 comments:
Dear Premier Campbell and Minister Bond,
If you do not understand the school crisis at UBC and are unaware of the issues in the Premier's own riding, then I suggest you peruse the discussion here: http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/newproposals/.
The majority of families of school age children living in the UBC school catchment area do not speak English as a first language, have on average a significantly lower income than surrounding areas, yet are highly educated. They are a silent majority for a number of sociological reasons. These are the children who are sent at their own expense to various Vancouver schools, miles away from friends and family, or who are learning in completely inadequate facilities.
The Premier's constituency, and the BC Government, particularly the Minister of Education are irresponsible and immoral in not having helped to solve this problem several years ago.
Everybody in the UBC area is waiting for a response from the Provincial Government.
We are no longer waiting patiently.
(U Hill Secondary School parent)
Dear Premier Gordon Campbell, Vancouver School Board Trustees, and Minister of Education Shirley Bond,
I am writing to ask you to proceed with the building of a new secondary school on UBC campus as soon as possible as the current high school is totally inadequate. Upgrading the current elementary school or building a second elementary school should be done concomitantly.
I am a long-time resident in both faculty and market housing at the University of British Columbia. My wife and I studied at UBC early in our academic studies and now after finishing our Ph.Ds elsewhere, we both work at UBC. Our children attend the University Hill Elementary and Secondary Schools. Our family appreciates the general quality of education that we have had access to here at UBC - class size tends to be higher than desirable - but overall we see progress in our children's education.
In the ten years that our children have been in school here at UBC; however, and even as we considered ourselves quite fortunate, we see that many families were not able to place their children into the local schools on campus. Moreover and since my older child moved to the secondary school, we have been quite appalled at the quality of the physical structure itself and its inadequate facilities (an extremely small gymnasium and library, limited washroom facilities, no lunchroom, use of portable classrooms/trailers). Amazingly and thanks to the principal & teachers, the school spirit and academic achievement levels are quite high. And while I believe the elementary school was designed to withstand a moderate earthquake, I suspect that the secondary school would not.
My family and I and many others in our growing neighbourhood have concerns about the increasingly difficult situations that families have in gaining access to the local schools and also in guaranteeing a quality educational experience for our children in these local schools. We have attended various meetings that provided an overview of the needs of the UBC area and also of the prospects and problems in building/upgrading the schools.
What we have heard at these meetings is that a formula exists that is used to calculate when building/replacing a school is appropriate.
What the formula and stats on the elementary and secondary students on UBC campus are pointing to is that the current local school capacity has been exceeded. What we know and what we have been saying in response is that the number of long-term resident families (with children) at UBC has been and is growing quickly as UBC promotes its land for residential use. This trend in student numbers is not going to reverse.
As taxpayers, what we have been asking for is a rapid response to the most obvious need - first a new secondary school that can appropriately accommodate the already excess student body at UHill Secondary with sufficient room for the high school students that are forced currently to attend other high schools off campus. Concomitantly, the space for elementary students should also be increased. In both cases, the average class size should be reduced to a more manageable level.
I would be most grateful for a positive response to our request.
尊敬的VSB的各位理事:
我是UBC的居民,我的孩子在UBC小学读七年级.前几天,我和我先生去UBC中学为小孩注册,我们发现UBC中学相对于在那里读书的孩子的数量来说实在是太小了.走廊里人挤人,孩子们全部都在学校外面的马路边上就着冷风吃饭,既不利于健康又危险.我们选择UBC这样一个高尚的地方居住,就是看中了它的小学,中学以及大学的教育环境.所以,我们强烈呼吁请为孩子们创造一个更好一点的学习环境吧.再造一所大一些的学校给孩子们吧.
谢谢你们
学生家长赵鸿璐
Dear Sir/Madam:
I am a fairly new parent at UHill with a child in Grade 8, and have to say – I am very impressed by the way the wonderful staff run the school and the amazing academic reputation the school maintains, despite the very crowded space they all have to function in.
It’s seems a great shame that such a wonderful school is operating under such cramped conditions, especially since it’s a high school with big strapping growing teens striding its corridors daily, to boot.
I am familiar with Queen Elizabeth Annex.
When my child back then was on the verge of entering Grade 1; we had both Lord Kitchener Elementary and Queen Elizabeth Annex to choose from, in our catchment boundary at that time - Dunbar.
Though Queen Elizabeth Annex was a cosy and safe size, we nevertheless perceived it to be ‘disruptive’ as the kids enrolled there have to go onto another school when upon reaching Grade 4.
We ended up opting for Lord Kitchener Elementary.
So did many other friends in the neighbourhood when faced with this choice – they either went to the bigger Queen Elizabeth Elementary (W16th), or Lord Kitchener (King Edward).
The reason being it just made little sense to adjust to one school for a mere 3 years, only to have to uproot again in Grade 4 to another school.
As such, QE Annex is under-ultilised and serving a very small minority who is now opposing its closure.
There are already two elementary schools (both within walking distance from QE Annex) in the area. There seems to be really little need for yet another smaller school to co-exist in the area.
Should a much larger proportion of needier students be held hostage, especially when such a wonderful opportunity knocks? University Hill has been in need for a new bigger site for years!
Dear Vancouver School Board Trustees,
As we hear these days in the media the new schools for UBC are on top of the news.
It seems it is time to review these schools and find the necessity of some changes. My son is in U-Hill Secondary and loves this school.
He was in grade 5 when we moved to UBC and I already knew the U-Hill elementary is not going to be the best public Elementary.
Same time I started reviewing BC high schools ranking for a few years and with the amazing high level for U-Hill Secondary on those years we decided to stay in this area. U-Hill was the only public school in the first 5 top schools of BC and had the score of 9.8-10/10. But what happened to those scores? Unfortunately these score are coming down and last year it was this school was # 13 on the list.
This school was always the best of public schools and it could be a good model for the others. Now with over loading it we are losing everything. All the hard work they have done in the past to is washing away. As we see the fall of U-Hill in the ranking chart could be a sign.
It was an article in the local newspaper (Courier) about Vancouver' public high schools and their problems with rebel student who are caring knife, gun, sprays and ... and as a result we see news like murdering15 years old teenager in East Vancouver and ...
We rarely facing these problems in U-Hill. Most of kids here trying to be in sports team, theatre or different clubs provided by school.
How long do you think U-Hill' staff can have everything under control? They can be on top till the number of stuff, students, space and equipment will be in balance. We can't expect kids eat or study on the hallways, having over loaded classrooms, not equipped lab, Gym., auditorium and still being the best of BC.
We have seen big expansion in most of high schools around Vancouver like "Lord Bing" but haven't done anything for U-Hill except adding portable.
With considering all new development coming up in UBC it is time to do something fundemental for these school before we lose everything.
Best regards,
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am one of the parent of University-Hill Secondary. My son does not had his own locker. The school is so old and lack of facilities that the other schools have. The school is over crowded and smelly. They urgently need a new building that they are happy to stay everyday.
So, please support us to rebuild this school.
Thanks very much for your kind assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Hi there;
Regarding a spacious location,our children in U-Hill Elementary School really need to this building.It is suffice to say that,my daughter is in a grade 2 with 24 classmates.They need to express themselves in all aspects of training.Hope the administrators and authorities will find a solution to this problem and keep the experienced teachers for their generous and intense dedication to our children.Undoubtedly, our children will benefit from the new situation.
Yours Sincerely
To the Vancouver School Trustees
I am the mother of 2 girls who attend University Hill Elementary School. I feel very privileged that my daughters are able to attend this wonderful school. The staff is excellent and the learning experiences have been both enjoyable and valuable for my children. They continue to be enthusiastic about going to school and I feel confident as a parent that they are getting an excellent education and experience.
However, it is painfully obviously that this school (as well as University Secondary School) is operating over-capacity and there still is not enough room to fill the demand of the catchment. I live on campus at UBC and I have several neighbors and know of many other parents who are forced to send their children to other schools outside the area. Not only that, this area continues to grow with new homes being built and residents moving in in record numbers! We are in desperate need of new schools being built - and soon!
I know that you are already aware of this. I just wanted to send you this e-mail to support the School Board with their plan to build new schools in our area on UBC campus. I understand you will be making a decision sometime next month about the proposed construction of new University Hill Elementary and Secondary schools on campus. It is my hope that you will hear our voices in the community and you will approve this proposal.
Thank you for very much for your kind attention and consideration.
Sincerely,
Dear Mrs.Wong,
We are parents of [ . . . ] whom study in University Elementary School. Although he became one of student in U Hill not a long time,he is very love his school and happy in school every day.
U Hill had many great students and excellent staffs.But unfortunately the building of school is over crowed and inadequate. My son's classroom is in a very crowed and poor wood house now and it is separate from the school building. It will be very commodious, especially in raining day.So we are avid to build a new school to let our children and more children to study in U Hill.
We care our kids and care all of the children whom wanna study in U Hill, because it is really a good school in Vancouver.
Please consider our advise carefully. Thanks!
Best regards，
Dear members of the Vancouver School Trustees:
I have a daughter who is an grade 8 student of University Hill Secondary School. I strongly appeal for the rebuilding of the U-Hill school.
This school has been over crowded and the school resources have been inadequate for years. My daughter complained that the dance classes were not as good as expected, the mini clubs are few, and the selective courses for grade 10, 11 and 12 are limited. She often feels envy toward the large and bright classrooms, the spacious activity areas, and the swimming pool of the Lord Byng Secondary school.
I believe all of the parents of Uhillians would be very appreciated if a new U-Hill could be built in the near future.
Sincerely yours,
Hi there,
The overcrowding at University Hill Elementary and University Hill Secondary is not acceptable. The number of children (over 200) that are forced to attend out-of-catchment schools is not acceptable. Our children are in need of new schools NOW. They cannot wait any longer while you conduct review after review.
All public schools in BC are funded by the provincial government. As a resident of the UEL/UBC neighbourhoods, I pay my school taxes to the provincial government just like any other resident in the City of Vancouver or BC. Our children are entitled to equal access to a school in their catchment just like other children within the Vancouver School Board.
On June 19, we need you to tell our children they deserve to attend schools in their catchment with normal class sizes just like their friends who live east of Blanca.
Hello,
I am greatly encouraged to hear that the VSB has made plans to build a new high school and elementary school for University Hill students. As I'm sure you're aware, the situation has become untenable at both Uhill elementary and secondary. My daughter attended Uhill Elementary for four years and began at Uhill Secondary in September. While these schools both have absolutely excellent staff and students, the facilities are poor, especially as compared to other schools in Vancouver. I think it is only fair to say that the situation cannot continue as it is. Our students and staff deserve better. The entire university community is thriving and growing, but the current school facilities represent a shabby and decrepit face for VSB and our children. Please approve the thoughtful plans you have made. I anticipate wonderful new schools for the families of University Hill.
Sincerely,
I was shocked when I first saw U-Hill secondary school. It is so crowded,shabby.I could hardly believe it's secondary school in 21 st century in Canada.a very small library,a small gym,limited computers,a tiny unsafe workshop...no cafeteria,our children have to sit on the ground of the narrow hallway.... like groups of beggars...My eyes are brimming with tears.Please help them , they deserve a better learning environment ,they need a new school,and we need your help .For many times, I wanted to ask for help,but my poor language skill prevented me from doing so.Today,I don't want to be silent any longer,I want to ask you for help.Please help the kids! Your help may change their life!
Sincerely yours,
( a mother of a grade 8 student inU-Hill Secondary School)
Dear Trustees,
I would like to support the VSB's Phase-1 proposal for building a new school for UBC. There are so many new residential projects on campus, but the school is not big enough for students who live in this area. Could you please consider building a new school for the students , so they could have better environment to study and have good memories for their childhood.
Many thanks for your consideration.
Dear trustees:
I am a parent of U-Hill secondary School. My son tells me that both their staff and students need a new school badly.
It's difficult to imagine so many people work and study in so small space. The school's equipments are inadequate and waits for an action plan for a long long time.
I hope you can understand how much we look forward a new school and place importance on our children's demand.
Please make a right decision good to most kids. Let them can study happier and no longer suffer in waiting.
Thank you so much
I am writing to lend my support to the many parents and teachers of the university hill schools who are concerned that 1) the university hill schools are operating above capacity and 2) that many children who live on the UBC campus are being bussed to other schools outside the area. As a parent of two children at U-Hill Elementary I feel very lucky that there was space for them when we moved here. Since then I have been hearing many stories of families being turned away and am reminded on a daily basis of just how lucky we were. There was literally only two spaces left and they just happened to be in my children's grades. But should I really feel that lucky? There should be spaces for my children in this area, and indeed for all the children here. After all this is a university campus where education is of upmost importance and where there are many families who hold education as a top priority. The area needs to be able to accommodate its children and give them the learning structure they need. This means enough schools that can operate at capacity, not above, in order to give the children the best possible education. I hope that you as the trustees of the VSB will vote in favor of building new schools.
Dear VSB Trustees,
My daughter is a Grade 8 student in University Hill Secondary School . I’m sure by now you know that this school is operating at 160% of its capacity and desperately needs a larger building. My daughter finds problems especially in these areas:
There is no cafeteria in the building so the students have to eat in the hallways which become overcrowded, are blocked by sitting students, and smell during the lunch hour.
The library cannot accommodate enough books for the students.
The gymnasium is too small for most PE classes.
The auditorium cannot accommodate a regular audience of parents.….not to say that many classes have to take place in the portables.
However, we still feel lucky that my daughter can go to U-hill, as some of our neighbours’ children can’t simply because there is not enough space. In fact, 232 elementary school students are bused to other schools outside UBC everyday.
Last but not least, I must mention that we pay property tax to the City of Vancouver as well as to UBC.
Regards,
Dear Trustees,
Yesterday my daughter posted the U-Hill June exam schedule on the wall in her room - another school year is coming to a close.
Looking at her doing that, my mind thought back to the beginning of her secondary school. In the first newsletter we received from U-Hill Secondary, we were told that the school board was planning a new school in the south campus. Parents of new students were asked to give inputs for planning, it said, as the grade 7 students would be likely those to benefit most from the move, in their grade 10 school year.
We were thrilled by the news. After a year of being bussed to the lonely (for my daughter) Queen Mary School, it seemed the secondary years would have a brighter sky.
Yet it turned out to be a dream. Coming to the corner of her grade 10 school year, we are still waiting for you, my dear trustees, to decide whether she will ever go to an adequate school in her secondary years.
What does waiting mean for her and us? Crowded classrooms, limited course selections, outdoor PE even on a snow day, and more. Are these the "challenging and stimulating settings" the Vancouver School Board promises to deliever in its Mission Statement?!
I'm outraged that we have to wait so long just to get what all students deserve and most kids are enjoying. I'm puzzled why this is happening and I feel we are abandoned by politicans and school trustees.
I've attended several EFR public meetings and have heard some people say again and again "why close a school with excellent programs". I want to ask that: when a school uses more public resources than other schools, can it not be expected to have good programs? But is it the purpose of public education to keep public resources for a small selected or none-selected group while leave other communities in desperate?
Give us a school with adequate facilities and you will see how our teachers can add more to our already wonderful school programs. If you have to close an annex for this reason, you are not closing "excellent programs", you are building more and better schools to benefit more children - you are doing what you are elected to do: support public education.
My daughter had suffered from being torn away from her community elementary school. Our family has waited long enough for your actions. How many more kids have to suffer and wait?
Parent of a U Hill secondary student
Dear VSB Trustees:
I have been at the PAC meeting at U-Hill Secondary School Wednesday evening, which was also attended by Trustees Gibson and Denike, and UBC Vice President Stephen Owen.(Thank all of you very much for taking the time to attend, listen, and
respond!)
Unfortunately, Trustee Denike was not able to provide any new details about the progress of the Working Group which looks into alternative ways of funding new UBC/UEL schools. But nobody really expected a miracle to happen anyways.
While Trustees Gibson and Denike will probably fill you in about the details from Wednesday's meeting (showing our frustration and anger about the persisting and worsening school crisis at UBC/UEL), I am writing to share my personal assessment of the current situation with you.
1) Unless the Working Group headed by Trustee Denike is able to present alternative funding that ensures that the rebuilding of UBC/UEL schools proceeds as outlined in the EFR proposal (that is NOW), on June 19th you will
have to make a decision to either close an Annex (QEA) or not to build new schools at UBC. Any decision in between, such as 'we look into other alternatives', 'we explore further options', 'we continue talking with all
stake holders', etc., is the SAME as saying 'No, we don't build the desperately needed new schools for UBC/UEL'. Please be reminded that waiting longer is NOT an option for us anymore.
2) Closing an Annex is not a light-hearted decision; people are upset, children are affected. BUT,
- closing the Annex means that about 24 children in the English program and 79 children in the FI program will be relocated to their main school or JQ (their
own neighbourhood schools!!), 8 blocks away from the Annex.
- not building new schools in the UBC/UEL area means that hundreds (yes, hundreds) of children will not be able to attend their neighbourhood school and
hundreds of children in U-Hill Elementary and Secondary will have to learn under shameful conditions. I used the future tense, but as you know, this is already the situation today in U-Hill Secondary School!
Please picture
OPTION 1: 24+79 children attending QE/JQ instead of QEA(QE will have many extra spaces if UBC/UEL students could attend their own
neighbourhood schools)
versus
OPTION 2: hundreds of children being bussed (on their own costs!) out of their neighourhood, and hundreds of (lucky) children studying in portables for many
years.
It is the choice between absolutely normal and despicable conditions.
It is YOUR choice.
3) I said above that waiting is not an option anymore. Why?
Because
(a) we have been waiting for more than 5 years for a solution to materialize; in the meantime the situation has aggravated intolerably.
(b) people's patience and resources are depleted (please talk to students, teachers, and parents from U-Hill Secondary School; their experiences are quite a contrast to those I heard about from other schools during the VSB public
meetings),(c) the demographics is against the status quo. It is UBC/UEL where schools are
needed now and will be needed in the future. In fact, we will need a third elementary school soon!
4) As a tax payer (like any other resident of the VSD) I am enraged that the crisis at UBC/UEL schools has been allowed to persist for years, while my tax money is paying for overcapacity and special arts/sciences/etc programs at
other schools.
5) As a member of this community I am appalled how some publicly elected representatives have declared from the very beginning of this EFR process that they rather protect a status of INEQUITY than spending available resources
fairly. Being a Trustee is not a popularity contest.
I am at your disposal to discuss my above assessment with you, and I truly hope that your decision on June 19th will be fair to all the school children under your responsibility.
Sincerely,
Dr. Lutz Lampe
Parent, UBC resident
To Whom it May Concern,
I have lived in the UBC area for 11 years. I have 4 children, 2 of which attend U-Hill Secondary school, and 1 U-Hill Elementary while the oldest one has gone to University. Year after year we undergo stress watching the overcrowding of the schools, and worrying whether our children will be able to continue their education at U-Hill. The working conditions for teachers and the learning conditions for students are miserable. The facilities cannot bear the local demand for space, quality of being in the classroom, and equal opportunity for all. Please, stop talking and start action! Build a new school!
Respectfully,
Dear VSB Trustees and Government officials:
University Hill Elementary and University Hill Secondary is overcrowded and hundreds of students can't go to the school in the area, this is not acceptable. The school condition is poor in University Hill Secondary . Our children are in need of new schools NOW. They cannot wait any longer while you conduct review year after year.
This process has been going on many years and has become very frustrating to parents.
On June 19, we need you to tell our children they deserve to attend schools in their catchment with normal class sizes just like their friends who live east of Blanca.
Best regards,
As a mother-to-be next month, I am deeply concerned that my child will not have an adequate schooling system in place in the are we live (UBC Hampton Place). This area is developing at an alarming rate and many more children will be joining the neighbourhood in the coming years. Please do something about this!!!!!
As a taxpayer and a concerned citizen, I am very upset at the failure of the VSB and the provincial government to provide elementary and secondary education for all the students in our local University area schools.
I urge you to act NOW to enlarge our public school educational facilities in the university neighborhood.
Sincerely,
Hello,
I would like to give my support to your endeavor to have U Hill relocated to the Research Council building .
My children attended U Hill 20 years ago when they had healthier surroundings and adequate space. The enrollment then was 325, compared to the unreasonable numbers of over 600. I think it is appalling that many of our neighbourhood children are not able to attend the school in their area and must be bussed elsewhere. I understand, as well, the conditions in the school are unsafe and unhealthy ie . eating in the halls for lack of lunchroom space. The Dunbar residents may be concerned about losing the annex, but their children can still be accommodated comfortably in the main school where there is adequate space.
Since I am a taxpayer in this area of UBC, I would appreciate if you would forward my letter of support for change, to the Vancouver School Board before their meeting June ll.
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