May 20, 2008 | Vol. 20, No. 18

WHAT'S INSIDE?

20^th AGM & PROGRAM 2008
Meal and Entertainment Tickets are Available for Guest/Spouse
OPSBA in the MEDIA
Ministry of Education UPDATE
BCSTA e-Digest, May 22
CEA Presents Whitworth Award for Research in Education
OSTA-AECO to Host its 8^th Annual General Meeting
Calendar of Events

20^th AGM & PROGRAM 2008
Thursday, 12 — Sunday, 15 June, 2008

Sheraton on the Falls Hotel and Conference Centre
5875 Falls Avenue, Niagara Falls, Ontario

HOSTED BY OPSBA’S CENTRAL WEST REGION

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO REGISTER

TWO NEW large plenary sessions:  

• “First Nation, Métis and Inuit Education: Achieving Excellence for All Students”
•  “Leading Education in a Digital World”

NEW workshop:  “iPod Nanos and the Reluctant Reader”

NOTE:  No workshops will be held concurrent with the visit to Niagara College.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to visit Niagara College on Saturday afternoon:
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Hospitality students from both the DSBN and Niagara College will be on hand to tour delegates around the College facility, offer a tasting of Niagara College’s own fine wine, and DSBN students will make and serve delicious hors d’oeuvres sure to please the palate! This is a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the local food, wine and hospitality that makes Niagara such a unique part of the province. This wine tasting and culinary event will showcase the partnership between the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) and Niagara College.

DON’T DELAY IN REGISTERING FOR Dinner at Queenston Heights Restaurant:
FRIDAY NIGHT - dinner on your own OR join your colleagues for Dinner at the Queenston Heights Restaurant (extra cost)
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED (see Registration Form for details).
The maximum number of delegates has been increased.
Transportation will be provided.
here are a limited number of seats left.

HOTEL cut-off date was May 12.  The room block has been increased. If you have any difficulty booking a room at the hotel, please contact Ernesta Graham.

MEAL AND ENTERTAINMENT TICKETS are available for guest/spouse. See list below. 

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

Dr. MICHAEL THOMPSON — Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys
Psychologist, school consultant, an internationally renowned speaker and author or co-author of seven books.

DAVID WARLICK — Our Students • Our Worlds
This presentation, by 30+ year educator, author, and technologist, will explore some of the changes and challenges in education and arrange them as a set of converging conditions that will provide direction for retooling our classrooms for the 21st century.

NEW!! VICKIE KOMAR — Critical Media Literacy

WORKSHOPS

• Safe Schools
• Energy
• Update on Current Legal Issues
• Suicide Intervention Program
• Research Gender Project
• Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities – What Schools Need to Know
• Streaming Video
• Visit to Niagara College – PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED (maximum 150 delegates)
• iPod Nanos and the Reluctant Reader

GOLF:

For those delegates interested in playing golf, please contact Dennis Randall at drandall@niagaraparks.com.  Dennis is CPGA Professional-Golf Sales Manager at Legends on the Niagara & Whirlpool Golf Course, Niagara Parks Commission.  We thank Dennis for generously offering to act as liaison in arranging golf.

NETWORK whilst celebrating our 20th Anniversary!

At the AGM we will determine our priorities and directions for the coming year, elect our officers and plan for the future. This event also includes a comprehensive professional development program of stimulating, challenging, and inspiring speakers and in-depth workshops, as well as abundant networking opportunities for trustees.

Welcome reception:  Thursday, 12 June 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Conference ends:  Sunday, 15 June 2008 at 11:30 a.m.

Watch OPSBA’s Fast Reports for regular updates and future announcements.

The Registration Form and the Program are available online.

For more information: Gail Anderson, Executive Director, ext.109; Ernesta Graham, Events Coordinator, ext.115; or Susan Weinberg, Policy & Professional Development Coordinator, ext.128

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IMPORTANT! Meal and Entertainment Tickets are Available for Guest/Spouse

If you have not yet purchased meal tickets for your guest/spouse, please obtain meal tickets BEFORE the event at the OPSBA registration desk.  

A ticket or name badge is required to participate in the meals.

REMINDER!  If you ordered tickets in advance, please pick them up at the OPSBA registration desk.

For more information: Gail Anderson, Executive Director, ext.109; Ernesta Graham, Events Coordinator, ext.115; or Susan Weinberg, Policy & Professional Development Coordinator, ext.128

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OPSBA in the MEDIA

Hopes high following bitter debate to create Afrocentric school in Toronto
As reported by Colin Perkel, Canadian Press, May 22

In the aftermath of a bitter and often gut-wrenching debate that preceded the decision to set up a public Afrocentric school in Toronto, hopes were riding high Thursday that black students who struggle academically might finally be getting the educational boost they desperately need.

Community leaders fret that the pilot project dare not fail.

"We have one shot to make this right," said Louis March, of the African Canadian Heritage Association.

"If we fail at this, where do we go next?"

On Wednesday, Toronto's public school board voted to open its first Afrocentric alternative school in hopes of lowering the 40 per cent dropout rate among Toronto's black teens.

While the school will be open to all students, the aim is to have black teachers and a curriculum that engages black kids when it takes in its first junior kindergarten to Grade 5 students in September 2009.

The board also decided to study the feasibility of opening an Afrocentric high school, which March argued is even more critically needed than a grade school.

"We're not addressing the core group that needs the help right now," March said of black high school students.

"(Even) the 60 per cent that are passing, a big majority of them have a diploma that's worthless because the curriculum has been dumbed down to get them out of the school system."

Opponents of an Afrocentric school, both inside and outside the black community, argue it represents a giant step backward from the integration ideal of the civil rights movement. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has expressed opposition, saying kids should "learn together and grow together."

Not surprisingly, emotions ran high during the trustees' debate Wednesday _ which ended with a 13-8 vote in favour -- with one accusing another of being racist for opposing the school.

The temperature of a similar debate in Prince George, B.C., has been far lower amid plans for the province's first aboriginal-centred public school, which hopes to address far higher failure rates for First Nations and Metis students.

Lois Boone, vice-chairwoman of the district's board of education, said the public has been supportive.

"The general population understands that we have to do something differently," Boone said.

"They're willing to look at anything (because) they know that what we've done so far hasn't worked."

George Dei, a professor of sociology and equity studies at the University of Toronto, said those who denounce the proposed Afrocentric school as a return to segregation misunderstand the concept.

This is not about "balkanizing" schools, he said, but trying to find positive solutions to a long-standing, seemingly intractable problem.

"We cannot put our head in the sand," Dei said. "We should try something different and see if it works.

"We don't have anything to lose when we have these high drop-out rates and other problems with youth in the schools."

Marcus Tabachnick, president of the Canadian School Boards Association, said boards across the country will be keeping an eye on the Toronto experiment.

"I'm sure that what we're going to see over the next number of years are some very creative and new efforts to combat drop-out problems," Tabachnick said.

The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association said no other boards are actively looking at setting up their own Afrocentric or similarly focused schools.

However, the association plans to monitor how the new school in Toronto plays out to see what practices might be of use elsewhere, said president Colleen Schenk.

For more information: Jeff Sprang, Director of Communications, ext.111

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See
http://cal2.edu.gov.on.ca/may08.html

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BCSTA e-Digest, May 22

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CEA Presents Whitworth Award for Research in Education

The Canadian Education Association (CEA) presented its Whitworth Award for Education Research to Dr. Claude Trottier, professor in the Faculty of Educational Sciences at Laval University. Dr. Trottier has been involved in international research projects with UNESCO and the Alliance for International Higher Education Policy Studies. Along with colleagues, he also founded and led the Laboratoire de recherches en administration et politiques scolaires at Laval University.

Dr. Trottier is the co-winner of the 2007 Whitworth award. Dr. Gordon Porter, Director of Inclusive Education Initiatives, Canadian Association for Community Living, also received this award for his substantial contribution to the inclusive education movement nationally and internationally and extensive research and leadership on building inclusive classrooms.

OSTA-AECO to Host its 8^th Annual General Meeting

OSTA-AECO will be hosting "Students for Education:  Framing Futures," its eighth annual general meeting and professional development conference at the Toronto Hilton Hotel from May 29th to June 1st. The evening of May 29th will include a reception for trustees, board staff and members of the education community, starting at 6 p.m. The two-day professional development conference for both outgoing and incoming student trustees will also take place at the Hilton and will include Minister Kathleen Wynne, People for Education's Annie Kidder and other innovative voices on education. The professional development is specifically tailored to suit the needs of student trustees.

For more information: director.development@osta-aeco.org

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Calendar of EVENTS