Ward 5 has six elementary schools - three in the North and three in the South, and is the new home of Gary Allen High School (at the Robert Bateman Community Centre).​ Brock University recently moved their Teacher's College, and the City of Burlington has relocated the local library branch, to the community centre as well. It's an exciting time, and I'm very pleased to see the Bateman site continue to provide educational opportunities in southeast Burlington.

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In the North of Ward 5, the elementary schools include Alexander's, John William Boich and Orchard Park. Each of these schools offers English and French Immersion programming and hosts students from JK to Grade 8.​

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The Corporate Drive area between Upper Middle Road and Mainway has recently been re-zoned as residential. I am keeping a close eye on the development plans for the area, to ensure all of our students have access to local public schools.

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The schools in the South of Ward 5 include Frontenac, Mohawk Gardens and Pineland. Frontenac is a JK to Grade 8 school offering English programming. Mohawk Gardens serves students from JK to Grade 6 and also offers English programming. Pineland is a Grade 2 to Grade 8 school offering French Immersion programming.

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Each of these schools is over 50 years old. I have advocated for renovations to modernize and refresh them throughout my 16 years as your Trustee. Ensuring our older schools have the same bells and whistles as our newer schools is important to me. I will continue to seek ways to improve and upgrade them! 

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In the last 16 years many renovations have been completed in South Ward 5 schools. A brief summary of the major renovations completed in the last few years is below.

 

Air conditioning has been installed at Pineland. The journey to getting AC at Pineland has been a long one. Initially, the HDSB was unable to install AC because there was insufficient hydro capacity in the area. After several years of working with Burlington Hydro, the capacity was upgraded just as the pandemic hit. I am very grateful to our Facilities Department for prioritizing the air conditioning at Pineland. All our staff and students celebrated the comfortable temperatures in their classrooms when it was finally complete.

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Frontenac has also recently completed significant renovations, including the construction of a YMCA daycare facility. I had the opportunity to visit Frontenac in April and was amazed by the continuing transformation that's happening inside. I know families are very pleased with the beautiful and functional changes to their children's school.

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Mohawk Gardens received many renovations recently as well, including a new roof, side walks, and many improvements to the interior including the gym and library. The families at Mohawk Gardens are very engaged in their community and have been very supportive of the work that's been done to enhance their school.