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Receipt of Annual Report, Alternative Schools Advisory CommitteeALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS ADVISORY COMMITTEE 2022–2023 ANNUAL REPORT Committee Members Carolyn Webb (Parent @ Churchill),Emily Addison (Parent @ Churchill),Tori McCormick (Parent @ Riverview),Laura Mackenzie (Parent @ Riverview),Alastair Mullin (Parent @ Summit),Bob Gordon (parent @ Lady Evelyn),Danielle Fontaine (community member),Meg Max (Parent @ Riverview), Pamma Watson (Parent @ Regina),Oriane (Parent @ Riverview),Jaclyn Myers (Parent @ Regina), Christie Verburgh-Post (Parent @ Summit),Sam Kazak (Parent @ Riverview),Melanie Bartlett (Parent @ Regina),Caroline Sparling (Teacher @ Riverview,Grace Myers (Parent @ Regina),Eleri Morgan (Teacher @ Summit),Ananda Kelly (Parent @ Summit,Staff @ Lady Evelyn &Summit),Amy Hannah (Superintendent),Isabelle Bourdeau Flannigan (principal @ Summit),Kim Esdaile (principal @ Lady Evelyn),Amanda Presley (Trustee),Suzanne Nash (Trustee) Committee Chair Emily Addison (Parent Member,Co-Chair),Carolyn Webb (Parent Member,Co-Chair) Activities and Achievements 2022-2023 Much of this year’s work was summarized in our presentation to the Committee of the Whole on March 29th 2022 (as seen here).Here is some additional information: ●The ASAC Terms of Reference were passed by the Board of Trustees in September 2022. ●With the help of Board staff,we created an ASAC webpage that outlines the work of our committee and how the public can attend our meetings.We also established a formal board email address for communication. ●We held all seven planned committee meetings in addition to some informal working group meetings.All committee meetings included a wide invitation to all school councils,staff and trustees in addition to the sharing of meeting notes with those communities. ●Our meetings included families from all five Alternative program sites and staff from three of the five sites. ●Through consultation with all five school councils,we have been drafting a shared principal profile.There has been lots of rich conversation and we are close to finalizing that document. ●We did a fair bit of brainstorming about how communications could be improved regarding the Alternative program (e.g.,collect and promote testimonials;open houses;program name change,school handbooks,video).This included a very positive meeting with the Communications department.We didn’t have time/volunteer effort to action these items as much as we would like.We’ll carry that work forward. ●We held two rich conversations around the Board’s strategic planning process and provided lots of feedback. ●We consulted with all four K-6 alternative schools regarding the current school boundaries and met with the Planning department.They are looking into making a few minor changes. We also asked about class sizes and planning given shifting student populations and needs. ●We provided encouragement and financial support for an alternative schools collaboration event organized by teaching staff.The invite went out to all staff associated with the five alternative school sites and there was a rich 2+hr discussion with over 50 staff participating. ●We did some brainstorming on who has responsibilities for what regarding the Alternative program so as to clarify where responsibilities lie and whether items are falling through the cracks. ●Through Superintendent Hannah, semi-regular alternative principal discussions were reinstated. These hadn’t happened since the change in how Superintendencies are structured (spring 2020). ●We requested, through SEAC, comparative data regarding the % of students with IEPs (and the numbers waiting for assessment). ●We reached out about challenges that Riverview was facing this year. ●We looked into the school climate data across the five sites. ●We did some initial investigation into timetabling and team teaching to see if there were any limitations to teacher practice. ●We received 10yrs worth of archival records from a previous ASAC chair. We organized these, worked with Superintendent Hannah’s office to have them digitized, and we have made them available to core ASAC members as reference material. ●We worked through Superintendent Hannah to have staff job postings at Alternative schools reflect the alternative program and tenets. ●We reached out to both the TDSB alternative advisory committee and to Nina Bascia (OIST/UT professor) to collect information about alternative schools in other areas. ●We did some initial research into updating the tenets and developing school handbooks. ●We developed a collective work plan. Plans for the 2023-2024 School Year ●Develop recommendations for the Board of Trustees on how OCDSB can further support the program. ●Continue investigation into potentially changing the name of the program. (We have not decided whether the community wants this but first need to understand what the process might be.) ●Pursue the implementation of a number of initiatives to better raise awareness about and promote the Alternative program (e.g., organize information nights so that families with any age of student can learn more about the program; create a flyer about the program). ●Work with the Superintendent and staff and school councils to improve communication and collaboration across the Alternative schools (e.g., staff collaboration events). ●We may work to clarify/strengthen a bit of the language in the Alternative tenets. ●Look at taking action on other items identified in the Spring 2021 Community Consultation. We will be meeting with Superintendent Hannah in June to further develop our 2023-2024 work plan. Proposed 2023-204 Meeting Schedule September 18 October 23 November 27 January 29 February 26 March 25 April 15 May 13 Attachments/Links Slide deck from the presentation to the Board April 25 2023