Marie Bates was working as a trained teacher at a Montessori school in Toronto, but as she says, “I thought I could do it better – I was in my 20s.” So, in 1986, off she went to comb through Statistics Canada information to look for Toronto neighbourhoods with growing numbers of children and a certain amount of disposable income. One neighbourhood she identified was Leaside, a community not unfamiliar to her as an East Yorker.
She and a fellow teacher, and new business partner, went in search of premises in Leaside and found St. Augustine Anglican Church on Bayview. When the school first opened, it had only two students, but as word of a quality new school in the neighbourhood spread, enrolment quickly grew. In fact, it grew sufficiently such that in 1996, when The Junior Academy left Leaside Presbyterian Church for their own separate school on Bayview, Children’s Garden School took space there too.
Now, Children’s Garden School, or CGS, operates only out of Leaside Presbyterian Church at 670 Eglinton Ave. East, offering schooling for toddlers of 2½ up to Grades 3 or 4 for both boys and girls. Marie is officially co-founder and principal, while one of her key fellow administrators, Joan Bowman, director of admission and parent engagement, comes with a Reggio Emilia background in early childhood education.
Marie believes that the enriched education at her school does an excellent job of preparing children to continue in the private school system above the grade levels CGS offers, or to move seamlessly into the public system. “The children are given a lot of opportunities and are confident and ready for success wherever they go.”
Pre-school and Junior Kindergarten can be half or full day. Senior Kindergarten and Grades 1-3 or 4 are full day. In addition to individual grade teachers, CGS features specialists in art, physical education, French, drama and learning strategies. There is even a daily hot lunch program courtesy of a partnership with Real Food For Real Kids. CGS is also home to some students with special needs, who benefit from the school’s programming.
The approach the school uses is obviously working. There are now students in the school whose parents were graduates. Marie and her staff believe in “respect and rules,” she says. “You show respect and expect to be given respect. Children are given a voice.”
