Today marks the final day for Christmas break for students, parents and staff of Prince Rupert area schools, with the resumption of classes coming on Monday morning.
As they head back to class, we take advantage of the opportunity to review the work of the Board of Education from last month, the elected officials and senior staff members putting the wrap on their work for 2023 with their final Board meeting of last year.
The occasion one which marked the return of Andrew Samoil to his hosting duties for the Board gatherings, that following his return to work of November.
His first duty on the night was to introduce Andree Michaud with a look at Food Security that is in place at Pineridge Elementary.
Ms. Michaud noted of the efforts of community volunteers and corporate partnerships through the Prince Rupert Port Authority and City Furniture; as well as the involvement of the Moose Lodge which helped in funding for renovations for the Breakfast room program, while the Rotary Club has assisted through their Apple program.
The assistance of the schools PAC was also part of the presentation towards the program.
The overview highlighted how the program has expanded from a simple hot plate to the current set up of the range of options that students now have available to them in a dedicated room towards the initiative.
Trustees praised the work of the program and observed how the initiative has grown and developed a welcoming space for the children of the school.
Trustee Horne called for the Board to write letters of thanks to those who have helped to shape the program.
In reply to a question from Trustee Beal, it was noted that the core group of those taking part with the program is 15 though it ebbs and flows through the year to higher amounts.
Superintendent Samoil expanded on some of the success of the program and the volume of involvement in the community.
Other trustees explored the importance of nutrition in the schools and the impact it can have on learning in the city's classrooms.
A review of the travel plans for field trips generated one question as to what age students have to be to no longer require parental approval, towards that the answer was 18 years of age.
The look at enrolment found no changes from the last report, with 1,838 students enrolled in SD52 classrooms, Sandra Pond noted of the trends upward for enrolment numbers from recent years.
She also outlined the new approach and proficiency scales applied to the reporting order, with staff learning the new rules that have been put place by the province, with the assessments for students starting to be delivered to students and their parents/guardians.
This fall also saw the annual FSA testing program with 67 percent of Grade 4's and 60 percent of Grade 7 students participating.
Trustee Pucci asked towards the volume of those students who did not write the FSA's with Ms. Pond outlining some of the reasons towards those numbers.
He asked for the Board to provide a comparison as to how the Prince Rupert results relate to those found province wide. Trustee Dalton also asked for some additional details towards those students who did not participate.
In other Board related assessments, Ms. Pond observed that some of the Districts Grade twelve students also wrote their literacy assessments in the fall, while January will bring a Numeracy and Literacy assessments for Grade ten students.
She, also provided some snapshots of some of the specific classroom initiatives that are found around the District.
A review of the current status of the Child care programs in the community was also provided, along with a look at some of the initiatives in place, including one in conjunction with Coast Mountain College towards child care instruction.
Mr. Jerry Slykhuis, who continues on as the District's contracted SecretaryTreasurer returned to the meetings participating from the Fraser Valley; he provided for some explanations of some of the financial variances and the work underway towards Budget planning.
He noted that the Amended Budget will be evolving over the next four weeks, making use of the most recent enrolment numbers and other elements.
He observed that with additional staffing that comes with increased enrolment, the District will be facing continued challenges in funding which have not increased to had been hoped for.
He also noted that the District would be coming out of Funding protection within the next year.
The Operations and Technology reviews followed, with trustee Horne praising some of the work done on security themes.
On financial themes, the District set out its plan for Budget consultation work in the New year.
Some policy work was also a focus on the night, among the themes, the topic of trustee remuneration and how the District may want to address it. Trustee Horne introduced a number of talking points towards that theme for Board members to consider as the work towards that project continues.
The Board reviewed their scheduling plans for 2024, with the Board deciding to hold to their schedule of Monday meetings, which has been a temporary measure, one which would be extended to the end of April.
The final element of the session was a short Question and Answer period for the public to participate in.
 |
| Former SD52 trustee spoke to the theme of uncertified teachers in the schools at the December 18th Board meeting |
One participant from the public gallery contributed to the Board meeting, that being former Board Trustee Tina Last. In an exchange with the Board that lasted for the final four minutes of the night, she posed questions related to staffing for teaching positions with the District.
Ms. Last, who has grandchildren enrolled in District schools, noted of the use of uncertified teachers to fill positions that the School District can't find certified educators for at this time.
While acknowledging the challenges that the Board faces in attracting teachers, she also observed how those classrooms in Districts that are using the uncertified teachers, are not getting the level of teaching that they should be getting.
"What can we look forward to, or what do you need from your voters in the community to say hey, this is not going to work, we can't sustain this, we need qualified teachers ... How do we get what our kids deserve, what do you need" -- Former SD52 Trustee Tina Last at the December 18th Board meeting
In reply, Board Chair Kate Toye observed how it was a topic that the Board discusses quite frequently.
But the Chair also noted that she was a bit concerned about going off script related to what is on the Board's agenda and setting a precedent in answering a question that is not on the Agenda.
Superintendent Samoil then offered to meet with Ms. Last in his office to go over how the District is addressing the issue, as well as what options the public could provide to contribute to the topic.
The Full presentation of the night can be reviewed below:
Seems like a simple question that the Chair should answer. They should be asked hard questions, the education in Rupert is a joke. It’s turned into a daycare service, very little learning happening in our classrooms.
ReplyDelete