Warden Public seeks new name to stamp out bad reputation
Change should reflect the spirit of ‘jewel’ of a school, parent says
When Warden Avenue Public School gets a new name, principal Anja Belter hopes it honours someone who “ripped through stereotypes — because that’s what we’re doing here.”
Fed up with people sneering at the low test scores it’s working hard to change, or linking it with violent crimes nearby that had nothing to do with them, the proud elementary school near Warden Ave. and Danforth Rd. has decided it’s time to rebrand, starting with its name.
“I’m sick of hearing, ‘Your kids go to Warden? Oh, I’ve heard that’s terrible,’ ” sighed Zara Peacock, whose three children attend the school.
The school is a jewel, she says — clubs galore, a deep spirit of giving; “Come feel the positive vibe!” — but despite exciting changes going on inside, it can’t seem to shake its gloomy street rep.
“I say, really? You should visit; we have such positive energy and calm, friendly kids. Frankly, we should rename ourselves The Awesome School.”
Set in a relatively low-income neighbourhood next to a social housing community, Warden Ave. is in the most high-needs 10 per cent of the Toronto District School Board’s elementary schools.
It gets extra support through the TDSB’s Model Schools for Inner Cities program.
Afew families who have moved into new townhouses nearby have hesitated to send their children there because of the reputation; its rating was low on the Fraser Institute’s annual ranking of schools (based largely on standardized test scores).
“A parent called to ask why we were so low on the Fraser rankings and I said, ‘Because they’ve never been in our school,’ ” said Belter, who has begun reviewing each primary student’s reading skills once a month. With extra teacher training and new resources to help bolster the 3 Rs, she says 90 per cent of primary children are reading at the level they should.
But the school should be judged by more than test scores, she said.
“Our families aren’t the most affluent in the world, but they have a tremendous sense of philanthropy. Our students are white, black, brown, and from many different religions, but there’s an openness and respect for each other that is fantastic.”
Trustee Parthi Kandavel said Belter has made changes since arriving at the school three years ago “and is cultivating a vibrant new spirit. I think a name change will symbolize its new path and bring a breath of fresh air.”
The school recently got permission to change its name from the school board, whose trustees will make the final choice from a shortlist of three suggested by students, staff and parents.
Even Belter gets frustrated with a stigma about the school that she sees as outdated. She was jogging with students in Warden’s Learn to Run 5K Club when a woman asked where they were from.
Belter proudly replied, “Warden” — to which the woman seemed shocked and replied, “I didn’t think Warden would have a running club.”
In fact, the school has a club for everything from knitting to yoga, chess, gardening, robotics and social justice (they call themselves Change-makers and raised $16,000 for wells in Africa). There’s a Rubik’s Cube club, a girls’ club, a boys’ club and a homework club.
Grade 8 students recently spent three days at a Haliburton education camp, “where some of the children roasted marshmallows for the first time in their lives,” said Belter.
“I think it should be someone local from this community. And someone who bashed through stereotypes.” ANJA BELTER PRINCIPAL AT WARDEN AVENUE P.S. ON WHO TO NAME SCHOOL AFTER
Students whose behaviour has improved were rewarded with a field trip to Casa Loma. A group of students took a one-day round trip to Ottawa by train, funded by the Children’s Breakfast Club, to meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — “and the kids went bananas,” said Belter.
How do you capture this spirit in a name?
Kandavel said some suggestions include naming the school after nearby Taylor-Massey Creek, astronaut Chris Hadfield or U.S. President Barack Obama.
“I think it should be someone local from this community,” said Belter. “And someone who bashed through stereotypes.”