Board Meeting: January 30, 2024
January 29, 2024
Agenda
Superintendent’s Reports
District Transitions Data
Assistant Superintendent Marcello Moino began the presentation with a review of the First People’s Principles of Learning and reminded they board about how they guide the work of the District. He shared two documents that guide the District’s work, including the Strategic Plan and the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning. He also presented the District’s Continuous Improvement Plan which includes the District’s Ensouling our Schools initiatives – a three block model with systems and structures, instructional practice, and social emotional learning.
District Principal Mike Pue continued the presentation by sharing data and highlighting how the data tells a story. He provided a brief explanation of the transition rates that are collected by the Ministry: 5-year completion rates and 6-year completion rates. He showed a graph of the District’s most recent 5 & 6 year completion rates which indicates a positive trend over the last few years. He noted that the Ministry does not include students on the Evergreen track and those students are not included in this data. He summarized that the District is graduating more students than the provincial average. He noted that the transition rate for Indigenous students is nearly 90 percent. He also shared that the rates of students with diverse abilities is better than the provincial average. The District’s rates for children and youth in care is also better than the provincial average. He commented on how the District has more work to do to improve these rates but this data informs staff on which priority learners to focus on. It is important to note that some students fall in more than one category – in all four categories for some students. He ended by saying that all of these successes come with a story and these stories start at the elementary level.
Principal Dan Woelders of North Otter Elementary and principal Kyle Featherstone from Wix-Brown Elementary shared success stories from their respective schools. Woelders talked about how at elementary school there is time spent on identifying indicators of student success or student challenges in transitioning. An example of an indicator of success includes student attendance rates. He explained how studies have shown that Grade 9 academic levels and Grade 3 reading levels are good indicators of success in transitions. Based on work at the school, they have indicated four indicators for struggling readers: speech/language development, phonemic awareness, letter-sound connections, and phonics skills. He showed examples of charts of student expected progress, information gathered to help the school “close the gap.” Woelders said the most important gap to address is in Grade 1. North Otter has implemented three ways to help close the gap: systemic and explicit phonemic awareness and phonics instruction, school-wide screeners and data-tracking, and early and targeted interventions. He noted the school’s positive recovery rate that focuses on students struggling with reading. As he explained, after one year of implementing changes, the school has 36% of students back on track and meeting reading expectations. He shared a story about a student’s progression and success and how they met grade expectations after school assessments and interventions were implmented.
Principal Kyle Featherstone talked about the goals at Wix-Brown. He provided some background on what the school did to help reach those goals. He said the school started professional learning communities and collaboration time with the purpose to improve instructional practice and come up with strategies to meet the action plans of the school. The staff implemented a Response To Intervention (RTI) system and structures. The school conducted what it refers to as a “literacy blitz,” which is extra time devoted multiple times a week to help the students that needed more support. Those students that needed more support worked in small groups. The students that were exceeding were doing enrichment activities. After sharing the results with staff, he noted that other staff wanted to put in similar structures in place. Currently, each grade group has protected RTI time to focus on the students that need the added support. He presented the most recent grade 2 reading results, which were significant as they were the first cohort that has received the RTI model of support since Kindergarten. He said that 81% of students were proficient/extending, 5% of students were developing, and 14% of students were emerging. Kyle Featherstone shared a student’s success story and demonstrated how they are proficient in reading at the Grade 2 level.
Moino closed the presentation by showing last year’s video of DW Poppy’s grad walk. He explained the purpose of the grad walk is give the graduates an opportunity to go back to their elementary schools and celebrate their achievements.
Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the report on District Transitions Data for information, as presented.
The Board approves the report as presented. Please note the specific start time function on YouTube is not working. You can scroll to 4:27 to watch the beginning of this agenda item.
Secretary-Treasurer’s Reports
Capital Projects Update 2023-2024
Secretary-Treasurer Brian Iseli provided an update on capital projects. He reported that there are currently four projects underway: Peter Ewart seismic expansion, LSS expansion, NE Latimer Elementary, and a modular expansion at Richard Bulpitt Elementary. Iseli provided the financial details of each project. He noted that Phase 1 of the Peter Ewart project has been completed. There are four phases in total. The LSS expansion construction is scheduled to start in July 2024 with expected completion in October 2025. The North East Latimer elementary school, with a capacity of 555 students, is another project planned. Construction is scheduled to start in July 2024 with completion for September 2025. The Richard Bulpitt Elementary modular project includes 6 classrooms for 150 students and is expected to start in the spring. He explained that the contractor intends to mobilize and setup at the site in the beginning of March. He shared concept photos and diagrams showing the layout of the modular project to the Board. The project is expected to be completed in September 2024.
Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the Second Quarter Report on Capital Projects 2023/2024 for information, as presented.
The Board approves the report as presented. Please note the specific start time function on YouTube is not working. You can scroll to 55:46 to watch the beginning of this agenda item.
Annual Review of Trustee Remuneration
Recommendation: That the Board of Education approves the increase of 3.4% effective January 1, 2024 based on the 12 month change in Canada Consumer Price Index (CPI) in accordance with Board Policy 7: Board Operations, section 11 and to update the salaries in Policy 7: Board Operation, section 11.1 with the new salaries.
The Board approved the above motion. Please note the specific start time function on YouTube is not working. You can scroll to 1:06:43 to watch the beginning of this agenda item.
Policy Committee
Notice of Motion Return – Policy 4: Trustee Code of Conduct
Recommendation: That the Board of Education approves Policy No. 4: Trustee Code of Conduct as presented.
The Board approved the above motion. Please note the specific start time function on YouTube is not working. You can scroll to 1:10:02 to watch the beginning of this agenda item.
Notice of Motion Return – Policy 20: Public Interest Disclosure
Recommendation: That the Board of Education approves Policy 20: Public Interest Disclosure as presented.
The Board approved the above motion. Please note the specific start time function on YouTube is not working. You can scroll to 1:11:05 to watch the beginning of this agenda item.
New Business
BCSTA Motions
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Other Motions
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Trustee Comments
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Question Period
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