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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPIC 02 November 2016 Report 5 REPORT NO. 5 PARENT INVOLVEMENT COMMITTEE TO: The Committee of the Whole (Public) DATE: 02 November 2016 A meeting of the Parent Involvement Committee was held this evening in the library of Greenbank Middle School, 168 Greenbank Road, commencing at 6:09 p.m. with Michèle Giroux in the Chair and the following in attendance: PARENT MEMBERS: Susan Fullerton, Mostafizur Khan, Diana Mills, Gita Nurlaila. OCASC Member: Tara Hawkins Kavanagh NON-VOTING MEMBERS: Lynn Scott, Trustee; and Diane Cousineau, Principal. STAFF: Michèle Giroux, Executive Officer, Corporate Services; Pino Buffone, Superintendent of Instruction; Dorothy Baker, Superintendent of Curriculum Services; Joan Oracheski, Manager of Quality Assurance; Sue Baker, Policy Analyst; and Nicole Guthrie, Board/Committee Coordinator. 1. Call to Order Executive Officer Giroux called the public meeting to order at 6:09 p.m. 2. Approval of Agenda Moved by Tara Hawkins Kavanagh, THAT the agenda be approved. - Carried – 3. Approval of Minutes Moved by Gita Nurlaila, THAT Report 4, dated 11 May 2016, be received. - Carried – 4. Director’s Report Superintendent Buffone noted that the school year had commenced with a smooth but busy start. The first professional activity day was held on October 27 and it featured learning on: health and safety, math, and early year’s education. He added that Parent Involvement Committee 12 October 2016 Report 5 - 1 - the Rainbow Youth Forum would take place on November 3 at Confederation High School. This event celebrates diversity and helps District staff and students enhance their knowledge and awareness of gender identity, sexual orientation and gender expression. Executive Officer Giroux thanked the committee for attending the rescheduled meeting and accommodating the move to Greenbank Middle School on such short notice. She added that, due to a power outage, the Administration building at 133 Greenbank remained closed, but they anticipate the situation to be resolved and advised that an update would be issued by 8 p.m. 5. Election of the Chair and Vice-Chair a. Chair The committee agreed they would elect a Chair for the current meeting only. Tara Hawkins Kavanagh nominated Mostafizur Khan for the position of Chair for the meeting. Mostafizur Khan accepted the nomination. Moved by Tara Hawkins Kavanagh, THAT nominations be closed. - Carried – Mostafizur Khan was declared meeting Chair of PIC by acclamation. Mr. Khan assumed the chair for the remainder of the meeting. 6. Report 16-118, Establishment of a Membership Sub-Committee Your committee had before it Report 16-118, seeking to establish and appoint members to the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) membership sub-committee. In introducing the report, Executive Officer Giroux advised that the committee membership has both one and two year terms, several current members have expiring terms, advertising for membership has been initiated and that the Policy Analyst, Susan Baker is managing the responses. According to the bylaws a membership subcommittee must be appointed to manage the recruitment of new members. Executive Officer Giroux reported that Susan Ingram has indicated interest in sitting on the membership subcommittee. She noted that the subcommittee would be required to meet one time to review the candidates and make recommendations. * *revision Revised: 16 November 2016 Parent Involvement Committee 02 November 2016 Report 5 - 2 - Moved by Tara Hawkins Kavanagh, A. THAT a membership sub-committee be established; and B. THAT the following members be appointed to the membership sub-committee: • Parent Member Susan Fullerton; • Parent Member Susan Ingram; and • Director Designate. - Carried – 7. Appointment of New Members This item will be brought forward to the December 7 meeting. 8. Report 16-106, Consultation Plan for Draft P.129.GOV Complaints Your Committee had before it Report 16-106 outlining the draft policy created to assist in receiving, investigating and resolving expressions of concern from the public. In introducing the report, Executive Officer Giroux advised that the policy and the companion guide were created to support the public. The documents evolved out of a Board meeting and the direction of the Ombudsmen’s Office. Policy Analyst Baker summarized the policy and the companion guide. She advised that, in all instances, the complaint should be first addressed to the staff member closest to the issue. She noted that the document is specific in outlining roles and processes. Ms. Nurlaila questioned the complaints process concerning program or student transfer and whether or not there is an alternate escalation process for parents. Policy Analyst Baker advised that the course of action would be to speak with the principal, with a secondary option of the Superintendent. Superintendent Buffone added that, with respect to this particular matter, quite often the parent has not met with the teacher or the principal, and that if parents are still dissatisfied after the issue may be brought to the Superintendent. The movement of students is difficult and there may often be extenuating circumstances. Chair Khan briefly summarized the report and thanked staff for their input. Trustee Scott remarked that trustees have no individual decision making authority and are merely facilitators of the process. They hear complaints, make suggestions, and offer ideas. This role is conveyed in the policy and companion guide. * *revision Revised: 16 November 2016 Parent Involvement Committee 02 November 2016 Report 5 - 3 - 9. Report 16-125, Measuring Progress on Learning Your Committee had before it Report 16-125 highlighting the progress the District has made to date on the key priority of learning. Executive Officer Giroux welcomed Joan Oracheski, Manager of Quality Assurance and Dorothy Baker, Superintendent of Curriculum Services. Manager Oracheski provided the following information regarding the ASAR: • The results are important. They highlight areas that require further exploration and offer clues to improvements; • The report analyses multiple sources of information including provincial assessments (e.g.,EQAO) and local sources of data (e.g., report card data) and provides an overview of the progress the District has made in terms of improving achievement outcomes and narrowing gaps for our identified groups of students - ELLs and students with special needs, in particular. It helps to inform the goals and targets of the Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement (BIPSA) along with other information gathered from data literacy and pedagogical documentation sessions, reflections of school teams on their School Learning Plans which helped identify common strengths and opportunities (as noted in the measurement report on learning); • District students outperformed provincial counterpoints on seven of the ten EQAO assessments. The data indicates that progress was made in literacy and that math requires renewed attention and focus; • The District has narrowed the gaps in a number of areas, as measured by EQAO and report card data. District student pass rates have stayed the same or increased for 19 of 22 compulsory courses for grades 9 and 10. Students meeting/exceeding the provincial standard has remained the same or increased in 18 of 22 courses; • The report identifies a few key trends: applied level students are not performing as well as their academic level counterparts; modest increases in both the cohort graduation rate and the annual certification rate; success rates on the Grade 12 French Proficiency Test (DELF) remain high; and • Data will continue to be gathered to inform practice and make progress on District learning objectives. Chair Khan thanked Manager Orcheski for her presentation and expressed his gratitude to the many staff contributors of the report. Diana Mills questioned how an individual school would get the EQAO scores specific to that school. She also queried the results which indicate lower math scores and whether or not this was a function of the concentration on literacy. Manager Oracheski responded that access to individual school reports for the last five years is available on the EQAO website. The trend of lower achievement in math is seen at both the provincial and local levels. Superintendent Baker added that the five year data is important and reminded members that there was no EQAO data from last year. Parent Involvement Committee 02 November 2016 Report 5 - 4 - Trustee Scott suggested that members look at all schools in a particular zone to identify trends. The data will indicate if a particular school is performing at a similar, increasing or decreasing level. 10. Report 16-134, Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement and Well-being Your Committee had before it Report 16-134 outlining the Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement and Well-being (BIPSA). Superintendent Baker provided the following information regarding the BIPSA: • The Curriculum Service Department takes the ASAR, district reviews, School Learning Plans and a variety of other data sources and creates a Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement and Well-being annually; • The District uses the professional learning cycle (reflect, plan, act, observe) in school and board learning plans and, this year, the province is aligning with this cycle; • District students outperformed the province in seven of ten areas; • Math was identified as a problem area and will be a focus for this year; • Cohort data for the five identified groups indicate they will continue to need support; • Well-being is a Ministry and District priority; • Well-being plans are developed at schools to assist in matters such as bullying, mental health, building resilience, and gender identity and expression; • Superintendents of Instruction will provide coordinated professional development, plans and support through meetings and job embedded professional learning to support student achievement and well-being outcomes; • The BIPSA has three primary areas of focus with a series of strategies for each of the three areas: Mathematics, Building Strong Foundations and Well- being; • All schools will focus on Mathematics for their School Learning Plans. Math leads at each school will work to increase math knowledge and to share their learning. Math networks will be utilised to support students as they transition from elementary to secondary school. Student learning profiles will be used to design responsive learning experiences in math; • English is the language for primary mathematics. All kindergarten teachers, ECEs and teachers new to math will be supported with professional learning. English language learners, especially those new to Canada, have also been identified as a priority. Networks and resources will be provided for educators to support leaning in the English Language Development (ELD)programs; • Resources, learning opportunities for staff and tiered intervention will be provided to build capacity for kindergarten students with Autism to ensure these vulnerable children transition well into school and grade one; • The District will continue to provide culturally relevant learning for those students who identify as First Nations, Métis and Inuit; and Parent Involvement Committee 02 November 2016 Report 5 - 5 - • The District will provide support for the development of school well-being plans, the promotion of mental health, healthy classrooms and school environments, implementation of gender identity and gender expression as well as building capacity for daily physical activity. During the discussion and in response to questions the following points were noted: • Ms. Hawkins Kavanagh expressed concern that a focus on math would detract from other subjects. Superintendent Baker noted that the math leads will go deep into the subject. Their learning will be shared and tool kits will be created to transfer numeracy learning across all links in the curriculum; • Ms. Hawkins Kavanagh queried how student learning profiles will be completed. Superintendent Baker advised that every teacher is responsible for the learning needs of their students which include learning strategies for particular needs, i.e., English as Second Language (ESL). The profiles are indepth and contain valuable information on the student; i.e., their report card grades, conversations with teachers, project results, quiz scores, Student Education Transition Program (STEP), Individual Education Plans (IEP) etc.; • Ms. Nurlaila queried the measurement for Autism. Superintendent Baker responded that this is a professional diagnosis. Statistics indicate an increase in enrollment of children on the autism spectrum. The District plans to support programming with timely tiered intervention to support these learners; • Trustee Scott questioned whether or not anything was being done to ensure the concept of numeracy was reaching parents. Executive Officer Giroux responded that the District will host a session at the upcoming Parent Conference on the subject matter and have a math facts section in the OCDSB newsletter. Superintendent Baker added that the session at the Parent Conference will focus on how parents can support their child in mathematics in everyday life, to assist in making connections; and • Ms. Hawkins Kavanagh noted that she had difficulty in assisting her child with math homework and understanding the teacher’s expectations and queried what type of support exists for parents. Superintendent Buffone commented that math can be polarizing and difficult for parents. The District supports parents with its Online Math Support tool on the OCDSB website. This can assist in relieving frustration and provide parents and students with different alternatives to approaching the subject. Superintendent Baker added that it is important for parents to communicate with their child’s teacher on expectations. 11. Report 16-119, Elementary School Program Framework Report Your Committee had before it Report 16-119 which outlines the Elementary School Program Framework. Superintendent Baker provided the following information regarding the framework: Parent Involvement Committee 02 November 2016 Report 5 - 6 - • It is a consolidation of program reviews and policy; • It provides a roadmap of how optimum program planning can be achieved at individual schools and throughout the District; • It serves as a companion to the secondary framework. • The goals of the framework are: to ensure the provision of optimal learning environments through a range of program offerings; to provide programs as close as possible to a student’s home community; and to ensure equitable access to programs for students throughout the school district; • Elementary students currently have access to four programs: English with core French; Early French Immersion; Middle French Immersion and Alternative Program with Core French; and • Members were encouraged to provide input and feedback through the online survey and by email. 12. Update on Western and Eastern Secondary (Phase One) Area Reviews During discussion, and in response to questions, the following points were noted: • Executive Officer Giroux reported that over the next five years the District will be conducting student learning and pupil accommodation reviews that will cover most geographic areas across Ottawa; • The District is now in the consultation phase of a review of the Western and Eastern Secondary Reviews which will culminate with a proposed plan; • Two public meetings will be held in each review area; • Advisory committees were established for each family of schools in each review area and will meet three times; • ThoughtExchage, an online group insight platform, has been utilised successfully in the consultation with over 2000 participants and over 8000 responses; • The ThoughtExchange process is now in the star stage where participants can read ideas shared and star the ideas they like best; • Ms. Hawkins Kavanagh expressed the concern that the public and media perception of the accommodations review is negative. Superintendent Buffone advised that he attended a public meeting on the Eastern Secondary Review on November 1. He noted that attendees seemed to genuinely understand the issue and why the changes have been proposed. The District is concerned about empty pupil places with several schools functioning at lower capacity. This directly affects the Districts ability to offer a breadth of programs and services to students; • Ms. Hawkins Kavanagh queried whether or not school names would change to reflect a merger. Superintendent Buffone responded that there have been no discussions on this particular subject yet. Trustee Scott added that school names have changed in the past and that it depends on the community; • The notion that not everyone in the community is being reached is a perennial concern. The District has distributed information about the area reviews to all parents in affected schools on all media channels, has made translation Parent Involvement Committee 02 November 2016 Report 5 - 7 - available, and has engaged the community through the use of online participation software, ThoughtExchange; • Executive Officer Giroux added that the District has upgraded its Google translation capabilities to feature 1000 languages in an effort to support parents. Google translate has widely become the industry standard for online translation and the District uses the tool to introduce messages and concepts in the users native language. She noted that it is not the only strategy and that the District would continue to accommodate translation needs by request; • Chair Khan questioned how the District arrived at a point where they are facing 10,000 empty pupil spaces. Superintendent Buffone responded that changing demographics in the City of Ottawa have meant significant changes in programming and configuration of schools. The Planning Department review and account for natural ebbs, flows and neighbourhood resurgences. There is rarely a time when schools are at 100% capacity. The District goal with the proposed changes is 85% capacity. This allows for efficiency without a significant impact on the education goals of the board; and • Trustee Scott added that across the province there has been a general trend in the growth of Catholic schools, particularly high schools, and now there is competition with three other Boards for the same student population. 13. 2016-2017 PRO Grant Update Policy Analyst Baker advised that the District was awarded $61,735 for the 2016- 2017 Parents Reaching Out (PRO) Grants. She noted that the funding will support 64 school council groups. She added that $15,000 was also approved for a regional/provincial project but noted that this was only half of what PIC applied for. 14. Draft PIC Workplan for 2016-2017 a. Speaker Series: Fall 2016 During discussion, and in response to questions, the following points were noted: • Possible topics for the speaker series include: PRO grants, math and numeracy, well-being of LGBTQ+ , healthy eating, sleep, self- regulation, and bullying; • Tentative dates listed on folio 119 will be confirmed based on the availability of facilities; • Members were encouraged to share ideas for topics for the series; and • Chair Khan queried whether or not the topics and suggestions for speakers originated from particular schools or school councils. Executive Officer Giroux responded that should an individual school identify the need for a speaker on particular issue they will typically host the session independent from the series. b. Update re Conference for Parents AND SCHOOL Councils, 19 November 2016 Parent Involvement Committee 02 November 2016 Report 5 - 8 - Executive Officer Giroux advised that the Parent Conference and School Council Training Day will be held on November 19th from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Longfields-Davidson Heights School. Based on data from last year’s conference and discussions in the spring four themes were identified: special education, school council training, learning and well-being. Concurrent workshops will run in each theme area. Parents can attend three different sessions. The most popular sessions on emotional intelligence and individual education plans will return. The topics and sessions were specifically chosen to connect with the District exit outcomes. A new poster series will outline the exit outcomes and will clearly convey the characteristics and skills the District expects from its graduates. The outcomes will be clearly communicated by the Director in a 30 minute plenary address. Executive Officer Giroux noted there are limited childcare spaces available and pre-registration is recommended. She added that PIC will have a table at the event and Chair Khan will be present to speak about the Committee to interested conference attendees. Chair Khan queried whether or not there will be signers present at the conference. Executive Officer Giroux advised that there are multiple sessions and it would be difficult to have signers present at each session. Executive Officer Giroux, in response to Chair Khan’s query about the committee’s web and print material, responded that the District has recently signed a contract with a new service provider, SchoolMessenger. The new system will provide a richer online experience through the use of mobile apps and web content management. The new website will be easier to use and will further the Districts commitment to improve parent communication. Staff will be meeting with the vendor to approve the work plan in the coming weeks. The move to SchoolMessenger will permit the capacity for individual teacher sites and a school council section. It will be important for the committee to review the changes and provide feedback on the design. 15. Member information a. OCASC Report As Ms. Hawkins Kavanagh has not been able to attend previous meetings of OCASC, Trustee Scott advised that OCASC had good attendance for the October 20 meeting. A new Chair and Co-Chair were elected. She reported that there are still a number of positions on the committee that have yet to be filled. The meeting focused on questions about board initiatives, the accommodations * *revision Revised: 16 November 2016 Parent Involvement Committee 02 November 2016 Report 5 - 9 - review, the Gifted Program review, draft complaint resolution strategy, and the parent conference. b. Date to Remember Policy Analyst Baker drew attention to the proposed meeting schedule and indicated that another meeting of PIC on December 7 has been added to allow for the follow-up from the recruitment process and make new appointments. 16. New Business, Update on Recent Initiatives/News, Innovations There was no new business. 17. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:38 p.m. Mustafizur Khan Chair Parent Involvement Committee Parent Involvement Committee 02 November 2016 Report 5 - 10 -