Latest sports attempt for NDSS

The Niagara Advance posted this story Thursday in regards to Lezlie Murch's efforts to combine her high-skills tennis program with attendance at Niagara District Secondary School in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The school needs about 100 more students in the building by this coming school year or the District School Board of Niagara will close the school.

Murch says she hopes to have 10 to 15 students for NDSS by September—students who are interested in elite athletic coaching in tennis, golf, rowing, hockey and football.
Those students will be charged a fee to help pay for professional coaches, with sports training taking place outside the school day, she says.
Another recruiter in Niagara Falls has another eight to 10 international students lined up for NDSS who are interested in improving their English and the experience of a year in Canada, Murch says.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is an “easy sell” when talking to parents of foreign students, she says—the small, safe community has more appeal than Toronto or the US.
Murch can also help prepare students, whether local or international, who want to attend US universities on athletic scholarships—all of her tennis students have been placed in American universities on tennis scholarships.

As mentioned in several previous posts here, this was an innovative response to an accommodation review when the board challenged the community to boost enrolment, even as it continued to facilitate attendance at out-of-area schools. Programs such as these don't have as high-yield potential as say, a football team, but in the community's defence every effort should be explored.