Rideau High School students and parents are gearing up for a fight to save their school from a shutdown.
The Ottawa Carleton District School Board has been wrestling with declining enrolment and say the closure - one of three planned in the region - is necessary. McGregor Easson and Parkwood Hills elementary schools are also slated to close their doors next September.
So the challenge now is helping the people who use Rideau's ESL and learning disabilities programs bring their stories to the board, says Chris Ellis, former head of the Rideau Parents Council..
"My biggest challenge is to try to reach out to communities that don't normally have a voice - the immigrant population - and find their community leaders," says Ellis, who is spearheading the effort to save Rideau.
The next school board meeting will be held Nov. 23, with a final decision expected on Dec. 15.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Kristy Kirkup
