Ontario teachers call for testing moratorium
Ontario's public elementary school teachers have called for a two-year moratorium on standardized tests in Grade 3 and Grade 6, saying the annual exams are expensive, detract from other subjects and give parents the wrong idea about what makes a good school.
"Something is very wrong when areas including science, history, social studies and the arts are getting sidelined in the race to get young students prepared for EQAO, which is focused solely on literacy and math," said Sam Hammond, ETFO's president.
EFTO's concerns were raised after a series of focus group meetings revealed problems with the testing program. Among other concerns, participants questioned why essential classroom supports such as educational assistants are being cut back, while more than $100 million is being spent on 'the literacy and numeracy bureaucracy.'
New research supports small classes, small schools
Reducing class sizes from 25 to 15 students results in a long term economic benefit of $66,000 per student over 20 years, according to a new research report released in the U.S. The study found smaller class sizes results in improved academic and economic success for students. Smaller schools and long-term relationships with teachers also improve students success.
Advocacy Workshop Presentation
On April 27 RealRenewal representatives presented a report to Regina Public trustees on the workshop 'Advocating for Our Children, Our Schools and Our Communities.' The report touched on key issues raised during the workshop, including racism in education, support services, overcrowding and transportation issues resulting from school closures, decision-making processes, and standardized assessment.
SCC news
A group of Regina parents has started an online discussion forum for SCC members. If you are an SCC member, join at http://www.SCCRegina.ning.com.
The Sask Association of School Councils would like SCC members to know that the grant they receive annually can be put toward volunteer 'professional development' activities, such as participating in the SASC conference April 30-May 1 in Saskatoon. This year's conference has an interesting line-up of speakers and topics, including Rick Sawa on standardized evaluation.
Jenkins closure
The anticipated closure of Ken Jenkins Community School was made official at last night’s school board meeting. Jenkins is a school that has struggled for several years with low enrolment that did not appear to be rebounding, and there seemed to be little movement in the surrounding community to keep it operating. Transition issues will remain a concern in the coming year, as students will be moving from one of Regina’s smallest school to some of the largest schools, Buck and Mironuck.
RealRenewal raised concerns last October about potential ripple effects, noting that each closure, however small, has the potential to push receiving schools over acceptable enrolment levels for an elementary school. Mironuck had already been the recipient Wascana School’s French students, who were moved to accommodate the students arriving at Wascana from the Herchmer closures, for example. The board has since been engaged in adjusting attendance boundaries to spread students around more evenly. With school enrolments rising generally in Regina, working with attendance boundaries is a measure that could help support enrolment at schools on the borderline, ensuring we don’t end up with wide enrolment disparities at either end of the scale.
The loss of a designated community school is also an issue to keep in mind as a transition issue to be tracked, as community schools come with additional staff and funding supports for their students.
Special needs changes slammed
On Feb, 24 NDP Education Critic Pat Atkinson denounced proposed changes by the Wall government to funding for special needs students "that would disrupt the learning environment for all students and deprive thousands of special needs students of the in-class supports they need to succeed."
RealRenewal is a nonpartisan organization, however for your information, we have posted the full text of the press release and media backgrounder released by the NDP.
Read Pat Atkinson's Media Release and Backgrounder
Visit RealRenewal Special Needs/Support Services Resource Area
New Canadian study supports neighbourhood schools
A new study on children and urban sprawl released by the Vanier Institute on the Family is critical of school planning decisions that increase the distance between students and schools. “Neighbourhood schools where children can walk or bike independently offer many of the features children want in a high quality living environment,” writes author Juan Torrez of the University of Montreal’s Institute of Urbanism.
10-Year Plan Altered
Three schools – Connaught, Glen Elm and Dieppe – were taken off the school board’s list of impending closures at their Oct. 6 meeting. As well, the board stated that because Davin no longer has a school to merge with, it is effectively no longer a candidate for closure, as it had been under the 10 Year Plan. The plan proposal for Davin or Connaught had been “one facility closes June 2014,” without naming which of the two schools would be shuttered. In a presentation, Davin parent Yens Pederson described Davin as a school that, left open, can serve as a model neighbourhood school.
Parents from Dieppe School staved off an immediate closure citation, by presenting the board with September 2009 enrolment figures. Parent representative Dawn Popescul told the board that as of September 30, enrolment had increased 20 per cent since 2008, bringing the school above the board’s ‘confidence band’ of a minimum of 140 students.
Meanwhile Jenkins was cited for closure with John Conway as the only dissenting vote. Other schools put on future notice included Haultain and Athabasca, citing the biennial review’s picture of continued low enrolments in 2008. Very likely Dieppe would have shared this fate if parents had not intervened with updated numbers, as Dieppe had just 117 students in 2008, compared to 140 in 2009. According to board policy, there must now be a community consultation on the most immediate closure, Jenkins, followed by a final vote in March 2010.
The process to merge Argyle and Athabasca schools into a new facility was put on hold. If funds are unavailable to proceed within one year, the board voted to begin the process of moving toward the closure of Athabasca by June 2011. Athabasca students will be given the choice of attending Connaught, Lakeview or Argyle.
As for the entire plan, RealRenewal argued that lack of information on 2009 enrolments, which appear to be rising sharply across the board, along with a new provincial funding regime that remains up in the air, were compelling reasons to table the plan until there is greater clarity. Board member John Conway echoed these sentiments, stating that a “lame duck” board shouldn’t saddle newly elected board members with a plan that has shaky funding and the potential to immediately embroil the new board in contentious closure procedures. Member Russ Marchuk disagreed, saying that new board members will need a plan to go forward on. With Conway as the only dissenting vote, the board voted to keep the plan on the table, albeit with the above-stated amendments to scale back closures.
Parents can congratulate themselves for keeping school closures in the public eye over the past year, providing ample reason for future board members to reconsider the plan’s emphasis on school closures. Nine schools remain listed as potential closures.
RealRenewal discusses Biennial Review
RealRenewal made a presentation to the board on Oct. 6 regarding the Biennial Review. The presentation recommended that the report be tabled for at least one year, due to lack of clarity raised by rapidly changing enrolment and funding landscapes. The board did not accept this recommendation, with the majority voting to continue with the plan with some modifications.
Plan should be rescinded, report reveals
Rising enrolment and cost over-runs should spell an early end to the Regina Public School Board’s 10-year school closure plan.
The plan’s first year ended $933,034 over budget, according to an internal review report tabled at the board’s Tuesday meeting. As well, a number of targeted schools can no longer be considered for closure due to enrolment increases, including Connaught, Glen Elm, Kitchener and Walker. The report recommends putting the plan on hold or altering it significantly.
Audited Financial Statements 2007-08
The Regina Board of Education presented its audited financial statements at its AGM, May 5, 2009.
June board meeting report
Site selection consultation results were announced for two proposed mergers. The current Argyle school site was recommended as the new location for Athabasca students. Size of the site was mentioned as an important factor. The former Herchmer school site was recommended as the new location for Wascana students, with location, size and other factors coming into play. Former Herchmer students are currently attending Wascana and other area schools following the demolition of the school building last summer. These project proposals are dependant on funding commitments from the province.
Longstanding board member John Conway announced he would not seek re-election in October, stating that the loss of taxation power has made the school board a stalking horse of the provincial government rather than an independent democratic body. He said he nonetheless hoped others would continue the fight for smaller classes and schools under the new funding regime.
Edith Mountjoy, a former Scott Collegiate student, gave a presentation on her experiences in restoring historic buildings, and the importance of doing so. As someone who grew up in the area, she noted that the lack of decent housing and other services in North Central is a relatively recent condition driven a lack of policy and support for social justice; these things cannot be fixed simply by building new spaces.
Carla Beck and Trish Elliott gave presentations on behalf of RealRenewal. Elliott outlined a list of transition difficulties faced by Usher students, which has reportedly led to a drop off in school participation and grades. She called for closer tracking of the impacts of school closures. As well, Elliott challenged the notion that structural innovation necessarily requires larger schools, citing the example of small university programs that offer project-based and inquiry-based learning, flexible teaching, internships, interdisciplinarity and other hallmarks of the board’s plan.
Beck spoke on the value of walkable communities and walkable schools, and criticized the board’s plan to increase bussing. She also noted lack of support for parent-led walk-to-school initiatives at two schools. Several board members responded that they support walking to school, but need to consider liability issues. It was also stated that such a program would have to be developed through a civic committee rather than by school community councils.
There was also a healthy exchange on democratic accountability. Although there were no questions or comments raised on substantive issues around the 10-year-plan, the majority of board members did respond with some opinions and thoughts, an improvement over the stony silence encountered by previous presenters. A strong contingent of citizens attended the meeting, requiring more chairs to be brought in, a positive sign that school board meetings are becoming more public in nature.Walking School Bus pilot a success
Congratulations to the organizers of the Cathedral neighbourhood's Walk to School Wednesday. Some 70 kids and parents participated on a beautiful spring day, despite the school board's attempt to discourage the event.
Here's an article posted by the prairie dog:Walking to School a Radical, Dangerous Idea
Structural Innovation
The Regina Public School Board is considering a proposal to change the way learning is organized. A Structual Innovation Plan suggests greater movement for students between grades and schools.
The plan has been developed in response to the poor academic standing of Saskatchewan students, whose basic literacy skills are rated among the lowest in the country.
The report contains some promising ideas for more tailored education, including ongoing assessment of students and early intervention to address learning gaps.
At the same time, however, it may be used to dodge issues like poor student-teacher ratios, and to support the demolition of neighbourhood schools on the argument that they won't provide large enough 'professional learning communities' to make the plan work. The board chair has publicly stated that innovation is not possible in schools of less than 200 students, although there is no research basis for this statement. There is no reason innovation cannot happen within our neighbourhood schools.
Parents involved in consultations should consider ways to break this model free of its inherent 'business wisdom' and replace it with the kind of 'community wisdom' that values neighbourhood schools as a good base for innovation.
For a copy of the Concept Paper, email pelliott@accesscomm.ca or click on the links below.
Structural Innovation Concept Plan- Part 1 (pdf)
Structural Innovation Plan, part 2 (pdf)
Structural Innovation Plan, part 3 (pdf)
School board ponders budget proposal
The School Board is in the process of considering a 2009-2010 budget proposal. Currently they are awaiting more information from the province about the new funding structure. Below is the pre-budget proposal.
Of note, the proposal anticipates enrolment increases in the pre-K and K classes, which bodes well for the future of Regina schools. Disappointingly, the proposal suggests virtually no progress on class size reduction, identified as a priority during public consultations.
2009-2010 Regina Public School Budget Proposal (pdf)
Boards lose taxation power
he provincial government has stripped school boards of their right to set taxation levels, and will increase direct provincial funding to 63 per cent of the total in 2009, rising to 66 per cent in 2010. This means that education funding will be less tied to property taxes.
The move may help reduce the real estate and construction industry’s unhealthy interest and involvement in school board politics. For too long, mill rates have been kept artificially low by a powerful local business lobby. At the same time, the move may curtail a progressive board’s ability to make up for years of underfunding.
At the end of the day, however, we can hope that increasing the province’s direct stake in education funding will lead to increased provincial accountability for ensuring quality, well-funded education province wide. At the very least, the move should translate into a greater onus on school boards to undertake performance planning as required by the provincial auditor, and to improve their administrative transparency. For the province’s part, it will be harder to hide behind local politics and rate-setting as an excuse for poorly funded and managed education. It’s worth noting that New Brunswick got rid of school boards altogether in 2000.
Infrastructure funding announced
On Feb. 9 the province announced $142 million in “accelerated” school infrastructure funding. A number of the projects, such as the Scott shared facility and repairs to Campbell, had already been announced some time ago. The “acceleration” or “boost” means the funds will be moved forward into the dying days of this fiscal year, instead of the next. While this may simply be an end-of-year accounting shift to reduce expenditures in next year’s budget, it is nonetheless welcome news that the money is in the bank for projects already well underway, like the new Arcola-Douglas Park school. Also on the list are assorted elementary school repairs and 6 more portable classrooms for Winston Knoll. The rising number of highschool students in cramped portables is a matter for concern.
Meanwhile, the elementary schools showing the highest deferred maintenance deficits (and therefore the most likely in need of repair), including Lakeview, Connaught and Wascana, must wait and hope for better luck next fiscal year-end.
The Regina projects are:
Major Capital: Scott, Campbell, Arcola, Douglas Park (all previously announced)
Accessibility Projects: Grant Road, Sheldon, Massey, Centennial and Winston Knoll.
Portable Classrooms: Thom and Winston Knoll
New roofs: Bryant, Hanna, Balfour, A.E. Perry, Mclurg
Infrastructure projects list, Saskatchewan (pdf)
Manitoba halts closures
Manitoba parents are elated that school closures plans in Manitoba will be halted by new legislation. The Strengthening Local Schools Act received royal assent Friday. “It is a shock to everyone. It is the beginning - it provides for a brighter and hopeful future for our children, our small local community schools, and their neighbourhoods,” said Manitoba parent Victoria Schindle. Schindle is chair of the Argyle Community Action Group, a group that encourages boards and governments to develop alternative ideas to school closures.
Sask Party Policy
*Saskatchewan** Party Caucus News Releases*
*Bridge Financing Would Give Boards A Chance to Keep Schools Open:
**Sask.** Party
/Learning Critic Offers Boards A Chance To Reverse Some School Closures/*
Thursday - June 21, 2007
REGINA—Saskatchewan Party Learning Critic Rod Gantefoer today said
trustees need new tools to give communities the opportunity to keep
their schools open.
“Because of the NDP’s failure to take leadership on this important
issue, closure decisions have been made without communities receiving
all of the information they need, exploring all other options and taking
sufficient time to have a meaningful discussion about alternatives,”
Gantefoer said.
“These communities need to have discussions about complimentary uses for
school buildings, whether as libraries, seniors’ centres, town offices
and medical centres. Trustees also need an enhanced set of standards and
criteria for school closures, tools that are not yet available and will
be provided.”
Read More
Education Act Changes Panned
Rural parents and RM leaders have panned the government’s proposed Education Act changes. “We’re upset with the whole thing,” Dave Marit, president of SARM, told the media after the Saskatchewan Party tabled its proposed Education Act changes yesterday. Marit pointed out that the changes fall far short of what rural communities lobbied for, by providing only minimally longer time periods for closures. Todd Lewis of SOS Saskatchewan agreed, telling the Leader Post that the government is “fiddling away at the edges” while communities face the deep crisis of school closures in the middle of an economic boom. Critics noted that the proposed community-school committees have no authority, and that the proposal contains no appeals process, which was a key recommendation of rural communities. Urban communities fared even worse – they were excluded entirely from the proposed changes. This will doubtless form the basis of discussion when RealRenewal meets with education ministry senior officials on Wednesday.