Education - The View from Saanich

Shifting the Blog to Saanich District Website

2010-08-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and welcome to the new (2010/11) school year. We are excited about another great year in Saanich and looking forward to greeting students and families on September 7th. So you know, I will be taking this blog down in the coming weeks and migrating over to communicating through our district website http://www.sd63.bc.ca. Our new platform allows us to have "comments" added to any message on the website, so as I post messages on the main page and post my newsletters accessible via the link under "latest news", readers will have a change to post comments, reflections or questions right there. That will serve the purpose of blogging, making this site redundant. A message will be posted here when that shift occurs.

In the meantime, please post any comments you would like right here! What's on your mind as we move into the new year? Do you have any thoughts, for example, on what government should do in terms of its commitment to "modernize the education system for the 21st century", as per the 2010 throne speech? For more on that, see the paper written by Saanich students, accessible on our website, direct linked here.

Check out "Facts in Education"

2010-05-18T09:35:00.001-07:00

Some of the leading researchers in Canada, including Michael Fullan, Ben Levin, Penny Milton and Charles Ungerleider have created a blogspot entitled "Facts in Education" which: "aims to correct factual errors in education that appear in various news media sources across Canada. The purpose of this project is not to critique the article or the news outlet, but simply to inform you of the real facts in education as supported by empirical evidence."

Their latest post brings research syntheses into the question of whether or not smaller class sizes make a difference, with the conclusion from a number of meta-analyses and specific research projects being that in the younger years smaller is better. However, this is only true if if you keep students in smaller classes for longer periods of time (perhaps K-3 as we do in B.C.) and have the right programs being taught by the right teachers supported by the right interventions for students who struggle.

The need for this leading think-tank to bring these comments to the fore through their blog came from Malcolm Gladwell making the front page with his assertion that class size "is the biggest dead end in the world", arguing that it is only and all about quality of teaching and teachers. His speech, given to a Liberal think-session entitled Imagining Ontario's Future was noteworthy in that it flew in the face of both research and the Ontario government's plans. It also hit the media, giving rise the the Facts group publishing its response as noted above.

May-June Newsletter: Budget, Secondary Futures

2010-05-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

I have posted my May-June 2010 newsletter on our district website. Click here to go directly to my newsletter or here to go the main website. In my newsletter and on our website you will find updates on the Saanich School District budget for 2010/11. In a nutshell, the news is not good on the budget front. Our Board had to make reductions totaling 5% of the budget, after reducing for enrolment decline, in order to pass a balanced budget as is required by law. We remain concerned in Saanich about the levels of provincial funding being far below the levels needed to even maintain, let alone enhance, our programs and services.

That said, we are proud of what we do in Saanich. We remain fully optimistic that public schools will continue to serve children, families and communities in ways that are vibrant, engaging and in keeping with the 21st century. Diversity and excellence are alive and well, and we invite anyone to see it "live" by contacting a neighbourhood school and connecting with the principal or vice-principal to learn more.

Alongside all that is going on in schools, we have a significant activity occurring at the district level as well. As superintendent I have taken a "21st Century Learning" presentation to our secondary schools and shared it with the board and district partners. I will be using it as a conversation starter as well at a student symposium scheduled for May 27th. Our quest is to provoke dialogue around the extent to which secondary education of today is consistent with the ideals, dreams and visions that are evolving around the world in relation to engaged learning in this age of technology and global connections. We are also interested in influencing government in relation to its throne speech commitment to "modernize the education system for the 21st century."

Comments are welcome, as always, on any of these topics. And . . . how about that new web site? It is more than just better looking; it has running in behind it a much more modern and robust "web 3.0" foundation. More interactive, more current, and more dynamic - just what we need for our tech-savvy readers.

Go Habs.

Newsletter Posted: Budget, FDK, Vision, Throne Speech, Calendar and More

2010-02-18T10:52:00.000-08:00

My January/February 2010 newsletter is posted on our district website. Remember to check our website periodically for news and updates as there is always something new, two recent examples being postings in regard to full day kindergarten and the posting of the "calendar options paper" that I presented to the board earlier this month. If you want to go straight to my newsletter, click here. Comments, as always, are more than welcome.

3 Hot Topics

2010-01-26T08:31:00.001-08:00

I'm wondering if there is any desire to share thoughts on three key issues (of many) in Saanich and across our province:
1. Foundation Skills Assessment: FSA 2010 is underway and students in grades 4 and 7 are busy completing reading, writing and numeracy assessments. Depending on where you sit, FSA is either a useful instrument for understanding student achievement and when results are aggregated up provides a useful tool for planning, or it is an unnecessary intrusion into the lives of children and teachers. I am always interested to know what people are thinking when it comes to FSA.
2. Full Day Kindergarten: Our Board, like others across the province, has made a decision in regard to FDK for September 2010 and has accepted the offer of 240 funded FDK seats for next year as we move to every child being in FDK as of September 2011. Schools in Saanich were selected based on a number of criteria related to need, space and more. FDK will be provided September in Brentwood, Sidney, KELSET, Lochside and Cordova Bay. Registration in neighbourhood (catchment area) schools is the week of February 1st, and anyone wanting to be out of catchment is invited to come to the School Board Office beginning February 8th. We will process those applications in the order in which they are received.
3. Budget 2010/11: Our budget situation for next year is, unfortunately, a major challenge. After a $3.6 million reduction (relative to carrying on with "status quo") coming into this year, we face a challenge of about $3 million as we move toward September 2010. Information on this is available on our website www.sd63.bc.ca and we invite everyone's participation in the budget setting processes that will unfold over the next few weeks.

December Newsletter - Parent Involvement, Report on Achievement

2009-12-18T08:05:00.000-08:00

If you read this blog you may already know the goings on in Saanich, but in case you haven't seen it, my December Newsletter is posted. Our November 25th Parent Involvement Evening is described there, and I can tell you that we had a great evening of dialogue around the topic: Child-Centred, Productive Conversations in the Education Community. Much of the talk focused on how to have difficult conversations based on having already created trusting relationships, particularly between parents and administrators. Also mentioned in the newsletter is the annual Superintendent's Report on Achievement that will be received by the Board on January 13th and posted to the district website shortly thereafter. On an unrelated but important matter, if you are needing information about potential snow closure days, you will see on our main web page links to the information sent home to parents early in the school year.

October Newsletter - From Vision to H1N1 and More

2009-10-28T10:04:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the end of October, with the first two months of school having been a blur of positive energy and hard work by so many in service to children and families. Sorry to be so long between posts, but I am pleased to provide you with access to my October newsletter (via this link). In the newsletter you will see an update on plans to clarify district innovations in support of our Board's declared vision of success for all learners. You will also find news on H1N1, our Olympic spirit and our class organization reporting. Please have a look and feel free to post comments here. The more dialogue the better.

September Newsletter - Back to School, Budget, H1N1 and More

2009-09-04T15:19:00.001-07:00

We are back in session as of September 8th, and as we welcome students and families we remember how proud we are to be part of a public education system that has so many successes to celebrate. We are also deliberate and strategic about how we face our challenges, some of which are captured in my September newsletter. Although the provincial budget protected the core operating grants for school districts, other cuts will have real impacts on our day to day operations this year, including the loss of the annual facilities grant. You can read about the loss of the AFG and more by checking the BCSTA (school trustees) website. You will also see in the September newsletter, as well as on our district website, updates on how we are preparing for any possibility of H1N1 influenza. As usual, feel free to post comments here. I am interested to know what is on your mind.

Excited to be Back

2009-09-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to September everyone. I will post a newsletter in the coming days with updates on everything from our enrolment (higher than expected) to the budget (lower than expected) and H1N1 (we're ready, but hoping it will be less than expected).

In the meantime, please know that we are excited and optimistic about the year. Please comment here if there is anything that you would like to know as we enter the 09/10 year, or if there is just anything you'd like to air.

Looking forward,

Keven

Into the Summer

2009-07-13T08:49:00.001-07:00

Thank you, everyone, for another great year in Saanich. 2008/09 brought many successes, some of which I have noted in my June newsletter, not the least of which was the way we came together as a community to deal with our budget challenge for 2009/10. Even with the reductions, we are looking forward to another great year for public education in Saanich and across the province as a whole.

We are also interested to see the emergence, at least informally, of a province-wide dialogue about funding. People are wondering about funding levels, the mandate for public education (does it match the funding?) and the potential for some efficiencies to be found system-wide. I look forward to hearing more about that as we move into the fall. Meanwhile, I wish all of you the best possible summer and a great start to the new school year.

So Much to Celebrate

2009-06-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

As we head into grad season I just want to comment how proud I am to be an educator in the Saanich School District. Our graduation ceremonies that are held every June serve as reminders of the many successes that our students have had during their years in school. We are also reminded of the bright futures that lie ahead for our grads and, thankfully, for society as these fine young people move off into the world. Public education is thriving in the 21st Century and much of that credit goes to the families who continue to be positively involved in their schools and to the teachers, support staff and administrators who go beyond the call of duty every day to make children's experiences rich and relevant. Thanks to you all, and best wishes to our grads. For those who are not yet done, even if you are of an age where you feel that you should be, stay true to your plans and allow us to keep working with you in whatever way best suits your life circumstance. It is worth the effort, and so are you.

Budget Passed in SD 63 Saanich

2009-05-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Board of Education passed its 2009/10 budget at its public meeting of May 6, 2009. It incorporates $3.6 million of reductions, some of which was managed through enhancing revenue from distance and international education, but the large majority of which came from actual cuts. You can check the details by going to our website, or go directly to the complete list of reductions here, and the Board's media release here.

One thing to make clear is that Saanich remains a first-rate school district within a first-rate public education system . At the same time, we have to realize that we are $3.6 million short of being able to do next year what we are doing this year. Credit goes to the Board of Education for keeping those reductions as far from the classroom as possible, but we will certainly need to call on the considerable good will that exists among our employees, parents, students and community partners to minimize the impact of these significant reductions.

April/May Newsletter - Memorials, Successes, Budget and Early Learning

2009-05-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in having a look at my April/May newsletter, click here. I have listed a number of district successes ranging from our 700 grade six students cleaning up the beaches on Earth Day to Lochside Elementary School hosting a showcase event to celebrate their very successful Scientists in Residence program held through April. You will also see in the newsletter tributes to Marika Townshend and Doug Carswell as well as an overview of the Board's budget deliberation. Early learning is also featured, with reference to the BC School Superintendents Association spring forum that featured brilliant insights from people such as Stuart Shanker, and that brought school and early learning partners together from across the province. Click here for a link to the BCSSA website to see more.

Remembering Marika

2009-04-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

As many of you who read this blog will know, we lost a very special person on April 23, 2009. Trustee Marika Townshend, who had served on the Board of Education in Saanich since 1999, was taken by cancer, but her spirit will carry on in all of us for years to come. Marika cared deeply about public education, and extended her Trustee work by serving in many other official capacities (Vancouver Island School Trustees Association, Vancouver Island Labour Relations Council, BC Public School Employers Association, and more). She served the community of North Saanich and the citizens of the entire Saanich School District with passion and commitment, including right up to our last Board meeting on April 8. Marika knew, was known by, loved, and was loved by innumerable people, and we will miss everything about her. Please feel free to post a comment here so that we can together remember this special person.

March Newsletter . . . and more about the budget

2009-03-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

I have posted my March newsletter on the School District 63 website. You can access the March newsletter directly by clicking here. In addition to some bouquets for the wonderful coaches, managers and volunteers who support our extracurricular programs I have offered some advice for people in regard to online social networking as well as an overview of how we use our six designated non-instructional (professional development and planning) days in Saanich.

Of greatest urgency, however, is a reminder of processes that the Board of Education has put in place for finalizing our 2009/10 budget. The post below provides more information, including links to the information that we have posted on our website. As you may know, this is a particularly challenging year; we have some very difficult work to do in order to reduce expenditures by 5% and maintain the high quality of programs and services that characterize Saanich. I would urge you, if you are a member of the Saanich learning community, to read further below, then do what you can to contribute to the discussions in person or online.

Budget Reduction Options Up for Commentary

2009-03-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

We now have our budget information for 2009/10 and have confirmed our need to reduce the school district budget by $3.6 million next year. Before talking about those necessary and dramatic cuts (see next paragraph), I must say that I appreciate that government came through on its commitment to fund education at the level promised one year ago. During these tought times it was gratifying to see that the education ministry did not see reductions. That said, we remain concerned on two levels. One is that the allocation system seems not to reflect the true needs in districts. The money that is sent may need to be divided up differently. The other is that the relative increase in funding (same money, fewer students) is not keeping up with the real cost of providing educational services. Thus the need to cut. This was rather well captured in the Times Colonists editorial of March 17, 2009. We hope to see a review of the funding model in the coming year and would, of course, be happy to participate.

However, even as we press for provincial dialogue on education funding, we have work to do. Our immediate task is to prepare a balanced budget in May, and we can only do that by cutting $3.6 million worth of programs and services. Make no mistake. This will be a difficult and painful exercise. We have published our list of budget reduction options, along with implications, and are looking for feedback, either through the processes described on our website or directly to budget@sd63.bc.ca, or via responding to this posting. We need all the help we can get. You will see some serious reduction options including eliminating a number of education assistant jobs, reducing by 10 enrolling teachers (after reducing by 6.5 for enrolment decline), reducing the school calendar, closing one of our individual learning centres, and more.

Please contribute to the budget dialogue. After reducing steadily for 12 years, we have hit a cliff unlike any we have encountered before. Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement.

February Newsletter - It's Budget Time

2009-02-24T15:24:00.000-08:00

My February newsletter is up on our district website. If you wish to bypass the main page you can go straight to the newsletter by clicking here. Topics include assessment, planning and the use of upcoming non-instructional days, but the most pressing topic in the newsletter, as it is across our entire district right now, is budget.

As you will see in the newsletter, and by accessing the budget information on our district website, we have a serious challenge in moving toward 2009/10. For a variety of reasons, including funding not keeping up with costs, and enrolment decline resulting in more money being taken out of the budget than can be saved through cost reductions, we have a $3.6 million shortfall looming. That represents about 5% of our overall budget and with resources directed primarily to classrooms we are concerned about the impact that this type of reduction will have.

I encourage any of you in the communities served by our school district to engage in the processes described in the budget planning documents available via our website or on request from the office of the Secretary Treasurer.

Of course, your thoughts are welcome here as well.

January 2009 Newsletter - Focus on FSA

2009-01-26T09:57:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-03T22:00:00.001-08:00

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.

December Newsletter Including Grad Rate Comments

2008-12-11T07:25:00.000-08:00

My December newsletter is posted on our district website, and you can get straight to that newsletter by clicking here. You will see reference to our six-year completion rate, which refers to the percentage of students who receive a Dogwood certificate within six years of starting grad eight. My commentary in relation to these new data include the following:

The published completion rate for Saanich is down from 78% to 72%.
There is a more accurate "adjusted rate" that needs to be calculated. That number is being determined but we know it to be well over 80%. The adjusted rate comes from taking out 60 international students who were not here to graduate and who went home as expected. The adjusted rate also incorporates the large number of non-Saanich students who registered briefly at the South Island Distance Education School. By not registering again in their home districts they became ours only for the purpose of this statistic.
Notwithstanding the adjustment that puts us over 80%, we are dissatisfied with these results and will continue to enact plans to generate greater success for more students.
The most troubling statistic is our 21% First Nations completion rate. One upside is that we know every one of those non-completers and we are in contact with them and their families to support ongoing connection to school. Also, our strong partnership with the W'SANEC communities and our Board's productive relationship with the Saanich Indian School Board mean that there is great hope for improvement in our mutual support for the strategies outlined in the Education Enhancement Agreement signed last spring (posted on our district website).

I would be curious to know your thoughts on all of this.

Keven

Technology Planning - Responses Welcome

2008-11-30T18:36:00.002-08:00

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. After that 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. Everything we hear will be incorporated into our thinking and planning. Thanks for your help.

Board Sworn In - Chair Elected

2008-11-30T18:32:00.000-08:00

As you will probably know, our newly elected Board consists of: MaryLynne Rimer, Helen Parker, Elsie McMurphy, Edith Loring-Kuhanga, Jane Husband, Marika Townshend and Jim Standen. Our seven trustees were sworn in on December 8, 2008 and at that time elected MaryLynne Rimer as Chair and Elsie McMurphy as Vice-Chair. Congratulations to all.

Please remember, if you have anything you want to talk about, including things that you want to get to the ear of trustees, this blog one of many ways to do that.

October Newsletter and Organization of Classes

2008-10-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

I have posted my October newsletter for your viewing (hopefully) pleasure. It can also be viewed from our district's home page.

One topic that I have posted relates to class size and composition. As readers may know, Section 76 of the School Act lays out the requirements in relation to class size (maximum size and highest allowable average for kindergarten and grades 1-3) as well as class sizes beyond which teachers must give consent (grades 4-7) or be consulted (grades 8-12) and highest allowable averages for grades 4-7 and 8-12. The Class Size Regulation provides direction for how those calculations are to be made and defines what is meant by consultation. The Act also requires principals to consult with teachers for classes which have more than 3 students with identified special needs and for whom an Individual Education Plan is required under the IEP Order.

As I said in my newsletter, we do our best to allocate resources to schools in ways that optimize programs and services, yet we still find ourselves with some classes that are rather large and complex, and we do what we can to support our teachers and support staff in serving the needs of a wide range of students. All of the work of class organization and principals' consultation with teachers has led to the preparation of a spreadsheet report that lists all of the classes in our school district along with for each class the number of students, the number of identified students with special needs, and a rationale for any class over 30. This report will be submitted to the Minister then posted to our district website and to a Ministry website by the end of October as required.

Upcoming Trustee Elections

2008-09-18T11:18:00.001-07:00

As I have mentioned before, it is important to keep public education front and centre as so many issues compete for air time during a year in which we are scheduled to have federal, provincial, municipal and trustee elections. Even as you contemplate so many critical issues facing you as a voter, on so many levels, what is on your mind when it comes to public education? What should trustee candidates be thinking about as we move toward November elections for Boards of Education?

For your information, the BC School Trustees Association has developed an extensive set of resources that can be accessed via the BCSTA website, including links to viewable and downloadable Frequently Asked Questions and a document entitled Stand Up for Public Education: Become a School Trustee. The FAQs include:

1. What, exactly, is a school trustee? A school trustee is a member of a locally elected board of education, responsible for representing the community’s voice in public education. Trustees set local policy, employ school district staff, prepare and approve the district’s budget, approve local courses and resource materials among many other duties.

2. Why do we need school trustees? School trustees identify and represent their community’s priorities within the context of the school district’s needs as a whole. BC is large and diverse, with different priorities in each district. No central authority could represent all communities’ interests. School trustees work within their boards to meet their communities’ unique requirements.

Topics of Interest

2008-09-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to CFAX, the Times Colonist and other media outlets for picking up on our news release regarding this blog. It seems as if there is growing interest in using this medium for community dialogue regarding public education in Saanich and across British Columbia. I would like to keep this dialogue alive and relevant, so would invite readers to post topics through the "comments" link. I and others will be happy to take the topic as a starting point for an airing and sharing of views on things that matter to you.

For example, I wonder if people would like to share views here on the province's feasibility study around extending from half-day to all-day kindergarten and creating early learning and care environments for 4-year olds and 3-year olds in our schools. Or perhaps environmental issues as they relate to education? Healthy schools and daily physical activity? Over to you . . .

Parent Advocacy

2008-09-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure last night of attending an excellent workshop sponsored by our District Parent Advisory Council (COPACS) and hosted by BCCPAC advocacy leaders Cathy Bedard and Janet Phillips. About 50 people enjoyed a well hosted evening. With parents, teachers, administrators, community partners, trustees and friends from neighbouring districts in attendance it was good to see more evidence of our vibrant and extensive partnerships in Saanich. We were reminded that true and solution-focused advocacy for children and families is based in strong relationships and clarity around rights, information, voice and inclusion. We also talked about how barriers can so easily come up through lack of common understanding of the issues, the pathways to resolution of concerns and the degree of urgency to the parent. If we misfire on any of those, conflict can so easily arise.

We talked about barriers last night, about what prevents good communication, advocacy and collaborative problem-solving. I am equally interested in what it looks like when it is working. So . . . my question: What does advocacy look like at its best, and what do we in the system have to do to ensure that parents are genuinely invited into problem-resolution conversations and processes when something isn't working?

September Newsletter

2008-08-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

As we move into the new school year we are reminded of how much we appreciate the fine work of our staff members, the many successes of our students, and the great partnerships that we have with parents and members of our community. We are also thinking about things like the provincial government's feasibility study on all-day kindergarten and school-based programs for 4-year olds and 3-year olds. This issue has significant implications for schools and for families. We have provided district input into the study, and would encourage you to check the information on the provincial early learning website.

This and other topics are covered in my September "Superintendent's Update" which is now posted on our School District 63 website. After you have read the newsletter please feel free to come back and post comments.

Ad Campaign

2008-08-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

This is a copy of the second in a series of ads that we have placed in our two local newspapers, The Saanich News and the Peninsula News Review. Sorry that it's not very readable here, but you can see that our focus is "Teach Life" with five ads speaking of trades, academics, global citizenship, athletics/health and the arts. Our Board of Education undertook this ad campaign as a way to inform our public about the successes and challenges of public education in the 21st century. The successes include the ways in which we are supporting every child, right from our most vulnerable learners to those who are graduating with every tool that they need to thrive in our complex society. Our challenges include being able to manage our rising costs, not only of things like fuel and materials, but of the innovations required for teaching and learning in today's technology driven world. Our hope is that these ads will generate interest and dialogue in our communities. We want people to inquire as to what is happening in today's schools and to develop levels of awareness that will create advocacy for a strong public education system. I look forward to your thoughts and input.

Welcome

2008-08-25T12:51:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the startup of my Superintendent's Blog. I am interested in hearing from and talking with people who care about public education . I would particularly like to hear from those people who are connected in some way with School District 63 Saanich in British Columbia. My plan is to post links to my monthly newsletters as a way to initiate discussion and solicit feedback, and beyond that to use the blog as an ongoing way to stay in touch. Public education is, after all, the foundation of a healthy democratic society, and this form of communication is one of many ways to stay in touch in support of our children and our future. I look forward to the dialogue.