Students, teachers rally to save 'unique' City School in Hamilton, once pitched as a model to other cities

For 52-year-old student Heather Kennedy, getting an education done Mohawk College's City School programme was providing anticipation she'd beryllium capable to bring successful much wealth to assistance her family. 

Kennedy was hoping to go an administrator after taking free courses done the program. With its upcoming closure, announced alongside different cuts astatine the college, she's disquieted she won't beryllium capable to execute that goal.

"I deliberation it's a shame," said Kennedy. 

City School is simply a escaped work that offers post-secondary and employment-pathway courses to the adults successful the assemblage and has been run by Mohawk College successful Hamilton. 

In December, arsenic portion of cuts due to caller limits connected planetary students and a deficiency of provincial funding, the assemblage announced City School would beryllium winding down its operations and halt offering courses arsenic of March 31. Drop-in locations closed connected Feb. 10.

Kennedy was among a radical of people that rallied connected Feb. 19 extracurricular of Mohawk to protest cuts to colleges and to advocate for City School.

She said she recovered retired astir the program successful 2024 portion looking astatine flyers astatine a nutrient bank. She enrolled and started a people called College 101. She's presently taking 2 courses successful hopes of moving for a non-profit.

Kennedy said she applied for the courses due to the fact that she wants to "improve [her] life" and larn caller things. She added the courses person helped her a lot.

"I'm trying to get a limb up truthful I tin gain much wealth and assistance my family. It's helped maine larn a batch of skills. So I'm blessed astir that," she said.

Kennedy works arsenic a caretaker, but said astatine a clip erstwhile prices support going up and beingness is getting "harder and harder," she wants to lend much to her family's finances.

Petition asks college to 'reconsider' closure

Kennedy is not unsocial successful her disappointment with the closure.

Partners of the programme started a petition, which has garnered much than 300 signatures from assemblage members and 30 assemblage partners. 

Erin Carr, enforcement manager of the Solidarity Place Worker Education Centre, 1 of the non-profit organizations that partnered with City School, said helium started the petition successful precocious January aft conversations with the union.

"City School was connected the ground, popular, escaped and accessible education, which is thing successful our state we're sorely lacking," helium said.

There were 415 students enrolled successful City School past year, according to Sarah Harvie, vice-president for OPSEU Local 241, which represents enactment unit astatine Mohawk College.

According to a spokesperson from Mohawk College, determination were 13 unit employed with City School and 8 to 10 part-time instructors per semester. Harvie said lone three or four remain, apt owed to their transportation to different programs astatine the college.

More than a twelve Mohawk programs were suspended successful December and by February, 255 full-time jobs were lost.

One of those impacted was Sarah Bradshaw, a grooming specializer astatine Mohawk College and part-time teacher astatine City School. She said the programme is antithetic from different assemblage acquisition programs "because it acts arsenic the nexus betwixt the assemblage and the college."

City School offered assemblage courses successful spaces similar the Eva Rothwell Centre, Hamilton Public Library and Mission Services.

It started with a $50,000 concern astir 10 years ago, and though Mohawk College cites a $1 cardinal fund need, City School could run "comfortably" with $300,000, she said. 

Harvie said with the petition, the assemblage is asking for the programme not to beryllium unopen down completely.

"We're asking the assemblage to reconsider, and we're asking for captious assistance from the state truthful we aren't slamming the doorway unopen to students who are changing their lives with the enactment of programs similar City School," she said.

In an email to CBC Hamilton, Mohawk College spokesperson Sean Coffey said the assemblage recovered the City School exemplary was "not sustainable," portion acknowledging "the programme was capable to assistance galore radical successful the assemblage since it began cognition successful 2015."

City School was a spot for 'transformation': instructor 

Jess Robertson, an teacher with the program, said the work is simply a spot for "transformation."

"The thought of City School closing is simply a symptom similar nary different due to the fact that I cognize determination are truthful galore much individuals who could payment from this program, from the support, from the accidental to observe their potential," she said.

Robertson taught 13 courses astatine City School and said the transportation made successful the schoolroom was what acceptable it isolated from others.

"There is laughter, excitement and a shared committedness to growth," she said.

Carr besides teaches astatine City School, he said the service means a batch to students.

"[City School offers] a pathway to post-secondary education, there's upskilling, aboriginal employability, but it's besides gathering societal relationships. Our students, they are a close-knit community," helium said.

His students travel from each antithetic walks of life, helium said.

"[Some] are successful shelters close now, folks that person been dealt a truly pugnacious manus successful life, that astatine slightest anticipation to excavation retired of that hole. That was thing that City School provided," helium said.

The occurrence of City School besides spanned beyond Hamilton, Harvie said.

The programme partnered with colleges successful Vancouver, Winnipeg and Halifax to stock City School's exemplary and however it could beryllium replicated elsewhere.

"It was a fantastic concern that highlighted the unsocial qualities of City School arsenic a made-in-Hamilton solution to conscionable the grooming and acquisition needs of our community," she added.