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The thing we know about Toronto is that we have fairly stark differences between neighbourhoods

Although enrollment numbers are down “dramatically” across Ontario due to a declining birth rate, areas around Toronto including York, Peel and Durham regions have seen increasing enrollments, Ms. Kidder said.

“There’s been, for a number of years, a move out of the urban centres into the suburban areas. Also, now when people immigrate, they’re more likely to settle in those areas,” Ms. Kidder said.

Though the GTA stands up well in some areas, problems remain, she said.

“The thing we know about Toronto is that we have fairly stark differences between neighbourhoods,” she said.

The report found the school system is reinforcing some external socio-economic realities.

In schools with high average family incomes, the report says students are more likely to be in a band or choir, play more expensive sports, and have access to French immersion and gifted programs. High income schools also fundraise five times more than low income schools do.

“It makes a kind of double advantage for kids. They come from homes where the parents can afford those things. Then they go to school where all those things are readily available,” Ms. Kidder said.

Recommendations to the provincial government include development of a new policy framework mitigating socio-economic and ethno-racial factors, policy and funding that gives students equal access to extracurricular activities, arts and music programs at no charge and the creation of a special education ombudsman office.

“The overall [recommendation] has to do with making sure that all kids, rich poor, wherever they live in the province, have access to a truly broadly based education,” Ms. Kidder said.

National Post