Recent changes in course offerings at a Sarnia high school have left some families scrambling for answers, and worried their children will fall through the cracks.
“We were so excited for Nolan to go to AMSS,” Stacey Brown said of her 13-year-old son’s plans to enrol next year at Sarnia’s Alexander Mackenzie Secondary School, the only high school in Lambton-Kent that provides specialized programming for students with learning, intellectual and developmental disabilities. “But we’re now being told that’s not an option.”
Nolan, a Grade 8 student who is hearing impaired and has a learning disability, is being directed to attend his home school, Great Lakes Secondary School (GLSS) next year, Brown explained.
He had hoped to follow the path of his older brother Max, who also has a learning disability, and is autistic, and is thriving at AMSS.
“Academically, [Max] is getting 80s and 90s, and having conversations about post-secondary,” Brown said of her older son. “It has boosted his confidence level so high…something we never would have seen if he had gone to Great Lakes. If he had gone to a mainstream school he’d have been swallowed up.
“Now, I am terrified for Nolan.”
Grade 9 enrolment at AMSS has dropped by more than half
The reason students are being re-directed away from AMSS has to do with the province’s shift to ‘de-streaming,’ explained Lambton Kent District School Board Superintendent Mary Mancini. De-streaming means students in Grade 9 are no longer separated into Academic and Applied streams.
Previously, AMSS offered Applied courses in addition to what are known as Locally Developed courses — modified to accommodate educational needs that are not met through the provincial curriculum. Students at AMSS were able to take a mixed time table of both Applied, and Locally Developed courses depending on their needs.
But with the move to de-streaming and the elimination of Applied courses, AMSS is only offering Locally Developed courses, and there’s been a push to re-direct students to mainstream high schools where they can take both de-streamed courses, and now, beginning this year, Locally Developed math and english.
As a result, Grade 9 enrolment at AMSS dropped significantly — from 77 students in 2023, to just 32 students this year.
“When the Ministry introduced de-streaming, they wanted us to really monitor the number of students who were taking Locally Developed courses,” Mancini said. “Locally Developed courses are not going to lead to college and university courses in Grade 11 and 12, and the whole purpose of de-streaming is to keep options open for students as long as possible.
“So, those students who may have gone to AMSS in the past, and taken a mixed time table, have been encouraged to go to their home school where they can take the de-streamed courses in the subject areas that they are able to handle, but still have the opportunity to take a locally developed course.”
So how does a student qualify to get into AMSS?
“If a child needs the courses at AMSS — so, Grade 9 Locally Developed English, math and science — then they will have a spot at AMSS,” Mancini said. “But, if you want those courses for your child, that needs to be a bit more of a discussion, because our job is to ensure that pathways are remain open for students for as long as possible.”
Destreaming explained
In 2021, former Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced that all Grade 9 courses would be de-streamed — instead of students enrolling in separate courses and classes based on their abilities, interests and future career plans, everyone now takes the same classes together.
Proponents of de-streaming say students benefit from learning in groups of varies abilities and interests; and that it addresses systemic discrimination for Indigenous, Black, and racialized students, students from low-income households, students with disabilities, and students with special education needs.
But critics argue it’s a disservice both to the top students and students who are struggling.
“It sounds fair to put all students in the same classroom. But students who have no interest or ability in an academic math course will not learn much in that environment,” said Michael Zwaagstra, Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute. “In fact, they might drop out of school entirely, which is much worse than completing high school by taking “applied” courses.”
Mancini admitted that Ontario’s previous attempt at de-streaming in the 1990s was a ‘colossal failure,’ but assures it’s different this time around.
“The ministry did not put resources in place to support de-streaming,” she said. “I feel like they have taken a different approach this time, and I will tell you that our de-streaming pass rates are really good.”
But a 2022-23 survey by People for Education also found that only 20% of Ontario high school principals say they have enough support to implement de-streaming for their Grade 9 students, a decline from 30% the year before.
‘There’s no benefit to it, at all.’
Stacey Brown says the de-streamed model won’t be a good fit for Nolan, who struggles with basic reading and writing, and, at GLSS, will likely end up in a classroom with academic-level students. Ideally, he should be at AMSS with his peers, with hands-on learning, in a smaller classroom, she says.
“What’s that classroom going to look like at GLSS when you have a handful of special needs students, essentially? Kids with learning disabilities — some, severe,” she said. “All the attention will be on the ones that are struggling and falling behind… and I’m sorry, there’s not enough resources now for those kids at a mainstream school.
“And what happens to the university-bound kids in that same classroom?” she added. “I don’t understand how that is going to look; there is no benefit to it, at all.”
Mancini said all secondary schools have support staff on hand that includes student success teachers, resource teachers, and special projects (literacy and numeracy) teachers.
“You’re going to have multi-levels in any class,” Mancini explained. “Are there students who are academically higher achieving? Probably. But that’s the role of the educators is to ensure that the needs of all the students are being met.”
As for smaller class sizes, Mancini says it’s not an indicator of student success.
"One of the biggest things I hear, is that people want their children to go to AMSS because they have small class sizes,” she said. “AMSS, for their Locally Developed courses, does have small classes, but smaller class size is not an indicator of whether or not a student is going to be successful.
“In terms of moving to de-streaming to trying to level the playing field for Grade 9, and make sure that students keep their options open for as long as possible — I think is a really good thing.”
“I had this pre-conceived notion about what AMSS was…but I was completely wrong."
AMSS has a rich history in Sarnia, recently celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Michigan Ave. school is a community gem, said former special education teacher Karis Lasenby, who spent years advocating for students for whom the school was a best-fit, despite some stigma associated with it.
“To reduce the stigma of AMSS, we would take entire Grade 8 classes for a tour, just to see the different offerings,” Lasenby told The Journal. “The kids would come back and say ‘this is amazing; I want to go into the trades,’ or ‘I have an interest in cooking — I want to work in the kitchen.’
“They were seeing that it was a great place to go,” she added. “Now, parents aren’t even being given the option.”
At a recent LKDSB board meeting, superintendent Angie Baresse indicated that, “through conversations with parents and students, students have indicated they want to attend their home school with their peers, and they indicated the desire to have co-op opportunities,” according to the meeting minutes.
“I grew up in the time where AMSS wasn’t the school you wanted to go to, and so, having children, I was super hesitant about AMSS, knowing that was probably going to be their path,” said Brown. “I had this pre-conceived notion about what it was…but you get there and you see how wonderful of a school it is — from the teachers and everything they’re trying to do there — they’re trying to change the culture.
“And it was just like a breath of fresh air to find out that I was wrong, completely wrong; and I wish more people had the opportunity to see that.”
Keeping AMSS viable
Both Brown and Lasenby — along with a number of concerns residents who have reached out to The Journal in the past year — say they’re concerned that the changes at AMSS may be part of a larger plan to eventually shutter the school.
“What is the board’s plan to keep Mackenzie viable, with enrolment going down? Parents should be asking this,” said Lasenby, who urges parents to speak up and reach out to board officials with their concerns.
“The school still has a population of over 300,” Mancini said when asked about a looming closure, “so no.”
“And we are still in a moratorium for school closures… I’m not sure that it’s going to be lifted anytime soon.”
In the meantime, Brown has started the application process for Nolan to attend the Amethyst Demonstration School in London. But if that doesn’t work out, she fears the worst for him.
“I’ve got two kids — one that’s reaping the benefits of AMSS, and I would not have it any other way — and one that is going to literally fall through the cracks, because he’s not going to be able to go to AMSS.”
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