Education minister announces new high school for Midland
By Travis Mealing Midland Mirror
MIDLAND – A new, $27.3-million high school will be built in Midland to accommodate students from Midland and Penetanguishene secondary schools, Education Minister Liz Sandals announced Feb. 20.
Standing in the Midland Secondary School (MSS) library and addressing staff, students and Simcoe County District School Board trustees, Sandals called the project “exciting news for the community.”
“In the long run, it means that we have really good spaces for students to learn,” she said, noting the proposed facility will be a “modern, up-to-date” school built on the site of the existing MSS playing field.
I am unsure of the merits of this plan. One of the great values of education in a small town is the smaller school size that allows students to build better relationships with faculty and pursue opportunities that would have been out of reach in a larger school. Midland and Penetang are also separate communities, and as the best school system, or as education writer Robert Rothman refers to them as smart schools, have a supportive community of which they are the hub, I am concerned about the environment and health of this planned new institution. It is exciting that the area is going to be the recipient of new educational resources, they are needed, but let’s make sure that those resources serve the many communities needs.