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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03 PIC Report 1 15 January 2014 Parent Involvement Committee 1 15 January 2014 Report No. 1 REPORT NO. 1 PARENT INVOLVEMENT COMMITTEE TO: The Committee of the Whole (Public) DATE: 15 January 2014 A meeting of the Parent Involvement Committee was held this evening in the Mezzanine, 133 Greenbank Road, Ottawa, commencing at 6:00 p.m. with Superintendent Stephen Sliwa in the Chair and the following in attendance: PARENT MEMBERS: Susan Fullerton, Carrie Eaton, Michael Urminsky, Catherine Chung How, Jen Muise, and Deepika Grover COMMUNITY MEMBER: Susan Ingram NON-VOTING MEMBERS: Lynn Scott, Trustee Stephen Sliwa, Superintendent of Instruction Diane Cousineau, Principal, Lakeview Public School STAFF: Jennifer Adams, Director of Education Michèle Giroux, Executive Officer, Corporate Services Pino Buffone, Superintendent of Curriculum Services Paula Marble, Policy Analyst Kelly Sullivan, Board/Committee Coordinator OTHER: Nadine Clarke, OCASC Secondary School Representative Donna Blackburn, Trustee 1. Call to Order Superintendent Sliwa called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. Approval of Agenda Moved by Susan Fullerton, THAT the agenda be approved. - Carried – 3. Committee Appointments Superintendent Sliwa provided an overview of the nomination/election process for the meeting and called for nominations for the position of chair of PIC. Parent Involvement Committee 2 15 January 2014 Report No. 1 a. Chair Catherine Chung How nominated Susan Fullerton for the position of Chair. Moved by Carrie Eaton, THAT nominations be closed. - Carried - Susan Fullerton was declared Chair of PIC by acclamation. Ms. Fullerton assumed the chair for the remainder of the meeting. b. Vice-chair Catherine Chung How nominated Carrie Eaton for the position of Vice- chair. Moved by Michael Urminsky, THAT nominations be closed. - Carried – Carrie Eaton was declared Vice-chair of PIC by acclamation. 4. Approval of Minutes Moved by Carrie Eaton, THAT Report 9, dated 20 November 2013 be received. - Carried – 5. Chair’s Report Chair Fullerton welcomed everyone to the first meeting of 2014. She noted that, due to a full agenda, the meeting may be longer than usual. Speaking further to timing of meetings, Chair Fullerton asked whether the 6:00 p.m. start time was still convenient for the majority of members. There were a few comments regarding traffic in the evening, but the general consensus was that the meetings should remain at 6:00 p.m. Chair Fullerton added that the start time would remain at 6:00 p.m., but Committee could reconsider the timing at a later date. 6. Director’s Report Director Adams thanked members for their contribution to PIC, as engaged parents improve students’ learning experience. She highlighted the important relationship PIC has with OCASC and how the combination of the two committees helps parents connect to their child’s learning. Parent Involvement Committee 3 15 January 2014 Report No. 1 7. PIC Orientation for New Members Executive Officer Giroux invited all members to introduce themselves. She directed members’ attention to the placemat, which provides an overview to the work of PIC. Executive Officer Giroux advised that members’ should look in their orientation packages for more detailed information of the work described on the placemat. Executive Officer Giroux provided an overview of PIC, highlighting the following points: the importance of parent engagement, the legislation and bylaws that govern the committee, the mandate, the relationship between PIC and OCASC, membership, meetings, funding, and the speaker series. Executive Officer Giroux emphasized the importance of PIC members’ roles as ambassadors for the parent community. She encouraged all members to ask questions or provide input at meetings or offline on any matter that is important to them or their communities. 8. Report 13-140, District-wide Action Plan for Numeracy a. A Numeracy Guide for Parents/Guardians Superintendent Buffone thanked the Committee for their feedback last year on the Numeracy Guide, adding that it has been incorporated into the updated pamphlet. He provided an overview of the pamphlet, highlighting the importance of a framework for balanced math which includes operational skills in a meaningful problem solving context. Superintendent Buffone also distributed the document provided to teachers for reference. He emphasized that staff hope to echo the gains the District has made with respect to literacy with numeracy. During discussion, and in response to questions, the following points were made:  The Guide is intended as a broad overview for parents, as part of the Numeracy Action Plan;  Teachers are encouraged to vary their instructional strategies to include students working in groups and sharing solutions, individual problem solving, and direct instruction to balance the various components of numeracy;  Cross-curricular math instruction is also encouraged. For example, having students count beats in music, recognize symmetry in art class, or measure distances in geography class;  Teachers are encouraged to use differentiated instruction and use their professional judgment to recognize students’ strengths with respect to learning math;  Students who struggle in math can often demonstrate their learning using problem solving better than operational exercises; Parent Involvement Committee 4 15 January 2014 Report No. 1  Ms. Cousineau advised that differentiated instructional practices and combining problem solving and operational skills has proven successful in her school;  72,000 copies of The Numeracy Guide were sent to schools to be distributed to parents, they will be available in family literacy centres, parent resource rooms at schools, at the Board office, at school council math nights, school information nights, school council meetings, and online;  Parents have often learned how to solve problems differently than their children, and teachers and students are encouraged to recognize there are many approaches to solving math problems;  When parents are helping their children with math, they should be encouraged to look to a variety of resources, for example online videos, and not rely solely on the textbook;  How students are assessed and evaluated should be clearly communicated to parents. A separate guide for parents regarding assessments and evaluations is in draft form;  Including parents in the School Improvement Plan for Student Achievement (SIPSA) with respect to numeracy would be beneficial;  Schools are using purposeful practice to connect numeracy to their entire school environment, for example, tracking the number of donations to a food bank and determining how many donations are required before the goal is met;  School staff is working to improve school to home communications in all areas, including numeracy information; and  Numeracy frameworks and effective guides for math instruction are a focus of the Province. 9. Report 14-013, Review of Parent Involvement Committee Publication: Your Child’s Education- Be a Part of It! Executive Officer Giroux noted that this pamphlet is available in multiple languages and demonstrates there are a variety of ways for parents to be involved in their child’s learning. She requested members’ feedback regarding potential revisions to enhance the usability of the pamphlet. During discussion, members provided the following suggestions for improving the pamphlet:  Mr. Urminsky suggested a ‘notes’ section at the back of the pamphlet with prompts such as ‘what three things can I do as a parent to be more involved?’. He noted that while this prompt might be useful for some parents in each section, it may be overwhelming for some parents;  Ms. Muise suggested including web resources and specific links to areas of interest on the District website rather than simply the general site;  An electronic version online with active links would be useful; Parent Involvement Committee 5 15 January 2014 Report No. 1  Ms. Clarke suggested sharing this resource with teachers to provide them with some suggestions on how to encourage parents to be involved;  Ms. Grover expressed the view that the document reinforces the importance of out of school parent involvement;  Catherine Chung How suggested adding more graphics and key words than text;  Ms. Muise suggested adding other contacts than just the homeroom teacher that may interact with students, for example Educational Assistants (EA) or librarians. Chair Fullerton added that explaining those other roles would be helpful;  Ms. Clarke noted that there are limited opportunities for secondary parents to meet their child’s teachers; and  Executive Officer Giroux noted there are differences in curriculum nights and parent teacher interviews and suggested making a follow up appointment with teachers if parents are unable to connect during these nights. Executive Officer Giroux advised that staff would revise the document and bring it back for the Committee’s review before printing. Chair Fullerton encouraged members to provide any further comments offline. 10. EQAO Parent Forum Executive Officer Giroux advised that anyone can attend the forum, and in the past parents have reported finding the information useful. She added that the information will be advertised on the District website, via social media, and in the school council newsletter and she requested members share the information with their school councils. 11. Report 13-112, OCSDB Exit Outcomes Executive Officer Giroux directed members’ attention to the Exit Outcomes, explaining that it describes characteristics and skills that all students should leave school with, regardless of their pathway. She added that Director Adams is involved at an international level with respect to this work. Executive Officer Giroux advised that Stuart Shanker will be presenting at a Speaker Series this year and his work on self- regulation is related to learning skills and to the Exit Outcomes. 12. Member Information Ms. Clarke advised that the Calendar Committee has proposed the District adopt the Ministry proposal of a standardized start and end date, and holiday break. The Committee will consult with the community, federations, and OCASC, Ms. Clarke added that parents historically would like to know those dates as early as possible. Parent Involvement Committee 6 15 January 2014 Report No. 1 13. New Business, Update on Recent Initiatives/News, Innovations Executive Officer Giroux advised that the District has acquired updated Synrevoice technology, a home school communication tool, and will begin implementing the platform in stages. She noted that the secondary system will be similar with enhanced features and that there will be some updates to the elementary system. Executive Officer Giroux added that there is some work required with respect to migrating parent information to Trillium. Ms. Eaton advised that parents were concerned about the procedure for schools reporting absences to parents. Executive Officer Giroux advised that Synrevoice offers an elementary safe arrivals program that tracks student attendance and the system makes calls home to parents, similar to the role of an office administrator following the current procedure. She emphasized that Safe Arrivals module will not be implemented in March with the rest of Synrevoice and will undergo a pilot phase next year before parents will see the program in schools. Executive Officer Giroux advised that the student survey data reports are available for each school. She suggested school councils review the document with their principals. Executive Officer Giroux noted that the document is only available in hard copy, but will be available electronically shortly. 14. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Susan Fullerton Chair Parent Involvement Committee