# Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB, known as English-language Separate District School Board No. 43 prior to 1999) is the separate school board that oversees 153 Catholic school facilities (125 elementary schools, 26 secondary or high schools and 2 continuing education schools or adult learning centers) throughout Peel Region (Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon) and Dufferin County (including Orangeville). It employs roughly 5,000 teachers; about 3,000 at the elementary level, and the remaining 2,000 at the secondary school and continuing education level.
Its headquarters is on Matheson Boulevard West in Mississauga. The board was previously known as the Dufferin-Peel Separate School Board (DPSSB) before 1998.

## History

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board is the successor to the Dufferin-Peel Separate School Board (French: Conseil des écoles séparées catholiques de Dufferin & Peel), which was established in 1969 by the merger of eight small separate boards.
As of 1986 the Dufferin-Peel Separate School Board was Ontario's second largest Catholic school board. On January 1, 1998, the DPSSB was renamed to DPCDSB and its French schools within the board became part of the Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud.
By 1999 the district had a co-operative transportation service with the Peel District School Board. During that year its school operation costs were $4.65 ($7.86 when adjusted for inflation) per square foot. The funding guidelines by a ministry were $5.20 ($8.79 when adjusted for inflation).
Around the time of the DPSSB's existence, the board operated six francophone schools.

## School bus transportation

In addition to local transit systems Brampton Transit and MiWay (Mississauga Transit) there are a number of transportation providers under contract for the DPCDSB:
* Attridge Transportation
* Cook Bus Lines
* Denny Bus Lines
* First Student Canada
* Parkview Transit
* Switzer-Carty Transportation

## Schools

As of 1999, there is one dual DPCDSB-Peel District School Board Catholic-secular public school.

### Continuing Education

* Blessed Trinity Catholic Centre For Learning
* Brian J. Fleming Center
* St. Dunstan Catholic Language Learning Center
* St. Gabriel Adult Education Center
* St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Learning Centre

### Secondary schools

* Ascension of Our Lord Secondary School, Mississauga
* Cardinal Ambrozic Secondary School, Brampton
* Cardinal Leger Secondary School, Brampton
* Father Michael Goetz Secondary School, Mississauga
* Holy Name of Mary Secondary School (all girls school), Brampton.
* Iona Catholic Secondary School, Mississauga
* John Cabot Catholic Secondary School, Mississauga
* Loyola Catholic Secondary School, Mississauga
* Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School, Brampton
* Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School, Mississauga
* Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School, Mississauga
* Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School, Caledon
* St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School, Mississauga
* St. Augustine Catholic Secondary School, Brampton
* St. Edmund Campion Secondary School, Brampton
* St. Francis Xavier Secondary School, Mississauga
* St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School, Mississauga
* St. Joseph's Secondary School, Mississauga
* St. Marcellinus Secondary School, Mississauga
* St. Marguerite d'Youville Secondary School, Brampton
* St. Martin Secondary School, Mississauga
* St. Michael Catholic Secondary School, Caledon
* St. Oscar Romero Catholic Secondary School (alternative high school), Mississauga
* St. Paul Secondary School, Mississauga
* St. Roch Catholic Secondary School, Brampton
* St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School, Brampton

### Defunct Schools

* Blessed Trinity Elementary (repurposed for continuing education)
* Our Lady of the Airways Elementary (sold to the City of Mississauga)
* Mother Mary Ward Elementary (sold on open market to independent school)
* St. Dunstan Elementary (repurposed for IL site and adult education)
* St. Gabriel Elementary (repurposed for continuing education)
* St. Gertrude Elementary
* St. James Elementary (repurposed as a regional elementary school)
* St. Mary's Elementary (Port Credit) (leased to a child care operator)
* St. Michael Elementary (sold to the City of Mississauga)

## Controversies
### Enrolment of non-Catholics

As with other school boards, Catholic high schools are funded by the provincial government, making them open to any students who wish to attend, while elementary schools do not have to enrol non-Catholic students. Critics argue that the practice of fully funding separate schools exclusively for the Roman Catholic faith is discriminatory to other religions (the United Nations has twice criticized the province for this policy). Supporters of the current Catholic education system point out that it has existed, in one form or another, since Confederation, and that the Constitution Act, 1867 enshrines the right to government-funded religious education to all Catholics. The opposition argues that this is an appeal to tradition, and point to other provinces in Canada which amended the constitution to abolish Catholic school funding. It is up to the school principal whether or not non-Catholics are enrolled.

### “Black Boys” book

The board encountered controversy in 2019 when a book, titled The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys, was shown on the principal's desk. This sparked various online debates on the internet. The book, written by American researchers and published in 2017, provides help and advice for teachers to create learning environments in which black students feel nurtured and engaged.