SWIFT KICK FOR BOOT CAMP IDEA

A Ministry of Education plan to send expelled students to privately run,
strict-discipline programs is missing the point, says MPP Leona Dombrowsky.

"These are kids in crisis. They have a need for special skills and
talents," said Dombrowsky.

"I don't know if the solution is to put them in a setting like boot camp
and teach them how to salute."

The Ministry of Education on Friday invited private operators to submit
ideas for provincewide strict discipline schooling programs.

Code Of Conduct

Beginning in February, students who bring drugs or weapons to school could
be expelled under the province's new code of conduct.

In order to get back into the public school system, students would be
required to attend a strict-discipline program.

"Does strict discipline imply they're going to stand at attention, sit at
attention and click their heels?" Dombrowsky said.

"Is that the kind of environment we're looking for?"

Education Minister Janet Ecker said disruptive students need to understand
there are consequences for their actions.

Expelled students will no longer be able to jump between schools or school
boards "without having addressed the behaviour that led to their
expulsion," the minister said in a release.

Rob Savage, representative for the minister, said yesterday the request for
proposals is not limited to the private sector.

Bidders must provide counselling, courses in anger management and academic
courses in conjunction with a local school board.

"[The proposal] has to have a partnership with a school board," Savage said.

The tender asks for design and delivery of one or more strict-discipline
projects in various locations across the province over the next two and a
half years.

It also asks for appropriate educational and non-educational programs for
students who want to re-enter the public school system.

Through discussions with parents, students and educators, the ministry has
received a clear message that students should not be expelled without an
alternative program, Savage said.

"To expel a student and send them off to the mall may help the classroom,
but it doesn't help the student," he said.

Strict-discipline schooling is just one of the steps taken by the Education
Ministry to bring about a province-wide code of conduct.

It is part of an effort to restore respect and responsibility to Ontario's
classrooms. Among other things, it hands authority to expel students to
school principals.

"We know teachers are able to do their best work teaching when they know
they are in a safe environment," said Savage.

Strict-discipline programs will not operate inside active schools, though
until proposals are received and reviewed, little will be known about
program content or location.

In 1997-98, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 42
students were expelled in Ontario, Savage said.

Dombrowsky questions how, in a riding as enormous as
Hastings-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington, a strict-discipline program could
be made available to students in remote rural areas.

She also sees the request for proposals as one more step toward privatizing
the province's education system.

"Will there then be [proposals sought] to provide for youngsters who are
have special needs, or who are abled differently?" she said.

"This is a small step in a very dangerous direction."