Are small Ontario schools now at risk of closing?

It was not his local school, which meant he would have to travel longer by public transport. But it offered an expanded French program and, more importantly, the intimate setting he was looking for: a place where teachers would know him, class sizes would be manageable, and he could thrive. It turned out that this is exactly the case.

“I can’t imagine myself anywhere else,” says Arham, who is now in 12th grade and serves on the school council. “I'm very passionate about L'Am.”

Arham and other students say the benefits of attending a small school of fewer than 500 children include stronger relationships with teachers, a more inclusive community and an environment that pushes even reserved teens into leadership positions.

L'Amoreaux is among the schools listed on the board. Long-term program and placement strategy as a candidate for student accommodation review, a formal study to reduce excess space and strengthen programs, which could result in boundary changes, program shifts or school closures.

In an interview at the end of the year Along with the Star's Christine Rushowy, Education Minister Paul Calandra said schools in councils under provincial supervision — including Toronto's public and Catholic communities — could face closures but ruled out lifting the moratorium in rural areas, citing concerns about longer bus rides for students.

“I have asked my supervisors on the boards to review their redundant school sites where they are located and report back to me,” Calandra said, adding that he wants to have a clearer picture of what assets the boards have and how any changes could impact students.

Across Toronto, changing demographics and uneven housing developments are leaving some schools bursting at the seams and others partially empty. The TDSB's allocation strategy—a 10-year plan updated annually—attempts to address these imbalances.

According to the latest version, published in 2024, 31 reviews of student accommodations are planned over the next decade, each covering a group of schools ready to begin operations if the province lifts the moratorium. High schools with fewer than 700 students, including L'Amoreau, Oakwood Collegiate Institute, Thistletown Collegiate Institute, George S. Henry Academy and Runnymede Collegiate Institute, will be among the first to be studied.

Because schools cannot close, the TDSB has about 52,000 empty places in primary schools and 14,000 in secondary schools, many of which are located in old buildings located close together. (At its peak, in the mid-1970s, there were about 140,000 high school students; today there are about 73,000.)

The council says the ideal size for an elementary school is two classes per grade and at least 1,000 students for a high school, making it large enough to offer a wide range of courses, areas and extracurricular activities. While all high schools offer required courses for graduation, smaller schools have fewer teachers and therefore smaller classes, which means scheduling conflicts are more likely to arise. Larger schools may also offer specialized courses that may not be possible when enrollment is low.

Operating costs also vary significantly. Operating a high school with fewer than 500 students costs about $2,277 per student, compared to $727 for a school with 1,250 to 1,500 students. according to 2020 TDSB report recommending fewer high schools but richer programs.

The numbers explain why L'Amoreaux is on the radar of the public council. It has struggled with low enrollment for at least 10 years, and long-term projections suggest utilization rates will remain below 50 percent for years to come.

But for students, the value of school comes from something harder to quantify: a sense of belonging.

“If you look at the numbers, L'Am is a small school,” says Chenthan Sundararajah, student council co-president, adding that this is what attracted him to it. “L'Am has made me a lot more outgoing and social thanks to the fact that everyone pretty much knows everyone.”

He recalls being “very quiet and rarely spoke” in ninth grade and doubts he would have been able to come out of his shell at the much larger school he briefly considered because many friends were heading there. Instead, L'Amoreau gave him the confidence to take on leadership positions.

Co-president Prisha Kalluparampil Prasad says she, too, would be intimidated running for a seat on the board of a larger school, where she might feel pressure to fit a certain mold.

“I would be scared,” she says. At L'Amoreaux, “I felt like I could be myself and still be successful.”

This feeling of ease extends to everyday school life. “In terms of school spirit, L'Am is very connected,” she says. “Because we have a smaller population, clicks aren’t that important.”

The smaller size also means that students often have the same teachers year after year, allowing for deeper relationships to be built. She recalls how an advisor, not even her own, stopped her in the hallway after noticing that she had dropped out of physics, fearing it might affect her post-high school plans.

“I don’t cry as much as if I got it at a big school,” she says. “The teacher personally ran up to me and said, 'I noticed this on your schedule.'

Although the school is running at half capacity, she describes it as “very full of life” and is struggling to accommodate twice as many teenagers in the halls. And she believes students don't miss out on anything because there are many clubs and sports teams, even a swim team because L'Amoreaux has a swimming pool.

These sentiments are echoed by Tamzida's mother Parveen, whose sons attend L'Amoreaux.

“There's so much going on that sometimes I can't keep up,” says Parveen, an active member of the parent council. “We are fortunate to have a wonderful team of teachers who go above and beyond to make sure the kids have the best school experience…The school spirit is very present.”

Her connection with L'Amoreaux runs deep. Two of her siblings graduated from high school, and she bought an apartment next door so her children could hang out there. Her two sons, in grades 9 and 12, enthusiastically chose it, and her youngest child plans to follow suit.

Designed by the deceased famous architect Raymond Moriyama Built in 1973, it is a “beautiful” institution and it would be “unthinkable” to close it simply because of low enrollment, Parveen said.

She believes it is the small size of the school that makes it ideal. “This community … there is trust,” she says, arguing that the TDSB should reconsider its definition of the ideal school size. Acknowledging the difficult decisions TDSB faces, Parveen says L'Amoreaux has “huge potential” and could attract more students by expanding programs.

Local trustee Manna Wong, whose son attended L'Amoreaux, is also deeply attached to the school and has in the past suggested introducing a specialized arts program or a French immersion course to increase enrollment.

She suspects the reasons for the school's enrollment problems are complex, pointing to changing demographics in the area, few new developments nearby, fewer international students and the pull of larger high schools in the area.

Wong becomes emotional at the thought of the school closing and the students moving to other locations. (The TDSB says that if the moratorium is lifted, one of the planned reviews will be conducted at L'Amoreaux, the Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute and the Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute “to address declining student enrollment and the viability of programs at L'Amoreaux.”)

Wong hopes the board will consider program changes, community input and the impact the school closure could have on student well-being when making decisions.

“Without meaningful consultation with the community where their voice matters, it will be a disservice,” she says.

Back at L'Amoreaux, Kalluparampil Prasad says the student council sometimes discusses why neighboring schools attract twice as many teenagers. She suspects it is a lure for a larger school and believes L'Amoreaux could benefit from wider coverage of primary schools.

“I don’t want to exaggerate, but I think it’s a great school,” she says. “I really found my community.”