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School divisions unhappy with formula
Stated aim is equity for kids
By Janet French, The Star Phoenix March 22, 2012

South East Cornerstone communicates with stakeholders

Secpsd creates ‘dipstick’ to measure grade 7 math

The South East Cornerstone School Division and the Ministry of Education have partnered to create a process for assessing the four goals of Mathematics at the grade 7 level. The project team, consisting of the Ministry of Education Math Consultant, SECPSD Math Consult ant, SECPSD Assessment Coordinator, SECPSD Curriculum Coordinator, two Curriculum Consultants and three area teachers, collaborated to create assessment tasks, rubrics, and pre and post-assessment support packages.

The intent of the project is to use the assessment tasks as “dipsticks” to measure student attainment of the four goals. Classroom assessments, both formative and summative, often focus on outcome attainment; however this assessment project highlights the importance of teaching outcomes through the goals.

Curriculum Coordinator for the Division Susan Nedelcov-Anderson noted that “as a result of this assessment process, we intend to develop a deeper understanding of the goals of Mathematics in both our students and teachers. The instruction chosen by our teachers to help our students achieve the outcomes must be based upon the development of number sense, logical thinking, spatial sense, and Mathematics as a human endeavour. This is not something additional for teachers to do in their classrooms; it is just a reminder of where their focus must be when planning their lessons and units.”

The programme highlights how well students are meeting the criteria and goals set for Mathematics. This allows the coordinators to get a ‘dip-stick’ of the current level of student performance.

Two task items have been prepared for each of the three goals: Number Sense, Spatial Sense, and Logical Thinking. The tasks are designed to assess students’ goal attainment, not content attainment.

All grade 7 students across the division sat the exam for assessment based on the aforementioned goals. Teachers from schools across the divisions were then invited to share in the process as they marked the students’ work. Each teacher was given a stack of papers to be marked individually; they then scored each paper, exchanged stacks and continued the marking process. After both sets were marked by both teachers, a collaborative discussion began within those pairs.

Teachers who shared in the assessment process were enthused about the level of involvement and acceptance by students

as well as the invaluable experiences and knowledge garnered that they will bring back to their respective schools.

The assessment results will be used at the student, classroom, school and division levels to inform instruction. In addition to providing a “dipstick” assessment, task results will provide longitudinal information to schools and to the division.

Laura Friberg of Lampman shares an observation with Tyler Fehrenbach of Gordon F. Kells

Kristy Johnson, Curriculum Consultant and Nina Lonsberry of Weldon School discuss a student’s paper.

Secpsd discusses key issues with the education sector

During the Board of Education’s meeting with Members of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly, the SECPSD sought to re-iterate the Division’s stance on matters crucial to sustainability and provided insight as to the plans and projections, as well as areas of concern for the Division. The SECPSD capitalized on the opportunity to inform MLA’s of data driven implications for student achievement in the education sector.

Among the areas for discussion and information sharing were assessment and grading practices, the bi-level bargaining, new funding model, the implementation of day care seats, student achievement, the school year calendar and addressing instructional time. One of the major areas of concern was the improvement in communication that was necessary between the MLA’s and the Board. It was imperative that structured and improved methods be utilized to ensure that there is support, transparency and accountability on the part of both entities, specifically in situations where information needs to be disseminated to the public. According to Carol Flynn, Board Chair, “…we appreciate when the Government or Ministry collaborates with stakeholders before making announcements or changes that affect education.” Flynn also noted that support from the Ministry was important to the Division and emphasized the need for greater interactions between both parties.

In discussing the autonomy of Boards, the team made references to the new funding model. Under the new funding model, school divisions might experience a decrease in governmental funding. As a growing division, the South East Cornerstone is suggesting

that a new transition plan be developed for those who will experience decreases in funding as a result of the new funding model. On the matter of finances and bargaining, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister Ted Warawa noted that there is 0% mandate for local bargaining of benefits for teachers. This he added, without any guarantees, would have to be discussed with the Treasury Board to determine if any increased costs would be covered. A lack of funding might affect student achievement efforts and continuous improvement, as Boards would be required to source funding from in-house operations. Boards are therefore in need of predictable funding if they are to be equipped to negotiate at the local level. The Panel on Student Achievement, initiated by Education Minister Krawetz and which provided membership from divisional Board members and administrators, was well received by the Division; a series of committees were initiated to develop a report from the Panel. However, with the level of effort that was expended for the collaborative process and the great recommendations that were developed, the division noted its dissatisfaction that aspects of the report which were continuously quoted were never published or shared.

Another area of discussion was the implementation of day care seats, which was received as an excellent means to an end of supporting the demand for a knowledgeable workforce. There will be continued dialogue between Early Learning and the Board of Education, as they seek to develop a workable solution.

Changes or modifications to the school calendar year was one area of concern as the SECPSD believed

that some level of autonomy should be given in order to make local decisions that support continuous improvement. Though the Division is not opposed to starting the school year after Labour Day, legislative changes may be required to ensure that student contact time is in accordance with the required minutes of instruction. The following recommendations were therefore presented by the SSBA and LEADS in order to address instructional time:

The Education Act be amended to require a minimum standard of 950 hours of instructional time within each academic year.
The Education Act be amended to enable Boards of Education to extend the school day in order to achieve noninstructional days for professional learning and preparation.
The Ministry of Education undertake a review of high school graduation credits.

The MLA’s will report their discussions to the Ministry and decisions will be communicated to the Education sector.

Secpsd leads southeast region with data warehouse

Twenty six professional administrators from eight divisions in the province, as well as Ministry and SECPSD Board members joined in a Virtual Learning Conference, as SECPSD shared data, strategies and methodologies that have been the framework for record breaking productivity and success.

The Learning Support Team, which coordinated the conference, provided data in areas of Instructional Technology, Information Systems, Assessment and Curriculum. The conference was initiated because of the growing demand from other systems for insight and information sharing based on the high standards of work being produced by the Division.

After a historical context of the division and the work being undertaken in the aforementioned areas, the team highlighted its data driven decision making process that was used for Project Greenlight. The project, a Data Warehousing Pilot Project and in collaboration with the PCG, Ministry of Education and 5 school divisions, looked at data driven versus the traditional methods of decision making and how these affected the processes of the division. By assessing their current level on the Data Continuum, the division was able to make informed decisions through strategic planning and the utilization of data warehouses such as Skovision and Skopus.

Much to the attention and appreciation of the participants, the team shared their three priority areas of Assessment, Math or Early Learning and Math, Early Learning or School Priority. These were used as the basis for developing strategies and procedures for continuous improvement as well as the indicators and what those could mean for the division.

Conference participants were given the opportunity to ask questions, which were dealt with accordingly be members of the Learning Support Team.

Secpsd p.e. teachers lauded for outstanding achievement

Perhaps it’s the resilience, commitment and goal-oriented mindset of the Physical Education teachers; the spirit of dedication and industry of the students or the team cohesiveness, and instructional framework of the SECPSD; whatever it is, the Saskatchewan Physical Education Association deems nine schools within the division worthy of the prestigious Quality Daily Physical Education Award (QDPE).

The Assiniboia Park Elementary, Gladmar Regional , Haig Elementary, MacLeod Elementary, Maryfield, Midale Central, Queen Elizabeth Elementary, Rocanville and Yellow Grass Schools will receive the QDPE banner or a QDPE year patch.

In order to qualify for the award, the schools physical education program had to meet all of the Ministry of Educations’ physical education curriculum guidelines. These

schools have joined a select number of schools from across Saskatchewan that have made a commitment to providing a high quality physical education program for their students.

The SECPSD commends the principals, teachers, staff, students and parents for their vigilance, determination, hard work and selfless sacrifices as they ensure success and achievement for every student in every school.

McGuinty faces hard choices on education

Randall Denley’s recent article in the Ottawa Citizen refers to Don Drummond’s report on Ontario Finances. He identifies challenges facing the McGuinty government in funding public education.

View Article Here

Government proposes increased funding for Independent and Associate schools

The Public Section of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association would like to join the SSBA in expressing concern and caution regarding today’s announcement by Minister Harpauer to increase funding for independent Schools to 50% and Associate Schools to 80% of the provincial per-student average.

Bert de Gooijer, Chair of the Public Section stated, “Saskatchewan has a quality public system of education for all children that needs to be valued. Ad hoc changes of this nature without any reasonable form of consultation with key educational partners have the potential to have a negative incremental affect on the quality of education of public school divisions.”

“We need to be very careful to not erode public education and public school divisions’ capacity as the core providers of education in our province. School boards have recently gone through a major amalgamation process to find efficiencies and provide equity and now the government appears to be creating funding for select operations. Will the funding come from new money or will it come from the existing pool? Will these changes impact on capital funding for public school divisions?

Finally, and to re-emphasize, it is essential that the Ministry develop a culture of consultation with the educational partner organizations that exist in our province, particularly the SSBA. School boards have a frame of reference that is available for government to tap before they formulate long term policy. It only makes sense that the government would gather all perspectives and information before they proceed with changes such as this.”

For more information you are invited to contact:

Bert de Gooijer, Chair, Public Section, 306 527 8339, email bdegooijer@pvsd.ca

New Public Schools of Saskatchewan Website Launched

The Public Section of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association is pleased to announce the release of its new website www.saskpublicschools.ca

The Public Section is a voice of advocacy for public school divisions in Saskatchewan, committed to ensuring that public school divisions across the province are of the highest quality, strongly supported by the students, parents and educational partners of Saskatchewan.

Public school education does more than educate students – it also acts as a working model of civil society, and helps to create, sustain and improve our communities. Public school education is inclusive from the classroom to the boardroom to the voting booth. Public school education is barrier free, respectful of every student, every worker and every citizen.

The goal of this website is to provide a venue and forum to share information, issues and the good things that are happening in public school divisions across Saskatchewan.

Contacts:
For more information you are invited to contact:

Bert de Gooijer, Chair, Public Section, 306 527 8339, email bdegooijer@pvsd.ca

Larry Huber, Executive Director, Public Section, 306 537 7841, email publicsection@sasktel.net

Collegiate Renewal recognized with provincial award

For the fourth time in nine years, Saskatoon Public Schools has won the Premier’s Board of Education
Award for Innovation and Excellence in Education! Ray Morrison, chair of the Saskatoon Board of
Education accepted the award at the recent Saskatchewan School Boards Association’s annual general
meeting in Saskatoon.

Collegiate renewal, with its four dimensions of belonging, potency, relevancy and competency, is the
innovation that won the award. The goal of collegiate renewal is that all collegiate students will be
engaged in their learning so they will graduate as active participants in lifelong learning and as
responsible and caring citizens in the community, nation, and world. “We want our students to want to
come to school, to want to stay in school, to graduate from school and to contribute to society,” said
Board Chair Morrison.

“We truly believe collegiate renewal is transforming what is happening in our high schools. In this our
fifth year of this strategic learning priority, we have witnessed students – especially those who have
historically struggled and disengaged from learning – become authentically engaged in their learning.”
Saskatoon Public Schools is very humbled to be the school division that has received this award four
times in the award’s thirteen year history. Previous winners were our Royal West Campus in 2003,
Literary for Life in 2006 and our Okiciyapi Educational Partnership in 2007.

The Premier’s Innovation and Excellence Award recognizes educational innovations and improvements
focused on student achievement which have been advanced or directed by boards of education. The
winning Board receives a $3,000 prize from sponsor Xerox. The prize is used to support or extend the
innovation or project.

* Taken from Saskatoon Public Media Release *

Official opening of new Porcupine Plain School

Education Minister Donna Harpauer joined students, staff, board members and community members on September 26 in a celebration to officially open the new Porcupine Plain Comprehensive School.

The Ministry of Education contributed $10.8 million toward the design and construction of the new school. The capital development project is valued at $15.9 million. The school division funded the balance of the project, which replaces the previous Porcupine Plain Composite School. “Government is proud to support the success of the students in this community through our investment in the new Porcupine Plain Comprehensive School,” Harpauer said.

“Careful planning with the community and the school division has allowed us to also integrate a childcare unit into the facility so that we can help to meet the needs of this growing community now and into the future.”
“The Board of Education has partnered with the ministry and with the school community to provide enhanced learning opportunities and bring the K-12 students of Porcupine Plain together in a beautiful new school,” School Division Board Chair Jack Rowswell said.

The new PreK-12 school will provide a safe, appropriate and more efficient educational environment. The building has been designed to incorporate the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification standard and includes energy efficiencies and accessibility features.

The school has an opening enrolment of 274 students and also includes a 24-seat child care centre.

Public Schools of Saskatchewan

Vianne Timmons to keynote at June 1st General Meeting

Regular communication important for Cornerstone

Budget 2012