Rideau High School
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Rideau High School was an
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB, known as English-language Public District School Board No. 25 prior to 1999) refers to both the institution responsible for the operation of all English public schools in the city of Ottawa, Ont ...
high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in Ottawa,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada . It was located at 815 St. Laurent Boulevard in the east end of the city on the edge of Vanier. It was located next to the Queen Elizabeth Public School.


History

The school opened in 1957 under Principal E. D. Hendry. It was the second of a series of ten high schools built by the local school board to cope with rapidly rising attendance and the baby boom. The project generated some controversy as the Collegiate Board presented a plan that included an auditorium, double gym, and a cafeteria. The Ottawa Property Owners association objected to these as expensive and unneeded luxuries, and the mayor
Charlotte Whitton Charlotte Elizabeth Whitton (March 8, 1896 – January 25, 1975) was a Canadian feminist and mayor of Ottawa. She was the first woman mayor of a major city in Canada, serving from 1951 to 1956 and again from 1960 to 1964. Whitton was a Cana ...
agreed. The dispute delayed the construction of the school for some time. In 1971-72, Rideau High School concert and stage bands produced an album. In an October 6, 2009 report by the
OCDSB The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB, known as English-language Public District School Board No. 25 prior to 1999) refers to both the institution responsible for the operation of all English public schools in the city of Ottawa, Ont ...
, closure of the school was recommended, with its current students to be redirected to Gloucester High School. and incoming students to be re-directed to
Lisgar Collegiate Institute Lisgar Collegiate Institute is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board secondary school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in downtown Ottawa by the Rideau Canal. History In 1843, a grammar school with 40 paying students ...
(English) or
Glebe Collegiate Institute Glebe Collegiate Institute (GCI) is a high school in the Glebe neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), Glebe Collegiate Institute has approximately 1,700 students and is the dis ...
(French Immersion). However, due to a vote on December 7, 2009 (wherein the OCDSB board members voted to reject the recommendation), the school remained open. Rideau was designed to hold 800 students. The enrolment fell to about 550 students by 2013, with the rest of the building populated by the children of two day-care programs and an adult English program. In March 2017, the Ottawa-Carleton District Board of Trustees voted to close Rideau High School, effective June 2017, and redirect all of its students and programs to Gloucester High School. The reasons for closure were cited as declining enrollment (student population for 2016-2017 was 413) and the consequent reduction in programming opportunities for students.


Architecture

Rideau was built at the same time as Laurentian High School and Ridgemont High School and has the same base design by architects Hazelgrove, Lithwick and Lambert with well-lit efficient circulation, and a large auditoria. The double gymnasium block projected into a large sports field and oval track. For adults, commercial and business classes were offered in the evenings. There are tennis courts, a large parking lot, well equipped science labs, technical shops and a library. There are two storey t-shaped wings for classrooms, with the gym, auditorium and cafeteria in bumped out blocks. The building was constructed of orange-buff brick with contrasting brick in perpendicular bars on the fly over the auditorium stage. At Rideau the auditorium stage fly was decorated at the corners in contrasting brick. There were horizontal bands of windows in silver aluminum, which were later retrofitted with tinted glass in brown anodized frames. An entrance forecourt is reached by a circular drive. The main door is through a vestibule set at an angle between a classroom wing and the cafeteria block. The school's most architecturally interesting feature is a smokestack with a heavy fire door at the base for cleaning out the ash and soot. The school was renovated in the early 1990s at the cost of several million dollars. Although the renovation project was a success that helped modernize the school, the capital investment upset many members of the OCDSB as the school was perceived to be declining in both student enrollment as well as student performance. Many members of the OCDSB criticized the financial investment into the renovation project as they felt that the funds could be better used at other institutions.


Programs

Rideau was a mixed stream school offering Academic (advanced), Applied (general) and Essential level courses. The school also had a significant
English as a Second Language English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...
program, with 63.2% of the student population enrolled. Its specialization in ESL programs made it one of the most multicultural schools in the city in such programs. Rideau also had programs for special needs students as well as a daycare for the children of young mother students (with a population of 21.3% of students enrolled) and strong technological programming.


After Closure / Community Hub

The building/site is proposed to become a community hub. The school board publishe
a business plan from November 2017
and in January 2018 the provincial government announced funding support, with this description of the project: "This proposed community hub is a joint project between two community organizations ideau-Rockcliffe Community Centre and Odawa Native Friendship Centrefocused on Indigenous and non-Indigenous services including: alternative secondary school, urban Indigenous healthy living, life-long care, programs such as those for homelessness and bail, community justice, healing and wellness, cultural resources, a food bank, Indigenous job fair, housing, HIV/AIDS awareness, employment and training, and Inuit supports for students and youth. Other community services will include: health, social, recreation, life-long learning, and community engagement services."


Notable former students

* Cindy Shatto, former Olympic diver


See also

*
List of high schools in Ontario The following is a list of secondary schools in Ontario. Secondary education policy in the Canadian province of Ontario is governed by the Ministry of Education. Secondary education in Ontario includes Grades 9 to 12. The following list includ ...


References

*Keith, Janet. ''The Collegiate Institute Board of Ottawa: A Short History, 1843-1969.'' Ottawa: Kent, 1969.


External links


School WebsiteWebsite2006-2007 OCDSB School Profile

2005-2006 OCDSB School Profile

2004-2005 OCDSB School Profile
{{OCDSB High schools in Ottawa Educational institutions established in 1957 1957 establishments in Ontario Defunct schools in Ottawa Educational institutions disestablished in 2017 2017 disestablishments in Ontario