October School District meeting highlights notes from Implementation Day, Student enrolment levels and hopes towards teaching program for North

The Prince Rupert School Board met in their October session on Monday the 16th, with the Board Members opening their meeting with a moment of reflection on the passing Barb Gruber, with Board Chair Kate Toye noting of her importance to the Board and the community,

The first bit of business for the session was a review of the elements of Implementation Day at the end of September, with some background into the range of presentations that are provided from mental health planning for the schools, to Indigenous studies as well as to review some of the engagement with stakeholders in the community.

The  scope of the Board's Leadership Team's work and how the School Board is exploring the climate for each of the schools in the District was key to the discussion on Mental Health strategies.

The Board members paid tribute to the work of Implementation Day and the programs that they have put in place for the school year ahead, with the work on Mental Health key to their commentary.

"It fills my heart that this is such a priority for our District, and I hear all the time across our country where people are truly struggling and suffering and it's wonderful that we have such a dedicated team and list of presenters, a dedicated community to really supporting best outcomes for all of our kids"-- Board Chair Kate Toye

Towards some of the Agenda work on the evening, a review of the Field Trips approved by the District for the first two months of the school year was reviewed. With Acting Superintendent of Schools Sandra Pond noting of the extra curricular sports and trips taken on and how they prove valuable for the students.

On enrolment, the Acting Superintendent observed that as of September 29th which was count day at the District , there was a total of 1,818 students in the schools, four of them International students.

That count is much the same as last year when the District counted, 1,822.

Ms. Pond observed that of the student body in the School District 1,118 students are Indigenous,  which makes up 62% of the Student body.

The recent announcement related to the new Daycare Spaces to be created for Prince Rupert  was reviewed for the Board members, with the Acting Superintendent noting of the planning ahead now that the funding is in hand towards the initiative, with more information to come.

The Before and After School program was also of some note from the meeting, with Ms. Pond noting that spaces are still available at Conrad, Pineridge while there are waitlists in place at Lax Kxeen and Roosevelt with the programs at those locations both full at this time.

A review of the Enhancing Student Learning Report made for some discussion, with the Board noting that it's available on Board website for review. 

Discussion on approval towards it will come at a future Board session, following some workshops related to it.

Ms Pond then spoke to the situation on recruitment of Qualified Teachers in the Northwest, with the Acting Superintendent  speaking towards an initiative in the North that will seek to keep people in the North, by way of a proposed northern cohort Bachelor of Education program out of UNBC.

That focus would be on teachers who are currently not certified, providing them with a program that would allow for a program while they are in the classroom, serving as their practicum work experience towards further certification.

She noted that the Northern Superintendents were writing letters of support towards the program. 

Trustee Horne then added a motion, which was supported, to have the Board of Education also write a letter of support, noting of the benefits of the proposed program. 

The Secretary-Treasurers Report and Committee Reports were next up for review 

Among some of the notes, when it comes to the EV Charging stations in place, two are now in operation,   one has been used just once as of Mid October.

Trustees also noted of some of the technology purchases in recent months for the District. 

In other Committee reports,  Trustee Beil observed of some funding opportunities towards some capital work in the schools, through the Feeding Futures program, which offers a grant of up to 100,000 dollars.

 

She noted of the aging infrastructure in the District and some potential uses that the Board could direct funding if provided towards.

The Board reviewed some of the Policy work that was up for consideration, among those that gained some commentary included the Multimedia Devices policy and Communicating Student Learning and Reporting Policy. 

Both will be forwarded to Stakeholders for approval.

A review of some of the recent meetings both regional and provincial  that some on the Board  or Senior Administrators attended and other information items brought the session to a conclusion.

The SD52 Board members will be voting on their election for roles on the Board and committees will take place on November 7th.

The full Board meeting can be reviewed from the video below:

Some background on the themes covered in the session can be reviewed through the Agenda package available here. 

The next Board of Education meeting will take place on November 16.

More notes on Education can be reviewed from our archive page.