One school trustee trying to make a positive difference

Trustee Report – January 11, 2012

2012-01-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

1. Minister's visit – Trustees received word from Minister Lukaszuk'soffice that the Premier has asked him to join her on a cabinet tour; therefore,he will not be able to tour St. Paul area on January 26. Trustees will benotified when another date becomes available.

2. Board Awards AP 370 - since the division is moving tooutcomes-based reporting, the criteria for the division awards is now underquestion, especially the Grade 6 award. Grade 6, 9, 12 awards have been givento students with the highest grade average. Principals are bringing the issueback to their staff and will report back at the next Admin Council meeting. Nochanges will be made for the 2011/2012 school year.

3. Student Transportation Survey - Trustees reviewed the draft surveysfor students and parents to complete prior to the spring break. One survey willbe sent home per family. Central Office staff hasn’t determined yet how it willbe distributed.

4. Tribal Chiefs Ventures Initiative - Trustee Starosielski reportedon the January 5 meeting regarding “joint data collection, sharing andmanagement respecting First Nation students”, under the recently signedMemorandum of Agreement with Whitefish Lake, Frog Lake, Heart Lake, Cold Lake,Kehewin and Beaver Lake. Assistant Superintendent Dalane Imeson and CoordinatorGlenda Bristow will attend the next planning meeting.

5. Scholarship Agreement - A newscholarship has been created thanks to a donation from the Fox and McFadyenfamilies of Elk Point. The Violet E. McFadyen Memorial Scholarship Fund willprovide a $500 award to an eligible student or employee of the Elk PointHospital who will be pursuing training in the medical care profession.

6. Policy Review – Trustees reviewedPolicy 10 Policy Making and Policy 11 Board Delegation of Authority. Policiesto be reviewed in February include Policy 12 Role of Superintendent andPolicy 13 Appeals and Hearings Regarding Student Matters.

7. Two Hills community usage request - a volleyball tournament washeld at the Two Hills School last year to raise money for a family in need.This year, the same group would like to rent the Two Hills School gym to raisemoney for Haying in the '30s. The Board passed a motion to waive the rentalfees for the non-profit group.

8. Superintendent's report:

all staff given access to handouts onthe safe use of technology and especially the use of social media. Handoutsinclude information on division admin procedures as well as legal mattersregarding Facebook, etc. - Alsolooking into the possibility using Facebook to provide one-way information toour stakeholders - the communications committee will follow up.
succession planning meetings to takeplace end of January - about 20 staff members have been selected.
Admin Procedure on Religious andPatriotic Exercises - adjusted the time so that schools could have moreflexibility in scheduling Remembrance Day activities, as per a request fromcommunity groups such as the Cadets and the Legion.
Student Information System (SIS) -staying with the MIG (SIRS) system that tracks student data - will include anonline information program similar to Students Achieve so that parents/studentcan access information at home.
Read and Write Gold - assistivetechnology for students who require additional assistance in their education -schools are taking further steps to move forward with the technology.
AISI Literacy - Patricia Gervais willbe visiting all schools to conduct an inventory of literacy needs across thedivision.
AISI cycles - moving forward on assessmentplan for the division, which will then be tailored for each school.
Diploma exams started today (Jan. 11)for Grade 12 students.

9. Nominal roll for federal students - Aboriginal Affairs andNorthern Development Canada (AAND&C) has challenged funding for 50 federalstudents - the division is appealing the decision and believes that at least 20students should not be disqualified – the decision is related to attendanceissues - presents a challenge for division staffing decisions - could loseanywhere from $300,000 to $500,000 in funding, depending on the appeal process. AAND&C seems to have less leeway in the eligibility criteria, which presents a significant challenge to the Division budget.

10. Capital Update:

Racette site meeting January 18 -construction/demolition has begun
FG Miller - finalizing design
Mennonite school site meeting January24 – government does not believe the existing structure can be used in the newconstruction - won't be demolished until after the construction is complete.

11. Community Engagement meeting - request for proposals have been sentout to various video production companies - next meeting will take placeJanuary 19. The local Community Development rep will run a mock set-up of theevent at the Board's information meeting on January 25.

12. Tripartite Agreement - the Alberta School Boards Association had ameeting regularly scheduled for Board chairs, Superintendents and SecretaryTreasurers on Monday, January 9. The attendees found out that the DeputyMinister and two ministry-appointed lawyers would be attending. The attendeeswere told that the lawyers are going to reach a provincial settlement forAlberta teachers and boards in 10 days. Further information will be given oncethe board has received it.

13. CFEP grant - Myrnam School received a $20,000 grant towards theirnew playground.

14. 10 Point Plan for School Act – Minister Lukaszuk has released a10-point plan as a result of the recent community consultations on the SchoolAct. The plan includes:

Reducingtravel time for students who spend more than one hour on a bus and enablingstudents to better use technology when they travel.
Creatingmore opportunities for students to earn credits in high school andpost-secondary at the same time.
Updatingschool design specifications to better support communities.
Co-ordinatingbuilding playgrounds and new schools.
Reducing theadministrative burden for charter schools.
SupportingFirst Nations students by working more closely with the federal government.
Creating astronger voice for parents in the education system.
Providingbetter information to increase the transparency, clarity and accountability ofthe education system.
Reviewingprovincial achievement tests.
Examiningthe operational requirements of full-day kindergarten.

Trustee Report, December 14, 2012

2011-12-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

1. EducationMinister visit – The Hon. Thomas Lukaszuk will be visiting our school divisionas part of a regional tour. A tentative date has been set for January 26. Moredetails to follow.

2. Transportationsurvey – As a follow-up to the division surveys completed in the spring, theBoard has asked for a survey of our bus system. There are 1,800 students in ourdivision who take the school each day. Letters will be sent home soon to informparents of the brief, paper survey. All parents of students who ride the buswill be surveyed, as well as students in Grades 4 to 12. Data collected will beused by administration only to identify any concerns.

3. Lac Sante – Acommittee has been formed to further investigate a request from the County ofTwo Hills to re-designate municipal/school reserve land in the Lac Sante areain order to develop a public campground. Each time a subdivision isbuilt, municipalities must set aside land for items such as schools andrecreation areas. The school division does not own the land, but has a vestedstake in the property. Trustees Rudkowsky, Pedersen, Miller will be serving onthe committee.

4. Rural ABDevelopment Fund – Trustee Rudkowsky reported on the provincial grant that hasprovided funding to other rural school divisions for items such as a mobiletrades unit. The funding for the program ends on March 31, 2012, but theorganizers hope to receive further funding from the Province. Trustees willresearch its proposal at its January information meeting.

5. Remembrance Day- Admin Procedure 206 – the division is looking at ways to allow flexibilityfor our community groups to participate in the school ceremonies, especially incommunities where there is more than one school – administration is consideringchanging the policy to allow ceremonies to take place at different times of theday - not just at 11:00 a.m. - on the school day(s) preceding Remembrance Day.

6. CalendarCommittee - the first meeting will take place on January 16. Drafts will beavailable for the Board, staff and other stakeholders to review prior to theBoard making its final decision.

7. Alberta School CouncilsAssociation AGM - April 20 – the Board will continue sponsoring three parentsto attend the conference - hotel and registration. Further details coming soon.

8. Policy review – Policy18 Community Engagement and AP 110 School Councils were reviewed, with commentsfrom our school councils. The Policy Committee will be meeting in January tomake recommendations to the Board on changes to policies reviewed sinceSeptember (Policies 8,9,3,5,2,6, 18, AP 110). Up for review at the January 11Board meeting are Policy 10 Policy Making and Policy 11 Board Delegation ofAuthority.

9. Superintendent'sreport:

assessment plans inschools – Assistant Superintendent Dalane Imeson visited all schools - overallword is "excellent” - goal is to improve teaching and learning -principals are true educational leaders – the key emphasis on communicationsand how we treat each other.
M.E. LaZertepresented on Dec. 5 - speaker from the assessment consortium – schools continueto develop assessment plans based on goals of division.
AISI cycle isending - fitting into overall plan direction - new plan focuses on assessment -not getting rid of what we are doing, but continuing to enhance - meeting inJanuary to develop new AISI plan.
Children's fairNov. 15 and 16 - 58 families attended the fair - health and education partners hadvarious screening tests for pre-school children- very successful - childrenhave excellent opportunity for early supports before entering school system.
Succession planning– identified characteristics of a good vice principal and good principal -20-25 people identified – First meeting planned for January. Those chosen willhear from those who have already gone through the succession program.
High SchoolFlexibility Program – being piloted in a few divisions across the province - morestudent-directed - flex days - students free to receive help wherever they needit (similar to the SST (Student Support Team) time we already have built intomany of our schools.
Wi-Fi letter sentout to parents - lifting some security so that students and staff can accesswi-fi similar to how accessed in a hotel or at home - need to ensure anti-virussoftware is up to date.
New professionalpractice competencies being developed (provincially) for school leaders -three-year process.

10. Capital projects:

site meeting at TwoHills Mennonite - received approval for four modular classrooms (to arrivetentatively in January) - discussion on demolition - possible option to keepthe newer one-story potion vs. demolishing and adding more modulars - budgeted moneyto demolish now - however school will be full by the time the new school isbuilt - said no to a two-storey structure because it costs more money -introductory home-ec and woods in the new building
Racette - generalcontractor chosen - Binder Construction Ltd. – recently completed Vilnamodernization - first meeting on Dec. 16
Elk Point -construction expected to begin around Easter break - design is being completed

11. StrategicPlanning /Community Engagement Meeting - letter of invite being developed andan invitee list - tentative dates April 18 or 19, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. The divisionwill develop a video that paints an accurate picture of our school systemtoday. Will be presented to participants at the community engagement meeting,as well as at other public relations opportunities.

12. Financial update - Due to a number of factorsincluding unforeseen increased federal revenue from tuition agreements andsevere disabilities funding, additional funding announcements from theprovince, and a slightly better than expected student enrollment count, theoverall division financial picture has improved somewhat from the projecteddeficit in the spring of 2011. After taking into account a number of recently approved staffing andprogram additions, capital expenses, and additional school-based budgetallocations the Division is now projecting a deficit of about $600,000.

Teamwork, dreamwork...

2011-11-23T08:41:00.001-07:00

"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

2011-11-13T15:11:00.001-07:00

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

2.Extra budget allocation:

SPERD received $632,269.00 inadditional funding from the Province:
School administrators had a chance tomeet twice as a group since then, and were also contacted individually.
Administrators came to consensus toaddress “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’sbudget.
The Board approved the plan to hire approximately 5 fte teachers spreadacross 7-8 schools and approx 4 instructional assistants across 3-4 schools.
As a result of other adjustments and an increase in enrolment, theBoard was also able to put approx $500,000 against the current deficit loweringit to approx $700,000.

3.SPERD Community Engagement – the division’s Strategic PlanningCommittee has begun planning an opportunity for its stakeholders to provideinput on the way we operate our schools – a meeting is tentatively planned forMarch 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 appearedbefore the Board to discuss the shortage of bus drivers – the Board did make anexception to policy to allow a town bus driver over the age of 68 to drive forthe 2011/2012 school year on a relief basis – the Board is also following upwith the proposal for the Alberta Government to establish province-wide testsand standards of competency for bus drivers.

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

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

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

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

9.Capital report:

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

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

Trustee Report - October 12, 2011 Board Meeting

2011-10-15T10:10:00.000-06:00

1.PATS and DIPS - data from all of theProvincial Achievement Tests and Provincial Diploma exams are in from the pastschool year. Overall, results from our division are gradually improving. Thereare some areas of concern, which we will continue to examine for future action.The division’s Accountability Pillar (report card for the division) will bepublished on the division website.

2.September 30th enrolment count - up29 students from predictions - hiring 0.5 teacher at Glen Avon School for high class numbersin Grade 2 – consideration also required for further computer techniciansupport - also waiting tosee how the $107 million the new premier has promised for education will flowback to divisions

3.Policy review - Role of Trustee andRole of Board Chair reviewed - School Councils will receive copies of the review schedule and the policies we have asked them to review.

4.Family School Liaison Workers – theBoard will be submitting requests for partnership funding from our localmunicipalities - FSLW is a valuable program offering personal support forstudents when required.

5.TBAC (Teacher Board Advisory Committee)– the Board and the local Alberta Teachers Association have agreed tore-establish regular, informal meetings – the first meeting will take placeOctober 25^th.

6.Tripartite Negotiations - teachercontracts come to an end in 2012 - this past summer Alberta government invitedthe Alberta School Boards Association and the Alberta Teachers Association tostart discussions for a framework agreement (teacher wages, school boardfunding, term and dispute resolution) – the Board made a motion for ASBA tonegotiate on its behalf for a provincial agreement - some items will remain forlocal bargaining

7.Superintendent’s Report:

November 23-26
Senior Girls' 3A provincials - Regional High School

October 14 at 1 pm
Ashmont Secondary Awards ceremony

October 18 at 730 pm
Two Hills Awards ceremony

October 15
ATA Retirement and Induction (St Paul)

Report Cards (starting first term this year)
All K-3 schools will use outcome-based report cards
Two Hills School, Ashmont Elementary, and Mallaig - will also be 'piloting'outcome-based reporting in grades 4-6

October 25 at 7 pm
Two Hills School Open House and presentation to parents regarding Outcome-basedreporting

November 15 (pm) & 16 (am) - with exact times to be determined
Preschool Children's Fair in cooperation with local Health partners (to beadvertised through local media) - at the St. Paul Elementary School (open to all parents)
Topics: developmental screening, literacy, resiliency, FASD, and otherpreschool related topics

8.Education Transformation Meetings -trustees, teachers and government have been meeting in group-discussionmeetings across the province to discuss the transformation of our educationsystem – these meetings are another piece of the Inspiring Education initiativeand School Act review

9.Capital Report - hazmat started atRacette; hope for construction to start before Christmas - architectsshortlisted for F.G. Miller and Two Hills Mennonite

2011-10-11T13:54:00.000-06:00

Transforming the way we learn in Alberta

I had the opportunity to take part in one of the Education Transformation meetings that Alberta Education hosted throughout all regions of the province last month. The meetings were a way to bring the three main partners - Alberta Education, Alberta Teachers Association and Alberta School Boards Association - together and discuss how we will transform our education system to meet the needs of our students in this ever-changing, global society.

At our meeting in Red Deer, there were 19 tables. Each table had local representation from all three partners in their respective school division areas. We had two trustees, an assistant superintendent, three local teachers (including our local ATA president), an Alberta Ed rep and a notetaker at our table.

The day started off with a panel discussion from leaders of all three provincial partners: Deputy Minister Kerry Henkay, ATA VP Mark Ramsanker and ASBA President Jacquie Hansen.

The remainder of the day was divided into three sections for group discussion, each discussing three questions:

Focus Area #1: Shared Understanding/Shared Opportunity - Support for the idea of transformation as a shared process
1. What's the most important characteristic of education transformation for you?
2. If transformation is about moving from one reality to another, what does that entail?
3. Discuss the relationship enhancements that articulate a new way of working together - what do we have to change about how we relate to one another?

Focus Area #2: Moving Forward Together: Who Does What? - Shared commitment to priority items/role and responsibilities
1. If we are to collaborate on transformation, what's most important to work together on?
2. How do we define our respective roles and responsibilities in taking on these topics?
3. How do we hold one another accountable for our mutual success?

Focus Area #3: Outcome: Support for Moving Forward Together
1. What are some ways ATA, ASBA and Alberta Education can start taking action for transformation?
2. Is a plan required to guide the process? If so, what types of plans/planning are needed and who should lead their development?
3. How, when and at what levels (local/provincial) do we involve other stakeholders in the process?

These questions created great discussion at our table, and, from what we heard back from others, great discussion all around. There is no denying that these three provincial partners have not always played well in the sandbox together in the past, but this "landmark-type" meeting was a step in the right direction, from what we heard and experienced.

There is still a long way to go, especially with the new Education Act coming out next year and all of its implications, but I strongly believe that if we keep the conversation going and continue to foster our relationships with one another, we can all succeed in building a stronger education system for our children. After all, we all have the same goal of providing the best education for our students.

We will be discussing these questions at our public board meeting tomorrow and will be bringing them forward to our local School Councils. As long as we continue pushing forward the concept of transformation at the grass roots level, I don't think this province has any choice, but to move forward.

My Evaluation

2010-09-18T13:35:00.004-06:00

Each year the Board of Trustees for St. Paul Education takes time to evaluate itself in its function as a board. And every three years, the voters have a chance to evaluate their trustees.

With the next municipal and school board elections right around the corner, I thought it would prudent for me to provide you, my electorate, with evidence on what I have accomplished as a trustee in my first term over the past three years.

1. Students are the number one priority

The only employee that is directly hired by the board is the Superintendent. I had the opportunity to take part in the hiring of a new Superintendent in my first term, and I believe our board chose a Superintendent who has been making meaningful changes within our school division for the betterment of all students. Superintendent Glen Brodziak and his administrative team are transforming this division into one that focuses on student achievement at all levels and one that continues to build quality relationships with all education stakeholders.

2. Communications and Community Engagement

As a former journalist and a former assistant to MLA Ray Danyluk, I understand and have taken direct action in strengthening communication at all levels. As part of the trustee Communications Committee, I have been directly involved in the following new initiatives over the past three years:

- -Monthly Ask a School Trustee column in local newspapers, school newsletters and website

- Division picture calendar distributed to each family which highlights all of our schools and relevant reference information

- Numerous Question and Answer documents on “hot topic” items

- Annual Council of School Council meetings where parent councils from across the division met to provide input into board directions

- A Communications Plan which highlights all of the internal and external communication directives within the division

- “How was school today?” document distributed to each family, highlighting the division’s goals

Many of these initiatives are on the division website.

3. St. Paul Solution

The St. Paul Solution involved the building of a new Glen Avon School with renovations to the Regional High School Career and Technology suites (ie. shop, cosmetology, home economics) and complete renovations to St. Paul Elementary and Racette Schools. All of the projects except Racette School have been completed to date and the Racette School modernization was announced in 2008. However, when the economy turned sour, the provincial government put the funding for Racette on hold. As the modernization representative for both St. Paul Elementary and Racette, I have met with the Education Minister and the local MLA a number of times. St. Paul Elementary was completed while I was a trustee and I am still hanging on to my hard hat with the hopes that Racette will be completed within my next term, should I be re-elected.

4. Policy revision

As part of the Policy Committee, I encouraged the board to undertake a complete review of its policies, since many of them were outdated. I can say that our policies have all been revamped and separated into two distinct “sandboxes.” Anything that is the board’s responsibility is now in the Board Policy Handbook and anything that is the Superintendent’s responsibility is in the Administrative Procedures Handbook. Both of these documents can be viewed on our website.

5. Upholding our religious, cultural and linguistic differences under one regionalized school division

We are a unique board in this province, and most likely in all of Canada, in that we have separate and public schools under board. Although this special status has placed us under the microscope a few times, I believe that the majority of our constituents are in support of our current structure and as a member of the board, I will continue to remain in communication with the stakeholders of our Public Catholic Schools.

On a personal note, I was confirmed into the Roman Catholic Church this past Easter and truly believe that it is important to have Catholic representation on this unique board.

I believe in this school division. I believe in our students. And I believe that I can continue to make difference as a trustee for St. Paul Education.

Election day is October 18. Let your voice be heard!

Jamie Oliver and Differentiated Instruction

2010-03-27T07:58:00.003-06:00

I love Jamie Oliver! I have followed his career since his early days on “The Naked Chef.” What I love most about him is his unrelenting spirit to make a positive difference in people’s lives. Watching his most recent crusade against unhealthy eating in his “Food Revolution,” reminded me why I became a school trustee. I watched Jaimie take on his home country in England in his attempt to bring healthier food into schools and into homes. And now he is bringing his revolution to America. Rick Wormeli is a lot like Jamie Oliver. Mr. Wormeli may not be as well known as Mr. Oliver, but Mr. Wormeli does for education what Mr. Oliver does for food.

All of our teachers had the opportunity to see Rick Wormeli during a special division Professional Development (PD) day on March 22. The board of trustees and central office administration felt it was important for our staff to see Mr. Wormeli’s presentation because he provides some very useful tools in the area of student assessment (ie. marking and grading student learning).

Mr. Wormeli is a lot like Mr. Oliver because he travels around the world 42 out of 52 weeks of the year trying to make a difference. Mr. Wormeli has been tied to the terminology, in the education world, of Differentiated Instruction (DI). Now I am not an expert on DI and I do not have an education degree, but from what I have learned about DI is that every student learns differently and therefore, each student may need different tools in order to learn. No, this does not mean a different lesson plan for each child in a teacher’s classroom. It means we are all different and a one-size-fits-all approach to learning is not realistic.

For me to assume that teachers do not already know this is ignorant of me. Of course teachers realize that each student in their class learns differently. What Mr. Wormeli made clear to me during our March 22^nd session was that our school systems are largely based on a factory model where we provide the same set of instruction, the same set of tests and churn out students at the end of the year. Our teachers have had to work within this model and find ways to adapt their teaching methods for their classes of diverse students. Mr. Wormeli’s concepts provided some extra tools for our teachers to try. What he did not say and what we do not expect is for our teachers to throw out everything they have learned over their years of teaching and start from scratch.

Professional development is meant to add to our knowledge base, not for us to take a total u-turn. Every profession has its own version of professional development. From doctors and dentists to plumbers and mechanics, we all need professional development in order to keep up with our changing times. But what Jaimie Oliver has so clearly demonstrated is that we are creatures of habit and we don’t like change. For us to grasp some of these new concepts in a practical sense may be difficult at first. But our teachers are not in this alone.

Not only do our teachers have their fellow colleagues to lean on, but they also have their administrators and their trustees back them up. Yes, we are all part of one team - a team that wants to see each and every child in our division succeed. There may be some nay-sayers out there who are going to critique and cut down everything we are trying to achieve within our school division. But the main thing I would like everyone to remember is that we all want our children to GET IT. We want our students to understand the material they are being taught so that when they graduate from our division, they will have a set of skills that will triumph within our ever-changing and competitive, global economy.

We do not expect a revolution, but we do want to start a conversation.

A Good News Story

2010-01-26T12:36:00.003-07:00

Too often, we are confronted by stories of failure, destruction and death in the news. Well, as a school trustee, I feel it is time to toot our horn and celebrate some of the successes within our schools.

One project that comes to mind is one-to-one computing project that is taking place in the Ashmont Elementary Community School. We were fortunate to receive the resources as part of a pilot project within the province. As you can see from this video, these students are truly engaged.

This is just one of the many success stories taking place across our division. Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/8541617

The future of education requires change

2009-11-10T08:52:00.005-07:00

As I entered the Northlands Agricom on the evening of October 18, I knew the Inspiring Education conference was going to be unlike any other conference I've ever attended as a school trustee. First of all it was a huge setting with over 1,000 delegates. There were spotlights carefully stationed all around the room, projecting logos and designs on the walls. There was music, there was dance and there were some profound ideas being tossed around thanks to four keynote speakers and discussions on the result of the community consultations across the province since the beginning of the year.

"We need to prepare our kids for their future, not our past," said the first keynote speaker, Mr. Daniel Pink, writer of "A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Rule the Future." For those of you who aren't aware of the right brain-left brain discussion, left brain activity includes logical, linear and analytical thinking whereas right brain activity looks at the big picture and includes artistry and empathy.

Asia, Automation and Abundance are the reasons why we need to teach our students how to become more right-brain thinkers, Mr. Pink explained. The country of India has a billion people and in less than five months, it will be the largest English-speaking economy in the world...and it is connected to the rest of the world for free (via the Internet).

"Routine" is the scariest word in North America, Mr. Pink continued. An educated Albertan in 2029 will not be doing routine work if we expect to remain competitive in this global economy. Software AUTOMATES everything the left side of the brain is doing right now. And in our world of ABUNDANCE, it is up to our educated Albertans to use their artistry and right-brain thinking to provide people something they didn't know they were missing. Did you know that 460,000 cell phones are discarded every day in the United States? We didn't even know we needed cell phones 20 years ago.

Daniel Pink said educated Albertans will need "high touch" abilities if they are to succeed in 2029 such as, design-thinking, story, empathy, play, meaning and understanding the big picture. Google provides its employees with 20% time where they can play and solve problems in a self-directed way. They are "non-routine savants." We need passion, life-long learning skills and the arts. The most valuable prefix for the future is "multi."

I found it quite interesting that all four speakers at the conference talked about how video games provide a powerful tool for assessment. Video games are constantly providing feedback and the gamer is using his/her own self-direction and autonomy to solve problems. This fits in with the idea from cultural anthropologist, Dr. Jennifer James, that kids don't separate learning from play. She also said that the leading reason for a high diagnosis of ADHD in young children is that there is a MISMATCH in ENERGY between Grade One students and their teachers.

I really liked the concepts for change in the classroom that Dr. James discussed. She talked about how teachers need to be facilitators and tutors. They should teach our kids how to debate. There should be master teachers that videoconference to classrooms while the teacher in the classroom facilitates and tutors.

Dr. Mark Milliron talked about how our education system should look less like a pipeline and more like a "LEARNING SWIRL." I really liked this concept of how K-12 and post-secondary should be working together, side-by-side... how we should be focussing on a K-20 governance model.

He continued with the right-brain theory that our education system should focus on developing CRITICAL, CREATIVE, SOCIAL and COURAGEOUS learning.

University of Alberta President Indira Samarasekera also followed this line of thinking in her speech. She told us that Alberta has the lowest post-secondary participation rate in Alberta and that we need to focus on teaching our children how to be CREATIVE and how educators need to INVOLVE and ENGAGE students. "Creativity is the essential element for education in the 21st century," she said.

Dr. Samarasekera is originally from India and she said there are currently 540 million Indians under the age of 25. What is Canada's entire population? We need a new business model!

However, creative thinking is risky. It takes time and is often considered being lazy and unproductive. Creative people are considered weird, eccentric and different, but we need to celebrate these qualities instead of casting them out. Difference needs to be celebrated starting in Kindergarten.

"We need students who ask questions we cannot answer and then find ways together to answer them together," said Dr. Samarasekera. She told us that in the U of A's own surveying, they found out that only 20-30% of first-year university student are acquiring their learning in the classroom. The balance of their learning is experiential. Students are becoming more involved in community engagement - "community service learning."

In the question and answer segment, Dr. Samarasekera was asked how we can move forward. Her response was that we need to maintain the breadth in our current education system as we continue, but that our curriculum needs to promote engagement and broadly connect what's happening in the classroom with what's happening in the world. She also commented on how that 20% time is essential. It gives children the opportunity to play and really discover who they are. "We need to give our students that 'WOW' experience at school."

I know these concepts are a lot to take in at one reading, but after two and a half days of participating in this "Alberta Education" conference, I am convinced this is the direction we need to take. What worries me is how this will be translated into government legislation and practicality.

Each and every one of the four keynote speakers said that multiple choice testing is horrific and yet Alberta Education just changed the Math diploma exams to entirely multiple choice, in order to save money. I hope the Minister of Education was listening. The fact that his department organized this glitzy event should hopefully mean something.

As a mother of two young children just entering the K-12 system, I feel hopeful that their education experience will adapt to our global economy. I will continue to let them grow and experience life through play and creativity. I will allow them to try and solve problems on their own. After all, the education system is just one part of our children's learning experiences. It takes an entire community to raise a child and maybe even this entire world.

Some good news and some not-so-good news

2009-08-31T20:22:00.009-06:00

Well, here we are at the start of another school year. And just what were the Board of Trustees doing on the first day of school? Discussing the implications of the Alberta Government's clawback of school boards' reserves - reserves that many of us have been prudently saving in an effort to complete some local projects.

More on that later. First of all I want to focus on the good news and congratulate St. Paul Elementary Community School on making Today's Parent (a national Canadian parenting magazine) Top 20 Schools list. SPECS was chosen for its tenacity and community-mindedness after the flood on November 2, 2007 that destroyed the bottom floor of the school. It is great to see national recognition for one of our schools!

I also want to thank SPECS staff for their hard work and all of the construction contractors in ensuring that students were welcomed back to their home school for the first day of classes. SPECS underwent a complete modernization after the flood and after some politicking. There are still some finishing touches to be completed, but all-in-all the school looked great today and the energy was fantastic!

Now on to the not-so-good news. Speaking of modernizations, as some of you know, Racette Community School was announced for a modernization at the same time as St. Paul Elementary. Since we did not receive enough money to complete both projects properly, Alberta Education suggested we take some of the funds from the Racette project to get SPECS done, since they were still displaced from the flood. We went ahead with the suggestion and everything was on track until the government released its budget in the spring and said there were no NEW capital dollars. Even though Racette was a previously-announced project, there were no new funds to make up for the original shortfall in dollars we recognized when both schools were first announced.

We had a chance to meet Education Minister David Hancock last Tuesday. We knew it wasn't a good sign when we arrived at the Legislature Building and saw the front page of The Edmonton Journal stating that the government was projecting a $6.9 billion deficit after the first-quarter update. It wasn't a surprise when the Minister said he still didn't have any money for us, but thanks to our parent rep, Tanice Olson, trustees and staff, some key points were made that the Minister will take into consideration for when money is available. For instance, we still have use of the space over at the old Glen Avon School, which will reduce both construction costs (by 40 -50% because Racette would be vacant) and time (one year for construction instead of two). Our MLA Ray Danyluk also went to bat for us and said that the Minister will review the situation with his staff in the next week or so to try and give us more of a timeline.

Two days later, on August 27, Minister Hancock delivered the news to all board chairs that Education needs to cut $80 million out of this year's budget and they are taking some of that out of our reserves and reduction in some grants. That's fine. We will do our part to ensure taxpayers' dollars are used efficiently. What wasn't fine was how they calculated the clawbacks. St. Paul Education is now facing a reduction of almost $600,000 in its reserves - reserves that we had been prudently saving for the past 14 years in order to build a new central office. We are facing deductions from our reserves that are three times larger than some of other larger boards, like Edmonton Catholic. Where is the equity? Boards that had larger reserves had more money taken back. It did not matter if these reserves were earmarked to fund certain projects. Some of the hardest hit boards are from rural areas, so our board and some of the others in the area are now setting up a meeting with our local MLA to find out the reasoning behind these methods.

So here we are at the start of a new school year and we are already facing some challenging times. This year we are looking at $80 million in cuts to Education. Next year, we are already being forewarned that we could be looking at $300 million in cuts. We obviously have a lot of catching up to do across this province, financially. Let's just keep our students learning a priority and keep the cuts out of the classroom.

A policy makeover for St. Paul Education

2009-06-22T13:44:00.000-06:00

As a member of the St. Paul Education Policy Committee, it was an exciting day for me on Friday, June 12, 2009, as the Board of Trustees began a revision of our entire policies manual. I know...you're probably thinking, "What? Policies are exciting?". It's just not about revising policy, it is about reviewing and improving upon our roles as legislators within the school division. It still may not be that exciting for some of you, but it is exciting for me to see this type of change within the division.

We are using the services of Alberta School Boards Association, and more specifically, Leroy Sloan and Terry Gunderson. We are taking the hundreds of policies that exist in our current manual, extracting the ones pertaining to board governance and placing them in a new Board Governance Policy Handbook. All other "policies" that do not pertain to board governance, will become administrative procedures -- the Superintendent's "handbook."

This shift also includes a Board Annual Work Plan, which outlines the reports and items we should be reviewing on a month-by-month basis. It just makes for more organization and streamlining our governance roles as trustees.

The next step is for administration to review all of the remaining policies to be converted into administrative procedures. Then we will finalize our Board Handbook in the fall. These two new documents, the Board Governance Policy Handbook and the Administrative Procedures, will be posted on our new website which is also undergoing a makeover, later in the fall.

I feel our Board has accomplished a lot since I was elected almost two years ago. Looking forward to the next school year and more progression.

Where do we stand as school trustees?

2009-06-05T16:00:00.000-06:00

Our Spring General Meeting of the Alberta School Boards Association stirred up a lot of discussion, and hopefully, subsequent action on the future of school board governance.

We were reminded that the responsibilities of school boards has pretty much remained the same over the past 150 years and that we are pretty much at the bottom of the political totem pole. Not too encouraging. But we were also inspired to do something about it.

Mr. Ken Chapman's presentation was called, "A Contented Oyster Never Made a Pearl," meaning that we, as school boards, could sit back and be irritated or do something about it and turn it into a pearl.

With the millions of people all over the world connected through social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs, Mr. Chapman planted the seed of thought to use this form of media to reach out to our communities. Of course, traditional, face-to-face communication will remain a time-honoured tool, but we cannot sit back and let the new forms of communication pass us by.

It is time for all school boards to become more connected to their communities through all forms of community engagement. Once we become "influentials" by forming a connected voice, we will be able to overcome this top-down style of government we have become accustomed to in Alberta. Bill 44 spurred the initial connected voice. We need to keep the momentum going and foster these influential relationships.

Bill 44 stirs up the fire in the belly of school trustees

2009-06-03T21:38:00.000-06:00

Mr. Chapman was a presenter at the Alberta School Boards Association spring general meeting on June 1,2, 2009. He has a lot of good things to say in this post:

Ken Chapman: Alberta School Trustees Seething Mad About Bill 44