Ministry of Education

1
Ministry of Education
Board Chair/Superintendent Meeting April 30,
2007 Moving Forward Together on Student
Achievement
2
Morning Session

• 835 Opening - Honourable Shirley Bond
• 900 Overview of the Day- Emery Dosdall
• 915 Comments from Presidents
• Penny Tees (BCSTA)
• Geoff Jopson (BCSSA)
• 930 Overview of the Legislation Sherri Mohoruk
• 1000 Table Talk
• Identification of Comments Questions
• 1020 Break
• 1040 Superintendents of Achievement Jacquie
  Taylor
• 1055 Dialoguing the Key Elements
• Appeals Rick Davis
• District Literacy Plans Paige McFarlane
  Jacquie Taylor
• Achievement Contracts Marion Turner
• 1215 Lunch

3
Afternoon Session

• 115 Panel Discussion Dialogue Other Key
  Elements Peter Owen, Paige McFarlane Sherri
  Mohoruk
• 145 School Health Paige McFarlane
• 200 Physical Activity Scott MacDonald
• 215 Table Talk
• Identification of additional comments questions
• Next steps
• 300 Break
• 315 Questions/Answers Emery Dosdall
• 345 Summary and Closure - Emery Dosdall

4
Moving Forward Together on Student Achievement

• We know what the challenges are.
• What are we doing about it?
• So this is what the Throne Speech was
  foreshadowing
• ministry restructure
• all this talk about change
• superintendents of achievement
• building on Progress Board Report
• new way of working
• legislative changes
• new focus on capacity building alongside
  accountability.

5
Changes to the School Act

• We are introducing changes to the School Act to
• increase achievement so that more students
  graduate
• increase accountability for results
• provide students and parents with more choice
• provide preschool children with the skills they
  need to succeed in school
• ensure students graduate from high school
• increase Aboriginal student results
• improve student health.

6
Boards of Education

• School Boards renamed to Boards of Education to
  reflect their broader mandate for early learning,
  community literacy and healthy living.
• develop district literacy plans
• work with community agencies and colleges
• on life-long literacy initiatives
• implement new StrongStart Centres
• work with Aboriginal people and their
• communities to improve literacy
• take a lead role in improving
• healthy living.

7
District Literacy Plans

• Boards must, on or before July 15 develop
• and make available to the public district
• literacy plans.
• Boards will work with LiteracyNow as
• well as with organizations and
• communities in their districts to ensure
• that there is a plan in place to improve
• reading skills in preschoolers, school-aged
• children as well as adults who struggle
• with literacy in their communities.

8
Early Learning

• StrongStart Centres help young children grow
  linguistically, physically and socially through
• age-appropriate activities.
• Parents are actively involved with their
• children in the centres so that they can
• use the same activities at home to ensure
• their children are better prepared for
• Kindergarten.

9
Early Learning

• Currently every school-age child is given a
• Personal Education Number or PEN in order
• to assess student performance over time and
• to help teachers develop educational programs.
• PENs will now be provided to children
• participating in StrongStart early
• learning programs to monitor the
• positive benefits of these programs.

10
Achievement Contracts

• Accountability Contracts are renamed Achievement
  Contracts.
• Achievement Contracts will include district
  specific goals for student performance and plans
  for student achievement, literacy and early
  learning.
• District performance measures will be based on
  provincial performance measures.
• Achievement Contracts must be submitted
• to the Ministry on or before July 15.

11
School District Superintendents

• School District Superintendents will be given
  expanded roles and made explicitly responsible to
  Boards of Education for learning and achievement
  in the district.
• Superintendents are required to report to the
  board each year on student achievement within the
  district for the previous school year.
• Achievement reports will be submitted to the
  board of education on or before December 15.
• Once reports are approved by the board, they are
  provided to the Minister by January 31 and made
  publicly available.

12
Superintendents of Achievement

• Superintendents of Achievement
• are lead educators appointed by the Minister to
  support schools and districts in their capacity
  building initiatives to enhance accountability
  for improvement
• report to the Deputy Minister operationally and
  may be directed by the Minister to report on
  school district matters
• work closely with District Superintendents to
  lend support to improving student achievement.

13
Superintendents of Achievement

• Duties of Superintendents of Achievement
• review student achievement and early learning
  programs in the school district
• make recommendations for improvement of student
  achievement, early learning programs and literacy
  in the school district
• at the Ministers request submit a report on the
  Superintendent of Achievements findings and
  recommendations provided to a board
• perform other duties assigned by the Minister.

14
Administrative Direction

• The Superintendents of Achievement will support
  boards in meeting their goals.
• The Minister is empowered to provide
  administrative direction to Boards of Education
  if the board is not meeting the obligations laid
  out in its achievement contract, or if it is in
  the public interest to do so.
• When administrative direction is given, a board
  remains in place and can continue to exercise its
  powers, but must take action in specified ways.
• If a board does not comply with an administrative
  directive, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may
  appoint an official trustee with all of the
  powers of the board of education, and the board
  trustees will cease to hold office.

15
Appeal Process

• Parents are provided with another avenue to
  appeal board decisions.
• Once all processes have been exhausted at the
  classroom, school and district level including
  appeal under Section 11 of the School Act,
  parents will be able to raise matters with a
  Superintendent of Achievement.
• The Superintendent of Achievement may dismiss the
  appeal or refer it to mediation or adjudication.
• The decision of the Superintendent of Achievement
  is final.
• When referred, the decision of the adjudicator is
  final.
• The adjudicator may refer the decision back to
  the Board with or without instructions, can vary
  the decision or can uphold the decision of the
  Board.

16
School Fees

• Boards of Education will be able to offer
  specialty academies with the approval of school
  planning councils and after consultation
• with the parents advisory council.
• Boards will be able to charge specialty academy
  fees that
• are in addition to the costs of providing a
  standard
• education program with the approval and
  consultation
• of that school planning council.
• Boards can charge fees
• to defray non-instructional costs to run
• specialty academies
• for the rental or purchase of musical
• instruments
• for the rental and purchase of necessary tools,
• materials or equipment used in trades training
• or apprenticeship programs.
• Boards will be required to have a hardship
• policy to apply to all fees.

17
Discipline Registry

• An online teacher discipline registry will
  include
• the name of the person disciplined
• a record of any suspensions or cancellation of
  the persons teaching certificate or letter of
  permission to teach
• a record of disciplinary action taken by the BC
  College of Teachers when the discipline relates
  to physical, sexual or emotional harm to a
  student, or conduct or competence in breach of
  the College standards.
• The reasons for the disciplinary action must also
  be reported unless it would cause significant
  hardship to the person who was harmed, abused or
  exploited.
• The Superintendent has the duty to report
  misconduct. Previously this was the duty of the
  Board.
• The Minister may appoint a special advisor to
  investigate the circumstances surrounding a
  failure to report.

18
Employment Registry

• A teacher employment registry will be established
  to assist employers in teacher selection.
• The registry will be made available to any board,
  authority or band considering becoming the
  employer of a College member or educator who
  holds a letter of permission to teach.
• A board will provide the names of any member or
  letter-of-permission holder employed by the board
  to the BCCT during the previous 12 months.

19
Codes of Conduct

• Boards must establish codes of conduct for their
  districts to help prevent bullying and harassment
  at their schools.
• Codes of conduct must meet provincial safe school
  standards set out in the Safe Schools Strategy in
  March 2004.

20
School District Business Companies

• New requirements for School District Business
  Companies
• majority of directors to be at arms length from
  the school board
• fiscal year end is June 30
• appoint auditors and prepare financial statements
• include schedule of transactions between the
  business company and school board in audited
  financial statements
• issue annual reports
• hold annual general meetings open to the public.

21
The Triple Bottom Line

• Quality
• Choice
• Results
• Student Achievement
• Increasing the Life Chances of Every Child!

22
Table Talk

• Take a few minutes at your table to discuss
  questions and/or comments that you have about the
  new legislation.
• Post your questions and comments on the wall
  charts.