Students, parents fight to move esteemed program

In this video screen grab, a TOPS student is seen standing in front of portables at Marc Garneau C.I. (YouTube)

Students and parents are fighting a Toronto District School Board decision to keep a prestigious program for high-flying students at an overcrowded north-end school.

Despite complaints about congested hallways and scant resources, the school board has refused to relocate Talented Offerings of Programs in the Sciences (TOPS).

The program is currently housed at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute, a North York high school near Don Mills Road and Overlea Boulevard where some students claim they're often forced to eat lunch on the floor because the cafeteria is filled to capacity.

"We are asking the TDSB to move the program from a horrifically overcrowded school to a single, larger site where it can grow and survive," said TOPS Parent Group co-founder Mara Cole in a prepared statement.

Cole's release says Marc Garneau C.I. at 140 per cent capacity and asks why the board can't move the program to a free building elsewhere.

The school board maintains that moving the program is not feasible and would hurt Marc Garneau's diverse community.

"Our view is that a program that has produced many outstanding graduates should be accessible across the system," TDSB Director of Education Chris Spence said in an open letter last July.

In the letter, Spence refuted claims that TOPS teachers can only work effectively if the program is moved.

Though students must fill out a formal application and write an exam to enter the program, TOPS isn't necessarily for formally "gifted" students. Those who are admitted to the program take enhanced classes and are often grouped with other TOPS students who have similar ambitions.

Last year, TOPS graduates were offered more than $400,000 in scholarships.

Students and parents who support TOPS claim that TDSB's decision to keep the prestigious program at Marc Garneau will eventually lead to its demise.

"It'll basically ensure the death of TOPS within the year," said TOPS student Darren Cole in a YouTube video pushing for the program's move.

In the five-minute video, TOPS students of varying genders and ethnicities lament their school's congested cafeteria, busy hallways and overused washrooms.

TDSB has created a second TOPS program at a Bloor Collegiate Institute near Bloor and Dufferin Streets. They are also considering integrating a third program into another school.

Students and parents connected to TOPS claim that TDSB refused to move the Marc Garneau program without consulting students or parents.

Supporters of TOPS plan to hold a rally at TDSB's head office at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.