Afrocentric school approved in Toronto

Toronto District School Board trustees on Wednesday approved the city’s second Africentric school, this time for high school students.

Cheers erupted in the packed public gallery after the controversial motion for the high school for black students passed 14-6.

“It’s a great opportunity to serve our students and that’s what this has always been about,” said the board’s education director, Chris Spence. “You know, how do we think outside the box and support our students the best way we can.”

Spence said data from Toronto’s Africentric elementary school, which opened in September 2009, suggests the board is taking the right approach.

Students in that school have produced above-average provincial test scores and there is a wait list to get in.

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