Co-ed High School Model Change
In January of 2024, we announced that effective September 2024 we were moving from a single-sex model in our high school (Grades 10-12) to a co-ed model. The single-sex model would remain in junior high (Grades 7-9). At that time, we explained to our community, including our students, that the two primary reasons were to provide a more positive student experience — by offering more courses and pathways for our students and by better reflecting the social reality of their peers and the post-secondary world — and to ensure long term sustainability through increased retention and enrollment.
That decision was paused later that month after our community provided feedback about the change, much of which was in favour, but some of which was not. Two things that clearly emerged were that many in our community did not feel consulted enough about the model change and that we did not have enough answers to questions about how the change would be executed. We felt it was important to pause and undertake a more fulsome discernment process to listen and learn from our community.
In February we surveyed key constituents to get a pulse of those most directly affected. We also received feedback from a wide swath of our community who reached out directly to our Head of School. In May and June, we conducted a series of focus group sessions, facilitated by an outside consultant, that included faculty, alums, parents, and students.
In October and November, we hosted engagement sessions with our faculty and staff, students, and the community. As a final step in the discernment process, a follow-up survey will be conducted and the results and feedback to date will be used to help determine the best path forward.
We hope this page will provide our community with educational resources and information that explain our decision-making process, outline the issues identified in the initial rounds of feedback, and provide answers to the questions we fielded along this journey. As noted earlier this year, we do not have all the answers; some aspects of the change, including customs and traditions, would change over time as we seek to be more inclusive and give our students the space and freedom to influence and navigate growth and change. There is, however, one thing that is clear — regardless of the model, our Mission, guided by our Five Goals, will not change.
Thank you to our community for being so engaged in this journey by asking thought-provoking questions and providing open and honest feedback that will guide us forward as a community, with courage and confidence.
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“Thank you to each of you who took the time to provide your feedback — both the positive and the negative. It demonstrates how engaged our community is in our School and that is vitally important; it reminds us all that our community is one of our many strengths and that everyone here has a voice. It’s something we teach our students”
– Dennis Phillips, January 24, 2024
