Dante Alighieri Academy | |
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60 Playfair Avenue , , Canada | |
Coordinates | 43°42′37″N79°27′29″W / 43.7104°N 79.4581°W |
Information | |
School type | Catholic High school |
Motto | Character and Charity, Scholarship and Service |
Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic (Sisters of St. John the Baptist) |
Founded | 1974 |
School board | Toronto Catholic District School Board (Metropolitan Separate School Board) |
Superintendent | Shawna Campbell Area 3 |
Area trustee | Maria Rizzo Ward 5 |
School number | 522 / 702935 |
Principal | Anthony Bellisario |
Vice Principals | Jessica Wlodarczyk Christine Kim |
Grades | 9-12 |
Enrolment | 926 (2018–19) |
Language | English |
Colour(s) | Red, White, and Yellow |
Team name | Dante Monarchs |
Public transit access | TTC: North/South: 29 Dufferin West/East: 52 Lawrence West, 59 Maple Leaf Rapid Transit: Lawrence West |
Parish | St. Charles Borromeo |
Specialist High Skills Major | Arts & Culture Business Health and Wellness |
Program Focus | Broadbased Technology Elite Athletes/Arts |
Website |
Dante Alighieri Academy (Dante Alighieri, DAA, or Dante; Official name: Dante Alighieri Catholic Academy) also known as Dante Alighieri Academy Catholic Secondary School is a Catholic public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Toronto Catholic District School Board, it serves the Glen Park neighbourhood in the North York district. It has 926 students from grades 9-12 as of 2018–19. It was founded in 1974 by the Sisters of St. John the Baptist, and is named after Dante Alighieri, a major Italian poet of the Middle Ages in the 13th century.
The school was founded in September 1974 in cooperation with the Sisters of St. John the Baptist, St Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church and the Metropolitan Separate School Board (now known as the Toronto Catholic District School Board) to serve the predominantly Italian-Canadian community in the Dufferin-Lawrence neighbourhood with 180 students and nine teachers inside two portables and one portapak. [1] The permanent three-storey building was erected in 1976 and the first addition was built in 1979. In 2005, the school constructed a 10,000 sq. ft. auditorium designed by Global Architects Inc. [2]
Today the school serves over 1000 students serving the Lawrence Heights neighbourhood. Unlike primary and junior high schools, the TCDSB does not condition admission to its secondary schools on meeting its "Catholicity requirements"; the school's population is diverse and student body consists of Italians, Portuguese, Filipinos, White, Hispanic, Eastern Asians, and many others.
Due to overpopulation of the school, with the school building being medium-sized and students teaching classes in 20 portables, the school's grade 9 students were relocated to the former Bathurst Heights Secondary School in 2006 until 2011 when the school moved to the old Sir Sanford Fleming Academy as the students of that school was renamed to John Polanyi Collegiate Institute in the old Bathurst building.[ citation needed ] The campus became known as Beatrice Campus, named after Beatrice Portinari.
In 2011, the Toronto Catholic District Board received provincial funding to reconstruct Dante Alighieri Academy's outdated facilities. [3] This culminated when Villa Charities, the owner of the Columbus Centre and the TCDSB announced a joint venture in December 2012 to build a new joint-use 400,000 sq. ft. school building expected to open in 2019. [4] The announcement has met with controversy and opposition within the community protesting against the proposed demolition of the 1980s apartment building being redeveloped. [5] As a result, the province rejected the proposed plan and the TCDSB severed ties with Villa Charities. [6]
However, the replacement Dante school is expected to be built on the nearby Regina Mundi property with the existing Dante building converted into an elementary school. [7] The school is now temporarily relocated to the former Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School in Etobicoke starting in the 2021-22 school year.
Dante Alighieri is home to the board's Deaf And Hard Of Hearing program consisting of 30 students.[ citation needed ] The school also offers various programs such as arts, technological studies, English, Mathematics, science and guidance.
Downsview is a neighbourhood in the north end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the district of North York. The area takes its name from the Downs View farm established around 1842 near the present-day intersection of Keele Street and Wilson Avenue. It now extends beyond the intersection of Sheppard Avenue and Dufferin Street, though it is popularly seen as including the areas to the north right up to the Toronto city limit at Steeles Avenue. The area includes several large post-World War II subdivisions. Within the area is Downsview Airport, the former site of Canadian Forces Base Downsview, which has since been largely converted following the end of the Cold War into an urban park known as Downsview Park. The airport is still used as a manufacturing and testing facility for Bombardier Aerospace.
Willowdale is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the district of North York. It developed from three postal villages: Newtonbrook, Willowdale and Lansing.
Lawrence Heights is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located north-west of central Toronto, in the district of North York. The neighbourhood is roughly bounded by Lawrence Avenue to the south, Yorkdale Road to the north, Varna Drive to the east and Dufferin Street to the west. It is part of the greater Yorkdale-Glen Park official Toronto neighbourhood.
Bathurst Manor is a neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in northern Toronto in the former suburb of North York. It sits on a plateau bounded on the north by Finch Avenue West, on the west by Dufferin Street, on the east by the Don River, and on the south by Sheppard Avenue West. The area is also regarded as part of the Downsview postal area as designated by Canada Post. It is part of the former city of North York, which merged with five other municipalities and a regional government to form the new "City of Toronto" in 1998. It is part of the federal and provincial electoral district York Centre, and Toronto electoral ward 10: York Centre (East). In 2006, it had a population of 14,615.
Earlscourt is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centred on St. Clair Avenue West, with Dufferin Street, Davenport Road, and Old Weston Road forming its boundaries. It is contained within the larger city-recognized neighbourhood of Corso Italia-Davenport.
Pelmo Park-Humberlea is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located north-west of the central core, in the former suburb of North York. Many of the neighbourhoods in this quadrant of the city can aptly be described as family neighbourhoods with access to parks, green space and a slower pace than found closer to downtown.
Yorkdale-Glen Park is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the former suburb of North York. It is bounded by Highway 401 to the north, Allen Road to the east, a line south of Stayner Avenue to the south, and the CNR tracks to the west.
Lawrence Manor is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This neighbourhood is bounded by Bathurst Street on the east, Highway 401 to the north, the Allen to the west, and Lawrence Avenue to the south. The western side of the area borders along Bathurst Heights and the large public housing project.
Clanton Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the district of North York, it is part of federal and provincial electoral district York Centre, and Toronto electoral wards 9: York Centre (West) and 10: York Centre (East). In 2016, it had a population of 16,472, a 12.7% rise from 2011.
Westminster-Branson is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is in the northernmost part of the city within the area of North York.
Pleasant View is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada that is located in the district of North York at the northern end of the city. It is bordered by Victoria Park to the East, Sheppard Avenue to the South, Highway 404 to the west and the Finch hydro corridor to the north. The neighbourhood is home to several high-rise apartment and condominium buildings, such as The Clippers.
Clairlea is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The neighbourhood is located in the western part of the district of Scarborough just east of Victoria Park Avenue. To the north, it is bounded by Eglinton Avenue and to the south by Taylor-Massey Creek and the railway tracks. The neighborhood is served by Warden station and the Don Valley Parkway. A large portion of Clairlea-Birchmount is taken up by shopping centres, the Eglinton Square Shopping Centre and other large retail developments along what was once Scarborough’s old Golden Mile of Industry on Eglinton Avenue.
Eglinton East, historically known as Knob Hill, is a residential and commercial neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded by Stansbury Crescent, Citadel Drive, and West Highland Creek to the north, Midland Avenue to the west, the CNR rail line, Brimley Road, and Eglinton Avenue to the south, and Bellamy Road North to the east.
John Polanyi Collegiate Institute (JPCI), formerly Sir Sandford Fleming Secondary School is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is housed in the former Bathurst Heights Secondary School building. It is located in the North York district, near Lawrence Avenue West and Allen Road in the area of Lawrence Heights community. Prior to 1998, the school was part of the North York Board of Education.
St. Mary Catholic Academy, previously known as St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School until Oct 2016 and Brother Edmund Rice Annex until 1984 is a Catholic secondary school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada founded by Faithful Companions of Jesus in 1982.
Maple Leaf is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the southwest of the North York district. Its approximate borders are Lawrence Avenue to the south, Culford Road to the west, Highway 401 to the north, and the CNR rail lines east of Keele Street to the east.
Armour Heights is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the district of North York. It is bounded by Wilson Avenue to the south, Bathurst Street to the west, and the west branch of the Don River to the north and east. Highway 401 cuts through the centre of the neighbourhood.
Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School, is a Toronto Catholic District School Board secondary school facility in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the former suburb of Etobicoke, north of the intersection of Islington Avenue and Dixon Road in the Kingsview Village neighbourhood.
Ledbury Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the southern part of the North York area, just across the border from Midtown Toronto. Its boundaries are Avenue Road to the east, Lawrence Avenue to the south, Bathurst Street to the West, and Wilson Avenue and Highway 401 to the north.
Regina Pacis Catholic Secondary School is a former Catholic secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1980 to 2002, it was operated by the Toronto Catholic District School Board serving the Downsview neighbourhood. The name Regina Pacis comes from Latin which means Queen of Peace, referring to the Virgin Mary.