District Parent Advisory Council for School District No. 91 (Nechako Lakes)
Parent and/ or Student
Section 11 Appeals
Provincial Conference for Parent Representatives February 25, 2008
Summary of Conference
On February 25, 2008, the Ministry of Education (MOE) held a conference to inform the parents of the province of a new Regulation being introduced March 3, 2008 regarding Parent and/or Student Appeals. This was an unprecedented event that was a display of how important the MOE believes parental involvement is within the Education system. It was timely and relevant to parents and in the past, Regulations regarding parents and students have been implemented without any explanation. It was extremely beneficial to the parents of the province that this conference occurred.
Up until this Regulation, there was no appeal process beyond a Board of Education’s decision. As the Board of Education (BOE or Board) is a publicly elected body, the MOE has no jurisdiction within the scope of the decisions that are made by the Board. This new appeal process was developed to assist parents and students with only the decisions made by BOEs that significantly affect the education, safety or health of a student. (An interesting note; prior to 1996, decisions made by Principals were considered to be final within Legislation.)
At the end of the conference, the parents in attendance were divided in their opinions. Some felt the scope of criteria of what could be resolved by this appeal process was too narrow. They were especially disappointed by the description regarding Independent Education Plans (IEPs). They were also disappointed by the amount of steps that still need to be taken to receive resolutions to conflicts that may occur. However; some parents felt that the fact that this new Student Appeals Branch (SAB) has been formed will prompt BOEs to step up the policies within schools in their own districts and that it will positively reflect how an employee of the board decides to resolve conflicts with parents and students. Before a parent’s complaint is dismissed with regards to the significant affect of their student’s education,
safety or health at the school level, more effort to resolve the conflict at that point will hopefully be made.
A note of interest is that the rights of parents are expanded in the Manual of School Law (http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/legislation/schoollaw/) when they are members of Parent Advisory Councils, and then expanded again by being members of a District Parent Advisory Council.
The SAB has already met with superintendents of schools throughout the province to make them aware of this new regulation as well.
The SAB expects that upon opening its doors March 3, 2008, they will receive hundreds of applications for appeals. They also expect that within three years, the number of appeals will drop dramatically due to BOEs stepping up how effectively they implement policy within their schools to prevent conflicts from developing into an appeal.
The following is directly copied from the handouts given to the parent delegates in attendance. It was expected that the information given to the parents in attendance would be distributed to the parents within the districts that were represented. The BCCPAC will be sending all PACs and DPACs the same information in the near future.
Nina Knocke, DPAC Secretary-Treasurer
Parent Delegate in attendance
British Columbia Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils Fall Conference 2007
"Supporting Student Success through
Parent Involvement"
We were fortunate to have four parents attend this conference from our District with the financial partnership of DPAC SD 91, SD 91, and BCCPAC. We are very thankful for the opportunity to learn so much valuable and applicable information in this time of building parental roles in the public education system of BC.
We will provide an overview of the content of the conference and presenters, through a summation of what each of the participants experienced.
Mini Verduzco,
I was glad to step in for Michelle and attend the BCCPAC Fall Leadership Conference. Thank you for seeing the importance in sending parents to attend. I will try to give you a brief summary of the workshops I attended.
Lee Gunderson presented on our first night at conference. He talked about ESL. “Are there too many ESL students in My child’s classroom?” This is a growing issue in the lower mainland. When there are too many foreign students they are not being forced to speak the English language outside or during class time. Teachers are feeling they have not been given the skills to be effectively teaching a classroom when larger parts are ESL and few may be English speaking. This was an interesting presentation, but not really affecting our district at this time.
I attended a workshop on “Learn Now BC”. DL is a growing trend in our province. LNBC is predicting they will have 50,000 people enrolled in their program next year. Now that education is directed at crib to crypt there are many adults who are able to go back to school and enrol in LNBC at no cost to them. The website looks to be very user friendly. The courses they have for Senior Secondary seem to be a great asset to students who are studying for provincial exams and need extra help. I was thinking maybe I should enrol and refresh my brain and try to keep up with my children’s school work!
I had the honour of listening to Barbara Coloroso speak twice. She spoke on “Just because it’s not wrong doesn’t make it right” and “bully,bullied & bystander” . Barbara is a great speaker and a wealth of valuable information. The first session we learned about the Big I and Three C’s- Intent, content, circumstances and possible intended and unintended consequences. One of the main points was to bring our children up in an “Ethic Rooted in Deep Caring”. Teaching our children to think and act ethically. She helped us to really think about what we are teaching our children and are we instilling in them ‘deep caring’. The workshop on bully, bullied and bystander was also good. Barbara gave us an outline on her presentation. She included each category and the warning signs to look out for if there is bullying going on in
your child’s life or school. I think what I took away from this workshop is to teach my children if they are a bystander they are as much of the problem as the bully. I want to instill in my children, “you do the right thing when the burden’s heavy.” Another saying that stuck with me was “conflict is inevitable but violence is not.” I purchased a couple of her books if anyone would like to borrow them.
I attended a workshop “Youth Drug Abuse Trends” with Corporal Garth Cunningham. Very informative session, I learned that we need to be talking to our children about drugs and alcohol alot sooner than we presently are. Garth was telling us that the average age to try smoking and alcohol was 12 years old and that is when we have just started giving them the talk. We are to talk to our children about drugs when they begin school.
The last workshop I attended was “Welcoming First Nations Parents.” This session was led by James and Loretta Cook, a wonderful couple from the Island. This workshop was very informal and open for “alot” of discussion. The first nations parents that attended the workshop shared many stories with the rest of us. It was incredible! A Kleenex box was being passed around, if that gives you an idea. It was a real eye opener for myself. I could see why first nations parents aren’t participating their schools PAC’s. One parent said non-aboriginal parents are rude and only there to push through the agenda in an hour. Having a pac meeting on reserve was a suggestion by one of the F.N. parents. Our pac did do this last year and I was a parent who was opposed. I couldn’t think outside the box. I thought a pac meeting was to be held at
our school and only our school. I learned alot about how we can be more inclusive of F.N.’s parents and learned about things that have happened in the past that have affected them. We need to be patient and considerate of other parents and make sure there isn’t segregation. There was so much valuable information in such an unstructured session it was great!
Thank you again for sending myself and the parents. You receive such a wealth of information; it takes awhile to digest it all. I hope I have been clear and given you a good overview on the weekend.
BCCPAC Fall Conference – Victoria BC
Nov. 15-18, 2007
Lynne Reed
I would like to start by thanking the DPAC and SD #91 for sponsoring me to attend the Fall Conference. What a fabulous experience. There was so much to learn and the people were awesome, and let’s not forget about the food (smoothie breaks). The sponsors had set up no less than 25 booths which we were able to check out, ask questions and connect with for later follow up. Every facilitator was available to speak with after sessions if you still had more questions and Barbara stayed with us and signed books Thursday and Friday.
To follow is a quick report of the workshops I attended. If there is something you would like more information on please don’t hesitate to ask.
Thursday
Barbara Coloroso – Just because it’s wrong doesn’t make it right.
Barbara talked about teaching our children to think and act ethically. She made it real and talked about influences like internet, media, video games and TV. She referred to the three C’s, content, circumstances and consequences from her book “Just because it’s wrong doesn’t make it right”.
Friday
ESL research with Dr. Lee Gunderson – Are there too many English as a Second Language students in my child’s class?
Dr. Gunderson is currently teaching ESL at UBC.
This workshop focused on the lower mainland. In the last 5 yrs, close to 70000 immigrant children entered the school system. Coquitlam has had an increase of 580% ESL students. In Surrey, 30% of the elementary students are ESL. The Lower Mainland districts are any where from 10-60% ESL students. Overall, schools in the Lower Mainland have 16% ESL students. Is this too many?
Did you know that teachers to this day are NOT trained in ESL methodology? How are these children expected to keep up? I wonder. I don’t believe that it is much of an issue up here in the north.
Donald Golob and Anders Ourum - Working together to make BCCPAC strong, understanding how it is structured and operates, and how member PAC’s and DPAC’s can contribute to its success.
BCCPAC is both an Incorporated Society and a Registered Charity. Both determine how it is structured, governed and must operate.
Incorporation as a Society
Provincial (sometimes federal)
Under the BC Society Act
Establishes the BCCPAC as a separate, independent legal entity
This defines its corporate structure
Registration as a Charity
Federal
Under the Canada Income Tax Act
Establishes BCCPAC as a type of taxpayer
BCCPAC must comply with both the BC Society Act & the Canada Income Tax Act to maintain its dual status.
This workshop focused on BCCPAC’s status as an Incorporated Society under the BC Society Act and was packed with information.
Healthy Fundraising in Schools: Using the Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales in BC.
This workshop focused on how to use the new guidelines for food and beverage sales in BC. We learned how to read labels to decide which category a food or beverage would fall into. To determine your “choose category”, read the first two ingredients to decide (milk, grains, etc.). Start at not recommended first, and then go to choose least, and so on. If you need more assistance www.dietitians.ca/eatwell or www.brandnamefoodlist.ca or www.healthyeatingisinstore.ca are some resources you can use.
The Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales in BC Schools apply to food sold to students in school stores, cafeterias, vending, after-school programs, and school events such as classroom celebrations, class snacks, meetings, parties, concessions, and fundraisers, intramural and extra-curricular activities.
If you are fundraising and NOT selling it in the school the guidelines do not apply.
Dash BC has put out a new package, “Healthy Fundraising for Schools”.
It has lots of information on how to raise funds while promoting health and having fun! If anyone would like a copy, drop me an email and I will it forward to you.
Barbara Coloroso - the bully, the bullied and the bystander.
Wow what a great workshop! Barbara is an amazing speaker. “No More, Not Here, and Never!” is her motto against bullying.
Did you know bullying is a conscious, willful and deliberate hostile activity, intended to harm. It is not about anger or conflict, but about contempt for someone else.
Barbara talked about all aspects or bullies, those who are bullied (why they don’t tell), and of course those bystanders.
We as parents and educators can rewrite the script and create for our children alternatives, healthier roles that require no pretense and no violence. We can learn to rechannel the behaviors of the bully into positive leadership activities. We can also transform the role of the bystander into that of a witness, someone willing to stand up, speak out, and act against injustice.
Saturday
SPLSS - Supporting Parent Leadership Seminar Series
SPLSS vision is to train 2 parents from each district to present and share knowledge, skill sets, experience, education and resources on behalf of BCCPAC to their districts.
SPLSS goals are:
To promote a common knowledge base of current education research.
To be part of authentic parent partnerships so this collaboration becomes part of the district culture.
Use strategies and tools to implement goals 1 & 2.
Prepare a plan for parent leadership and involvement including coaching and mentorship with local groups.
SPLSS has had one seminar, and will have 3 more in 2008. I look forward to hearing from our 2 parents.
Janet Phillips, Cathy Bedard BCCPAC Advocacy Project & Teresa Sullivan MBA, Registrar, Student Appeals Branch, Governance & Accountability Division – What is Fair? A closer look at how decisions are made and concerns are addressed.
This workshop was all about disputes that were not able to be resolved easily. They talked about decisions and what they are based on, and systemic advocates as a goal. It followed the appeal process (Section11) step by step. We were given a page of web resources and Teresa’s personal card. Again, there was a lot of information.
Joy Becker – Creating a vision for your PAC/DPAC & BCCPAC
This was a workshop I attended on Saturday and a workshop for everyone on Sunday.
This was great workshop which taught me how as a group we can create a vision and a mission statement.
Vision needs:
High level of intention
Generous listening for contribution
Possibility (edit free)
Staying in the future
Trusting the process
Team play
Your vision or dream should consist of a few short phrases or sentences. It should be shared and understood by all members. It needs to broad enough to include a diverse variety of perspectives. It should be inspiring, uplifting and easy to communicate (fit on a t-shirt).
Step One
Silent Brainstorming Session – Edit free (Use small sticky notes)
Large group Discussion – grouping brainstorming ideas
Ground rules
Talk one at a time
You have the right to “pass”
There is no such thing as a “stupid” question
Everyone has the right to their own values, beliefs, and opinions. Today is not the day to change another’s but it is the day to EMBRACE your own.
Step Two
Systemizing Brain Storming – The Affinity Technique
Small group work – each group needs a recorder, a reporter, a time-keeper, and a facilitator.
Paired sharing – the best way to work with the different topic areas when creating a statement which captures the essence of a vision statement.
The Affinity Technique
1. Respond to the following question: ”Five years from now, if there were no restraints, what would the PAC/DPAC look like? What services and or programs would be offered? What would the team look like?”
2. Write responses on post-its and put on the board.
3. Organize the post-its into categories and regroup according to the ideas. (5-8 categories)
4. The next step is to summarize the central idea of each group of post-it note responses into one short phrase. These phrases together will formulate the vision statement.
Exercise in creating vision
In smaller groups, look through the brainstorming results and summarize the central idea of each topic area into one short phrase.
You may want to divide up the topic areas among the small groups and do some paired sharing to create the short phrases.
Work with these phrases and the information discussed to create a vision.
Your vision should answer the following questions:
» How has the role of the PAC changed?
» What has been done to prepare you PAC for success in the world?
» What is our primary role and responsibility in the community?
» How are meetings structured?
» How has the community changed?
» What is the role of the PAC in the community?
Be aware of some of the pitfalls that can hamper and cripple you vision. These include:
» Tradition
» Fear of ridicule
» Stereotypes of people, conditions, roles or governing bodies
» Complacency of those involved
» Fatigued leadership
» Short-term thinking
» Nay-saying
This exercise can be time consuming, so you may want to break it up into sessions.
Our last presentation was an awesome video made by Dewitt Jones, Star Thrower Distribution called, “Celebrate what’s right with the world”. You can Google Star thrower distribution, then click on motivation and morale to find it. The film is 22 minutes long so get comfy with the kids and enjoy the spectacular photography.
Ronda Payne
LDSS PAC Chair
I thought the conference was very well organized and everyone at the hotel was very helpful. The food of course was wonderful and the accommodations were great! I've only been to Victoria twice in my life and I thought it was a great place to have the conference!
I attended 4 sessions that were all pretty good. I was a little disappointed with the workshop on how to include other cultures into our PAC. I was hoping for some strategies and tips on how we could meet the needs of First Nations to increase the attendance at our meetings. Unfortunately, they talked mostly about immigrants into the country and the boundaries that they face. Which is of course a problem they have in the lower mainland but does not really affect us here in the central part of the province. Most of the information was irrelevant and there were no strategies of actual things we as a PAC can do to increase involvement.
I also attended a session on the trends in drug abuse right now. Again, it was informative but there was a lot of material that the RCMP officer did not have time to get through in the time given to him. It would be great if the sessions were longer so there could be more discussions, and maybe things that were relevant to each community could have been addressed. But having said that, it was still all very interesting.
The session on Trades being offered more and more at the highschool level was great. The facilitator gave a lot of great information regarding how students can become involved with these types of programs so they can receive dual credit when they graduate. There were some great handouts with links to websites for students to find information on these programs. Again, it would be nice if there was more time so people could ask specific questions, but all the sessions were only 1.5 hours.
Finally, I attended the workshop that Barbara Colorosso facilitated. She was wonderful! For me, listening to her speak was so inspirational, she made the conference spectacular! She was the key note speaker on Thursday and the session was based on her book "Children are Worth It". She is a wonderful speaker and very interesting and easy to listen to. She has a real presence about her and I found myself not wanting the evening to end. Everything she says makes so much sense and she relates issues to the real world using examples and stories that were great.
I also attended the session that Barbara did on "Just because it's not Wrong, Doesn't Make it Right". She talked about how kids need to be taught how to make ethical decisions right from the time they are young so this knowledge will continue through their adult life. This was another great 1.5 hours! I wish she could have had more time. She had great handouts that I will take to our PAC. I wish all parents could see Barbara in action while their kids are young - I think we could have less problems in the schools with bullying and behaviour issues because she makes sense, it's interesting to listen to, and she relates the information to real life experiences.
I would like to thank DPAC and the School District for funding parents to attend this conference, I think it was well worth it and I would love to go again some day.
Thanks so much!
British Columbia Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils Spring Conference
“Getting a Grip on Leadership—
Gathering Parent Voices”
We were fortunate to have four parents attend this conference from our District with the financial partnership of DPAC SD 91, SD 91, WL McLeod Elementary PAC and BCCPAC. We are incredibly thankful for the opportunity to learn so much valuable and applicable information in this time of building parental roles in the public education system of BC.
We will provide an overview of the content of the conference and presenters, as well as a summation of what each of the participants found to be most valued.
The conference opened with a short presentation entitled animal school. I encourage every parent and education partner to right now click on this link www.raisingsmallsouls.com and click the purple animal school button. This presentation really speaks to how children are unique and have potential and how the system and society can affect children. We all know at least one of the children portrayed in the clip.
Kim Howland, President of BCCPAC then followed with sharing some moving experiences of parent advocacy and relationship building with partner groups. One theme throughout the conference was that “The kids are worth it” and that “Parental involvement greatly increases student success in every avenue”.
The Keynote speech was Courageous Conversations by Maureen Fitzgerald. She has a Ph.D. and is a lawyer, mediator and author of six books. Each participant received a copy of Difficult Conversations-How to Discuss What Matters Most. If you are interested in borrowing a copy, please email the DPAC from the index page. The main theme of her keynote was that even though conversations are challenging at times, the price paid by not having it is greater. All of us who are parent leaders need to have courageous conversations at times when dealing with difficult issues or perceived power differences. She broke down the basics of these conversations; clarify the purpose, challenge our fears, take judgments out of conversations , be present in the conversation, and above all, when something has gone wrong, to clearly
lay yourself out be completely honest and apologize. It is never too late. “In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein.
Stacey Holloway spoke on the topic “I’m a Leader, You’re a Leader”. She is an interventionist in the field of Organizational Development and Human Relations.
She went over the Model of Development. A group starts out forming, moves into storming where ideas begin competing, to norming where there is adjustment and finally performing where the unit works as a whole smoothly. Of course, there is often a return to the storming stage and the process moves forward again.
She spoke of the qualities of admired leaders, and their characteristics. 20% of members will be on board any given idea, 50% cynical, 30% will be opposed, and of those 3-5% will actually attempt to sabotage. The good news is 25% on board will break the inertia of a poorly performing group. In order to enact change there are four P’s that must be addressed: Purpose, Picture, Plan, and Part to Play. Key points to accomplish this were being focused on the goal, respect each other, listening to understand, and understanding to be heard. People resist change that is imposed but not change they help create. Setting goals in a collaborative culture will inevitably be more productive than in a state of conflict.
Stacey brought her presentation around to that of Maureen’s by stating that leadership is a series of courageous conversations with different parts of an organization and partner groups. In relation to parent leadership, it is currently a challenging, exciting time with increased legislation, a drive to improve schools and to have greater accountability at all levels.
Challenges to parent leadership are; time and responsibility, the many levels of bureaucracy, ever changing parent leaders, diversity of groups, balancing competing interests while ensuring equity, communication, and fears of being criticized. However with skillful means and clear intentions, these challenges can be over come.
Our next speaker was Dr. Emery Dosdall, Deputy Minister of Education. He went over how the current government is recognizing parents as partners in the education system to choose any school or program for their children. He stated that the system needed to be responsive and respect the opinions of parents. By getting parents involved in the decision making process, parents will make better decisions while keeping the focus on the individual child. Government has strengthened the parent voice through the creation of school planning councils, the legislation of the PACs and DPACs as education partners, and the government’s financial support of BCCPAC. He stated that the system needed to be responsive and respect the opinions of parents.
There was discussion regarding the new legislation to change school boards to new Boards of Education to encompass early learners as well as adult learners, and announced the there will be 80 Strong Start centers accessible by parents across the province by September. One in four children is currently not ready for kindergarten at their entrance age, and as a result there is a greater push towards early education.
The government is currently working on developing DVD’s for parent groups on various topics which will soon be available for distribution. There was also the Minister’s announcement from the previous day that a $600,000 grant was given to BCCPAC to develop two parents in each district (120 parents total) in the field of leadership. Supporting Parent Leadership Series will encompass a series of conferences and workshops.
We were able to have a private conversation with Mr. Dosdall about some holes that had come to light in regards to education of parents of virtual schools. PACs are unable to use their gaming funds for parent education as the regulations sit, and, as virtual schools they do not fundraise, yet the government has legislated parent roles. Most PACs use non gaming funds to be able to sponsor parent education. He was unaware, but understanding of this conflict and we will be working with his office to find a resolution to this issue.
Maureen spoke privately with the president of the BC Trustees Association, Penny Tees, about the odd situation that distributed learning parents find them in regarding representation by trustees. Many DL parents do not meet or vote for their trustees, but vote for trustees in other districts, especially in a province-wide program like EBUS. In most districts, parents are used to asking their trustees to advocate with them at the provincial level, especially around changes to education policy and legislation. How can trustees across the province hear the concerns of DL parents, especially when there is no provincial organization representing distributed learning parents at this time? Penny Tees was very interested and responsive and said that she does participate in discussions about distributed learning with the Virtual School
Society, but had not considered the DL parents’ need to connect with trustees and be included in the conversation about policies affecting DL learning. She said she would bring this up for discussion.
The conference continued on with Stacey moderating a panel entitled “In the Hot Seat, Parent Leaders at Risk”
Les Dukowski, President of the BC Principals & Vice Principals Association, spoke of the responsibility of parent leaders to speak up to the school board and to concurrently listen to responses. He also spoke about how to create a safe environment to have difficult conversations and to keep focused on students. He praised the booklet “Supporting Student Success” produced by BCCPAC with input and sign off of all the partner groups in education.
He stressed the importance of raising issues early in order to decrease the possibility that a topic becomes hot, and the importance of relationship building with partners, and listening not only to words, but the feeling and passion behind them to get a total message.
Kim Howland, BCCPAC President, shared some incredibly moving examples of parents in the hot seat. Some were personal to her, and many of the attendees were able to connect from personal experiences of their own. Schools need to be a safe and respectful place for all.
Dr Bruce Beairsto, Superintendent, Richmond opened up speaking about how education was a democracy, and that parents are seen as partners. He stated that with the policies in place, the education system does work most of the time, but that when problems do develop they are often very dramatic, and elicit highly emotional responses which make issues difficult to deal with from all sides.
He spoke of the need to have a process similar to a grievance procedure to deal with issues that were not satisfactorily resolved at other levels. He made a point of expressing that no matter the issue, do not demonize the other side as it is counterproductive and inhibits meaningful conversations.
He spoke highly of the Advocacy Project and encouraged parents to follow that guide to ensure they were following the steps of process to resolution. The self help guide for parents will be available on the advocacy page of this web site.
Penny Tees is the President of the BC School Trustees Association. She has served as a trustee for 16 years and prior to that was a PAC member for 13 years. She opened the statement “just as there are many different types of parents, there are many types of parent leaders and opportunities for such.”
The main focus must be on the student, not contentious issues. She spoke of the importance of being fair in dealing with issues by letting all involved become aware of concerns in a timely manner, and the responsibility of a board to respond in return in a timely manner with transparency.
She urged parents to seek support and guidance from trustees, board staff and principals to assist in decreasing the heat of hot topics. Parents can be inflammatory or calming on issues and diffusing the heat of a contentious issue will increase success in finding a resolution. She stated that all parent leaders should feel comfortable and welcomed in calling or emailing their trustees.
Dr. Emery Dosdall was the last speaker on the panel and summed up the discussion by stating that the Ministry believes that if they get people involved in decisions, better decisions will be made. There needs to be autonomy and inclusion of PAC, DPAC, and SPCs, and that parent leaders need to understand the political structure and how to respond to questions or access answers.
Changes to Appeals Legislation was the next topic, presented by Rick Davis, Superintendent of Achievement and Teresa Sullivan, Registrar, Student Appeals Branch. They gave a fast paced overview of Bill 20 and how it could potentially look once it is finalized. There will be much more information on this topic as the bill evolves and partner groups all have their input.
Parents, students and others that feel they did not get a fair outcome during their Section 11 appeal, will be able to take their issue to the Superintendent of Student Achievement in some cases. He invited parent input. One parent noted that even at the new provincial level of appeal, parents will be the only partner without legal representation, and that that was an inequity. Rick acknowledged this.
Rick spoke highly of the BCCPAC’s parent advocates (who had created that weekend’s conference) and encouraged parents to follow the Parent Advocacy Project’s guide, Speaking Up! This self help guide for parents is available on the advocacy page of this web site.
Gathering Parent Voices by Tom Jopling was the final presentation of the day. Tom is the Managing Director for BC Corporate Research Associates Inc. His presentation focused on methods of data and information collection to support parent input to the education system.
He stated that we have many challenges in that we are volunteer driven, we have limited time and resources, we have diverse opinions that need to be heard, and we need our voice to be taken seriously. He presented sources of information that already exist as well as methods to develop surveys to gather independent information. He also outlined the importance of avoiding bias and asking relevant questions.
Although information gathering is expensive, there are ways to gather relevant information inexpensively. For groups wishing to conduct a small survey www.surveymonkey.com is recommended as a good, inexpensive tool.
Overall, our experience was very good and empowering. We were able to network with parents from various districts through table top discussions and working sessions. We found that although we have a unique district, many districts face similar challenges for parent leaders. With the knowledge gained and new relationships, we now have more tools to move forward to making and pressing for positive changes in School District 91 for our students.
Interactive Innovations 2007
Let me begin by thanking the District for the opportunity to have two DPAC representatives participate in Interactive Innovations 2007. As a part of the working relationship of DPAC and the District, I feel it is our obligation to provide our parents as well as the District with reporting of all conference participation.
Interactive Innovations took place February 28th to March 2. This was a province wide Webcast hosted by the Ministry of Education. Each host city held a theme, with the theme in Prince George being Weaving Dreams. Lynne Reed attended both Thursday and Friday and I participated on Friday. Between the two of us, we were able to attend all sessions with the exception of Childhood Obesity. We both felt some of the presentations were extremely well done. In order to report, I will go through first Lynne’s comments to me and then my own regarding each session.
Gordon Neufeld - Reaching Troubled Kids
I could have done a full day with this guy. He barely got going and time was up. He focused a lot on developmental stages of children and the different theories. He talked about detachment with kids and how anger needs to turn to futility. I would like to do another workshop with Gordon...
Webcast - Marco Torres
Sisters Rosa & Elizabeth Ruvalcuba I was a little disappointed because Marco spoke for 15 min and the rest was about these two sisters success. Somehow Marco was able to start with 1 laptop and by applying for grants turns it into 1,000,000 in equipment? Marco focuses on who we are builds self esteem by using relevant, applicable and social ideas. Also the 4 P's....Plan, Produce, Present and (P)heedback. Students need to complete the plan before moving on to produce (equipment).
Diane Raymond & Judy Six - Instructional Grouping
Wow, how come we are not all following this theory? It seems to me that they have been very successful with this idea of grouping. I t makes sense to group more on skill than age. I have seen this some in our schools here in Burns Lake, but we could do more. Could we not have a workshop in our district?
Webcast - Dr. David Sousa
Again, I think we could have listened to him most of the day.
Interestingly, the first thing our brain learns is speech (0-3). He talked a little about the difference in gender learning. He talked a lot about the different stats he had. Again, he needed more time. I think he would be very beneficial for early educators.
Tim Power & Rory Summers - Trades Opportunities-
These two gentlemen I had all to myself? They were very informative as to what they had to offer to teenagers trying to decide what trade they might want or to training to those who had decided. It made me wish I was young again. They have some great opportunities for young people like RCMP, Fire & Rescue, Forest Service - Jr. Initial attack, BC Ambulance, Northern Int. Health Unit, PG Construction Assoc, etc......This is some on the list. They gave me names and numbers of people to contact if anyone is interested.
Webcast - Mr. Fullan
I did not find Ontario's stats helpful. He barely touched onto the handout.
As for myself, I attended on Friday. My first seminar was Talking Tables: A Kindergarten Oral Language Development Program by Kristi Clifton and Susan Crowley.
This session addressed a concern that these ladies found in their kindergarten learners in Prince Rupert. Many of them came unprepared for kindergarten and had quite limited vocabularies and speech skills. The basis of this program is to develop language skills as a precursor to literacy. They have well planned out lesson plans and have developed a teaching kit of supplies as well. The lessons all comprise of chants, auditory exercises, vocabulary activities, phonological awareness activities and fluency activities. Children are broken into small groups of four or five and each group has an adult leader. Sitting around a table EACH child takes turns in the activities which progressively build on skills throughout the year. These lesson plans take place three times a week for 20 minutes each session. They found good increases
on Hertzman scores. This seemed to be an exceptional approach and I would encourage the district to apply it in at least a couple kindergarten classes as a trial with the hope of further preparing our youngest students for literacy success. I have materials and an overview to share.
My second seminar was Equitable Futures: Strategies that work: A Canadian Perspective by Drs. Fred and Patrick Renihan.
These brothers lecture very well. They captivate their audience with brief bouts of humor while targeting in on topic. This seminar focused on individual treatment of learners. The opening statement “What is equity? There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequals.” resonated with me right away. Students come from all different backgrounds and abilities and we need to focus more on how to make each of them succeed in their own rights. Great success for one may be a disaster for another…thus different methods and outcomes become appropriate for different students. In order to truly meet a child’s needs there must be a real understanding of their situation.
Some other key ideas regarding outcomes are that of educator turnover. Low achieving student populations are more likely to be taught by teachers with three or fewer years experience and schools with higher teacher turnover and teachers teaching outside their area of expertise. I found this to be quite relevant with our northern staffing and recruitment issues.
They felt that if attachment was built to the school and education system, the students would need to feel a stake in their outcomes and then would perform better. To build attachment involvement in school activities is important, as is feeling cared for by their teachers and staff. Fostering “natural helpers” by surveying students on who they go to for help and then giving those recurrent names some leadership and peer support training proved beneficial. Students want to feel included in decisions as well. This came out in the conference wrap up also. Inclusion in discussions and areas of assessment of systems, curriculum, and policy were all mentioned as ways to promote winning attitudes.
Parental involvement was seen as very important. “Students with parents who are involved in their school tend to have fewer behavioral problems and better academic performance, and are more likely to complete secondary school.” These parents put a high value on education, a priority on homework and encourage learners in their tasks. To that end, involvements of community partners have similar outcomes. Some schools in Sask. have gone so far as to have offices for parents and community partners physically in the schools.
These gentlemen touched on many areas of achievement gaps and I would definitely read and attend more of their works.
My final presentation was a Webcast keynote by Michael Fullan. His keynote was difficult to follow as his presentation did not follow his material and he was quite heavy in jargon that as a parent I was not familiar with. However, I judiciously took notes and took as much away from the Webcast as I could and then sat at my computer once home to bridge the gaps I had. His presentation focused on ways to enact large scale reform. It was noted the BC was at an overall stagnant phase and needed to regroup to enact progression. He spoke of a balance of pressure and support, greater accountability and a constant infusion of innovation to meet goals. He touched on plateaus in progression and how to push through them. The need to connect with stakeholder groups better and permeable connectivity for information gathering. There was
also his list of “newish concepts”: Capacity building with a focus on results, learning in context, professional learning communities, lateral capacity building, de-privatization and precision, and the newest on the list; transparency(of results and processes of change). His website lists a whole section on District wide reform that some may find worth perusing. Although his Ontario stats were not in my realm of grasp, I did find that many of his theories are very applicable here.
If anyone has further questions I am sure that both Lynne and I would be happy to answer them to the best of our abilities.
Michelle Racher
DPAC Chair SD91
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