BC is continuing to "enjoy" its ever active political education shenanigans. And we're hunkering down for another roller-coaster anti-standardized testing campaign by the teacher unions in early January/10.

What else is new? It's an annual event since the 70's -- any issue will do. For the last decade it's been the FSA's.

What's new? We're awaiting -- all 60 school districts -- the annual Superintendents' Reports on Student Achievement. Should see them before the end of Jan and they are supposed to make them publicly available. So, ask for them.

Anyway, I went to hear Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, BC's independent Representative on Children and Youth at the BCSTA Assemby recently and my account is below. If any reader also attended, please tell me if I heard her correctly.

All Children Count: Each Needs Someone to Care

 Quote:
"We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. We already know more than we need, in order to do this. Whether we do it must finally depend on how we feel about the fact that we haven’t so far.” (Dr. Ron Edmonds, Harvard, 1978)


Over 30 years ago the “father” of the effective schools movement said we can teach any child we care about. And we all know that life chances are better for those who are well-grounded with a good education. And that is why Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, BC’s Representative on Children and Youth, has asked the co-operation of the Ministry of Education to help in oversight and attention to children in care (CIC).

For those of us who heard her heart-rending talk to the School Trustees Academy December 4, the figures and stories were powerful and aching indeed. She said the model of the “appropriate parent” is what we should aim for in asking each school to name someone to monitor CIC -- follow their educational progress.

She said something to this effect: “If in my family I had four children, and I said to them, according to statistics, only 50 % are going to be successful…therefore two of you will fail, and two will succeed. What kind of parent am I? I want them ALL to succeed! So, we’ll try different methods…we have to pay attention…what more important place is there than school for that success in life to happen?”

She, as we all know, strongly supports FSA testing as that is one of the tools by which she can check the progress of individual CICs. Now, under MoE directive, each district superintendent is to also report on CIC’s annually. Turpel-Lafond’s speech is expected to be posted on the BCSTA website in the New Year.

She said 50% of CIC were Aboriginal. She was speaking to trustees and administrators in BC’s public education system and she too subscribes to public education (in contrast to some First Nations leaders who want separate schools) and got considerable applause during her speech and a standing ovation at the end.

But how many listened and really heard?

Thus, it is with considerable disappointment that I read about Cowichan Valley trustees objecting to the Superintendent’s Report on Student Achievement which this year has added these figures and commentary on Children in Care. See: Student Report Controversial

This Report needs the approval of the Board before being sent to the Ministry before Jan 31 and before it is publicly released. I did not see it cited on the website yet. See my article: The Purpose of Superintendents' Reports on Student Acheivement

Of the 9 trustees, 3 voted against approval, mainly for this special section in the Report. The strongest objection was from Eden Haythornthwaite, the trustee decrying reduction of trustee numbers as a “dark attack on democracy” yet who seems to want to sweep these populations under the rug: “I think we’re documenting quite petty benchmarks. Ultimately, unless the challenges and goals being identified are being reviewed in order to provide more resources to resolve them, why are we doing it?”

Sounds practical enough – but why always MORE funding? Isn’t there such a thing as SHIFTING resources to those most vulnerable and needy? The Superintendent, Dan Boudreault, said as much, “…district staff could also use the information to determine areas that need extra work.”

Apart from concluding with the reminder about the Village raising a child….I feel that recent stories about Cowichan Valley pointedly illustrate how politics is seriously interfering with education in BC. We just need remember the story of a year ago where the Ministry’s Special Advisor, Lee Southern, said this district “should spend less time politicizing and more on student achievement”.

Cease these interminable international vestiges of the class wars of old and do the real democracy at home. Use these Superintendents’ Reports (60 across the province are due for public scrutiny in January 2010) and get communities involved at using this tool for public involvement. (At last someone at HQ [Victoria] got it right! The Reports are to be short [not more than 5 pages], “reader friendly”, easily understandable and focused on results and remaining challenges.)

Give those school board trustees a hard time. It’s about time they stopped acting like acquiescent “bobble-heads”! Ask the outstanding questions that jump out from the Super’s Reports. We want to see them ALL posted on the board websites.

Otherwise the Abolish School Boards movement will continue to gather steam in BC. See my previous entry on this topic: Do School Boards Add Value to Education?

(This was published 091222 on Janet's blog story Proposal to reduce board size called "dark attack"on democracy.)

Edited by Tunya Audain (12/23/09 04:29 PM)