Bluewater District School Board

Bluewater District School Board (known as English-language Public District School Board No. 7 prior to 1999[1]) is a school board in the Canadian province of Ontario, with jurisdiction for the operation of schools in Bruce and Grey Counties.

Bluewater District School Board
Location
Chesley, Ontario, Canada
Canada
Coordinates44°18′36″N 81°05′52″W
District information
Chair of the boardJane Thomson
Director of educationLori Wilder
Schools41 elementary schools
9 secondary schools
BudgetCA$226,300,000 million (2020-2021)
Other information
Elected trustees
Websitewww.bwdsb.on.ca

Its head office is located in Chesley, in the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie of Bruce County.

Bluewater District School Board has approximately 16,500 students in 41 elementary schools and nine secondary schools. The BWDSB has approximately 3,000 permanent and casual staff, including teachers. There are nine elected trustees on the board and one appointed First Nations trustee.

Early years of education in Bruce and Grey

Bruce County

The county's first school was established in Kincardine in 1851,[2] followed by Southampton and Walkerton in 1852.[3] At that time, the United Counties of Huron and Bruce comprised one school district,[3] but Bruce County would receive its own superintendent in 1853,[3] and the county itself would be divided into three school districts in 1855:

Initial school districts in Bruce County (1855)[3]
District Townships
Western Huron, Kincardine, Bruce and Kinloss
Northern Saugeen, Arran and Elderslie
Eastern Brant, Carrick, Culross and Greenock

The first grammar school would be established at Kincardine in 1860, followed by others in Walkerton (1872), Wiarton (1892) and Chesley (1904).[4] Model schools would be formed in 1877 for the training of teachers, at Kincardine and Walkerton.[5]

In the 50 years to 1901, the network of schools had grown to the following size:

Schools and students in Bruce County (1901)[6]
Type of school Schools Students
Public schools 246 12,614
High schools 4 480
Model schools 2 38
Separate schools 8 735
Totals 260 13,867

Grey County

After an initial division into three school districts in November 1854,[7] Grey County was reorganized into four districts two years later:

School districts in Grey County (1856)[8]
District Townships
1 Derby, Sydenham, Holland and Sullivan
2 Bentinck, Egremont, Glenelg and Normanby
3 St Vincent, Euphrasia and Collingwood
4 Artemisia, Osprey, Melancthon and Proton

Owen Sound established its first primary school in the early 1840s, and its grammar school in 1856.[9]

Schools in 1960

The Ontario Department of Education reported in 1960 that the school network in Bruce and Grey consisted of the following:

Schools, teachers and students in Bruce and Grey counties (1960)
Type of school Bruce County Grey County
Schools Teachers Students Schools Teachers Students
Public schools[10] 149 231 6,350 214 388 10,379
High schools (rural)[11] 9 93 2,198 7 76 1,801
High schools (city)[12] – – – 2 64 1,471
Separate schools[13] 15 35 1,455 8 21 658
Totals 173 359 10,003 231 549 14,309

County and district reorganizations (1969 and 1999)

The Bruce County Board of Education and the Grey County Board of Education were constituted at the beginning of 1969, as a result of legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1968.[14]

As part of the province-wide restructuring of Ontario's school boards as a consequence of the passage of the Fewer School Boards Act, 1997,[15] the "English-language Public District School Board No. 7" was created to take over the schools of the former county boards.[16] It was merged with the former boards at the beginning of 1998, and was renamed as the "Bluewater District School Board" in 1999.[17]

Athletics of the Bluewater District School Board
Baa logo

Sports at the secondary level are played through the Bluewater Athletics Association.[18] They are offered at high schools in the BWDSB and the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board. The winning team (BAA Champions) will go onto a CWOSSA Tournament. The following sports are played through BAA:

  • Volleyball
  • Football
  • Gymnastics
  • Basketball
  • Tennis
  • Soccer
  • Badminton
  • Wrestling
  • Rugby
  • Swim Team
  • Cross Country
  • Curling
  • Hockey
  • Golf
  • Nordic Skiing
  • Track and Field

Student Senate

From each high school in the BWDSB, a representative or student senator goes to monthly meetings at the school board office in Chesley, Ontario and brings ideas and suggestions from their school. They are a part of the Student Senate.

In May 2012, the Student Senate held their first conference, "SOS (Support Our Students) - Voices and Choices" in Owen Sound, Ontario with a focus on student mental health. A sequel titled, "Rumour Has It", followed in May 2013.

Organization of schools
BWDSB schools (grouped by type and school area)[19][20]
School area Community,[a 1] senior[a 2] and secondary[a 3] schools Primary schools
1
2
3
4
  • Arran-Tara Elementary School, Tara
  • Chesley District Community School, Chesley
  • Elgin Market Public School, Kincardine
  • Hillcrest Central School, Teeswater
  • Huron Heights Public School, Kincardine
  • Kincardine Township-Tiverton Public School, Kincardine
  • Lucknow Central Public School, Lucknow
  • Mildmay-Carrick Central Public School, Mildmay
  • Paisley Central School, Paisley
  • Ripley-Huron Community School, Ripley
  • Sullivan Community School, Desboro
  1. generally JK-12, except for 4-12 at Georgian Bay
  2. grades 7-12
  3. grades 9-12

Fraser Institute rankings

The 2020 Fraser Institute report on comparative secondary school rankings in Ontario gives the following data for Bluewater:

Bluewater secondary schools (2020 Fraser Institute Rankings)[21]
Name Area Enrollment 1-year ranking of 709 5-year ranking of 630
Bruce Peninsula180605n/a
Georgian Bay3310595336
Grey Highlands1610587544
John Diefenbaker3620420373
Kincardine4510614402
Owen Sound21,19072177
Peninsula Shores1155495377
Saugeen360072159
Walkerton4395503488

Further reading
  • Robertson, Norman (1906). The History of the County of Bruce, and of the minor municipalities therein. Toronto: William Briggs.
  • Marsh, Edith Louise (1931). A History of the County of Grey. Owen Sound: Fleming Publishing Company, Ltd.
  • Ontario Department of Education, Report of the Minister, 1960. Toronto: Department of Education. 1960.

See also

References
  1. "Ontario Regulation 107/08". e-Laws. Government of Ontario. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  2. Robertson 1906, p. 159.
  3. Robertson 1906, p. 160.
  4. Robertson 1906, pp. 172–175.
  5. Robertson 1906, p. 172.
  6. Robertson 1906, p. 176.
  7. Marsh 1931, pp. 226–227.
  8. Marsh 1931, p. 228.
  9. Marsh 1931, p. 346.
  10. Department of Education 1960, p. S-43.
  11. Department of Education 1960, pp. S-79, S-80.
  12. Department of Education 1960, p. S-76.
  13. Department of Education 1960, p. S-56.
  14. The Secondary Schools and Boards of Education Act, R.S.O. 1960, c. 362, Part VI , as inserted by The Secondary Schools and Boards of Education Amendment Act, 1968, S.O. 1968, c. 122, s. 8
  15. Fewer School Boards Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 3
  16. Transition from Old Boards to District School Boards, O. Reg. 460/97
  17. Establishment, Areas of Jurisdiction, and Names of District School Boards, O. Reg. 185/97
  18. Bluewater Athletics Association
  19. "School Areas". bwdsb.on.ca. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  20. "School Listing - Elementary". bwdsb.on.ca. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  21. "Report Card on Ontario's Secondary Schools 2020" (PDF). Fraser Institute. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
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