January 2009 Newsletter - Focus on FSA

My January newsletter is up on our district website at http://www.sd63.bc.ca/super_newsletter.htm.

Included is an overview of where we are with the Foundation Skills Assessment for 2009. FSA is currently the subject of controversy in that teachers have voted to not prepare for, administer or mark the FSA in 2009. Part of the challenge, aside from people's beliefs about assessment in general and the FSA in particular, is that Boards of Education, as employers, are needing to deal with this as an employment issue. Each Board, as an employer, is having to decide how to deal with teachers standing down from what is their normal work. But whether this is job action or political action, someone has to administer the FSA and in most districts while the "work requirement" issue is being worked out contingency plans are being made to have FSA overseen by principals and vice-principals if necessary, supported as possible by each Board.

The FSA is currently the only province-wide measure of student performance in relation to the BC Performance Standards for reading, writing and numeracy. While there are legitimate concerns about how much emphasis is put on a one-time snapshot assessment and how the scores are used (inappropriately and harmfully) by external agencies to rank schools, there is also a legitimate concern framed by some as "if not FSA, then what?" What is needed is a province-wide dialogue about high quality, consistent, standards-based assessment that works for students, teachers, parents and the system. We need a standards-based way to understand student learning and to plan for school or system level improvement.

In the end, we may find that FSA is still the best instrument, and that having every student do the assessment every year makes sense. We may find something better, perhaps through a different way of administering that same FSA. Meanwhile, this is a mandatory assessment and one that we will be sure is administered in Saanich as is the case in other districts. Then . . . on to that high level dialogue. I am interested in your thoughts.

Technology Plan REPOST - New Comments Welcome

REPOSTED:

Comment here or down four posts to the original (there is already a good conversation underway there).

Public education is looking to take full advantage of the opportunities afforded by information and communication technologies. Our Director of Information Systems, Gregg Ferrie, is leading us through a planning process designed to provide the Board with a new comprehensive technology plan.

We have placed a response document in the form of a powerpoint presentation on our district website, and we are welcoming responses until Monday, January 19, 2009. Of course, responses are welcome beyond that date, directly to Gregg at gregg_ferrie@sd63.bc.ca. We will take a revised draft to the Board in February. All of this is designed to have the new 3-5 year plan in place before the end of the school year. Please visit the website, have a look, and respond if you are so inclined. Comments are welcome here on the blog as well as Gregg is monitoring and is happy to respond directly to anyone who submits feedback. Everything we hear will be incorporated into our thinking and planning. Thanks for your help.

Back in Action

My apologies everyone. My blog has always been set to allow all comments to be posted without being moderated (if anything inappropriate was posted I could just delete it, but that was never necessary). Somehow in mid-December my setting changed to "always moderate" meaning that a large number of comments posted by you were held until I could review them. Needless to say, when I realized that was the case I reverted back to auto-posting, so we're back in business. Thanks for your continued viewing and commentary. As always, new topics are welcome, whether you want to be in dialogue with me as Superintendent of Schools in SD 63 Saanich or as President of the BC School Superintendents Association.