David Israelson
Special to Niagara Now/The Lake Report
In a few days, a small group of local residents will celebrate a significant milestone that ought to be celebrated more widely — the 10th anniversary of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Royal Oak Community School.
Royal Oak is a thriving institution in the heart of Old Town that has delivered, maintained and grown a badly needed service to Niagara-on-the-Lake — a not-for-profit elementary school in the heart of the community.
The fact that Royal Oak even exists is a small miracle for Niagara-on-the-Lake. It makes the town, all parts of it, a better place, and the more people know about it and why it’s important, the better it is for all of us.
Royal Oak was founded in 2015 after a bitter battle by residents to keep Old Town’s public elementary school, Parliament Oak, from being closed by the District School Board of Niagara. The DSBN didn’t listen, and today the Parliament Oak site is a pile of rubble.
Rather than sulk, the families and individuals who founded Royal Oak decided to be positive. Full disclosure: I was on Royal Oak’s founding committee and served as its first board chair. Today, I am just an observer and admirer.
People wanted a local school their kids could walk to. Having a school in the heart of NOTL attracts young families, and it’s integral to keeping the town from becoming a geriatric Disneyland.
A decade later, Royal Oak Community School is fulfilling a deep need in Niagara-on-the-Lake, without asking for a lot in return.
Royal Oak’s students enjoy a program that combines academic rigour with outdoor learning, creativity and social responsibility. Its programs instill values — what it means to be a citizen.
In an era plagued by online trolling and gratuitous anger and hate, this is priceless.
“Our 10th anniversary is a testament to what happens when a community rallies around a vision, for meaningful education while reimagining what is possible in schools,” says Julia Murray, Royal Oak’s head of school.
It also shows what Niagara-on-the-Lake can do when it imagines what is possible for the town — when residents get together because they share an idea and then make it happen. That’s something we all should celebrate.
David Israelson is a writer and non-practising lawyer who lives in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
