The Waterloo Region District School Board has shared its plan for staff and students at Elizabeth Ziegler Public School, now that the decision has been made to keep the building closed for the 2025-2026 school year.
The school closed its doors on March 3 and an engineering team was brought in to assess structural concerns. They determined no one should be allowed inside the building pending their final report, which is expected in late April or early May.
When students returned from March break, they switched to remote learning while 12 portables were brought in for the start of in-person classes on April 1.
Most students, including the extended day program, returned to Elizabeth Ziegler Public School on Tuesday, while French Immersion students were bused to Sandowne Public School.
“I was able to actually peek into [my son’s] portable and they look brand new there,” parent Sarah Rank told CTV News on Tuesday. “It was actually a really beautiful portable, nice flooring, really clean.”
Proposed school year plan
The Waterloo Region District School Board announced last week that Elizabeth Ziegler Public School would remain closed for the 2025-2026 school year.
In an update Wednesday, they said staff came up with a plan that would keep their school community together and minimize disruptions.
For the 2025-2026 school year, current students at Elizabeth Ziegler Public School will move to Sandowne Public School. That will include full-day kindergarten classes, Grades 1 through Grades 6 on the regular track, as well as French Immersion students in Grades 2 through Grades 6.
“It is a substantial increase to the Sandowne School community. And we’re grateful for how we’ve been able to work through this situation. It is also adding, in addition to the two portables we’ve already [added], it will be adding ten portables,” Scott Miller, Waterloo Region District School Board’s director of education, said in an interview Wednesday.
The school said transportation will be provided for students within the Elizabeth Ziegler Public School boundary.
Siblings of current students, who register after April 1, will also attend Sandowne Public School.
Parents who want to move their child to another school can make an out-of-boundary request.
Students taking Alternative Continuum of Education (ACE) classes will remain at JW Gerth Public School, while Congregated Enrichment classes will continue at Brigadoon Public School.
Frustrated parent reacts
Suzie Taka’s son is a student at Elizabeth Ziegler. She also has twins she had planned to enroll at the school in a couple years.
She said she and many other parents were feeling optimistic Tuesday when the kids were going back to school after almost a month of remote learning.
“We walked to school. I almost thought we were going to start high fiving because we’ve been under a lot of stress and our kids were finally back and they’re back to their routine,” Taka said.
When she found out about switching schools next year, her excitement went away.
“I had a lot of grace for them knowing that this was a wild situation. My grace and patience have faded fast. I think this was preventable and that’s what really frustrates me,” she said.
Taka said her family has one car and it won’t be easy to get to Sandowne.
“You have to take two buses. It takes 49 minutes by bus. So if we had to pick him up for an appointment or if he was sick and one of us had the car and was not available, I don’t know how we would get there,” she said.
Miller responded to accusations that what happened at Elizabeth Ziegler was preventable and said the board does monthly inspections for all of its schools.
“When you do those inspections, of course, you’re only seeing either the exterior of the building or the interior and walking around. Elizabeth Ziegler School, it’s certainly, to look at it, it’s a beautiful building. And really to be able to know that there was structural damage would be quite difficult from just that observation,” Miller said.
Miller also thanked families for their patience and understanding.
“It’s great to see how our community’s bonding and supporting one another through this difficult situation,” he said.
