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February 19, 2008 | Vol. 20, No. 06WHAT'S INSIDE?Register now for OPSBA's Labour Relations Symposium 2008 and in partnership with Ontario Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) Register now for OPSBA's Labour Relations Symposium 2008 and in partnership with Ontario Association of School Business Officials (OASBO)Don't wait for the last minute to register for OPSBA's 2008 Labour Relations Symposium from March 27 to 29 at the Sheraton Centre Hotel. This Symposium provides topical professional development sessions that help you stay on top of your field. This unique program covers a variety of issues and skills development, including: Opening Reception - Take advantage of this excellent opportunity to network with colleagues and invited guests. Closing Panel: Perspectives on a Bargaining Year Large Plenary Sessions:
Workshops include:
Program brochures, including the registration form, were mailed to all OPSBA member boards for distribution to Senior Labour Relations/Human Resources Practitioners, Senior Business Officials, Trustees and school board staff. The brochure and registration form are also available online. A special guest room rate of $172 plus taxes (single or double) has been arranged for delegates at the Toronto Sheraton Centre Hotel. Please phone hotel reservations directly at 416.361.1000 or 1.888.627.7175 and ask for the OPSBA group rate before the February 27, 2008 cut-off date. Reserve early as availability is limited. If you encounter any problems regarding room reservations, please contact Ernesta Graham. For more information: Ernesta Graham, Events Coordinator, ext.115; or Vicky Skypas, Manager, Labour Relations Services, ext.119 IMPORTANT — March 27 PLRN Meeting is CancelledThe Provincial Labour Relations Network (PLRN) meeting scheduled to be held in conjunction with the joint OPSBA-OASBO 2008 Labour Relations and Human Resources Symposium on Thursday, March 27 has been cancelled. For more information: Vicky Skypas, Manager, Labour Relations Services, ext.119 20th AGM & PROGRAM 2008
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When: |
June 12 — 15, 2008 |
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Where: |
Sheraton on the Falls Hotel and Conference Centre |
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Who: |
Trustees, Directors of Education, supervisory officers, student trustees and other board members are encouraged to attend this annual OPSBA conference. |
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Hotel: |
Book early to avoid disappointment! |
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HOTEL CUT-OFF DATE: |
May 12, 2008 |
Watch OPSBA’s Fast Reports for regular updates and future announcements.
The Registration Form and the Preliminary Program will be available online in April.
For more information: Gail Anderson, Executive Director, ext.109;
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Don't Miss Your Chance to Submit Nominations for OPSBA Awards Program
The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association's Awards Program strives to recognize some of the outstanding contributions made to the public education system by individuals across Ontario.
It’s not too late to nominate a student, teacher or trustee you would like to recognize for making a difference.
Complete information on the awards, including the nomination form and terms of reference, is available online (link). Please take a few moments to review this online information.
The following is a summary of the OPSBA awards:
Jack A. MacDonald Award of Merit — recognizes the achievements of an outstanding student for a sound academic record and outstanding community service and leadership.
The Fred L. Bartlett Memorial Award — presented to an active or retired member of the teaching profession for an outstanding contribution to education throughout Ontario, including activities such as constructive participation in education affairs over a number of years or recent participation in a specific project that has had a significant impact.
The Dr. Harry Paikin Award of Merit — awarded to an active or retired public school trustee for outstanding service.
Achievement Award and Award of Excellence — recognizes the outstanding contributions of non-teaching staff, parents, volunteers and community partners from Member Boards. This award provides an opportunity to raise awareness and to promote the importance of celebrating excellence. It also emphasizes the importance of recognizing the contributions of all members of the education community.
The Bernardine Yackman Memorial Award — awarded for dedication, commitment and an outstanding contribution to education with special recognition for Northern Ontario service. The deadline for nominations for this particular award is September 12, 2008
All nominations, except for the Bernardine Yackman Memorial Award, must be received at the OPSBA office no later than 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 18, 2008.
For the Bernardine Yackman Memorial Award, the nomination deadline is September 12, 2008.
See
OPSBA Awards
For more information contact: Mary Adams-Cuffy, Awards Coordinator, ext.101
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OPSBA Submission to the Review of the Roots of Youth Violence
The Review of the Roots of Youth Violence was established in the summer of 2007 to help identify and analyze the underlying causes contributing to youth violence and provide recommendations for Ontario to move forward.
During the summer, the co-chairs, former Chief Justice and Attorney General Roy McMurtry and former Speaker of the Legislature Alvin Curling, along with a small secretariat, have been establishing processes and a framework for the Review. The Review will involve three key areas: research, targeted consultation and community insights.
- Research: reviewing Canadian and international academic research and other literature on the root causes of youth violence and community crime prevention strategies, and developing an inventory of Ontario programs concerning or addressing youth violence,
- Targeted consultation: meeting with representatives of social agencies, the justice community, youth groups and others who may offer advice,
- Community insight sessions: engaging with various communities across Ontario to hear first hand from community members, leaders and youth about the impact of youth violence and ways of addressing it at the local level.
The Review will also ensure that all Ontarians have means of participating and providing feedback to the secretariat. The report will be presented to the premier in May 2008.
About the Review
Investing in our youth and communities
This Review will help identify what contributes to youth violence and provide recommendations to continue building safer, stronger communities. The government asked that the Review:
- Build on existing investments in Ontario’s public education system, in creating opportunities for young people, in making schools and communities safer and on the important work of previous reviews and key partners including the City of Toronto and the United Way,
- Consider existing provincial investments and programs related to child development, youth violence and youth at risk and to creating educational and employment opportunities for young people,
- Assess approaches used in other jurisdictions to evaluate potential for successful application in Ontario’s context,Identify further opportunities for prevention of violence and the rehabilitation of youth.
The Review will carry out its work by examining youth violence and its underlying causes making recommendations to:
- Create opportunities for youth to maximize their potential,
- Make communities and schools safer,
- Begin immediate and longer-term actions and solutions involving all interested parties, including government (provincial, federal, municipal), communities and the private sector,
- Establish improved coordination between governments and with community agencies in planning and delivery of programs,
- Meaningfully engage youth, leaders, faith-based groups, neighbourhoods, police and social services agencies in developing shared outcomes and objectives,
- Develop ongoing mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating effectiveness of investments, programs and services.
On Friday, February 15, OPSBA president Colleen Schenk and John Muise of the Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness made a submission to the Secretariat on behalf of OPSBA member boards. The speaking notes from the submission are available online. In addition, Dr. Peter Jaffe, trustee from Thames Valley District School Board presented to the Secretariat on behalf of the Violence in the Media Coalition of which OPSBA is a member. This presentation is also available online.
See
Submission to the Review of Roots of Youth Violence — Speaking Notes
Dr. Peter Jaffe's Presentation
For more information: Jeff Sprang, Director of Communications, ext.111
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OPSBA in the MEDIA
Most GTA schools making the grade; Local elementary schools score above provincial average in Fraser Institute study
As reported by Sarah Green, Toronto Sun, February 17
The Fraser Institute's 2008 Report Card on Ontario Elementary Schools is a guide for parents to analyse and compare the performance of schools and to assist them in choosing schools for their children. The report card alerts parents to nearby schools that appear to have more effective academic programs. It also can assist parents who want to make improvements in their children's schools. The report card compiles the rankings using the standardized test scores from the province's Education Quality and Accountability Office. The complete 2008 Report Card on Ontario Elementary Schools can be downloaded from the Fraser Institute's website: fraserinstitute.org
Some GTA elementary schools are picture perfect.
A total of 18 local schools earned first-place rankings in the Fraser Institute's 2008 report card on Ontario elementary schools, released today.
In all, 25 schools across Ontario tied for first place, each earning a 10-out-of-10 rating.
And four schools in the GTA have received a perfect 10 rating over the past five years -- Toronto's Seneca Hill, Roy H. Crosby in Markham and Unionville's St. Justin Martyr and William Berczy schools.
"I'm very proud of the students here," said Seneca Hill principal Morag Killackey. "They have high standards for themselves. Their parents do as well."
The annual report card ranks 2,786 elementary schools in Ontario based on the results of standardized tests in reading, writing and math written last spring by Grade 3 and Grade 6 students. The tests are administered each year by the province's Education Quality and Accountability Office, or EQAO.
A special 12-page pullout section in today's paper shows you how 1,026 GTA schools ranked provincially, with standings presented regionally for Toronto, Durham, York, Halton, Peel and Mississauga.
You can also find detailed tables evaluating the academic performance of each school online at torontosun.com/reportcard or the complete 2008 Fraser Institute Report Card on Ontario Elementary Schools at fraserinstitute.org.
"(Parents) can use it as a source of information how the school is doing in academics," said Peter Cowley, director of school performance studies with the Fraser Institute. "Is it a good academic school? The report card can certainly answer that question."
Founded in 1974, the Fraser Institute is a non-profit think tank headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. Among other research projects, it produces annual report cards on schools in five provinces.
Using the test data to rate schools on a scale of 0 to 10, the majority of the Toronto-area school boards scored above the provincial average of 6 with York's Catholic and public boards earning 7.4 and 7.1 respectively. The York Region boards were the third and fifth highest rated boards in Ontario.
The only GTA board to fall short of the provincial average, according to the Fraser Institute report card, was Durham's public board which earned a 5.6 rating.
But according to EQAO figures for the Durham public board, the results for students in both Grades 3 and 6 last year virtually equalled the provincial average. The number of students meeting the provincial standard -- a B grade or higher -- in the standardized tests also jumped dramatically in the past five years, soaring 17% in both Grade 3 reading and math and 13% in Grade 6 reading. The remaining tests all saw 7% gains in the past five years.
No school in the GTA earned the lowest rating of 0.
The report card is not a complete list of Ontario's 4,017 elementary schools. The rankings exclude schools which don't have both Grade 3 and Grade 6 classes as well as private and federally funded schools which aren't required to administer the tests (although some do) and schools with less than 15 students in each of the grades.
Cowley urged parents to use the report card as "one source of information" to assess their children's schools. He also suggested parents visit schools, speak to principals, teachers and other parents and check out school websites.
"It is an annual audit of how the school is doing in academics," Cowley said. "The report card has no bias whatsoever."
The Fraser Institute report card has its critics, however. Some call it shallow while others say it's unfair to rank entire schools solely on standardized testing data.
"The scores are really raw data until they're translated into the context of the school community," said Lyn Sharratt, superintendent of curriculum and instructional services with the York Region District School Board. "What the scores don't tell you are all the things a community might do to help children."
RANKINGS UNRELIABLE?
Educators use the EQAO data to determine where students need help and where more resources are needed, "not to pit one school or community against its neighbours," said Colleen Schenk, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association.
The rankings, based solely on test data, also ignore students' everyday performance in the classroom, Schenk said. "We all know we can have off days."
Researchers at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University last year called the rankings unreliable and "error prone," finding there were 19 to 1 odds that any particular elementary school's ranking could be 1.1 points higher or lower than in the report.
But Cowley defended the rankings as "one of the most beneficial uses of province-wide testing, like EQAO."
Schools cannot expect to improve their performance without a yardstick to measure their success, he said.
"You need the capacity to compare levels of achievement," Cowley said. "I believe any educator ... if somebody comes out with a report on your organization, your school, you would want to consider it."
Cowley said 34% of Ontario's elementary students did not meet the province's expectations in last year's tests. This compares to 16.6% in B.C. and 11.9% in Alberta.
"Why is that?" Cowley said. "As far as the test is concerned, you've got a whole lot of kids that aren't meeting expectations. Is that because the test is a bad test -- it doesn't meet the curriculum? If it is a good test of the curriculum, why aren't these kids learning?"
Michael Kozlow, EQAO's director of data and support services, said it's unfair to compare provinces which use different tests and set different standards.
He said Ontario's standard is an "ambitious goal" for students to reach. "It's something I think all parents would like to see their children reach. It does mean a high level of mastery," Kozlow said.
Since students began writing the Grade 3 tests a decade ago and the Grade 6 exams two years later, "we've had very significant improvement and maintained that," Kozlow said.
The rate of improvement has slowed with last year's results seeing a 1% gain from the previous year, Kozlow said, noting "we haven't seen it drop. We're looking forward to this year's results to see if we're levelling off."
FARED WELL NATIONALLY
Ontario students have also fared well in national and international assessments where students across the country and around the world write the same test, he said.
The results of an international literacy study, released late last year, showed Ontario, with nearly 4,000 Grade 4 students writing the test, ranked behind only Russia and Hong Kong. Ontario tied with eight other jurisdictions, including B.C. and Alberta, and ranked well ahead of 34 others, including England, France, the U.S. and three Canadian provinces.
"Ontario students are comparing very well," he said.
Kozlow noted the EQAO strongly disagrees with using data to rank schools.
"It leads to a very simplistic comparison with no information of why a school's scores are high or low," Kozlow said. "It leads people to make snap judgments."
A range of factors can affect test scores from year to year, including the number of students writing the exams at a particular school to the proportion of students who don't speak English as their first language, he said. The report card also fails to consider all the other factors that shape a school, from arts to athletics to extracurricular activities.
Kozlow called the test results a "snapshot of achievement," intended to help teachers and principals improve instruction and learning in schools.
"It should not be a catch-all proxy for labelling a good school or a bad school," Kozlow said.
HURT MORALE
David Clegg, president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, was blunt in his assessment of the Fraser report card.
"The rankings serve little purpose," Clegg said.
The report's use of EQAO scores, which measure literacy and numeracy skills from a few hours of testing, doesn't give the whole picture of elementary schools, he said. The rankings also hurt morale in schools.
Clegg also noted elementary students received $711 less funding per pupil from the government than high school students.
This means there's not a full-time librarian in every school, fewer resources and larger class sizes despite a cap on primary grades, he said.
The elementary teachers' federation has launched a "Close the Gap" campaign to highlight this discrepancy.
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At last, some provincial action on poverty
As reported by Frank Etherington, Waterloo Record, February 14
Two recent developments have made me a little more hopeful something meaningful might finally be happening to reduce poverty in Ontario.
The first was the welcome formation of a new Liberal cabinet committee on poverty reduction that this month began its work to develop a comprehensive government strategy that could -- I emphasize the word could -- provide help for poor families and set some firm targets to achieve overdue results.
Because the provincial government is slowly waking up to the fact poverty often has a hugely negative impact on learning, John Milloy -- the minister of training, colleges-universities and the MPP for Kitchener Centre -- is one of the 14 members on that special committee.
The second development has to do with the formation and increasing momentum of a network known as 25-in-5. The network is a large, well-organized and financed multi-sectorial group made up from more than 150 Ontario organizations, educators and social advocates committed to reducing poverty.
The name of the network reflects a target it wants adopted by the provincial government -- to reduce poverty by 25 per cent during the next five years.
That modest goal, similar to ones successfully used in Quebec, Newfoundland, the United Kingdom and some European countries, would rescue at least 400,000 Ontario adults and children from poverty.
Because, in past years, Waterloo Region has been actively involved in similar efforts to target and reduce poverty, 25-in-5 already has the support of numerous local agencies and individuals who deal every day with consequences of that complex, multi-layered issue.
The 25-in-5 network wants to see a firm, realistic definition of poverty in Ontario similar to benchmarks established in Ireland.
Irish people are deemed to be living in poverty if they earn less than 60 per cent of the median income and fail to meet two of 11 poverty indicators. The indicators include having two pair of shoes, a warm winter coat, home heating, occasional family entertainment and being able to afford meals with meat, fish or a vegetarian equivalent every second day.
Back in Canada, the network also wants to see improved support for adults unable to work, more low-cost or subsidized housing, improved child benefits and day care as well as a minimum wage in Ontario that would immediately pay unskilled workers $10 an hour.
It's interesting to note that, during all the recent clamour about shootings, stabbings and sexual assaults in some schools, 25-in-5 network members identify poverty as one of the root causes of student violence. The group wants the cabinet committee to develop special policies to help new immigrants living in poverty and calls for policies that would benefit racialized communities and aboriginal people.
Local public school trustee Catherine Fife, who attended a recent 25 in 5 forum in Toronto, told me she intends to present a motion soon to Waterloo Region and other public school boards in Ontario urging hundreds of trustees to support the anti-poverty aims of the network.
Fife, vice-president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association -- a group representing trustees throughout the province -- said there's constant pressure on educators to solve an increasing load of serious social problems that include violence. She said a day doesn't go by when it's glaringly obvious to educators that poverty and resulting social problems have a major impact on any child's behaviour and ability to learn or succeed at school.
"Teachers see that poverty every day in the way a child is dressed, undernourished ... or poorly housed," Fife said. "Poverty itself is a kind of violence ... where families are in a constant state of crisis, (and) politicians need to reach out to those most marginalized in our society."
During slumping economic times when the poor are guaranteed to get poorer, local voters, educators and social activists should work together to keep Milloy's feet to the fire by reminding him they support 25-in-5's objectives.
They should make it known they want action instead of the usual decades-old political puffery about reduction or elimination of poverty.
For more information: Jeff Sprang, Director of Communications, ext.111
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Newcomer Support Services In Public Libraries
For many years now, Settlement Workers in Schools have provided services to newcomer children and their families in public libraries over the summer months. This very popular program was recently piloted on a year-round basis in Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa. It proved very successful and will now be expanded to other Ontario locations.
Additional libraries will participate in the original three locations and new programs will open in London, Windsor, Kitchener, Waterloo, Peel Region and York Region. There is tremendous scope for collaboration among Settlement Workers in schools and libraries to support school success for newcomer students:
- The school readiness of pre-schoolers can be boosted by participating in story time programs.
- SWIS workers can orient newcomer parents who are not accustomed to ‘school projects’ to the help that their children can get from library staff.
- Libraries offer free computer access.
- Libraries have books in many languages. Continuing to read in first language helps students to further develop their reading skills.
- Summer Reading Club helps students continue to build their reading skills over the summer.
- Many students study and do homework in the library.
- Many libraries offer youth programs as well as instruction programs for adults, e.g., computer literacy, citizenship, English, French.
The latest SWIS Newsletter provides more detail on this exciting development.
For more information: Susan Cook, Policy & Communications Associate, ext.103
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Urban Aboriginal Education Pilot Projects – New Initiative Gets Underway
The Aboriginal Education Office of the Ministry of Education has initiated the development of pilot projects aimed at supporting success in school for urban-based Aboriginal students. The projects will have focus on reaching out to Aboriginal families, communities and other service delivery organizations. This initiative aligns with a key commitment of the province’s First Nation, Métis and Inuit Education Policy Framework:
“In collaboration with school boards, First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities and organizations, develop innovative approaches to meet the needs of First Nation, Métis and Inuit students living in large urban centres.”
Three Public School Boards selected to launch pilots
In December 2007, urban school boards were invited to submit proposals to participate in this pilot project. The boards selected for participation are Lakehead DSB, Simcoe County DSB and Toronto DSB. The intent of the initiative is that the education models developed through the pilots will be able to be replicated in a range of urban settings that have varying geographical and demographic circumstances.
Effective urban models supportive of Aboriginal student achievement that are in place in other jurisdictions across Canada will be researched to help determine the nature of the pilot projects to be undertaken in Ontario. It is planned that the pilots will start in September, 2008.
Each pilot board will establish a sub-committee with representation from Aboriginal communities and organizations. The overall development of the pilots and the work of the sub-committees will be guided by a broad-based Steering Committee.
Steering Committee for Urban Aboriginal Education Pilot Project
The Steering Committee was convened by the Aboriginal Education Office and held its inaugural meeting on February 6, 2008. Representatives on the committee include:
Lakehead District School Board
Simcoe County District School Board
Toronto District School Board
Georgian College
Confederation College
George Brown College
Lakehead University
Ryerson University
Trent University
Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres
Métis Nation of Ontario
Ontario Native Women’s Association
Chiefs of Ontario
Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association
Ontario Public School Boards’ Association
Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation
Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario
Ontario Principals’ Council
Council of Directors of Education
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ontario Region
Office of the Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Ministry of Education
The Steering Committee will be chaired by the Director of the Aboriginal Education Office and by two additional co-chairs representing school boards and Aboriginal organizations respectively. At the February 6th meeting, it was agreed that Sylvia Maracle, Executive Director of the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres, and Terry Ellwood, Director of Education, Lakehead DSB would serve as co-chairs.
Next Steps
The first phase of work will be to gather research on effective models of urban aboriginal education. Each of the participating boards has been asked to form a sub-committee to implement and evaluate the pilot projects.
Through Fast Reports and direct e-mail communications OPSBA will share information on the development and implementation of the pilot projects and solicit input as required from OPSBA’s.Board of Directors and members of the OPSBA First Nations Council.
For more information: Susan Cook, Policy & Communications Associate, ext.103
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Calendar of EVENTS
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
Thursday, February 28, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. &
Friday, February 29, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
OPSBA Board Room, Toronto
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Friday, February 29, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. &
Saturday, March 1, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Metropolitan Hotel, 108 Chestnut St, Toronto
Phone: 416.977.5000
OPSBA Room Rate: $130
Cut off Date: January 31
NORTHERN REGION DIRECTORS
Friday, February 29, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
OPSBA Board Room, Toronto
LABOUR RELATIONS AND HUMAN RESOURCES 2008
March 27 — 29
Sheraton Centre Hotel, Toronto
Phone: 416.361.1000 or 1.888.627.7175
OPSBA Room Rate: $172.00 (single or double) + taxes
Cut-off Date: February 27
20th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & PROGRAM 2008
Hosted by Central West Region
June 12 — 15
Sheraton on the Falls Hotel & Conference Centre, Niagara Falls
Phone 1.800.519.9911 or 905.374.4445
OPSBA Room Rate: $139 + taxes (Traditional Room) or
$189 + taxes (Fallsview Room)
Cut-off Date: May 12
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If you have any comments about Fast Reports,
contact CARLA GARBAS, Editor
COLLEEN SCHENK, President • GAIL ANDERSON, Executive Director
OPSBA • 439 University Avenue, 18th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Y8
Tel: (416) 340-2540 Fax: (416) 340-7571
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