Update from Hartley Bay, Framework for Advanced Education, praise for Budget information among themes from March SD52 Board meeting

Prince Rupert schools were back in session this week, returning just in time for a four day  holiday, but with the return following the Two Week Spring Break, the District office caught up on some news from March, providing an update on their March Board Meeting.

The First half hour of their March 14th session was turned over to Cam Hill who provided an update on developments from Hartley Bay, born and raised in the community and now serving as Principal for the School there,  he offered up  range of notes on both the school and how it related to the community.

A synopsis of some of the key points from Mr. Hill's presentation is available from the District below:

Towards other the business on the night for the District, in the area of correspondences, the trustees had some discussion towards the topic of Gender neutral bathrooms. 

Sandy Pond provided a review of the approval of Field Trips, a look at enrolment for the District Schools,  noting of a decline in enrolment by eight in March. Observing that a number of students have moved out of the district this month.

She also highlighted the celebration of Literacy across the District, noting of some of the activities that took place in schools. Ms Pond also noted of the anti-bullying messages of February, which included the annual Pink Shirt Day.

A look at some of the activities in the Schools, with details on some of the initiatives taking place at Charles Hays Secondary School.

There was also a review of some of the elements for the provincial Anti-Racism Action plan, which the School District will implement along with its own policies.

Superintendent Andrew Samoil introduced the Secretary-Treasurer's report on the night, with no questions from the Trustees offered up from the session.

Towards the Operations report, Board Chair Kate Toye had a question related to a bus purchase, which was noted is part of their regular replacement program.

As part of the Technology report,  the Board Chair asked about some of the recent power outages that had been seen at Charles Hays in recent weeks, it was noted that the District is exploring additional power supply towards those issues.

A clarification on the iPad program in the schools was provided and how the distribution of the iPads will take place. It was noted that targeted funding provided for both the French program and for PRMS out of targeted funding from  Indigenous education.

As part of the Committee Reports, a look at a recent report on the Board's finances gained some approval from trustees, with trustee Janet Beil praising the work of the Superintendent and Brittney Verissimo.  Noting how the work was a step forward in the way information is presented.

"We know where we stand today and where we're headed. Which is not great, but at least we know where we're headed and that's what makes me happy At least I can plan in my head how I need to spend with the budget"

There were no questions asked of Board officials towards the status of the search for a new Secretary-Treasurer, that position now open following the departure of Cam McIntyre earlier this year.

There was also some discussion on the plans towards building a child care space for Pineridge elementary School. With an update provided as to some of the elements that will be required for the new child care element at the school.  

It was also noted that the District would need to seek out funding from the Ministry, which led to a review of some of that process that the District will be taking on was outlined.

"There are so many issues for child care and it's moving very, very rapidly. there are briefings almost weekly from the Ministry of Education, Susan Kobza is spearheading this. Of course we want to move forward because the pressure on us to have before and after school care and daycare is very very acute.

The Pineridge will be, the cost to licence the room is very very minimal/" -- Superintendent Andrew Samoil

An update on the current work towards the Framework for Advanced Student learning was provided by Trustee Sanchez, Sandy Pond expanded on some of the themes from the session noting of how the data collected has shined on some of the inequities and where the District is falling short on towards areas such as completion rates literacy and numeracy at the secondary level as well as the  FSA data from Grade fours and sevens.

It was noted that all of the work taken on as part of the Framework program feeds into the District's Strategic planning. Some additional conversation outlined how the process will move forward and how the engagement with other stakeholders such as parents and the Action committees will move evolve.

Ms. Pond noted that some reference material for parents and guardians is available from the province here.

Trustee Kristy Maier outlined some notes from the Provincial Council, observing of changes to their schedule, as well as BCSTA budget issues, the planning for the Council AGM and the nomination process.

Some information on the Indigenous Education program was provided by Chair Toye, noting of some funding that will be carried over. Ms. Toye also outlined some of the elements of the recent Indigenous Implementation Day and how important the work towards it is. 

Ms. Toye also shared some further observations towards Susan Kobe's work on child care initiatives, observing that the estimate is for the need of 100 Child care spaces in Prince Rupert and how the District has applied for 72 spaces to meet some of the demand.

She expanded on some of the additional supports that the program will require as it moves forward.

Policy and technical themes brought the final moments of the meeting to a close. 

The session ended with some questions from the public related to the Framework of Education process.

The Board will next meet in its Regular session on April 18th. They also have some sessions planned towards their Budget work on April 11th and on the 20th which will be the meeting to approve the budget.

You can review the full Board Meeting from March from the video below:

More notes related to School District 52 can be reviewed from our archive page.