Toronto’s first Africentric school has been the topic on the lips of many for a long time now. The issue has been hotly contested on both sides, with passions and tempers running high. However, it now appears to be almost a done deal, but perhaps not the Africentric school that was originally conceived and lobbied for.

Instead of an entire Africentric school, this will be a school within a school for junior kindergarden to Grade 5. They will be sharing space with the Sheppard Public school at Sheppard Ave. West and Keele Street which is grossly underutilized. The current utilization rate of the Sheppard Public school is only 46%, with only 287 students enrolled in 2007. The Africentric school will be housed in an empty wing of the school. Enrolment will be open to any students in Toronto.

The school within a school model has not been tried before. It is a Toronto invention. The only other Africentric schools are in the U.S. and they are free standing separate schools. The Africentric school is now looking to hire black teachers and to shift the curriculum from a European focus to more of a global focus. Although the Africentric school will be housed in a separate wing, all of the students will enter and exit through the same door, share a cafeteria, playground, library, clubs, and school teams. Depending on the level of success and demand for the Africentric school, there is enough space at the Sheppard Public school to expand the program up to and including Grade 8. For the Africentric school to be viable there needs to be enough students for 2 classes of consecutive grades, with about 22 students in each. Enrolment will begin this fall for 2009 admission.