TVDSB plucks APPLE program and parents aren't happy about it

Some parents at a west London elementary school are disappointed the Thames Valley District School Board is winding down a specialized learning program that gives parents a direct role in classroom learning. 

TVDSB announced this week that the APPLE (Alternative Parent Participation Learning Experience) program will no longer accept new enrolments starting in September. 

Starting in the mid-1980s at Brick Street Public School and eventually moving to Arthur Ford Public School on Viscount Road, the program originally required parent volunteers to work 10 hours a week in the classroom. The learning model gives parents an active role in working with teachers to shape classroom learning while following the TVDSB curriculum. 

Students could enrol for the APPLE from outside Arthur Ford's catchment area. 

Mari Hughes had three children in the program during their elementary years, and her youngest graduated from Grade 8 six years ago. 

Hughes said APPLE's inclusive approach allowed parents to avoid feeling isolated from their kids' learning while creating a strong sense of community at the school. 

"The best part was the connection that you made with the families and the trust you built with the teachers and the other parents," she said. "It was a community that is really going to be missed." 

Hughes said teachers benefited from the program by having an extra hand in the classroom and could incorporate the skills and expertise of parents in the lessons. 

"We even had the opportunity to do some teaching," she said.

So why is the school board closing the program? 

Sheila Builder, the TVDSB's superintendent of achievement, said the program is no longer compliant with equity rules that have come into effect in recent years and said in some respects, the learning model even contravened the Education Act. 

"We've had to make changes in recent years to protect student privacy and adhere to collective agreements, and uphold our responsibility to human rights," she said. 

Builder said the privacy concerns stem from parent volunteers running the program's enrolment process, though the school board took over enrolment a few years ago. 

Regarding equity, Builder said some parents felt the APPLE students were able to get more field trips and learning opportunities not available to students outside in the regular or "neighbourhood" classrooms. Also, she said some families felt excluded from the program by the requirement for 10 volunteer hours a week, so the school board ended that recently.