Trustee Report – November 13, 2013

FSLW program needs support - the cost of administering the family school liaison worker program is $820,000 annually for the school division - $245,000 comes from a regional collaborative provincial program and about $40,000 from municipalities (the program used to be solely operated by the municipalities’ FCSS programs). The division covers the remainder of the costs to run the program. The FSLW workers provide counseling services to students in crisis (1149 cases last year) as well as preventative and proactive programs for all students, such as anti-bullying programs. Last year the division received $10,000 each from the Town and County of St. Paul; $10,000 from Town of Elk Point and $10,000 from Town and County of Two Hills. Trustees agreed to send letters to the municipalities and First Nation communities again this year and ask for presentations by trustees and school staff.

Local teacher negotiations - After several months of negotiations, a Memorandum of Agreement was reached between the Board and ATA Local. However, it was subsequently rejected by the local ATA at a recent vote. Although negotiations have been challenging, St. Paul Education has great respect for its teachers and will resume negotiations later this month.

Days in lieu for principals (AP 431) - even though the Provincial Framework Agreement between the Province, boards and teachers stipulates principals will only receive two paid days off per year in lieu of their duties, Superintendent Brodziak stated our division would be staying with current practice of 3 days off for principals and 1.5 days off for assistant principals. The admin procedure allows for superintendent discretion and the leaves will take place at mutually agreeable times.

SPERD three year plan - the board and superintendent want to review our past goals and see if they match with our current direction and also incorporate the data we are seeing from the C2 committee (teacher workload study) and direct feedback from teachers - looking at revisions to goals over the 2013/2014 school year.

Uniform sponsorship request - F.G. Miller sent in a request for a company to sponsor a sports team's uniforms. Trustees asked for further information about the sponsoring company and the company's logo.

Policy review - the policy review schedule was amended to allow for the new board to review the policies from last month. All policies have been moved back a month from the previous schedule. Two new policies (20 re: naming of school facilities and 21 re: whistleblower legislation) will be added to the schedule.

Policy 3 and 5 - Role of the Trustee and Role of the Chair reviewed - no changes.

SEVEC (Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada) exchange for Ashmont Secondary - trustees were given the full details for the school exchange trip to Quebec for their information.

SPAEC is holding an open house on Nov. 21

Superintendent Report:

• Grade 3 provincial tests - All Grade 3 teachers were consulted on the three options for moving forward on changes to Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs). Teachers agreed not to write the traditional May/June PATs, choosing instead to take part in the fall pilot exam in 2014, which is replacing provincial achievement tests. The exam is meant to act as one measure on how the students are doing. By having it in the fall, teachers can work on the teaching and learning required for each student.
• Head and Clerical secretary titles – the division currently has class 2 (head), class 4 (clerical) now adding a third category: class 3 (inbetween the two) - more sharing of duties. Administration wants to hear back from each secretarial office by Nov. 29 on what category they would prefer.
• Lockdown procedures – a question came up at the administrator’s meeting as to what happens if a class is out on a field trip returning to school that is on lockdown. There is no guarantee of communication between the school and supervisor, but administration asks supervising teachers to be alert and use common sense when returning to a lockdown situation.
• International travel – administration is exploring changes to policies regarding international travel.
• Kindergarten entry age - Kindergarten entry age varies across the province of Alberta. SPERD will be exploring data/evidence from studies to determine if the current entry age merits change in our division. Any change would not be in effect until September, 2015.
• Community coaches – some schools are having difficulty finding coaches for school sport teams. SPERD’s current policy states that each school sports team needs to have a teacher supervisor. It is becoming more difficult to find teachers even in a supervisory role. The local athletic association and provincial associations are conducting further research and discussion.
• AP on student suspension – an automatic 5-day suspension for violence or threats of violence may need some discretion. For example, a child was out cutting twine with his/her pocket knife with mother/father and forgot to take knife out of jacket pocket. The threat/risk protocol is still in place, but the automatic suspension may not be warranted in some cases.
• Grade 4-6 outcome based report card meetings - many teachers at the Grade 4-6 level like outcome based report cards, but there was mixed reaction for using this format in higher grades. Current use of "Exemplary" and "Proficient" may need more definition.
• Bus drivers sent reminders after student in another division was left on a bus all day - mandatory requirement that all bus drivers check their buses after each run.
• Rock the Diploma – the division will look at organizing these teacher prep courses for kids preparing for Grade 12 diploma exams as required.
• St. Paul and Area Anti-Bullying committee has dissolved - $840 sent to the division to empty their accounts.
• Succession planning for future administrators - admin council identifies characteristics of an exemplary leader. The next group of meetings to determine successors will occur in the near future.
• Racette - Nov. 9 appreciation concert for Pink Heart volunteers
• Dec. 6 - Glen attending meeting on Inspiring Education for superintendents
• Satisfaction survey -  the Board has decided to wait for at least a year to undertake another division satisfaction survey. This time frame will allow for more information to come forth from the C2 (teacher workload) study and for the direction of possible new division goals to be established.

Financial report - the switch in accounting/payroll systems is proving a challenge. Nov. 27 - the board will be meeting with the auditor for its annual review.

Capital Projects - TH Mennonite School - came up with a plan to deal with ground water - hoping remainder of the approvals move quickly.

ASBA Zone 2/3 Report - Trustee Deb Pederson presented her report as the new board rep.

Regulatory Review - Trustee Rhonda Lafrance reported on the Province's review of the regulations associated with the new Education Act. The regulations will be given to boards in summer, 2014 so that boards can make changes to their policies in time for the Education Act and regulations to come into force in fall, 2015.

IMR report - Trustees reviewed the annual report on where infrastructure money provided by the province was used for school repairs and upgrades.

School Board Elections Review - Trustee Ruven Rajoo provided feedback on lack of polling stations during the elections. Traditionally, polling stations are shared with municipalities, but if a councillor is acclaimed, it makes polling stations limited for trustee candidates.

Municipal Government Act Review - A comprehensive review of the MGA Act has begun. Of interest to school boards will be any discussion on annexation, reserve lands, levies, etc.