Across Ontario, school boards are under scrutiny. Recently, the Ontario government took control of two of them, Thames Valley and Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic, for financial mismanagement. Three more, including my family’s own Toronto District School Board (TDSB), were additionally placed under investigation by an independent third party. Those results are pending and could result in the first provincial takeover of the TDSB in more than two decades.
While financial mismanagement drives the legal mechanism for a school board takeover, the reasons why the public may support it are more layered. At the core of school board governance is accountability to parents and students, who are increasingly feeling unheard by decision-makers who prioritize process and policy ahead of the kids.
This issue is playing out in real time in my child’s high school in Toronto. Last week, the TDSB announced it would be transferring their principal away from Rosedale Heights School of the Arts. The principal being transferred is Barrie Sketchley, a humble octogenarian who founded the school and has served more than 8,000 Rosedale students in his record-setting 33 years. He is a legend among principals: dedicated, caring, and beloved by generations of students.
In response, parents started an online petition and email campaigns to TDSB decision-makers as well as the Ontario Minister of Education demanding that he be reinstated. Last Thursday, hundreds of students held a rally to protest Mr. Sketchley’s transfer by celebrating him with handmade signs, boisterous chants, and heartfelt testimonies describing his impact on their well-being, academics, and artistry. In a world filled with artificial people and things, the children recognize Mr. Sketchley as deeply authentic: his warm smile every morning; his presence at every performance; his genuine care.
One student with the megaphone summed it up perfectly: “Mr. Sketchley always advocates for us, now it’s up to us to advocate for Mr. Sketchley.”
But Mr. Sketchley’s advocacy also runs against the TDSB grain. For the past two years, he has opposed the TDSB’s change to a central admissions lottery for specialized schools, including Rosedale. The lottery, which began for students enrolling in the 2023-2024 school year, meant that anyone was qualified to be admitted regardless of their passion or experience. The elimination of non-arbitrary barriers to admittance has had a tangible effect on Rosedale. Namely, the commitment of the student body to the arts – and thereby the school’s quality and character – has been noticeably diminished. It’s also not clear that the changes had the desired effect on racial diversity.
After two years under the lottery, parents and students have concluded that Rosedale benefitted from having a principal who, prior to 2023, would personally read every application to ensure that all incoming students were passionate about attending an arts-focused school. Mr. Sketchley’s past dedication to cultivating an arts-focused student population has developed Rosedale into a high-quality arts school that in some cases has taken children with no prior training and set them on a professional career path in the arts. If educational outcomes are a good measure, then the TDSB should adopt Mr. Sketchley's personal approach to admissions across all specialized schools, perhaps with more targeted outreach to improve diversity.
As the chair of Rosedale’s School Council, I’ve become privy to many personal stories about Mr. Sketchley’s impact as an administrator. For example, the mother of an alum set to graduate from TMU’s film program described her son as having lost interest in school completely until Mr. Sketchley allowed him to transfer into Rosedale to pursue his new-found cinematic passion. Another mom shared that her trans child had turned down his lottery spot originally, but experienced terrible bullying at his chosen high school. She begged Mr. Sketchley for help, and again he made a transfer happen. These compassionate admittances to Rosedale run counter to the cold, algorithmic principles of the lottery system and have surely rankled TDSB staff.
Our kids are fighting for Barrie Sketchley because he sees them as people. He recognizes their needs and potential. He acts accordingly to help them. He is true to his word. The school community – parents, students, and alums - continue to demand that the institution he’s served for six decades as both teacher and principal treat him, and all of us, with similar dignity. The TDSB must allow the current students, as well as the thousands of Ontarians whose lives have been touched by Barrie Sketchley, to honour this incomparable principal with an unforgettable send-off year.
The fight that underpins this request runs deeper than money. This is a fight against nameless, faceless decision-making by an unfeeling bureaucracy. It is a fight for quality education and the voices of parents and students. It is a fight for our kids’ humanity, as well as Mr. Sketchley’s.
Katrina Matheson is a mother of two TDSB students, a veteran School Council chair, and a PhD Candidate at York University in Science and Technology Studies.