Windsor high school walkout protests axing of university prep program

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A local public school board decision to axe a specialized diploma program sparked a large student walkout at a Windsor high school Thursday morning.

More than 150 high school students, joined by a couple dozen parents, gathered outside Riverside Secondary School to protest the elimination of the international baccalaureate (IB) and IB primary years programs — a rigorous academic offering for gifted students headed to university.

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The specialized program is among several items on the chopping block as the Greater Essex County District School Board looks for cost-saving measures to reel in a $6.4-million deficit.

“This program is for students who want something more and who want to try to be something more,” said Talya Horwitz, a Grade 9 student enrolled in Riverside’s IB program.

She said she was “devastated” learning of the school board’s recent budget-cutting decision.

“This program is so beneficial and so important for all of the students and for Canada’s future, because we are the future,” Horwitz told the Star.

“Taking away this program takes away just that — our future and what we can do.”

The decision to cut the IB program was made Nov. 5 when trustees voted 4-2 to approved a staff-proposed multi-year financial recovery plan. Ontario’s education ministry has directed the local board to address its multimillion-dollar budget shortfall by the 2026-27 academic year or risk having the province step in to oversee the school board’s operations.

The approved budget cuts include slashing nearly 63 full-time positions and changing the RISE (Reaching Individual Success and Excellence) program, which helps elementary school students who are behind in English and math. That program will now be integrated into regular classrooms.

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Trustees in support of the cuts worried a provincial takeover would only worsen the board’s situation.

Even so, Horwitz feels the public school board failed to explore enough alternatives before cutting the IB program, which allows students to go beyond the standard curriculum in preparation for university.

“The normal curriculum is very baseline,” she said. “The IB program allows those students who want to do more, who want to succeed, who want a great and better future, to achieve that.”

Changes to the program will take effect at the start of the 2025-26 school year. Grade 11 and 12 students currently enrolled in the IB diploma program will not be affected.

During this month’s board meeting, trustee Kim McKinley attempted to extend the IB program long enough to allow current Grade 9 and 10 students to complete their diplomas. That motion failed in a vote after director of education Vicki Houston informed trustees that the funds would then have to be cut from somewhere else.

“We understand that this is an adjustment for some of our students, parents, and staff, as the international baccalaureate diploma program has been an integral part of our educational offerings,” a spokesperson for the Greater Essex County District School Board said in an emailed statement to the Star on Thursday.

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“Our commitment to providing an inclusive and high-quality education grounded in the Ontario curriculum remains strong. As we work through this transition, we are dedicated to ensuring that every student continues to receive an engaging, supportive, and comprehensive educational experience.”

A Change.org petition launched Monday to save the international baccalaureate program in Windsor-Essex public schools had amassed nearly 550 signatures as of Thursday morning. 

“If they want to waste talent and have kids settle for mediocrity, then they should cancel it,” Sean Duranovich, whose daughter graduated from Riverside High School after completing the IB program, told the Star during Thursday’s walkout.

“If they want to strive for academic excellence and have a rising tide that raises all ships, they should maintain this program.”

Duranovich’s daughter is now headed to prestigious Dartmouth College in the United States — an achievement he feels the IB program helped prepare her for.

“It’s a very difficult program to get into,” said Duranovich.

“She would not be in that program at an Ivy League school if she did not go through this. It’s really about rising tide raising all ships. She has other friends that received advanced admissions and got into prestigious programs throughout Canada as a result of this program.”

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As a student who lives outside the feeder school zone, Horwitz has been able to attend Riverside High School through the program’s transportation option.

However, when this school year ends, that busing option will disappear, likely ending many friendships she’s formed. She added that many of her classmates will no longer have transportation to Riverside High School, and will have to return to their local feeder schools.

“We’ve worked hard to create a community here and make friends and build structure,” Horwitz said, “but they’re uprooting us.”

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