Joey Gunn and Richard Deadman, who each have two children at Lady Evelyn Public School, want to ensure the school stays open. (Rebecca Zandbergen/CBC)

Alternative public elementary schools in Ottawa could lose their "alternative" label following a review by the Ottawa Carleton District School Board.

About 1,200 children are enrolled in the six alternative schools, which use special teaching styles and grading formulas.

Board chair Lynn Scott said many of the principles that originally made the schools different from regular schools have been incorporated into expectations of all schools.

"So the question that arises is to a certain extent — how alternative are the alternative schools today?" she said.

The board will release a report on its findings about the six schools in December.

In the meantime, parents whose children are enrolled at the school want to make sure the schools stay open.

Richard Deadman, who has two children enrolled at Lady Evelyn Alternative School, said he was concerned after learning that the goal of the review was not only to determine how different alternative schools are, but also whether they should be shut down and whether their quality needs to improve.

Deadman is chair of the Alternative Schools Advisory Committee, which is lobbying to keep the schools open.

'We try not to give marks'

He gave a tour Monday of the features that make Lady Evelyn, such as the big open hallways and doorways between classrooms to facilitate team teaching.

"We try not to give marks here — with competition there's always one winner and 27 losers in a class," he said. "That drives kids away from being engaged and wanting to get involved."

Joey Gunn showed how students are seated four to a table in teams.

Gunn, who also has two children at Lady Evelyn, volunteers as a music teacher there. He said parents are very involved at the school.

"It's designed this way," he said. "That for me is the difference."

Deadman is scheduled to give a presentation to the board Tuesday night.

In the meantime, Scott played down the chance that the schools might stop being called "alternative."

"The possibility of changing that designation is always there," she said. "On the other hand, it is also equally likely that it will stay."