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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08.3a Committee of the Whole Public 2 October 2018 1 REPORT, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE REPORT, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE PUBLIC Tuesday, October 2, 2018, 7:00 pm Board Room Administration Building 133 Greenbank Road Ottawa, Ontario Trustees Present: Trustee Scott, Trustee Boothby, Trustee Olsen Harper, Trustee Ellis, Trustee Fisher, Trustee Penny, Trustee Seward, and Trustee Schwartz. Staff Present: Director Adams, Associate Director Reynolds, Superintendent Baker, Chief Financial Officer Carson, Superintendent Farrish, Executive Officer Giroux, Superintendent McCoy, Manager Mallan, Manager Pernari-Hergert, Communications Coordinator Hunter, Diversity and Equity Coordinator Lawrence, Strategic Analyst Rahim, Strategic Analyst Joseph-Clost, and Committee Coordinator Rock. Non-Voting Representatives Present: Renald Cousineau, Ottawa-Carleton Secondary Schools Administrators’ Network (OCSSAN), and Les Robinson, Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF). 1. Call to Order - Chair of the Board Vice-Chair Scott called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. She acknowledged that the meeting is taking place on unceded Algonquin Territory and thanked the Algonquin Nations for hosting the meeting on their land. Vice-Chair Scott welcomed Stacey-Ann Morris from the Advisory Committee on Equity (ACE) to the Committee of the Whole. Isaac Glassman welcomed Milo Salem from Merivale High School who is the non-voting representative from the Student Senate. 2 2. Approval of Agenda Moved By Trustee Fisher THAT the agenda be approved. Carried 3. Briefing from the Chair Chair Seward announced that after a comprehensive search, the Board of Trustees has appointed a new Director of Education. Camille Williams-Taylor will join the OCDSB as Director of Education in January 2019. Camille is a recognized leader in public education in Ontario, known for her creative and innovative leadership and her capacity to lead change. The District will benefit from her extensive knowledge and commitment to equity, inclusion and human rights. Camille is passionate about bringing voice to students, staff and families to foster positive relationships and support student success. Chair Seward advised that the Ministry of Education has announced that they will begin their consultations on Education in Ontario by inviting parents, students, educators, and interested individuals or organizations to provide feedback on student performance, job skills, standardized testing, financial literacy, cell phones in classrooms, health and physical education curriculum, and a Parents’ Bill of Rights. Participants may participate in the consultation by completing and submitting an online form or survey, or registering for a telephone town hall. The consultation period will close on 15 December 2018. Chair Seward noted that, in addition to the letters that were sent earlier, the Board will provide feedback. Chair Seward advised that the OCDSB is seeking to appoint up to three community representatives, who have an interest in issues related to exceptional children, to sit on the OCDSB’s Special Education Advisory Committee. The appointment will be effective from December 1, 2018 until November 14, 2022. The Committee meets monthly to consider and make recommendations to the Board regarding special education programs and services for exceptional children. Further information on the application process is available on the District’s website. In response to a query from Trustee Ellis, Trustee Seward advised that the District will keep the public informed about the three phases of the Ministry consultations. 4. Briefing from the Director Director Adams congratulated the Board on their choice of Camille Williams- Taylor as the next Director of Education. 3 Director Adams advised that West-Carleton Secondary School re-opened on Wednesday last week and Knoxdale Public School re-opened last Friday. She thanked the first responders, OCDSB staff, and the community members for all of their hard work. She also thanked everyone at West Carleton Secondary School for their assistance in providing residents with food, shelter, and most of all, their support. Director Adams advised that the 2018 Parent Conference will be taking place on 3 November 2018, in partnership with the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) and the Ottawa-Carleton Assembly of School Councils (OCASC). Dr. Peg Dawson, co-author of "Smart but Scattered", will be the featured keynote speaker. 5. Presentation to June Girvan Re: OCDSB Motion on the International Decade for People of African Descent Chair Seward advised that June Girvan is well known in Ottawa as a community leader, activist, and philanthropist. In 2016, she was one of twenty distinguished people who were invested with the prestigious Order of Ontario. Her career has included positions in teaching, and curriculum development, and she has served as an Education Officer with the Ontario Ministry of Education. After her retirement, June founded the J’Nikira Dinqinesh Education Centre which serves children, youth and immigrant families through unique programs that foster intercultural understanding, racial harmony and social justice. She is currently the acting President of Black History Ottawa. Last April, June made a delegation at the 17 April meeting of the Committee of the Whole calling upon the Board to provide leadership with regard to the promotion and protection of human rights by formally recognizing the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent. On 22 May 2018, the Board unanimously adopted the declaration recognizing 2015-2024 as the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent, and committed to undertake a number of activities to reduce barriers and improve equity of access and opportunities for students of African descent. On behalf of the Board, Chair Seward presented a framed copy of the Board motion that was unanimously approved on 22 May 2018. Director Adams advised that since the Board’s adoption of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent, the District has committed to undertake a number of activities to reduce barriers and improve equity of access and opportunities for all students, including those of African descent. She noted that these activities include developing and implementing enhanced methodologies to differentiate the allocation of resources to improve equity of opportunity for all students, and providing cultural proficiency and bias-aware training for senior staff and those involved in employee selection processes. The District will also identify students and groups of students who face barriers to learning and differentiate supports to close achievement gaps. 4 Director Adams also advised that the District fully supports the Board’s focus on equity and joins the Board of Trustees in its commitment to realize a culture that continually balances equity of opportunity and access for all. June Girvan advised that this is a historic day for the village of People of African Descent. She commended the principal of her first child’s school who mentored her throughout her career and noted that, when she arrived in Ottawa, she was the only female principal. Ms. Girvan advised that she passed away shortly before her 96th birthday. June Girvan asked her family to stand and be recognized. She acknowledged that there was another group in attendance from the Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Both groups are in the social justice world together as they have a shared history. June Girvan advised that she would like to hand the proclamation to the people who were in attendance with her as many of them are graduates of the OCDSB. She thanked Chair Seward, Director Adams, and Trustee Menard for creating this moment. Ms. Girvan advised that she began this work because she was concerned about her own children, who are of African descent, and what was going to happen to them in the school system. The movement is about encouraging youth of Indigenous and African descent to self- actualize and to do their fair share in creating a better Canada. Vice-Chair Scott noted that there is a great deal of work to be done. 6. Delegations There were no delegations. 7. Matters for Action: 8. Report from Statutory and Other Committees 8.1 Report 5, Special Education Advisory Committee, 12 September 2018 Moved By Trustee Boothby THAT Report 5, Special Education Advisory Committee, dated 12 September 2018, be received. Carried 5 9. Matters for Discussion: 9.1 Report 18-086, Measuring Progress on Stewardship (M. Giroux, ext. 8310) Your Committee had before it Report 18-086 providing information on the District's progress to optimize learning conditions for all students through the responsible and sustainable management of resources by 2019. Executive Officer Giroux, Strategic Analyst Joseph-Clos, and CFO Carson presented the following information: Stewardship is defined as "a culture that practices ethical decision- making, and social, economic, and environmental sustainability." The strategies identified to support this objective include: • Improving access to learning environments and optimize the use of all resources through school accommodation and program review planning; • Enhancing operational practices to effectively and responsibly manage human and financial resources in support of students; and • Modeling sustainability, smart energy use and sound environmental practices for students. Specific examples of stewardship strategies include: • Using school utilization rates to optimize school spaces (i.e., 2016- 2017 accommodation reviews); • Net metering and reducing greenhouse gas emissions; • Installing filling stations to replace approximately 6 million plastic water bottles; • Increasing the number of eco-school sites; • Building new gyms in 3 grade 7-12 schools; • Moving to online platforms, and away from paper and forms; and • Management of human resources. During the discussion, the following information was provided: • The backlog for repairs to schools is approximately $700 million dollars with regard to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funding Plan (GGRF); • There is no indication that the Board will be receiving more funding for the GGRF; • The work on the greenhouse bus is scheduled for the summer of 2019; • Trustee Schwartz asked to be informed of which schools are participating in these programs; • Trustee Fisher and Scott suggested that information be provided on challenging school renovations; 6 • Renovations to older schools are costly. Priority is given to making middle-range schools fully accessible; • Student Trustee Glassman noted many student organizations focus on the environment and queried whether there was a way to incorporate more student involvement into this strategy. CFO Carson advised that there is a joint staff-community committee. Director Adams advised that Superintendent Baker will follow up on this issue; • Schools do a good job at building awareness of sustainability programs such as the litterless lunch and walking school bus programs; • The amount of waste in schools has increased, possibly due to growth in the number of schools, numerous school-based initiatives, and the City's refusal to come onto District property to collect waste; • Staff is looking at ways to reduce waste; • The investment in new systems and processes is deemed "service improvements" such as online forms and technology upgrades; • The District can send messaging simultaneously across all systems via the Communications department; • School websites, staff portals, the District's website, and social media platforms have been updated for efficiency; • Maintaining live data may require additional staff to collect the information; • The School Website Coordinator position will monitor best practices, and accommodate online efficiencies with up-to-date information; however, some information will continue to be provided by schools; • Board Services has migrated agenda and minutes preparation to an online platform; and • Stacey-Ann Morris, ACE representative, noted that some parents do not have access to the internet. Executive Officer Giroux advised that this process is to facilitate the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) compliance. The District has a number of strategies available to communicate with parents, and based on responses from many parents, the preferred mode of communication is email. As the needs of the community change, the strategy will change. 10. Information Items: 10.1 Report from OPSBA (if required) Trustee Boothby advised that a written report was provided to the committee members. She advised that the President of OPSBA spoke to Minister Thompson and the following points were noted: • Ontario has a good education system that is respected around the world; 7 • OPSBA received a link to Ernst and Young audit and their recommendations; • The Peel District School Board has done a lot of work in the last few years on how to support marginalized students. They have introduced curriculum choices that were written by black staff and focus on developing a positive identity for black students; and • OPSBA has two policy teams looking at the Ministry consultation taking place across the province. 10.2 New Ministry Initiatives Update (if required) There were no new Ministry initiatives. 10.3 OSTA Update (if required) There was no OSTA update. 11. New Business - Information and Inquiries There was no new business. 12. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m. _________________________ Lynn Scott, Chair