Scarborough Board of Education


The Scarborough Board of Education, formally the Board of Education for the City of Scarborough is the former public-secular school district serving Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. The board was founded in 1954 through a merger of the Scarborough Collegiate and Township School Boards.
As of 1996, the SBE had served over 81,000 students and 8,300 employed staff. It was the largest school board in the former Metro Toronto.
In 1998, the SBE was merged into the Toronto District School Board. The former SBE offices in Borough Drive. remain in use today by the TDSB as the East Education Office.

History

Scarborough's first schools were built in Hough's Corners, West Hill, Woburn, L'Amoreaux and Finch /McCowan. Later in 1914, three more schools in Southwest Scarborough, Scarborough Village and Agincourt were built.
In need for secondary education, Agincourt Continuation School was established in 1915 in the elementary school building while senior grades were done in Markham High School. However by 1919, many students in south Scarborough had attended Malvern Collegiate Institute in East Toronto, which became a reality in 1922 when Scarboro High School opened its doors with classic specialist Dr. Reginald H. King as principal, three teachers and 116 pupils.
By the early 1940s the public school inspector for Scarborough, H. A. Halbert, initiated a movement to amalgamate these small school sections to form Township School Areas known as the Scarborough Township Public School Board, each with a Board of five Trustees, which would be better able to meet Scarborough's modern educational needs. Between 1944 and 1947, the township board was divided into three areas:
Towards the end of 1953, there were 32 schools with 13,227 students and 356 teaching staff.
On January 1, 1954, The Collegiate and Township Boards merged into the new Scarborough Board of Education. Dr. King, the principal of Scarborough C.I. became the first Director of Education. As the architecture of these new schools was simple, functional and unpretentious, the earlier models were sometimes subject to criticism as bearing too close a resemblance to long, low factory buildings. However, as school succeeded school, their style and appearance was progressively improved. In some of the more recent buildings marks of beauty and distinction have begun to emerge. Indeed, to the eyes of older Scarborough residents accustomed to the bare little brick schoolhouses of the rural period, the latest modern school buildings of gleaming glass, steel, and brick are most impressive temples of learning. To attractive well-lighted classrooms have been added new features: beautiful kindergarten classrooms with radiant heating in the floors, libraries, manual training and household science rooms, rooms for nurses and teachers, spacious dual purpose gymnasiums and auditoriums with stages, and modern equipment such as motion picture projectors, tape recorders and even television sets. Many children are also transported daily to school in school buses; which ends the era of the day of the long walk to school in wind and rain, snow, mud and dust conditions.
With overcrowding at Scarborough Collegiate Institute and Agincourt High School, they were incapable of coping with the crowds of students seeking secondary education. This led to the construction of its third high school Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute, named after Winston Churchill, on Kennedy and Lawrence in the Dorset Park area on December 4, 1953 with the first 657 pupils admitted on September 7, 1954. One year later, West Hill Collegiate Institute on Morningside Avenue in West Hill opened in September 6, 1955 to 376 students. That year it was also necessary to enlarge Agincourt Collegiate Institute by the addition of seventeen rooms and a gymnasium.
Then followed in rapid succession the building of four more great secondary schools to meet the need for accommodation for 1,200 more students each year. In 1958, W. A. Porter Collegiate Institute –whose school named after the science master and assistant principal of Scarborough's first High School for many years from its opening in 1922 – was completed on Fairfax Crescent in the Clairlea district. To it was later added a notable new feature, an indoor swimming pool, the first of its kind in Scarborough. In 1959, the David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute, a 1,200 pupil school costing $1,728,400.00, was constructed on Lawrence Avenue a short distance west of the first settler's home in the forests of 1796.
Next in 1960, the SBE’s most ambitious venture in secondary education, the huge Cedarbrae Secondary School, was built at a cost of over $3,500,000.00, on the hillside overlooking the site of Peter Secor's grist mill of 1830, on the west side of the Markham Road. Designed as a composite school, it offered a wide variety of courses, Arts and Science, Commercial, Technical and Trades; and it included well equipped vocational shops, gymnasiums, swimming pool, auditorium with professionally lighted and curtained stage, and numerous other modern school facilities. The school was opened in September 1961. However, its eighth composite secondary school, Midland Avenue Secondary School opened in 1962. Like Cedarbrae, the school was equipped with an auditorium with seats, large rounded circular cafeteria, triple gymnasium, swimming pool and several commercial and technical shops.
The combined enrollment of 11,470 students and a staff of 526 teachers in eight collegiate institutes and the construction of yet more schools was in progress. On Ellesmere and Markham the basic high steel framework and long brick walls of the great new Woburn Collegiate Institute were rising behind the little red brick schoolhouse of 1863, from whose belfry had rung the call to classes that took generations of pupils from the farms of School Section No.6. The new Woburn C.I. admitted its first students the next autumn; and on Midland Avenue and Lawrence, Bendale Vocational School, planned especially for the benefit of students who normally drop out of school before completing Grade 12 or even 10, was also opened in 1963. The next year, 1964, Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute, built on the ridge overlooking Birch Cliff – which was once the shore of Lake Iroquois in ancient glacial times – and is attached to Birchmount Stadium, and the Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute on Pharmacy Avenue north of Sheppard, were completed.
Above the great bluffs towering up from the lake at Guildwood Village, where land once sold for six York shillings or seventy-five cents an acre in 1803, the Board of Education acquired fourteen and one-fifth acres at a cost of $303,700 for another school, and there the building of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute was begun in the latter part of 1964. At the beginning of 1965, on Midland Avenue north of Eglinton, the walls of the Tabor Park Vocational School, named after one of Scarborough's early schoolmasters, were built up to the second story; and work on the new Wexford Collegiate Institute on Pharmacy Avenue north of Lawrence was well advanced. There were now 15,000 students enrolled in Scarborough's secondary schools, and 761 teachers on the staff.
The SBE in September 1968, found itself responsible for the education of about 78,000 students, enrolled in more than 100 elementary and secondary schools. Some schools were surrounded by as many as 10 and 12 portables, and the total number of such temporary classrooms in use was 257. But while called on to wrestle continually with the accommodation issue, a building programme which never quite catches up with the spiralling growth of the Borough, and a budget requiring a tax levy of nearly 40 million dollars, the Board of 1968 still finds time to escape from the rut of routine business and explore new ground. Under the far-sighted leadership of its chairman, Muriel A. Clarke, and the dynamic Director of Education, Anson S. Taylor, the Board introduced a concept of new tri-level system of together with a Secondary School on a common campus. One such campus is now in operation in the Bendale Secondary School area; and a yet more imaginatively conceived three-school community was under construction on the Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute site on Birchmount Road north of Sheppard Avenue as well as Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate Institute on Lawrence and Centennial in Rouge Park. Both schools were opened in 1970. Its keen interest in training for young people unable to progress academically beyond public school still continues; and another well equipped Vocational School, three and a half million dollar Maplewood Vocational School, was opened in 1968 despite a year delay on Galloway Road in West Hill. However in 1966, Sir Robert L. Borden Secondary School opened its doors.
By the beginning of the 1970s, the Scarborough community began to develop. In 1973, L'Amoreaux Collegiate Institute, located near School Section No. 1, was built on Warden and Finch and designed by Raymond Moriyama. The school was built with a forum and cafetorium in place of the auditorium to save costs. By 1976, Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute was opened on Finch and McCowan. This was followed by the three-level Lester B. Pearson Collegiate Institute in 1978 in the Malvern district and its final collegiate Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute, on the Warden/Steeles area, was opened in 1979. Meanwhile, two more technical schools, Timothy Eaton Secondary School, named after Timothy Eaton was opened on Finch and Warden in 1971 and Sir William Osler Vocational School was opened on Huntingwood and Midland in Agincourt in 1975.
As of 1985, there were over 160 elementary schools and 25 secondary schools.
In the first of its kind in Scarborough, inspired by George S. Henry Academy, the SBE had converted R. H. King Collegiate Institute into R. H. King Academy in September 1989. The new academy functioned as a quasi-private school enrolling students from out of area and the school featured clinics, mentorships and mandatory school uniforms.
In 1992, the SBE and the Centennial College made a deal to establish an adult education centre, the Scarborough Career Planning Centre, at the Centennial College. In 1994 the entities agreed to establish the centre there beginning in the fall of that year.
Plans were made to conduct the Scarborough Alternative For Educating Troubled Youths program in 1994. The program was designed for students with twenty-day suspensions, the maximum period possible, in the former Highbrook Senior Public School facility. Community protests put these plans on hold and were never materialized. Currently, the SAFETY program was later evolved into the TDSB's Caring and 'Safe School' programs.
On December 31, 1997, the SBE, as with the other school boards in Metro Toronto, was dissolved. The board was merged into the new Toronto District School Board the following year.

Organization

The Scarborough Board of Education, at its peak, had 14 elected trustees with three delegates from the Metropolitan Separate School Board as of 1985.
Following provincial legislation directing amalgamation of the Scaborough Board with the other boards making up the old Metro Toronto School Board the last meeting of the SBE was held on November 27, 1997, chaired by Mrs. Gaye Dale, Trustee of Scarborough Ward 1 and Chairman of the Board.

Schools

Scarborough's schools were built from the 1940s to 1960s. Older 19th- and 20th-century school houses were demolished to make way for large buildings as the area grew.
On the north end of the city schools were built from the 1960s to 1980s.
At one time the board operated educational programs for Francophone students. The Conseil des écoles françaises de la communauté urbaine de Toronto assumed control of French-language education in the Toronto area on 1 December 1988.

Elementary schools

Junior Public Schools (and mixed)

From 1968 to 1980s, many existing Kindergarten to Grade 8 schools were redesignated as Junior Public School, targeting pupils ages 4 to 12 from kindergarten to grade 6 only.
NameOpenedNotesImage
Donwood Park Public School1956Formerly designated as Junior Public School from 1968 to 2013.
Walter Perry Junior Public School1954Named after community leader William Walter Perry.
Iroquois Junior Public School1969Named after the Iroquois community it is located in.
North Brimwood Junior Public School1966
Norman Cook Junior Public School1953Named for local settler and school district trustee Norman Cook
St. Andrews Public School1959
Anson S. Taylor Public School1977Named for former Director of Education Anson S Taylor
John A Leslie Public School1923
  • Formerly known as Midland Avenue Public School
  • Named for former MPP John A. Leslie
    • Terry Fox Public School1981Named after Terry Fox
    Hillside Public School1855 as S.S. # 12Became Outdoor education centre 1975
    Oakridge Junior Public School1967Replaced original Oakridge
    West Rouge Junior Public School1954Transferred from Ontario County Board of Education in 1974 when West Rouge was transferred from Township of Durham to Borough of Scarborough
    William G Davis Junior Public School1967Transferred from Ontario County Board of Education in 1974 when West Rouge was transferred from Township of Durham to Borough of Scarborough. Named for then Minister of Education William Grenville Davis.
    Centennial Road Junior Public School1946Transferred from Ontario County Board of Education in 1974 when West Rouge was transferred from Township of Durham to Borough of Scarborough.
    Charlottetown Junior Public School1967Named for Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
    Chester Le PS
    Fairglen PS
    Beverly Glen PS
    David Lewis PS
    Brookmill Boulevard PS
    Bridlewood PS
    Timberbank PS
    Pauline Johnson PS
    Kennedy PS
    Silver Springs PS
    Highland Heights PS
    Port Royal PS
    Milliken PS
    Alexmuir PS
    Chartland PS
    North Agincourt PS
    C.D. Farquharson Junior Public School1954
    Agnes MacPhail PS
    Macklin PS
    Tom Longboat PS
    Malvern PS
    Heritage Park PS
    Alexander Stirling PS
    Berner Trail PS
    Grew Owl PS
    Emily Carr PS
    Fleming Public School1990
    Maryvale PS
    Wexford Public School1951
    Vradenburg PS
    Buchanan Public School1954
    Manhattan Park Junior Public School1956
  • Named after an adjacent park.
  • Opened as a Kindergarten to Grade 5 school, Grade 6 was added in the 1960s.
    • George Peck Public School1955
  • Named after the trustee, George Peck.
    • Inglewood Heights PS
    Lynngate PS
    Ellesmere Junior Public School1951Formerly designated as a Junior Public School from 1973 to 1985.
    Dorset Park Public School1954
    General Crerar Public School1954
    Ionview Public School1953
    Lord Roberts Junior Public School1958
    Hunter's Glen Junior Public School1956
    Glen Ravine Junior Public School1956
    Edgewood Public School1958Formerly designated as Junior Public School from 1968 to 1985.
    Knob Hill Public School1956Formerly designated as Junior Public School from 1969 to 2011.
    McCowan Road Junior Public School1954
    Pringdale Gardens Junior Public School1963
  • Built on the Pring family farm.
  • Closed and demolished in 2013-14. Now a housing subdivision.
    • Cedarbrook Public School1958Formerly designated as Junior Public School from 1969 to 2011.
    White Haven PS
    Bendale Junior Public School1957
    North Bendale Junior Public School1960
    Bellmere Junior Public School1965
  • Designed by John Andrews
  • Rebuilt in the 1970s after the fire.
    • William Tredway Junior Public School1956
  • Formerly designated as Junior Public School from 1968 to 2015.
  • Merged with J.S. Woodsworth in 2015.
    • Woburn Junior Public School1964Replaced original Woburn
    Churchill Heights Public School1957
    Golf Road Junior Public School1953
    Cornell Junior Public School1954
    Willow Park Junior Public School1964
    Heather Heights Junior Public School1959
  • The Ben Heppner Vocal Music Academy opened in 2012, for grades 4 to 8. Named after Ben Heppner.
    • George B. Little Public School1957
  • Named after Lt. Col. George Burnfield Little, an officer in the Boer War, and the Reeve of Scarborough Township from 1928 to 1931.
    • Burrows Hall PS
    Lucy Maud Montgomery PS
    Brooks Road PS
    Military Trail Public School1970
    St. Margaret's PS
    Galloway Road PS
    Eastview PS
    Morrish PS
    Highland Creek PS
    West Hill PS
    Heron Park PS
    Peter Secor PS
    William G Miller PS
    John G. Diefenbaker PS
    Meadowvale PS
    Rouge Valley PS
    Charlottetown PS
    Regent Heights Public School1921
  • Formerly designated as Junior Public School from 1971 to 2009.
  • Formerly known as Regent's Park Public School.
    • Warden Avenue Public School1952Renamed to Taylor Creek Public School in 2017.
    General Brock Public School1956
    Danforth Gardens PS
    Birch Cliff PS
    Birch Cliff Heights PS1922
    Corvette Junior Public School1954
    J. G. Workman Public School1949Named after the trustee for the Scarborough Collegiate Board.
    Cliffside PS
    Chine Drive Public School1956
    H.A. Halbert Junior Public School1951
    Fairmount Public School1951Formerly designated as Junior Public School from 1973 to 2011.
    Mason Road Junior Public School1957
    Anson Park Public School1959
    Cedar Drive Junior Public School1970
    George P Mackie PS
    Elizabeth Simcoe PS
    Guildwood Village PS
    Popular Road PS
    Courcelette PS
    Thomas L. Wells Public School2005
  • Post-amalgamation elementary school.
  • Named after Thomas Leonard Wells.
    • Brookside Public School2007
  • Post-amalgamation elementary school.
    • Alvin Curling Public School2013
  • Post-amalgamation elementary school.
  • Named after Jamaican-born politician Alvin Curling.
    • Harold Lawson School196?
  • Intellectual disability school.
  • Sold to Community Living Toronto in 2009.

    • Senior Public Schools

    In 1967, the SBE introduced a concept known as "Senior Public School", which were middle schools serving children ages 12 to 14 from grades 7 and 8. To date, only 16 middle schools were built. The amneties each school had one double gymnasium, cafetoriums or cafeterias, science labs, lockers and shops.
    The concept was abandoned in the 1980s and future schools were simply changed to K-8 schools instead.
    NameOpenedNotesImage
    Bliss Carman Senior Public School1973Named after poet Bliss Carman.
    Charles Gordon Senior Public School1970Named for author Charles William Gordon
    Dr Marion Hillard Senior Public Schloo1978
    Henry Hudson Senior Public School1971
    Henry Kelsey Senior Public School1971Named for Henry Kelsey
    Highbrook Senior Public School1968closed 1980s and used as ASE and Highbrook Learning Centre / SCAS. Reopened in 2013 as an extension to Donwood Park
    J. S. Woodsworth Senior Public School1968Merged with William Tredway in 2015.
    J.B. Tyrell Senior Public School1973
    Jack Miner Senior Public School1970
    John McCrae Senior Public School1969
    • Brutalist architecture
    • Became K-8 school in 2011.
    Joseph Brant Senior Public School1969Converted to K-8 school in 2012.
    Joseph Howe Senior Public School1977Named for Joseph Howe, former Nova Scotia Lieutenant Governor, Premier and MLA.
    Robert Service Senior Public School1971
    Samuel Hearne Senior Public School1971
    Scarborough Village Senior Public School1861 as S.S. No. 9
  • Replaced in 1913 with a new structure.
  • Designated as Senior Public School in 1970 operating from Grades 7 and 8 only.
  • Reopened in 1974 as a K-8 alternative school.
  • Rebuilt in 1997-98.
    • Sir Alexander Mackenzie Senior Public School
    Sir Ernest McMillian Senior Public School
    Tecumseh Senior Public School1968
    Wendell Statton Senior Public School1973
  • Building attached with Ellesmere Jr. P.S.
  • Merged with Ellesmere Jr.

    • Secondary schools

    Collegiate institutes

    Vocational schools

    The SBE operated six vocational secondary schools that are not classified as regular collegiates. Three schools offered general and basic courses as Business and Technical Institute while the other three offered basic level courses in a special education level branded as High School.
    Two facilities that have other unique features such as Bendale and Tabor Park.
    NameOpenedNotesImage
    Bendale Secondary School1963
    • Formerly Bendale Vocational School and renamed to Bendale B.T.I.
    • Swimming pool
    Maplewood Vocational School1967
  • Renamed to Maplewood High School
    • Sir Robert L. Borden Secondary School1966
  • Renamed to Sir Robert L. Borden B.T.I. in 1987.
    • Sir William Osler Vocational School1975
  • Renamed to Sir William Osler High School
    • Tabor Park Vocational School1965
  • Child care
  • Closed in 1986, renamed to SCAS.
  • Leased to the Metropolitan Separate School Board since 1989. Occupied by Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School
    • Timothy Eaton Secondary School1971
  • Renamed to Timothy Eaton B.T.I. in 1987.
  • Built in a farmland owned by Timothy Eaton
  • Closed in 2009, sold as two parcels in 2012.

    • Core holdings and leased schools

    Three former SBE have been lease out:
    The board's administrative offices were located at 140 Borough Drive within the Scarborough Civic Centre and operations out of a building at 2466 Eglinton Avenue East. The administrative offices remain in use today by the Toronto District School Board.
    Prior to 1973, the board office was also located at Scarborough Municipal Offices at 2100 Eglinton Avenue near Birchmount Road.
    The board operated a fleet of their own school buses, similar to the Toronto Board of Education and Board of Education of North York and were stored at 2466 Eglinton Avenue East site.
    Hillside Outdoor Education Centre, formerly Hillside PS, was used for outdoor education programs and located near Rouge Park and still used as such by the TDSB.