Heydon Park Accolades

What people say about Heydon Park Secondary School:

Having special education accessible is a life saver for people! As an adult with a learning disability, who is now in university, I would never have made it to where I am without special education! As a volunteer with Heydon Park, I seen this school try its hardest at making learning accessible and build community. More students deserve to have access to the support that Heydon Park provides!

Lia from Change.org petition

I attended Heydon Park myself I struggled for years in school. Heydon was the school that helped me find out who I am today. I never would've graduated if I didn't attend Heydon.

Laura Lynn from Change.org petition

My sister went to this school and loved it, it provides a wonderful accessible education, a great source of skills, friendship, and learning.  

Megan from Change.org petition

Our daughter with selective mutism (not to mention a host of other challenges) learned to use her voice and communicate at Heydon Park after many years of no success in earlier grades at other schools. Without a doubt, the staff at this school are one of the main reasons she has blossomed and grown. This would not have happened in a regular classroom even with so called "extra supports".   

Philip from Change.org petition

My daughter graduated from Heydon Park a few years ago, it was the best school experience that she has ever had. The staff are wonderful and so supportive, they helped my daughter and pushed her to always try her hardest and helped her grow into the young woman she is today. She came to Heydon Park very traumatized and left a self-assured and confident young woman. Please keep this school open, it is a school that helps support those who a lot of times fall through the cracks in our school system. I get that finances are tough but it shouldn't be at the expense of some of our most vulnerable students.   

Deborah from Change.org petition

Heydon Park was pivotal in my daughter’s development and growth. There really is no other place in the GTA with the same services as Heydon Park.

Joanne from Change.org petition

For years my husband and I met broken promises and numerous let downs when it came to in-class support for our daughter, who was diagnosed with ADHD in the 2nd grade. We attended SST meetings and updating her IEP yearly, and still she was failing. We changed schools, advocated for her mental health and well-being at school and many times our advocacy fell on selective deaf ears. She started grade 9 last September and suffered mentally and academically. Slamming doors became a daily occurrence.

During the Heydon Park open house, in November 2024 my daughter immediately fell in love with the school. She transferred to Heydon Park in January and her spark for her own education returned and the doors stop slamming. Grades are improving. Finding a place to belong, with like-minded peers and teachers who speak and support differently. We love Heydon Park. Visit it. Cherish it. Save it.

Kyiesha from Change.org petition

I graduated from Heydon Park SS back in 2014. When I was in grade 9 in 2008, this school helped me find ways how I can succeed, which was helpful. This school was extremely accommodating towards me, and it has shaped me into the woman I am today. Also, it helped me build my character into who I am to this day, and I am extremely blessed that I got my OSSD at this school. Even though I did not do well in some courses, I knew not to get discouraged because there would be a way to graduate from this school. It is an enriching school, I really appreciated for all the hard-working staff who were around the time I was at Heydon Park. I loved the FOS room because it helped me feel less distracted while taking a test or doing an assignment, a place to vent when feeling low.

Jenny from Change.org petition

I personally work with the school bus companies that transport many lovely young ladies to this school and it shows how important it is for them. These kids deserve a place to be themselves and fulfill their life goals and that cannot generally be found in general population high schools. 

Kerri from Change.org petition

My son has a developmental disability and is now age 40. His journey through the traditional school system was traumatic for him and for me. I understand very well how essential it is to have a school such as Heydon for all those with any type of intellectual disability. My son works at two part-time jobs and lives independently with the assistance of a support worker from Community Living. He contributes in a very positive way to the people he serves at his jobs. All students with special education needs can grow to be contributing members of our society and can find gratifying ways to live with the education they need. Our government needs to provide the funds to keep this school going. 

Rickey from Change.org petition

My son has a learning disability and ADHD and is gifted. That's 3 exceptionalities/disabilities. He is an Indigenous child and additional supports for his disabilities give him to ability to heal from intergenerational trauma, and learn and grow. My child and ALL children with disabilities deserve education that works for them and nurtures their whole selves and doesn't blame them for the different ways they learn.

I firmly believe that school MUST be a place for children with disabilities to find belonging, support, care and an education in ways that work for them. This is a time in their lives where they can learn that they can achieve their dreams (just like everyone else) that they matter, their lives matter. Their educational years will shape the rest of their lives. This school matters. It changes lives. Please fund this school and if you must, cut somewhere else.

Disability supports are non-negotiable and must not be cut. Research shows that 30% to 70% of young offenders and inmates have experienced learning problems. And almost 50% of adolescent suicides had previously been diagnosed with learning disabilities. (https://ccsd.ca/resources/CrimePrevention/i_snp.htm) A positive education is a key protective factor for children with learning disabilities. It promotes positive mental health and the ability to be in society in a good way. I worry every day about the school to prison pipeline and how to help my child not be another Indigenous man, overrepresented in the prison system. Supporting him learn with his learning disability is a key protective factor for him. For the children at Heydon Park, this too is a key protective factor. Please keep this school!

Jennifer from Change.org petition

My child is applying for colleges this year. They're in 12th grade. That NEVER would have happened in a mainstream school. They would've gotten completely lost in the shuffle, and would never have had the confidence and support they have in Heydon. They're thriving. They've gotten the top mark in almost every single class they've taken in the last 4 years. 

My child did co op last year at Pet Value, and now they're in co op at the U of T bookstore. They have a JOB, and they're excelling and thriving! I never could have imagined they'd be doing this before Heydon.

This school is special, and losing it would hurt every single kid who won't have the opportunities my child has had. Their home school is SATEC/WA Porter. It has well over a thousand kids. How can an Autistic non-binary child maneuver through that alone?

Christina (parent at Heydon Park)

The spec Ed document mentions a number of times the social / peer impact on learning. Heydon is the first place where my kid has had a group of friends. She looks forward to going to school. Also - most of us likely tried inclusion. My daughter didn’t move to an MID class until February of her grade 8 year. She was essentially bullied out of her home school. The whole reason they are at Heydon is because they were not thriving in other settings.

Jennifer (parent at Heydon Park)

The Toronto I want to live in supports more schools like Heydon Park that provide caring, tailored, focused resources on vulnerable students, not fewer. SAVE HEYDON PARK!  

Patrick from Change.org petition

There are real people living and working at the margins of Ontario society whose fates depend on these kinds of decisions, and it’s important not to forget the human costs of decisions made on a balance sheet.

Peter from Change.org petition

I don't care if only 5 students attend this school! Every child deserves the right to good quality and compassionate education that addresses their needs, just as my daughter benefited from (and is now on her way to her dream university!) We cannot let our tomorrow down. Whatever the rationale that led to the decision to close this school, think instead of how you can genuinely maximize its potential. 

Menyi from Change.org petition

Shame on the TDSB. This has been a safe place for students who have faced more challenges then most of will ever face in our lives. Heydon is a gem of a school that actually puts the students first. It's about time the TDSB did the same, and not just lip service about supports. Heydon has the supports, the community and the teachers that are changing the lives of their students.

Margaret from Change.org petition