Gatestone and Shannen Koostachin Boundary Review

The school located at 55 Highway 20 is currently in use by the Catholic School Board. HWCDSB determined that this facility will be used in their short- and long-term plans to accommodate students and the facility is not available for lease.

Gatestone’s site was constructed with the ability to accommodate more than 4 full sized buses in the bus pickup/drop off area at the front entrance.

Creating an active sustainable school travel plan at the school level requires commitment from the school community.  Resources can be found at on the City of Hamilton’s Active and Sustainable School Travel website and the Daily School Route website.  Parents are encouraged to promote walking to school to reduce the congestion at during pick up and drop off times.

 Additional traffic calming measures for roadways can be requested by community members through the City of Hamilton here.

Currently there are two children impacted.  The childcare provider has reached out and will be working with the families of those children to support a smooth and quality transition.  There are five children impacted on the before and after care waitlist for September.  The supervisor at Umbrella Family Services at Shannen Koostachin will work with the supervisor at Gatestone to notify these families of the transfer to the Gatestone waitlist and will continue to follow the process for care requests and onboarding of children.

The homes located on Cittadella Boulevard extension and Rockledge Drive extension in Summit Park Phase 11A subdivision are not included in the proposed boundary change. This boundary change proposes the homes in this area remain at Shannen Koostachin.

No. Decisions are approved by Trustees until the boundary review process is completed and a report is received by Trustees.

After the boundary review advisory panel and public meetings are completed, the Superintendent of Student Achievement and the Planning & Accommodation division will create a final boundary report. This report will detail the boundary review process. It will include feedback gathered from the advisory panel, the public meeting(s) and through EngageHWDSB; a staff recommended boundary change; and implementation details. The report is presented through the Director of Education to the Finance and Facilities Committee. If moved by the Finance and Facilities Committee the final boundary change would be voted on by Trustees at Board.

• Address the short- and long-term accommodation requirements of the impacted communities in a timely manner;
• Be mindful of the best and most prudent use of all resources available to HWDSB;
• Adhere to the Guiding Principles as defined in the Long-Term Facilities Master Plan including optimal school capacity, grade organization, transportation, facility requirements, site size and the balance between French Immersion and English track students in dual track schools 
• Consult with the impacted school communities to gain further insight into the boundary recommendation(s).
• Be mindful of the distance to the nearest school and the ability for students to safely travel to school.

Community members are encouraged to attend the public meeting to provide feedback on the proposed boundary change. Community members are also encouraged to provide feedback online through EngageHWDSB.

Community members may also reach out to their school principal, Superintendent of Student Achievement, Trustee or HWDSB’s Planning and Accommodations Division to share their ideas or ask questions.

• Rationale for change.
• Initial recommended boundary change(s).
• Enrolment & facility utilization impacts.
• Transportation impacts.
• Implementation considerations including phasing in of a boundary change, financial impacts, timelines, and temporary and permanent status of the boundary change.
• Ability to provide feedback on the proposed boundary change.

All presentations, data, meeting notes and other boundary review details are posted online at https://www.hwdsb.on.ca/about/school-renewal/boundary-reviews/