Teamwork, dreamwork...

"Teamwork, dreamwork. We are all in this together." These are the words keynote speaker Earl Rickman III said over and over again in his address to the 420 members attending the Alberta School Board Association Fall General Meeting. The past president of the National School Boards Association in the U.S. may have spoke of the American school system, but many of his points ring true here in Canada as well.

Mr. Rickman said, as trustees, we need to ensure that the entire community is working together to nurture the dreams of all of our children. And that too often, children are labelled as "failures", where it is really the adults in their lives who have failed them. Mr. Rickman said trustees are the best line of defence for the children in our communities.

Mr. Rickman did not say anything I didn't already know, but his words resonated with me as I carried on to my first workshop session. I decided to change to a different session after I found out no one from our table was attending. It was entitled, "Making it Better: Sexual and Gender Minority Students Speak Out About Their Experiences."

As I entered the conference room, I saw a table at the front, lined with seven very brave students. They were accompanied by Dr. Kristopher Wells from the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services at the University of Alberta.

Over the course of two hours, these courageous students from various Edmonton schools, spoke of how teachers told them to act "less gay" and how the homophobic bullying in the schools was ignored. They spoke of how they were told to change for gym class in the washrooms and how they were told they would go to hell. I cried and I soul searched, wondering how LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-identified, two-spirited, queer) students in our division are treated.

Most of the bullying and negative attitudes towards these LGBTQ students occurred during their junior high years, but there was some hope when they told us of how there were adults they could turn to in their lives, including in their schools. Most of them are now presidents of their high school Gay Straight Alliance clubs and reaching out to other students to offer their help.

The courageousness of these young adults rekindled my spirit to ensure that, as a trustee, I am acting as a line of defence for all students in our school division. We all need to nurture our children's dreams.

This is the poem that Mr. Rickman left us with, and will always remain in my heart:

"We Pray for Children" by Ina Hughes 
We pray for children
Who put chocolate fingers everywhere,
Who like to be tickled,
Who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants,
Who sneak Popsicles before supper,
Who erase holes in math workbooks,
Who can never find their shoes. 
And we pray for those
Who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
Who can't bound down the street in new sneakers,
Who never "counted potatoes,"
Who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead  in,
Who never go to the circus,
Who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children
Who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
Who sleep with the cat and bury goldfish,
Who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money,
Who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink,
Who slurp their soup.

And we pray for those
Who never get dessert,
Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
Who can't find any bread to steal,
Who don't have any rooms to clean up,
Whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
Whose monsters are real.

We pray for children
Who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
Who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
Who like ghost stories,
Who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
Who get visits from the tooth fairy,
Who don't like to be kissed in front of the car pool,
Who squirm in church and scream on the phone,
Whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those
Whose nightmares come in the daytime,
Who will eat anything,
Who have never seen a dentist,
Who are never spoiled by anyone,
Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
Who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children
Who want to be carried
And for those who must,
For those we never give up on
And for those who never get a second chance,
For those we smother.
And for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind
enough to offer it.

We pray for children. Amen. 
(We pray for Children, 1995,  William Morrow publishers)

Trustee Report – November 9, 2011 Board Meeting

1. School council reporting requirements – School Council Regulations require councils to report back to Superintendent on their annual activities. The Board is assisting with this requirement by providing a template for school councils to review. Councils are also asked to discuss AP 110 School Councils - moving to Board Policy #19 and Community Engagement (Policy #18) – need prior to December Board meeting. 
 

2. Extra budget allocation:

•        SPERD received $632,269.00 in additional funding from the Province:
•       School administrators had a chance to meet twice as a group since then, and were also contacted individually.
•       Administrators came to consensus to address “hot spots” across the division and put money back towards the deficit ($1.2 million for 2011/2012) – to provide some consistency for next year’s budget.
•        The Board approved the plan to hire approximately 5 fte teachers spread across 7-8 schools and approx 4 instructional assistants across 3-4 schools.
•       As a result of other adjustments and an increase in enrolment, the Board was also able to put approx $500,000 against the current deficit lowering it to approx $700,000.

3. SPERD Community Engagement – the division’s Strategic Planning Committee has begun planning an opportunity for its stakeholders to provide input on the way we operate our schools – a meeting is tentatively planned for March in St. Paul, with subsequent meetings to follow in other communities. More details will be available in December.

4. School bus driver shortages – a local bus contractor appeared before the Board to discuss the shortage of bus drivers – the Board did make an exception to policy to allow a town bus driver over the age of 68 to drive for the 2011/2012 school year on a relief basis – the Board is also following up with the proposal for the Alberta Government to establish province-wide tests and standards of competency for bus drivers.

5. ATA/Board relations – The Alberta Teachers Association Local and the Board have written a letter to all students and parents to inform them of their efforts to enhance their partnership in student success. The letter will appear in upcoming newsletters. The Board also agreed to share in the sub costs for an extra ATA member to attend monthly Board meetings.

6. Three-year plan – Trustees began its Three-Year Plan requirements by receiving a draft layout from Central Office admin. Trustees will have a chance to study the plan and make further revisions before it is passed later in November.

7. Transportation survey – Trustees asked administration to look at creating a survey for students and possibly parents on bus safety. Results from the division’s survey this past spring raised some concerns, and Trustees asked for clarification. The Board has forwarded questions to Admin Council to find the most effective way to conduct the survey. School Councils are also being consulted.

8. Supporting K-4 Learners Tablet Pilot - received $50,000 funding from Alberta government for pilot program to use ipads in classrooms - 3 years - Ashmont and Myrnam schools.

9. Capital report:

•        Racette – Traffic impact study finalized. Hazardous material abatement is wrapping up (should be completed by Nov. 10). Construction tender closes on November 17. Award of tender and construction to follow.
•        F.G. Miller – Architectural consultant has been chosen – Bennett Architect Inc. Schematic design consultation with Board to start soon. Cost consultant has been hired. Preliminary hazmat research completed – hazmat abatement will be required.
•       Two Hills Mennonite – RFP for consultant closed on Nov. 4 – final selection to follow. Schematic design consultation with Board to start soon. Cost consultant has been hired. Geotechnical site investigation underway.

10. Superintendent’s report - monthly communications for division staff, CO staff; Children's Fair - Nov. 15-16 - appointment or drop-in - ages and stages questionnaire - range of community services; another round of succession planning in the works; administrative teams to visit other schools; Oct. 24 collaboration PD day successful – planning another session during February PD; Assessment Consortium – conference excellent overall – bringing one presentation to St. Paul on Dec. 5 for assessment committee members, etc.; Rock the Diploma – optional supplementary tutoring for diploma exams being made available online; school calendar - schools to submit bell times and instruction minutes; AISI approved for next cycle - overview of current cycle for Dec. 5 Board meeting.