Comments from the Survey

Below are comments from the survey (click here if you'd like to do the survey).

Garibaldi is a fantastic community school offers so much more than just K-4 education. Closing the school would be detrimental to the neighbourhood.
We moved into the neighbourhood 3 years ago and heard immediately that Garibaldi was going to close, and that it was primarily E.S.L. focused. Our son is now starting French Immersion kindergarten at Hastings. If a compelling program was offered at Garibaldi, F.I., Fine Arts, we'd love to come on home to our small, neighbourhood school. The fact that Hastings is so huge, with 2 F.I. kindergartens and a huge waitlist demonstrates that the need is here. The focus on E.S.L. students needs to continue- that's the neighbourhood. But E.S.L or Mandarin immersion could work in cooperation with other programming that would also appeal to the many families who live here whose first language is English. There is a tremendous opportunity at Garibaldi to build a school that appeals to and celebrates the incredible cultural and linguistic diversity of this neighbourhood.
I am very impressed by the daycare program offered by Capilano College. Recently they were approached by The York House private school because they want to have the same kind of program offered for their Kindergarten level. Why not having a publicly funded one? If I had to choose one of the above programs, I would choose Mandarin Immersion, since there is (as far as I know) only one public school in Vancouver that offers that program
I lived 2 blocks from Garibaldi until 2006, but never considered enrolling my kids there due to lack of special programs. I now live at Adanac and Victoria, and still have been unable to find the types of special programming I want for my children, so I'm paying alot of money and spending time in transport to go to Waldorf. Our #1 choice would be Nootka, but at our place on the waiting list we're told it will be probably 4 years to get in. Same story for French Immersion at Hastings or Laura Secord, and might as well forget about Montessori at Tyee. There are obviously many many parents like us who want non-mainstream programs for our kids who don't want to drive to Dickens, Wondertree, etc out west, nor to Waldorf or Windsor House across the bridge. Why can't VSB honour this need and provide it here in the East Side where we live? Garibaldi would be a perfect, intimate, community-based location for any special program. Something along the lines of Nootka, Montessori, Windsor Ho
We also visit the playground daily - what a tragedy to lose this space! We would welcome any preschool/recreational programs as well, which would be ideal for us in this location. (Submitted by signed Letter of Commitment)
Don’t close Garibaldi School!!!!!!
Garibaldi is very close to our house and would be convenient. However, my daughter likes the challenge of French Immersion. My younger daughter will start school in 2011, and will go to the same school as my older daughter. Because Garibaldi only goes to grade 4, and there is a four year gap between my kids, it would mean having them in different schools most of the time. If Garibaldi could offer FI and K-7, I would send my daughters there.
Our house is surrounded by incredibly busy main streets, so if Garibaldi closes we would choose to enroll our children in the private school within our neighbourhood. This, however, is not our first choice as we as parents both believe in public education, however our children's safety is obviously first, and we would prefer them to not have to cross such busy streets until they are a bit older. Secondly, we feel that a smaller school best serves the needs of young children. Smaller is always better in education as it easier for students to learn about each other and to be more accountable for their actions, versus being simply "one of the crowd" in a larger school; essentially being anonomous. Cutbacks are inevitable, but the safety of our children and a positive educational experience are essential. This being said, please reconsider the impact that the closing of Garibaldi will have on our community, our neighbourhood, and our children.
We believe in the importance of neighbourhood schools and also feel that Hastings is very big and overwhelming for young children - especially those in K-4. We would love to have an alternative in our neighbourhood. We are interested in French Immersion or a Fine Arts curriculum. But also would support Mandarin Immersion or any of the other programs - even if our daughter did not attend. We would value this in our community.
If there was an alternative for french immersion at a smaller, closer school I would love that.