Race to Nowhere Screening comes to Calgary!

NormKelly Law, Leadership Calgary, Leadwell Foundation, TedX YYC and the Calgary Public Library, come together to bring Calgarians a very important Documentary, Race to Nowhere.

What role should our education system play in preparing young people to meet the challenges and opportunities of a changing world?

How do we best prepare young people to become healthy, bright, contributing citizens?

Please join us in the screening of Race to Nowhere, an important new film that explores these questions.

R a c e t o N o w h e r e is a call to mobilize families, educators, policy makers and citizens at large to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare youth to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens. In a grassroots sensation already feeding a groundswell for change, hundreds of theaters, schools and organizations nationwide are hosting community screenings during a six month campaign to screen the film throughout the US and Canada. We will be screening it on January 12th, 2011.

Register at,

http://leadingforwellness.com/docs/relatedevents/RaceToNowhere_Calgary.pdf

The registration/ticket page and related information is on the LeadWell Foundation/LeadWell Initiative website at:
http://race.leadwellinitiative.com

Report Cards...what is authentic assessment?

This past Monday I joined Carol Henderson, President of the Alberta Teachers' Association and Carmen Mombourquette from the Faculty of Education at the University of Lethbridge, on Alberta Prime Time to discuss report cards and more broadly, how our education system should measure 'student progress'.

Edmonton public, in two test schools, is implementing a new electronic, online system called SchoolZone whereby students and their parents receive monthly reports rather than the traditional 3-4 report cards over the school year. What this fully entails remains to be seen. I think that they are on the right track of trying to create more open communication with parents and students. There are many concerns however; is this the best use of a teachers time and energy, do teachers parents and students understand WHAT is being reported on and WHY?

Ontario has moved away from the traditional fall report card with grades and has implemented a new "Progress" report that considers learning skills, responsibility, organization, independent work, collaboration, initiative and self-regulation.

The progress report will 'assess' children (up to Grade 8) on things like; managing their personal behaviours, working with a positive attitude and healthy peer-to-peer relationships. There are no grades, rather the learning skills and work habits will recive an E for excellent, G for good, S for satisfactory or N for needs improvement.

Denmark and Scotland currently have systems that invite parents and students to help determine HOW they will be assessed and each students' report card looks very different and is 'personalized' to the individual learning needs of that student.

Which system is the most effective?

On Primetime I commented that we need to be looking at 'Authentic assessment'. That is the second piece to the puzzle because to do authentic assessment we need to have authentic learning environments and we must all have an understanding of WHAT it is that we value in our classrooms. I am trying to get at WHAT is it that we want our children to be learning? We cannot discuss how we want them 'assessed' if we have not first discussed what they are being assessed for?

Yes, I think that we all agree that we need literacy skills, numeracy skills and that we should know world history. There is an important part that is often missing however: we hear the old adage "knowledge is power"; in fact I have seen this on a poster in a teachers classroom recently and in school hallways. I disagree with this. Knowledge without wisdom is just bits of information that clutter our minds and often allow us to think we know more about something than we truly do. We must understand WHY we are learning what we are learning and for what purpose we can use the information.

This is a direct quote from Alberta's Commission on Learning "Genuine accountability brings no surprises. Fundamentally, it is about moving and improving, not about shaming and blaming."

Read further and you will see the 'Goals' there are five of them. No where in there is "performance, success, and high achievement for all students" actually defined neither do they discuss how it can or should be measured just that it should.

These are the conversations that we, as a community, must be having with our Trustees our teachers and with administrators. CBE mega end 1 is,

Each student, in keeping with his or her individual abilities and gifts, will complete high school with a foundation of learning to function effectively in life, work and continued learning.

Have we sat down with our teachers and Principals and asked them what this means to them? CBE has added the last 3 Ends (citizenship, Personal development and character) to our report cards now yet there is much confusion still as to what this means.

Consider the contrast in this scenario (which are true stories). Two children in 2 different CBE schools and one comes home with a report card with a full paragraph on the 3 ends which the parents felt was very reflective of the student as an individual learner and reflected the students contributions to their school community and the students strengths as they related to the learning environment that teacher was trying to create in the classroom. In my view, this teacher "gets it". The teacher is consciously trying to create a positive, creative feedback loop, between teacher and students, of learning and personal growth. The other child comes home with a report card that had 2 very short bullet point on the 3 ends. When the parents asked the teacher about this the teacher responded with, "I do not put down my observations of personal character traits because I am scared to do so as I do not feel I am backed by administration and I fear that I might be sued, particularly if they are negative observations."

This concerns me. If we refer back to Inspiring Action and the 3 Ends that the CBE now feel is important enough to include in our reports cards than which of these two progress reporting scenarios would you rather receive? The bullet points or the detailed observations? Of course, what is left out here, the equally important questions of who is doing the measuring and what are we measuring. I can ask 10 parents how they define personal growth through learning and citizenship in learning and I will get 10 very different answers. These are the questions and conversations that must address before we address how we assess any of this. This is what I mean by authentic assessment and authentic learning environments.

I know there are teachers who right now, everyday come up with authentic ways of teaching their students. They are creative and innovative in their approach with each student and we can learn from these teachers.

This discussion was hopefully just the beginning of what needs to be some very in depth discussions with parents, teachers, students, Trustees, administration and community members to collaboratively share thoughts and come up with ways in which we should be 'assessing' our students (if we should at all)? We are all vested in our children's best interests. It is incumbent upon all of us to do our best to create an education system that affords them their very best chance at getting the education that they most need as individuals to become the best that they can be.

How should, the CBE, be going about the business of adequately, appropriately and comprehensively measuring the progress of your child in our schools?

As I struggled with writing this blog my husband asked me this, "What is the goal, in todays world, of the K-12 public education system?" What we are teaching and how we are assessing the learning of that teaching is subsumed by answering that question.

Lets talk!

Transformation of Education at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Education

An interesting video was posted by the University of Calgary on Youtube. Dean of Education, Dennis Sumara, speaks to the changes that are happening within the faculty as they ensure their graduates are ready to teach 21st century learners. This initiative dovetails nicely with Alberta Education's Inspiring Action.

Inspiring Education: Minister Hancock's Message to Trustees 2010

This youtube video featuring Minister Hancock's message to Trustees is of interest to parents as well. He talks about the transformation of our education system and the role trustees will play in supporting it.

Organization for Economic Development (OECD) Releases Latest PISA Survey of Education Performance

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is a standardized assessment written by approximately 500,000 15 year olds in 70 economies across the world. Tests are written in reading, math and science, and for the first time, digital literacy was a component of the reading test. Students were tested not only on the skills and knowledge required in the curriculum, but also those needed to function successfully as adults once they leave school. Rankings are a part of this survey but the OECD also gathers other data to look at educational issues such as gender differences, class size, teacher pay and resource allocation.

According to the OECD website, the PISA initiative seeks to assist their member countries in looking at "how their school systems match up globally with regard to their quality, equity and efficiency. The best performing education systems show what others can aspire to, as well as inspire national efforts to help students to learn better, teachers to teach better, and school systems to become more effective."

In reading literacy, Canada came in 6th (Alberta was within the Canadian average).

In math, Canada placed 10th (Alberta was within the Canadian average).

In science, Canada placed 8th (Alberta was above the Canadian average).

Other findings of note:

The best school systems were the most equitable - students do well regardless of their socio-economic background. But schools that select students based on ability early show the greatest differences in performance by socio-economic background.

Combining local autonomy and effective accountability seems to produce the best results.

High performing school systems tend to prioritise teacher pay over smaller class sizes.

Countries where students repeat grades more often tend to have worse results overall, with the widest gaps between children from poor and better-off families.

If you would like more detailed reading around the Canadian results, check out "Measuring up: Canadian Results of the OECD PISA Study" released by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC).

You can also read the press release, "Alberta's 15-year olds place among the world's best in reading, scientific and mathematical literacy," from the Government of Alberta

For media commentary on these results, check out the Calgary Herald article, "Canada slips in education rankings;" the National Post article, "Canada slipping in math, science and reading skills;" and the CTV News article, "Canadian education amongst best in world: OECD."

Save Our Fine Arts (SOFA) Hosting a Public Meeting with Education Minister Dave Hancock

On January 25, 2011 at 7:30 pm, Education Minister Dave Hancock will be attending a public meeting hosted by SOFA at Central Memorial High School here in Calgary. SOFA is an advocacy group focused on efforts to maintain and enhance K to 12 fine arts education. The Hon. Dave Hancock will address Alberta Education's Inspiring Action initiative and the role fine arts education will play in the transformation of our education system. For more information about this meeting check their website.

Mental Health Funding Announced for Schools

The Government of Alberta has announced today that it will be investing $19M in 31 school-based, community supported mental health programs across the province. Funding will also be available for the additional 7 projects that are starting up this year. The $19M will support objectives related to improving services for children and youth at risk outlined on page 19 of the the government's recently released 5-year Health Action Plan. You can read more about this initiative in the Edmonton Journal Article, "Alberta invests $19M in mental health funding for schools" .

Access TV's Alberta Primetime program talks about the high school drop out issue

The High School Drop Out Dilemma was a topic on last night's Alberta Primetime broadcast. Jacquie Hansen, President of the Alberta School Boards Association; Carol Henderson, President of the Alberta Teachers’ Association; and Dr. Brenda Willis, Assistant Superintendent for Edmonton Catholic Schools joined Alberta Primetime co-host, Jefferson Humphreys, to discuss Alberta Education's plans to raise the legal age of leaving school from 16 to 17 in the new Education Act. The ATA and ASBA do not believe changing the law will make a difference. According to Jacquie Hansen, ASBA President, "It is a community effort to keep kids in school." Carol Henderson, ATA President, added, "Let's make our schools more meaningful for all students." Well worth a watch.

New Math Curriculum: Popular Item on the CAPSC Blog

While the new math curriculum is not so new anymore, it is still a popular subject amongst CAPSC blog readers. According to the analytics available for our blog, parents visit our site on a daily, weekly, monthly basis looking for information on this subject area.

With full implementation of the new math curriculum for grades K to 9 now complete, implementation will move to grade 10 this fall. As a result, we were not surprised to find that one of the popular key words of late on our blog site includes Math 10c. Math 10c is a starting point for the 20/30 -1 and -2 streams. Other grade 10 options include Math -3 (most trades, workforce entry) and Math -4 (Knowledge and Employability). Alberta Education's math webpage offers a variety of resources for both parents and students as they look at the math sequences available at high school.

As for the math diploma exams, removal of the written portion is still proving to be a source of controversy. An interesting blog post by an executive member of the Math Council of the Alberta Teachers' Association attempts to answer the question, "What is the value of the mathematics diploma exams for Alberta Students? ~In particular, what is the value of the written response section of the mathematics diploma exam?" How will the diploma exam be impacted once the new math curriculum is fully implemented K to 12?

Finally, CAPSC stumbled upon a great resource for parents thanks to the above blogger. The Math Council of the Alberta Teachers' Association has a webpage dedicated to math links and more interestingly, a list of books related to math topics such as number concepts, shape and space, and data analysis your child may enjoy reading.

Education Act 2011 Proposed Framework: Appointment of Trustees

At the CAPSC meeting on Wednesday, November 17, membership had a strong reaction to section 6(d) of the proposed Education Act that states, "Where there are underrepresented groups, a board may appoint, with the approval of the Minister, up to one third of the number of trustees to a board, and the Minister, in consultation with the board, may appoint up to one-third of the number of trustees to the board.

CAPSC has followed up this discussion by submitting a further question to Alberta Education:

In the current School Act, there is a section pertaining to committees. Is there any underlying regulation that would narrow the definition and preclude a board from constituting a committee that provides advice and guidance around diversity issues?

If there are no restrictions, would this not be a more effective way to address the issue that the Minister is attempting to remedy in Section 6(d) of the proposed framework for the Education Act which outlines a provision for appointment by boards or the Minister to boards where there may be underrepresented groups. Democracy would be preserved and there would be more flexibility around all boards' ability to address a wide range of diversity issues. It would also align with the Minister's public statements supporting "a community governance model which will bring all voices to the table in understanding how we create the best opportunity for our students." For example, in Calgary, Chief Superintendent Naomi Johnson, with direction from theTrustees, has set up a Cultural Advisory Council and an Elder Advisory Council that would advise and consult with the Board around decisions and policy development as it pertains to diversity and multiculturalism. As well, Administration has instituted a Youth Advisory Council comprised of leadership students from each High School in the Calgary Board of Education.

A representative from Alberta Education has responded with the following:

As you’ve noted, section 60(2)(i) of the School Act permits boards to establish committees and I believe it is currently the case that some boards have already established committees to examine issues related to diversity. You’ve noted that such a committee currently exists in Calgary and I believe the same is true in Edmonton.

Feedback received through Inspiring Education and Inspiring Action indicates that Albertans believe more needs to be done to make boards representative of their communities. While boards in Calgary and Edmonton may have had some success in using the existing provisions of the School Act to address the needs and diversity of their communities, other boards in Alberta have not been as successful. The intent behind the proposed provision is to ensure boards across the province adequately reflect the diverse interests of their communities.

The contemplated provisions would also enable a board itself to appoint a trustee where it feels like greater engagement from the community is needed. The board may feel that it is not necessary to actually appoint a trustee, but rather to set up a committee to address these issues, under section 60(2)(i). This may go some way to satisfying the Minister that a particular group is not under-represented. In any event, the intent of the proposed provision is to encourage all boards in Alberta to consider ways in which to better engage their communities and to find ways for those voices to be heard.”

If parents or school councils have comments, they can provide them at the Alberta Education website until the end of November.

Education Act 2011 Proposed Framework: A Sampling of Feedback

The Hon. Dave Hancock blogged about some of the transformative changes that will come with a new Education Act, "The Informed Transformation of Trusteeship." Be sure and read through all the comments that follow this posting.

Dave King, a former Education Minister under Peter Lougheed and more recently the Executive Director of the Public School Boards Association of Alberta, has been following the School Act Review closely. He has written a couple of thought-provoking blog posts on the proposed framework and natural persons powers for school boards.

The idea forum on the Inspiring Action webpage is now up and running. Its purpose is to engage stakeholders in meaningful discussion around the issues. Check out the idea forum dedicated to the proposed framework - there are a few comments posted.

One of the changes being contemplated is raising the legal age for leaving school. A CD Howe report provides some insight and has this to say, "Whatever the reasons, one clear recommendation of this paper is that if provinces are serious about raising the school-leaving age, they need to effectively enforce these laws and promote their potential benefits to administrators, parents, and students. For another perspective, you can read the MacLeans.ca article, "Raising the dropout age won't work."

The Hon. Dave Hancock has discussed the possibility of appointing trustees to augment an elected board. Some of the appointees may be a First Nation parent or a student. Dale Hudjik, president of the Association for Responsive Trusteeship in Edmonton Schools (ARTES),asked an interesting question concerning the appointment of trustees. "How will this be different than what is provided for in the School Act today?
60(2) A board may(e) provide for the payment of travelling and other expenses
and honoraria to (i) trustees, and (ii) persons appointed to committees of the board;(i) establish committees and specify the powers and duties of the committees
61(1) The board may authorize by resolution(b) a committee of the board or that is established by the board,to do any act or thing or exercise any power that the board may or is required to do or exercise subject to the directions and limitations set out in the resolution, except for those powers referred to in subsection (2).
(2) The board shall not delegate
(a) the power to make a bylaw under this Act,
(b) the power to close a school or school building under
section 58,
(c) the power to requisition from a municipality that the board
may have from time to time, and
(f) the power to hold a hearing under section 104.
Chief Superintendent Naomi Johnson, with direction from theTrustees, has set up a Cultural Advisory Council and an Elder Advisory Council that would advise and consult with the Board around decisions and policy development as it pertains to diversity and multiculturalism. As well, Administration has instituted a Youth Advisory Council comprised of leadership students from each High School in the CBE.

National Bullying Awareness Week

November 14 to the 20 is National Bullying Awareness Week. Albertans are being encouraged to "Stand Up and Stop Bullying." Too many children suffer physically,mentally and emotionally at the hands of bullies and we all have a role to play in ending bullying behaviours. Where to start? Help, advice, information can be found through the Bullying Helpline 1-888-456-2323 (24/7, toll free, multilingual). Website resources from the Alberta Government are available for a variety of age groups including children, teenagers and adults.

A reminder of the possibilities

This past Thursday night I joined our Board of Trustees and hundreds of other guests to honour Doug Mitchell as the 2010 Distinguished Alumni for Education Matters. It had been a long week , in fact a long couple of months of hosting forums, dealing with election 'stuff' and truly I was feeling like just curling up with my kids and staying at home. I am so glad that I threw on a dress and decided to attend this special event!

The program was MC'd by Pearl Tsang who is always a delight to share an evening with. Mayor Nenshi attended and shook hands with guests and students. Doug Mitchell, a proud CBE graduate shared his passion and appreciation for public education; a truly sincere example of all of the things that go right with public education. What moved me so deeply were the students. I had a fantastically interesting conversation with a grade 12 student Ambassador sitting next to me at dinner. This young man moved to Calgary in Grade 9, his parents wanted him and his brother to get a better education than what they felt he could get in London, England. He was ahead a grade level when he arrived and boy has he make the most of it!

I cannot list all of the things that this young man is involved with today but let me try to recap a few; taking IB classes, on Grad committee, started a volunteer 'club' at his school to work with the homeless population, involved with a leadership group and the list truly went on and on. He was grateful, indeed gleeful at the many privileges (his words) that public school has afforded him and felt that he owed it to Calgarians to give back.

Another moment that had me and many others in the audience tearful was when guest student speaker, Cheyanne Lepka, spoke of her journey through public education. She described herself as having what many saw as the 'disadvantages' being a visible minority and the daughter of a single Mom who worked very hard to provide for her kids. Cheyanne told a moving story of teachers who took the time to understand her learning needs, a very bright young girl who would appear to be falling behind but was in fact bored and not being challenged enough in class. She spoke of teachers who let her work a grade level ahead and encouraged her to challenge both herself and a system that sometimes made it difficult to work outside of the boundaries. Her teachers at Lord Beaverbrook High School helped her publish a book. Did you know that Lord Beaverbrook has a publishing company! Wow! She shared a passage from her book and is a remarkably talented young woman. Cheyanne was moved to tears as she thanked Education Matters (and her teachers) for the scholarships that helped her get to University where she is studying archaeology and biology.

Throughout the evening we watched videos of unique programs that are taking place throughout various schools in Calgary. Amazing programs for students with disabilities that give them an opportunity to communicate through movement or computers when they cannot speak and programs that foster a love and appreciation for the arts.

Does this negate all of the concerns that parents have about overcrowded classrooms and underfunded schools? Of course not. BUT it reminded me, as I have forgotten far too often that public education DOES work and is meant to give us all the opportunities that the above mentioned students had. At times I think that we nit pick at things and lose sight of the fact that we want our students to do well, we chose this so that they have every opportunity to get the education that they need most to make them the best human beings possible.

It is healthy and necessary for the success of public education that as community members, parents and students we continue to ask wise questions, stay involved and yes even be critical at times but we must do so with an understanding that the administrators, parents and educators are not in this to create a worse system but to create a better system where we hear more stories like the ones told at this celebration.

Congratualtions to these students and we wish you continued success!

Join us for CBE's 1-2-5 Run and Walk

The Calgary Board of Education is celebrating its 125th birthday this year! In honour of providing a century and a quarter of quality public education in our city, CBE will be hosting a 1-2-5 Run and Walk on Saturday, November 13th at Eau Claire Market. Come out and join CBE staff, CAPSC executive, and many community members as we enjoy the fresh air and celebrate the CBE.
The event is a free, fun event for everyone in the community. Participants can either walk or run 1, 2 or 5 km on the pathway west of Eau Claire Market. Registration for participants is inside the market, where it's warm and dry. There is plenty of parking in the Market's main parking lot.
Information for the event is available online at www.cbe.ab/125run. The first 500 registrants and all voluteers will receive a free 125th anniversary commemorative toque and there will be lots of fun and prizes at the event.
We hope to see you there!

Education Act 2011 Proposed Framework

Alberta Education just released its draft Education Act 2011 Proposed Framework. It is hoped to have this legislation presented at the spring 2011 sitting of the Legislature. If you would like to provide feedback on this document, check out the idea forum on Alberta Education's Inspiring Action webpage. In order to provide input, click on the register button at the top right hand side of the page before proceeding to the forum.

Trustee Inquiry: Principal Training and School Councils

CAPSC is pleased to share the following with its membership...

Trustee Inquiry:
What type of training have principals received in helping parents understand the role of School Councils?

Response:
Because of the wide range of years of experience in our principal cohort, some of our principals experienced the provincial implementation of the new format for School Councils in 1995. Since that original implementation there has been some formal training through workshops and conference sessions provided by groups such as Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils (CAPSC), the Alberta Teachers’ Association (including the Council on School Administration), and the Alberta Home and School Councils’ Association. Mentorship has been key in principals understanding the role of School Councils; prior to becoming a principal, individuals have been an assistant principal for a minimum of three years. During that time they have attended School Council meetings, received mentorship from their principals and been involved in School Council planning. Supporting documents that principals routinely reference in their work with their School Councils include CBE Administrative Regulation 5001 – School Councils and School/Parent Societies, Alberta Education School Council Resource Manual, and the School Act. In the 2009-10 school year, first and second year principals attended a session on School Councils as part of the CBE Leadership Centre yearlong series of leadership development workshops that Area Directors also attended. Area Directors are also having focussed conversation at their Area Leadership meetings with principals regarding current policy expectations and practical strategies for successful School Councils.

Note: CAPSC President at the time, Gerry Burger-Martindale, led the sessions referenced in the above response.

CBE Parent Communications Survey

Parent Communications has been a much discussed topic at CAPSC meetings so we were pleased to hear that CBE Communications through the bimonthly Key Communique is conducting a Parent Communications Survey. CAPSC would like to encourage parents and school councils to support this effort and get the word out to as many parents as possible. A summary of the results from the survey will be available in January along with next steps.

Setting the Direction: The Minister's Speech to the Special Education Council of the ATA

"Celebrating the Challenges," a speech made by the Hon. Dave Hancock, Education Minister, at a recent conference held by the Special Education Council of the Alberta Teachers Association has been released. The Minister shares his vision around inclusive education, the work done by his department so far and some of the challenges encountered. He asks the audience for their continued patience as, "Transforming a complex system requires careful thought, research, analysis and continued meaningful interaction with all Albertans." "The results will be worth it."

Our New Board of Trustees

CAPSC welcomes the new Board of Trustees!

Wards 1 & 2: Joy Bowen-Eyre
Wards 3 & 4: Lynn Ferguson
Wards 5 & 10: Pamela King
Wards 6 & 7: George Lane
Wards 8 & 9: Pat Cochrane
Wards 11 & 13: Sheila Taylor
Wards 12 & 14: Carol Bazinet

The trustees will be sworn in on Tuesday, October 26 at 3 pm followed at 5 pm by the organizational meeting. At that point, the board will have a new chair and CAPSC will have a new trustee liaison.

Around the province...

The Education Minister, Dave Hancock, blogged about "The Informed Transformation of Trusteeship." The Public School Boards Association of Alberta weighed in as well with their posting, "Big Opportunities Await School Boards Post-Election."

CAPSC Trustee meetings and membership

It was wonderful to see so many new faces at our CAPSC meeting on Wednesday! Welcome to all who joined us for the first time and we look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.

I mentioned that we are looking for volunteers to join our Executive. We cannot continue to provide the support that we do without the generous effort of our volunteers and we can certainly use more help! Please speak with myself or Leslie Newton if you are interested.

I also mentioned that we are looking for members to attend Trustee meetings however it has come to my attention that I did not make clear that ONLY approved Executive members are permitted to attend Trustee meetings on behalf of CAPSC. The seat that we have at the Board meetings is specifically designated by the Trustees for a CAPSC Executive member.

In order to ensure that the voice of CAPSC remains strong and consistient it is preferable that any 'CAPSC' messaging, including social media, be sent by or vetted by the CAPSC Executive.

Respectfully,

Eryn Kelly

Coalition for Equal Access to Education: Candidate Questionnaires

Another great resource to help inform your vote. The Coalition for Equal Access to Education provided a questionnaire to trustee candidates around ESL issues. The answers have now been posted on their website.

Transformation of Education: Video Q & A with Education Minister Dave Hancock

Check out this video Q & A with the Education Minister - it runs just under 15 minutes. Questions came from the public all over Alberta. Of interest, is the discussion on the governance process/boards, wrap around services, personalized learning and technology.

Wards 3 and 4: Important Information for Voters!

As mentioned in a previous blog, there is some confusion around the intentions of public school trustee candidate Tanveer Taj. Mr. Taj is running against Lynn Ferguson, the incumbent trustee in Wards 3 and 4. CAPSC has had trouble connecting with Mr. Taj. He missed our forum and did not return our questionnaire - we have done our best to find information regarding his platform but have been unsuccessful.

CAPSC was finally able to connect with him the morning after he missed the ward 3 and 4 forum. In that phone conversation, he stated that his intention was to withdraw his name but he missed the deadline. We asked for written confirmation and he sent an email stating only that he would not be campaigning.

In the interest of providing our parents with information to make an informed vote, CAPSC placed a call this morning to Barb Clifford, the City of Calgary's Chief Returning Officer. She confirmed that his name would be on the ballot. However, he had the option to file a disclaimer and notice would be posted at all polling stations. Mr. Taj, in a phone conversation with Ms. Clifford this past Friday, declined to file that disclaimer. The disclaimer requires the candidate to state that if elected they would not take office. Mr. Taj plans to take office and sit as a public school board trustee if elected.

Your Vote is Important! - Media Release from PSBAA "Public Education Isn't Public Without Local Democracy

Public Education Isn’t Public Without Local Democracy

Alberta – Over the upcoming weeks, public school trustee candidates across Alberta will bring the democratic process to life as they campaign in their communities. Many Albertans will wonder: why do we bother electing school trustees in the first place?

“For over one hundred and twenty-five years, Alberta’s communities have governed their affairs through municipal councils and school boards,” explained Patty Dittrick, President of the Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta. “Local democracy is an Alberta tradition that ensures our communities have effective and accountable self-government.”

“Public schools need effective local government that answers to the community because education plays a pivotal role in community building,” said Patty Dittrick. “Today’s students are tomorrow’s citizens; when the school board makes decisions about their education it has the same lasting effects on the community as municipal council decisions about infrastructure and bylaws. That’s why local democratic input in school board decisions is necessary.”

Albertans and members of the media are encouraged to ask school trustee candidates for their thoughts on the importance of local democracy to the public education system.

For more information about the history and importance of local democracy to the public education system, please contact Patty Dittrick at:


The Public School Boards’ Association of Alberta

#3, 9359, 67A Street

Edmonton, AB

T6B 1R7

Telephone: 780-479-8080

Email: media@public-schools.ab.ca

Wards 3 & 4 Trustee Forum: Make Sure You Vote!

The Trustee Forum for Wards 3 & 4 was held Monday night. Only one candidate was in attendance - the incumbent, Lynn Ferguson. Lynn took questions from the audience and a good discussion was had.

CAPSC did make contact with Tanveer Taj on nomination day but he did not return from filing his papers to pick up our candidate package. We made every effort to contact him since but we were not successful until the morning after the forum. Tanveer has told us he had changed his mind about running for the office of public school trustee shortly after he filed his papers. Unfortunately, he did not remove his name from the unofficial list within the 24 hour grace period so he was now on the official list. This means his name will be on the ballot. Therefore, it is important to get out and vote for public school trustee for Wards 3 & 4 to ensure a positive outcome.

Update:

Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 2010 10:34 AM
Subject: ward 3,4

Hi Leslie,
As per discussed please note I am not taking part in any campaign for ward 3,4 Public School Board Trustee.

Thank you.


Tanveer Taj

CAPSC Feedback to Trustees on Tripartite Discussions on Workforce Stability and the Transformation of Education

As many of you know, CAPSC was asked by the Board of Trustees to respond to the following question, "From your association’s perspective, what changes in the K-12 education system will have the most impact on student success? Please provide us with your top three suggestions for changes." This feedback would form part of their response to the Alberta School Boards' Association (ASBA) who in turn will be representing school boards in a Tripartite Discussion with the Minister of Education and the Alberta Teachers' Association around workforce stability and the transformation of K - 12 education.

Given the very tight timeline, CAPSC was very pleased to hear from nearly 40 individuals and school councils. All responses were provided in a report to trustees and the items that appeared most frequently were Class Size, Principal/Teacher (support, professional development,evaluation, accountability), predictable and sustainable funding, and supports/resources for special needs and ESL. We will have more details available in our newsletter that will be out shortly.

Since then, we have heard back from the Executive Assistant to the Board of Trustees thanking parents and CAPSC executive on behalf of the Board for "responding to the Board’s request for input into the topics at the Alberta Education/ATA/ASBA discussion table. Please extend the Board’s thanks to all parents who took the time to respond on such very short notice." A link to the Board of Trustee's submission was also included.

World Teachers' Day

Today is World Teachers' Day!

As described on the UNESCO Website, "World Teachers’ Day, held annually on 5 October since 1994, commemorates the anniversary of the signing in 1966 of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers. It is an occasion to celebrate the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels." This year's theme is "Recovery Begins with Teachers."

CAPSC would like to extend our appreciation to all teachers for their dedication and the important role they play in our children's lives!

Calgary Herald Article: School Fees and Fundraising

A recent headline in the Calgary Herald stated that, “Student fees and fundraising will be used for new CBE tower.” The CBE subsequently issued a statement clarifying that student fees and fundraising dollars would not be used for this purpose.

Here are some links to help you learn more about student fees and fundraising:

CBE AR 7004: School Generated Funds (see section 6 and 7(1))

CBE AR 7005: School Fees

Alberta Education Website: Fees and Fundraising

School Act (see section 60(2))

ASBA Policy Advisory: Fees

ASBA Policy Advisory: Fundraising

VOTE for EDUCATION

Do the learning aspirations of 'special-needs' students matter to the CBE? Are the unique life experiences and learning challenges of English as a Second Language (ESL) students important to Board Trustees? These and other vitally important questions and issues were raised at a Board Trustee candidates forum this past weekend. The event, entitled Vote for Education, was organized by the Coalition for Equal Access to Education and the Immigrant Sector Council of Calgary; both community-based not-for-profits engaged with immigrant families and their children. The Centre for Newcomers located in the NE community of Marlborough Park was the venue for the forum.

The overarching theme of the event was to explore with Board of Trustee hopefuls what their vision, strategies, solutions and ideas are regarding the myriad issues facing Calgary's burgeoning immigration/ESL population.

Twenty School Board Trustee candidates were in attendance (17 Public; 3 Separate). The event moderator posed this question to them all; 'what was their vision regarding achieving cultural competency within Calgary schools and how to achieve the best possible english learning outcomes for ESL learners'?

Each Trustee candidate was given a short period of time to outline who they were and to address the posed question. In engaging with the theme of the event the candidates expressed that the current ESL learning system within the CBE was failing to meet many of the needs of it's ESL students. Many pointed to the lack of training for ESL teachers and the absence of appropriate texts; a need for the development of best ESL teaching practices across the school Division (including personalized learning plans for each ESL student) and that more research was required to get to the heart of what ESL learners and their families need to succeed. There was a recognition that the CBE had made great strides in the recent past in improving it's ESL programming and resourcing but that more was required. A common theme from the candidates was that celebrating diversity within the school system was a good thing and that efforts to integrate and celebrate Calgary's ethno- cultural learners and their families should be a priority for the CBE. All of the candidates expressed the view that above all else Board Trustees were advocates for their constituents; they all indicated that they would be strong voices at the discussion table with the Provincial and Federal governments over appropriate funding and resourcing of Calgary ESL learners.

The event organizers pre-selected several ESL students (current and past) to talk about their experiences with the 'ESL system'. All of these young people provided poignant stories of their challenges and successes here in Calgary; they then posed a question that concerned them for the Board candidates to comment on.

Their questions touched on key issues for ESL learners in our Calgary schools: why is there such of lack of sports teams in our schools? is the quality of ESL instruction where it needs to be to genuinely connect with and teach English to ESL students? how can the CBE better connect schools with the families of ESL learners such that the parents of these students are more directly involved in their children's education? will the CBE expand the number of ESL programs, schools ad teachers to accommodate the steadily increasing number of immigrant families and their ESL children? why is the government grant per ESL pupil so low ($500 per student was the figure provided at the forum) and what accountability measures are in place to monitor how these monies are spent by schools? and why does the current system cut-off funding for ESL learners once they reach the age of 19 (regardless of the age that student entered into the CBE)?

The event organizers provided each attending trustee candidate a series of questions prior to the forum touching on issues relating to ESL learners. The candidates answers to these questions are being gathered and collated and will be distributed as soon as possible. CAPSC will make this information available to the public as soon as we receive it.

Submitted by guest contributor Norm Kelly

Wards 1 and 2 Trustee Forum

All seven candidates were in attendance at tonight's Ward 1 & 2 forum - Joy Bowen-Eyre, J. Durrani, Michael Gretton, Trina Hurdman, Jaret Kneller, Roberta McDonald and Josh Traptow. A variety of backgrounds and a variety of perspectives! I don't think there is any better way to really get a sense of a candidate than to watch them participate in a live forum. If you missed it, CAPSC took lots of notes and the summary will be posted soon. Also of note, it was good to see a member of our provincial government, MLA for Calgary-Elbow, Alana DeLong at the forum.

Voters in Wards 5 & 10 will get their chance to mix it up with their trustee candidates at tomorrow nights forum at Clarence Sansom School.

Importance of the Trustee Elections

On behalf of CAPSC Executive, I submitted the following as a letter to the editor at the Herald:

Trustee Elections

This civic election will be part of a critical turning point for the new CBE board of trustees.

Our educational system is experiencing transformational change. At the provincial level, the Education Minister is opening up the School Act. Locally, the Calgary Board of Education, with a budget of just over $1B, makes decisions that impact over 100,000 students, 9,000 employees, the local community and economy. All of this is taking place in challenging economic times.

At a recent meeting of our membership, outgoing Trustee Gordon Dirks spoke directly to the heart of the matter. “The word ‘trustee’ focuses on trust – we are holding in trust the education of children, the resources that will help educate those children, the importance of public education as a vehicle to serve the wider interests of the community at large. It is an important and pivotal role.”

We need to learn more about the candidates we choose to support. CAPSC is working hard to facilitate engagement and to make information readily available. We are non-partisan and do not endorse candidates. Attend any one of our forums or check out candidates on their websites, Facebook, and Twitter. If you have the time, send them an email or better yet give them a call. Before you cast a vote, find out their values, their vision for public education and their understanding of the issues. Our kids and the public school system deserve nothing less.

Leslie Newton, Co-President
Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils
http://www.capsc.ca/

Update on Official Candidate's List for Public School Trustee

The list is now official (see previous blog post). The only candidate to change their mind within the allowed 24 hour period was Aaron Tennenhouse who was running in Wards 8 & 9. We are currently working on the list to provide website and email information for each candidate and will post to our election page as soon as possible. So if you are a candidate and reading this posting, please send us your info!

Nominations Day for the Civic Election

CAPSC has been amazed at the amount of interest in the Public School Trustee elections. There are races in all seven ward pairings and 32 candidates total. The unofficial candidate list is below. Once the official list with contact info is released we will post it to our site.


Candidate listing for Public School Board Trustee (Wards 1 & 2)
Bowen-Eyre, Joy
Durrani, J.
Gretton, Michael
Hurdman, Trina
Kneller, Jaret
McDonald, Roberta
Traptow, Josh

Candidate listing for Public School Board Trustee (Wards 3 & 4)
Ferguson, Lynn
Taj, Tanveer

Candidate listing for Public School Board Trustee (Wards 5 & 10)
Ashraf, Shahzad
King, Pamela
Mangat, Amar
Rowan, Rick
White, Ryan J.

Candidate listing for Public School Board Trustee (Wards 6 & 7)
Indarsingh, Lenore
Lane, George S.
Oliver, Carole

Candidate listing for Public School Board Trustee (Wards 8 & 9)
Cochrane, Pat
Shutiak, Laura
Tennenhouse, Aaron Wilson

Candidate listing for Public School Board Trustee (Wards 11 & 13)
Baehl de Lescure, Sarah
Guinn, Andrea
Heather, Larry R.
Heggerud, Catherine
Kearns, Julie
Lough, Victor
Mowat, Helen
Styles, Sue
Taylor, Sheila

Candidate listing for Public School Board Trustee (Wards 12 & 14)
Amery, Malik M.
Bazinet, Carol
Moore, Wendi Ann

Digital Citizenship in the CBE

Brant Parker, CBE Director of Innovation and Technology, presented on "Digital Citizenship" at our first meeting of the year. Brant is a popular speaker with our parents and last night's presentation was timely and fascinating. He talked about how the CBE is implementing LAWN - Learner Accessible Wireless Network - which will allow students to use their personal devices to connect to the internet at school. The CBE is being proactive in teaching its students ethical and safe ways to use technology while using it to expand and deepen their learning experience.

During his presentation, he referenced a TED Talk by Chris Anderson who discusses the power of video learning. The talk is entitled "Chris Anderson: How web video powers global innovation." Definitely a worthwhile video to check out.

A Welcome Back from the Education Minister, Dave Hancock

This just in - a message from the Education Minister and news about education in Alberta. If you are looking for back to school information, this message will guide you to a variety of online resources.

Updated Alberta Education Resource for the New Math Curriculum

The Math curriculum is a perennial topic at CAPSC meetings and for the last couple of years we have invited math specialists in to help us understand all the changes. Alberta Education has updated their online math resource for students, parents and teachers this year. Links on the parent math page include Curriculum Handbooks for Parents, fact sheets for parents of students in kindergarten to grade 9, and several web pages for more information about the high school curriculum - choosing courses and the options available.

Ipads in class? LAWN, Digital Citizenship and Ever-Greening

My oldest daughter came leaping through the door after her first day of school and placed her open agenda in my hands while pointing to a section titled, LAWN. She had a lovely little smile on her face as she grabbed my cell phone and said, "Mom you need to read that section, it means that we can bring cell phones and ipads to school and use them in class". I was a little confused and told her that she must have misunderstood the information. As I started to read about LAWN (Learner accessible wireless network) and this new term, Digital Citizenship, the confusion grew. I chatted with a few friends and teachers and realized that schools, teachers and parents each had their own interpretation of what LAWN meant.

As CAPSC Executive members we take turns attending CBE Trustee meetings; I was fortunate to attend the September 7th meeting at which, Brant Parker and Cathy Faber from Innovation and Learning Technology, presented on LAWN and Digital Citizenship. I left feeling encouraged because it is the first time that I am really seeing the results of Inspiring Education and Inspiring Action really impacting the way our kids learn. The use of digital devices in our schools is working toward the CBE Ends and the Inspiring Education vision of the Educated Albertan 20 years from now. Out of Inspiring Education Albertans agree that the Educated Albertan will be; an engaged learner; an ethical citizen and will have an entrepreneurial Spirit. I think most of us agree that the use of Digital Devices is something that our children (and hesitantly for some of us) must be able to use in our learning and our work. In fact Mr.Parker said that 96% of future learning requires some form of digital devices.

The problem is of course in HOW we implement this new way of learning. There is a lot of confusion and some genuine concerns from parents, staff, Trustees and students.

Mr.Parker explained that the first concern is of course safety and that teachers must help students learn HOW to conduct themselves appropriately both at school and at home when using digital technologies. There are on-line modules that teacher can access for training and materials that can be used for Professional Development Days. There is already a system of 'content filtering' in place which allows for 4 levels of access, 1 being very restrictive and the 4th being very open. This would apply to any wireless device used in the school both personal and CBE devices. At this point the Principal determines which level is appropriate for their school.

There are references to 'Ever-greening' and possibly moving to a system where instead of just replacing current desktops we replace them with a digital device that students can take home.

Concerns, questions? Join us at the September 15th CAPSC meeting where Mr.Parker will present information on LAWN and Digital Citizenship and answer your questions. He is genuinely interested in feedback from parents. Don't miss this opportunity!

For more information on Digital Citizenship visit, http://www.innovativelearning.ca

Posted by: Eryn Kelly (CAPSC Executive Member)

Trustee Elections: Make Sure Your Voice is Heard

There are many ways to get involved in the democratic process that is so key to a healthy education system in our province. The Public School Boards' Association of Alberta (PSBAA), in a back to school message to parents, is calling for all of us to step up to the plate and make a difference. This civic election is key - transformational change is upon us and old challenges remain. You can have your voice heard in the following ways:

• CAPSC Public School Trustee Forums (see our website for complete schedule)



• Look for the Public School Trustee Questionnaire coming soon from CAPSC and the ATA (again see our website for more details and a link to the questionnaire and candidates' responses)



• Engage the candidates through social media - facebook, candidate's website, twitter (CAPSC will post links after September 20th when all candidates are confirmed)



• Share and discuss information at your school council meeting



• Talk it up in your community



• But most importantly - VOTE!

Alberta Education Wants Your Input!

Alberta Education is asking for your input on the future of education in the province. A new Transformation Guide survey is now open, and focuses on topics such as personalized learning, inclusive education and school facilities. There will also be an opportunity to participate in an online facilitated dialogue at a later date.