HomeMy WebLinkAboutPIC Report 2 12 February 2014
Parent Involvement Committee 1 12 February 2014
Report No. 2
REPORT NO. 2
PARENT INVOLVEMENT COMMITTEE
TO: The Committee of the Whole (Public) DATE: 12 February 2014 A meeting of the Parent Involvement Committee was held this evening in the
Trustees’ Committee Room, 133 Greenbank Road, Ottawa, commencing at 6:00 p.m.
with Susan Fullerton in the Chair and the following in attendance:
PARENT
MEMBERS: Carrie Eaton, Michael Urminsky, Sajjad Khan, Christopher Dodge
COMMUNITY
MEMBERS: Susan Ingram and Anne Teutsch
NON-VOTING
MEMBERS: Lynn Scott, Trustee
Walter Piovesan, Associate Director of Education
Diane Cousineau, Principal, Lakeview Public School
STAFF: Stephen Sliwa, Superintendent of Instruction
Michèle Giroux, Executive Officer, Corporate Services
Olga Grigoriev, Superintendent of Instruction
Brett Reynolds, Principal of Inclusive, Safe and Caring Programs
Matthew Gagnier, Instructional Coach, Inclusive, Safe and Caring
Programs
Paula Marble, Policy Analyst
Kelly Sullivan, Board/Committee Coordinator
1. Call to Order
Chair Fullerton called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
2. Approval of Agenda
Moved by Susan Ingram,
THAT the agenda be approved.
- Carried –
3. Approval of Minutes
Moved by Michael Urminsky,
THAT Report 1, dated 15 January 2014 be received.
- Carried –
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Report No. 2
4. Chair’s Report
Chair Fullerton welcomed the new members to the Committee with a round of
introductions.
5. Director’s Report
Associate Director Piovesan advised that the Budget Committee had its first
meeting on 11 February 2014 to present staff’s initial thinking and for trustees to provide
their input on the 2014-2015 budget. He added that, as the Ministry has announced
they will release the Grants for Student Needs (GSN) in March, the public should expect
the budget to be ready in April. Information regarding the budget process is available on
the OCDSB website.
Associate Director Piovesan noted that the Advisory Committee for Extended
Day and Child Care Programs is seeking a member from the Parent Involvement
Committee. He added that the Advisory Committee’s recruitment and application
process is modeled after PIC’s process.
6. Ontario College of Teachers
Joe Jamieson, Deputy Registrar and Paul Di Ianni, External Relations Officer,
from the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT), provided an overview of how the OCT
regulates the profession of teachers in the public interest. During the presentation, Mr.
Jamieson highlighted the following:
The business of the College;
Standards of the profession of teaching;
How the college is organized, including membership;
How to find a teacher’s history and qualifications on the website;
Teacher education in Ontario;
The enhanced teacher education program, including additional
qualifications;
The accountability process for certified teachers;
The complaints and discipline process; and
Details of the public awareness initiative, including the College’s
newsletter, Speakers Bureau, and other resources available for parents.
A discussion ensued regarding the complaints and discipline of certified
teachers. During discussion and in response to questions the following points were
made:
The College’s priority is transparency to the public;
If a teacher is investigated the record of investigation and verdict is made
public and remains published, even if the teacher is found innocent;
A teacher is considered in good standing during an investigation;
Throughout an investigation the school board and police may have different
conditions for the teacher than the College;
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Teacher competency is measured during regulated performance appraisals;
If a teacher is found to be incompetent the Director of Education is required to
make a complain to the College as a member of the public; and
If parents are concerned about their child’s teacher they should first work with
the school principal and superintendent.
Mr. Urminsky noted that, with the introduction of Full-Day Kindergarten (FDK),
students are working closely with Early Childhood Educators (ECE). Mr. Jamieson
noted that ECEs belong to the College of Early Childhood Educators and are not
regulated by the OCT.
Ms. Eaton requested further information regarding teacher certification colleges
across the country. Mr. Jamieson advised that only Ontario has additional certification
programs, but basic certification for teachers occurs in all provinces. He added that, as
there is no principal qualification program in other provinces, principals from other
provinces are not legally able to be principals in Ontario. He added that the College is
working to create a revised certification program for out of province principals
transferring to Ontario schools.
Mr. Jamieson added that the College is working to create more awareness of the
OCT and its work across the province, which includes presenting to Parent Involvement
Committees. He encouraged members to contact him with any further questions.
7. Tell Them From Me School Climate Survey for Parents and Students
Mr. Gagnier provided the Committee with an overview of the Tell Them From Me
(TTFM) School Climate Survey for parents and surveys. During the presentation he
highlighted the following points:
The Ministry requires that schools undertake a school climate survey as part
of its bullying prevention and intervention plan;
Data collected from this year’s parent survey will be used with this year’s
student data to update schools’ bullying prevention and intervention plans;
TTFM is completed in a computer lab during class time;
It is an English-only survey that uses student friendly language;
The TTFM survey is anonymous and completely voluntary (students can opt-
out or skip individual questions);
There are two versions of the student survey; Grade 4-6 and Grade 7-12;
The TTFM Student Survey Measures:
o Social Engagement (belonging, using ICT, reading, positive
relationships);
o Institutional Engagement (homework time);
o Physical Fitness (how much activity);
o School Context (feeling safe, bullying);
o Classroom Context (positive learning climate);
o Family Context (aspirations, advocacy out of school);
o Demographic Factors (socio-economic factors);
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This year, parents will be invited by the school to complete the survey
online using a login provided by the school;
The survey is anonymous, voluntary, and confidential, with questions
similar to those asked to students;
The TTFM Parent Survey Measures if:
o parents feel welcome;
o parents are informed;
o parents support learning at home;
o the school supports learning;
o the school supports positive behavior;
o parents feel safety and inclusion is a priority at school;
The expected response rate of 10 to 20 percent is statistically significant;
Staff is hoping that completing the survey as a common experience with
their children with increase parental awareness and engagement;
Schools will participate in the survey from February to May, at a date
determined by the principal;
Individual schools can add up to two site based questions pertaining
specifically to climate. Staff has worked with principals to assist them in
developing appropriate questions;
Information about the survey is available on the OCSDB website and will
be communicated by schools in a variety of ways, including newsletters,
the website, and Synrevoice, among others;
Site specific information from last year’s survey is available and can be
accessed through the school principal; and
This year’s data will be available at varying times, as schools will be
completing the survey on different dates.
Executive Officer Giroux noted that the District is legislatively required to conduct
a school climate survey. She reminded members that the TTFM is the first survey used
to meet this requirement and the questions are focused on school climate; it is not
meant to be a client satisfaction survey or parent engagement survey. Superintendent
Grigoriev added that data collected from the survey brings schools further along on the
continuum of safe and caring environments, which is important to both staff and
families, while meeting the legislative requirements.
A discussion ensued regarding the survey being available only in English. Mr.
Gagnier advised that the survey is developed by the Learning Bar and is only available
in English, but staff is working with the Advisory Committee on Equity and other
community groups to notify all parents about the survey and assist with translation
services.
Mr. Dodge asked how the information will be used at the school, specifically, is it
used to measure principal performance. Superintendent Grigoriev advised that the
results will inform the principal of the climate of the school and is used as a guide for
principals to improve their school climate in partnership with the school’s safe and
accepting schools team and school council.
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Ms. Teutsch noted that ‘TTFM’ is only meaningful to parents who are aware of
the survey tool and suggested that using ‘climate survey’ more often when
communicating the survey to parents.
Speaking to the questions regarding parents feeling welcome, Ms. Teutsch
suggested that the question should include reference to whether parents feel they are
listened to. Executive Officer Giroux acknowledged the concern and noted the survey is
designed by the Learning Bar for the Ontario climate and the questions cannot be
edited, adding that questions are more relevant correlated as a whole rather than in
isolation.
8. Member Information
a. OCASC Report
There was no OCASC report.
9. New Business, Update on Recent Initiatives/News, Innovations
Executive Officer Giroux provided the following update:
The Chair and Vice-Chair will attend the 5th Annual Parent Involvement
Committee Symposium;
The Board has discussed well-being as a part of the strategic plan as well
as implementation of the Board Improvement Plan for Well-being, to
determine how well-being will be addressed at both the District and school
level;
Dr. Petra Duschner, Manager of Mental Health and Critical Services, has
invited PIC members to a parent session regarding mental health on 27
February 2014, as there was limited attendance at the first session
offered;
Secondary schools will migrate to the Synrevoice, a home school
communication tool, on 06 March 2014 and Elementary schools will being
using the system in early April 2014;
Staff will be trained with email and voicemail; and
Staff will assess the integrity of data in schools to ensure effective
communication to all parents.
10. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Susan Fullerton
Chair
Parent Involvement Committee