Halifax Regional School Board - Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Michelle Davis

Waiting until the last possible moment to inform you who your kids teacher's are. Might as well play roulette and not even find out till we get there for the first day. They don't cancel school even when they should! Those of us with special needs kids have to jump through flaming hoops of doom just trying to make sure their child has a normal school experience. Starting school in the middle or at the end of a week is bonkers! Holiday breaks are not long enough, making it hard to plan to go away to visit family in other provinces.

TD

Tue, Dec 3, 2019

(Legitimate Review)

As you might of seen from other reviews, this school board is very poor at making important timed decisions on school closures, deciding on dates when schools should start/end and everything in between.

Things to expect if your child is planning on attending a school registered under HRCE:

•School Closure Reports due to snow, ice, hurricane, etc won't be known till around 8:00am LT. Please be aware that the official current website statement "that a decision will be made by 5:30am" is usually false with decisions not coming out till as late 9:00am LT.

•Unexpected School Closures due to over expectations of weather reports are very common.

•Buses may not be able to pick up your child for multiple reasons, However I'm not exactly sure if they are always fully connected with HRCE or just with their local school.

•PD days (no school days) may change without prior or little notice due to the school board, usually this is kept in check, but has occurred on a few occasions.

•Midday School Closures problems due to storms, power outage, etc. Please be aware that your child might be kept at school even if conditions are continuing to worsen, this is usually due to the school board not giving permission to the school(s) to close.

•Reports on dangerous conditions for students that walk are not reported, as in ice, construction, etc which in some cases might prohibit your child from getting to school.

•Please be aware that this school board also has a bad rept for keeping schools open on days where schools should be closed, this includes your typical snow storms & hurricanes, but also includes days in the summer when dangerous heat waves reaching 40°c are in affect which could negatively affect your child if their school does not have working AC.

•Their personal contact staff are not always available (even on days when schools are open).

Scott Gray

The amount of PD says the kids get is ridiculous. Parents are left scrambling for child care or have to take time off work in a time where we need to make as much money as possible to pay bills. There has been 3 PD days in the last two weeks!! This is just one of the many complaints to a failing system.

Rose Downy

School should not be allowing kids to go to school with lice and should be cleaning their heads and everybody be doing Lice checks. Bullying needs to change and make sure Family are not Left out of Christmas concerts and activities, Just because the Mom does not have custody. Healthy school’s should be the target, in Many categories. Rights but yet they just have the kid not show up to any of the activities or concert along visit, hardly. Even if it’s court ordered. It’s pretty bad there have so much corruption in the school that I was supposed to graduate with five extra credits and they went and they switch from paper over to computer and somehow they lost all my credits. Yeah thanks for let me down in every way possible now I’m screwed. Thanks And don’t even get me started on the guidance counsellors

Matt McGrath (thehalifaxmatt)

I am very disappointed and frustrated with the HRCE transportation system. They did not take accountability for the information listed on the app and the information given to the driver. I spoke with two separate individuals on separate days, confirming the bus should have stopped at the stop listed on the app. Then I received an email that was dismissive, telling me I must be seeing other buses because they checked the GPS and the bus is making the stops at the right time. This was contradictory to what I was told before. After my third experience and call in a row, I was told the bus isn't supposed to stop at the address and time listed in the app, but across the street after the listed time. So why were the parents and the driver given different information, and why was my concern handled with differing information? I have asked for a supervisor to follow up, but I have not received any response yet. This is unacceptable and unprofessional. This complaint and review isn't an inconvenience with regards to having to cross the street slightly later than the app says, it's about how this was handled. The HRCE transportation system needs to improve their communication and customer service, and make sure their app is accurate and reliable, and I hope they correct these issues in the future—we are trusting you with our children's safety.

Lawrence Conrad

At the Belle Rose which is normally a great venue for large gatherings. Air Conditioning was non existent this day for whatever reason. 30 degrees outside and 400+ people in the theatre and it was sweltering. Called every number on the HRCE site with no answers at all. 311 had no idea. Short of pulling the fire alarm, no one is available. Completely unacceptable, especially when this is a paid rental. The "kids" they have working the event have absolutely no idea what to do or who to call. Most people were patient but very upset and some left the venue. If you book this place ensure you have a contact for issues like this one.

Jessica Bradstock

Worst organization going. Should have never amalgamated the school districts. They don't care about students.

Kelly Billard

I have a son who is in grade 3 at humber park who is desperately in need of theIPP prgram. I have been advised because my son is black that he doesn't qualify because there are too many black students now on the iPP. I can't even believe this is coming from our school board. I am going to reach out to the media as this is not sitting well. Regardless of my sons color my son has struggled very hard. He is 8 and unable to read or write. 3 years learning delay and you don't feel IPP is needed? Prepare for media at your door looking for answers.