TDSB Schools Built By Year

The data supports building new

Gabriel Zaharia, TLC Data and Systems Analyst

The Toronto District School Board is the largest and most diverse school board in Canada, serving approximately 247,000 students in 547 elementary or secondary schools across the city. Most of these schools were built between 1940 and 1980, in fact currently 444 schools are 50+ years old, with the average age of a TDSB school at 60+ years. Considering this information, it may not come as a surprise that Canada’s largest school board has a $4 billion repair backlog, a figure that could reach nearly $5 billion in the next few years.

The provincial government and the TDSB have been in the news recently announcing their plans for a new school in a condominium tower at the foot of Yonge St. This is an excellent example modernizing and accommodating the needs of a growing downtown neighbourhood. However, new public schools are needed across every Ward in the city. Our data suggests that there are numerous opportunities to right size school areas, build new schools and add community services while preserving public lands to the maximum extent.  Research from across North America has shown that new and better schools have:

• an immediate positive impact on academic diligence
• noticeably improved attendance
• modest to gradual improvements in student test scores
• increased sense of pride in their school

These effects are compounded every year a student attends the school.

Download the attached dashboard view of TDSB school build analysis chart. This data serves as a reminder of the generational opportunity and societal responsibility we have to begin to work toward modernizing Toronto’s public schools.