1. Why bother voting in local elections? What difference does it make?
Both the City of PG and School District 57 work with budgets of more than $120 million. Because local government is accessible, citizens can have more influence over how these tax dollars are spent than they can over provincial and federal funds. The local school board makes a difference to local schools, not just whether they stay open but about how they are managed and what programs get developed to improve success for students.
2. Why is BC behind other provinces when it comes to funding? What has our school board done to show the need for stable funding from the province besides write some letters?
BC Education is underfunded for many reasons. One of them is that education was not a big issue during the last election. Another is that our government has an agenda to reduce costs and allow more privatization of our school system. Our board has politely raised funding concerns whenever it has met with provincial representatives, and of course it has written many letters, but I think we need to be more aggressive.
3. Why are our playgrounds so sparse? What would it take to get more trees planted or more variety in the landscaping and playspaces?
When the school grounds were cleared of dead pine trees a few years ago, almost no trees were re-planted. My understanding is that senior management or maintenance department sees a cost savings in groundskeeping when it is just grass and not trees or gardens. It is always complicated to add more money to budgets when they have been recently reduced, but where there is a will there is a way. Trees and children go together, this should be a right and not a privilege. It is also an inexpensive way to make old shabby schools look a little bit better.
4. Are all of our partner groups (teachers, principals, support staff, etc.) free to advocate for their schools, students, and public education or do they have restrictions placed on them? How has the school board engaged these partners? Will the new Strategic Plan address this?
Aside from good news stories or mandatory reports, we hear quite a bit from PGDTA, CUPE, and parents. We rarely hear from PGPVPA (administration). From my conversations it seems that many of them feel there is a gag order to in place and don't get involved. Our board has not done anything that I know of to correct this situation. I will try to make open, blunt, and honest feedback a part of the Strategic Plan, but one person can only do so much. Other trustees have to be willing to see the problem and also act on it. I would love to work with the board to make this happen.
5. Why are so many busses so empty? What are some creative ideas for rethinking how to meet student transportation needs?
We reserve bus seats for everyone that says they want to use it, but many do not. This is one reason why we spend about $500,000 more than we are funded for on transportation. One idea is to have gathering stations where parents are expected to drop off their kids. From there, fewer buses could pick up more kids. These stations would have to be safe and perhaps supervised by a district employee that could call in with any problems. We could also charge based on usage, although this is not usually a popular idea. Another idea that has been floated is to offer a transportation subsidy for remote parents instead of offering bussing. We have tried this before and it resulted in savings.
6. When is a school too big? How are we planning for the future? Should any of our closed schools re-open?
Some of our schools are crowded. I am also concerned that some school properties could be sold off. If Prince George expands, we will need these school properties back to rebuild or renovate schools. Mackenzie has one elementary school (Morfee) and many parents have asked to re-open a second (Mackenzie Elementary). I would like to see a more detailed study one whether this is reasonable (money, demographics, learning conditions). They are also interested in French Immersion. So far, arguments on both sides have lacked solid evidence that convinces me of what should happen next.
7. Why are iPads a banned purchase by schools for use with staff and students? How are we actually supporting site-based management and innovation?
My understanding is that Pads were banned along with other tablet purchases (other than one pilot project) because of the potential cost. This was a decision by senior administration and not schools or the board. Perhaps they are worried that if one or two schools can use iPads in their classes then the whole district will want them, so to solve this problem they've banned them all. There is no actual policy about this, just practice. I have heard plenty from teachers and principals that they would like to make their own technology decisions and use their own technology budgets in a way that will benefit students and teachers the most. It is possible that tablet technology will come and go before our district sorts out what to do with this issue. This is too bad because many innovative teachers and principals have just given up using technology with students when it is not supported by the district. I'm quite sure we even lost a principal to another district because of this. It is wishful thinking that "bringing your own device" will solve this problem. We need to remove restrictions on technology that everyone in the educational world is already using.
8. How come new programs come and go without any data being collected about how they work and whether they are worth it? Do we have accountable spending?
I think is easier to come up with a creative idea than it is to see it through with a real plan that has parameters in place. Examples from the past include some of the 2010 school closures, the attempt to wipe out dual-track French Immersion, the rushed creation of a Northern Learning Centre choice program (which did not last two years), the choice of Student Information Systems, the AMS pilot (a new assessment system), the Essential 8 (tied to our achievement contract), and the upcoming Strategic Plan. Each one has its own issues but they all relate to data and accountability. Of course there are lots of programs that work great but the ones that have serious problems show us the areas we should focus on to do a better job. Not trying to be a party-pooper, but trustees should spend less time being cheerleaders for the district and more time focusing on problems that won't go away. When we solve those problems then we have something to cheer about. Actually we should cheer more for basic work of staff and students, and show more of it on our websites.
9. What has been done to give rural schools the same learning opportunities as urban schools? How are we engaging their parents, students, staff, communities and the regional district?
Rural schools would benefit from more site-based management, more control over budget and direction. There has been a "conversation on rural education" going on 10 years, what we need is more action. For example, are we putting the creativity and resources into better distributed learning? Have we looked into better use of itinerant teachers or alternative schedules? I would like to know that rural communities (not just schools) are developing long-term site plans and that our school district is supporting them. I would like to know that when the regional district wants to meet with the board that it doesn't take months to make it happen.
10. What are we doing to speed up diagnosis of special needs students and the added funding that comes with it? Do we have enough support staff such as occupational therapists, psychologists, and speech pathologists to deal with the needs in our schools?
This was an important issue for me because we don't have enough support staff. I tried unsuccessfully to put aside surplus funds for more of these positions (psychologists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists). Although most of the partner groups agreed, and this was part of the "ECOW" (extended budget committee) recommendations, it did not happen. Again I found myself alone in this request. I think this should be a much bigger priority for our board and district because we are talking about our most vulnerable students.
9. What has been done to give rural schools the same learning opportunities as urban schools? How are we engaging their parents, students, staff, communities and the regional district?
Rural schools would benefit from more site-based management, more control over budget and direction. There has been a "conversation on rural education" going on 10 years, what we need is more action. For example, are we putting the creativity and resources into better distributed learning? Have we looked into better use of itinerant teachers or alternative schedules? I would like to know that rural communities (not just schools) are developing long-term site plans and that our school district is supporting them. I would like to know that when the regional district wants to meet with the board that it doesn't take months to make it happen.
10. What are we doing to speed up diagnosis of special needs students and the added funding that comes with it? Do we have enough support staff such as occupational therapists, psychologists, and speech pathologists to deal with the needs in our schools?
This was an important issue for me because we don't have enough support staff. I tried unsuccessfully to put aside surplus funds for more of these positions (psychologists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists). Although most of the partner groups agreed, and this was part of the "ECOW" (extended budget committee) recommendations, it did not happen. Again I found myself alone in this request. I think this should be a much bigger priority for our board and district because we are talking about our most vulnerable students.
11. The new teacher contract has an Education Fund to hire more specialist teachers, will this meet the needs of students? How will we find out if we need more counsellors, learning assistance teachers, teacher-librarians and so on?
Specialist teachers on their own won't meet all of our student's needs, but having more rather than less is definitely going to make a difference. I think the critical part is whether each school has access to basic supports. For example if the formula determines that an elementary school is too small for a teacher-librarian position, that school has lost opportunities compared with other schools. I think that senior staff, principals, teacher reps, other partner group reps, and specialist teachers should sit down together to come up with our own targets and ratios separate from the provincial bargaining table. Maybe even two sets, what we can afford by using the Education Fund, and what we think we'd need to meet all the "specialist" needs of our students. I'd like to see this backed by evidence (data from our schools now) and not just past contract language or wishlists.
Specialist teachers on their own won't meet all of our student's needs, but having more rather than less is definitely going to make a difference. I think the critical part is whether each school has access to basic supports. For example if the formula determines that an elementary school is too small for a teacher-librarian position, that school has lost opportunities compared with other schools. I think that senior staff, principals, teacher reps, other partner group reps, and specialist teachers should sit down together to come up with our own targets and ratios separate from the provincial bargaining table. Maybe even two sets, what we can afford by using the Education Fund, and what we think we'd need to meet all the "specialist" needs of our students. I'd like to see this backed by evidence (data from our schools now) and not just past contract language or wishlists.
12. Does our school district website do enough to celebrate the good work that happens in our school district especially with the focus of the Canada Winter Games coming to Prince George?
No, our website does not yet do this. This was another point I tried to drive home over the last three years. There is no place to showcase board office staff, to celebrate cool student projects or teacher work or principal pride in their schools. Some of the school websites do this, some do not. The school website has new colours and design, but the content is still about the same. We should see some of the amazing things being done by our staff and students. All of Canada will be turning their attention to Prince George in a few months and one of the places they'll look is at our school district and our website (our schools will be used by the Games). We need better maps, stories, pictures, videos, and simpler navigation, following the three-click rule.
No, our website does not yet do this. This was another point I tried to drive home over the last three years. There is no place to showcase board office staff, to celebrate cool student projects or teacher work or principal pride in their schools. Some of the school websites do this, some do not. The school website has new colours and design, but the content is still about the same. We should see some of the amazing things being done by our staff and students. All of Canada will be turning their attention to Prince George in a few months and one of the places they'll look is at our school district and our website (our schools will be used by the Games). We need better maps, stories, pictures, videos, and simpler navigation, following the three-click rule.
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