Board Meeting: May 28, 2024
May 27, 2024
The Regular Meeting of the Langley Board of Education was held in-person and streamed online.
Agenda
Announcement
Board Chair Candy Ashdown made an announcement regarding National AccessAbility Week which takes place May 26 to June 1. The week celebrates the valuable contributions and leadership of people with disabilities in Canada, the work of allies, organizations and communities that are removing barriers, and ongoing efforts to become a more accessible and inclusive Canada. This year’s theme is “Forward Together: Accessibility and Inclusion for All.”
She said the District’s Accessibility Committee has had a successful first year together and has finalized its recommendations to update the District’s Accessibility Plan, which will be presented to the District Strategic Education Team and the District Strategic Operations Team in June. To raise awareness of the week, the District will be sharing a video on social media to demonstrate the work of staff to create an accessible and inclusive community.
Delegations
Langley Environmental Partners Society
Amanda Smith with Langley Environmental Partners Society (LEPS) gave a presentation about the organization’s Outdoor Education programs. She informed the Board about the Langley Learning Farm, which is Langley’s teaching farm. It’s a facility to demonstrate community-based food skills, an educational space for farm education and it contributes to local food security. The farm works in partnership with the Langley Sustainable Agriculture Foundation and Langley Secondary. Environmental Science 11 and 12 classes use the space for outdoor lab time, researching and applying relevant concepts and outdoor science. Food classes also participate in harvesting and planting. There are also WAVE students that use the space (WAVE is a Langley School District program which stands for Work And Volunteer Experience.) She further explained the existing agricultural programming that happens at Aldergrove Community Secondary School via the WAVE program. Students in the program there use the heated greenhouse in the school’s courtyard to grow and harvest plants. She said there were seven students in the program last year and there are 19 students in the program this year. Based on feedback and interest, the program was extended in length in this school year, starting in the fall and continuing into the spring. As part of this program, she shared feedback from students which were positive, rich, and meaningful. Students talked about how they wanted to be outside, take part in hands-on learning, and other benefits. She closed with examples of where grads transitioned into post-secondary school opportunities.
The video will begin on this agenda item.
Secretary-Treasurer’s Reports
2024-2025 Annual Budget Bylaw (First and Second Reading)
Brian Iseli, Secretary-Treasurer, presented the 2024-2025 Annual Budget to the Board. He gave an overview of various budget assumptions for the next school year. Some examples include an increase in student enrolment of 821 FTE and a projected 965 FTE for ISP students. Larger expenses costing the District include benefit changes, collective agreement increases for teachers and CUPE (2%), Admin and Exempt wage increases (total of $982,000). The District’s budget bylaw is $389,929,643 for the 2024-2025 school year.
Iseli provided breakdowns in numbers for the following financial categories: Operating Funds, Revenues, Grants, Tuition Revenue, Operating Expenses by Source. In regard to operating expenses, he outlined increasing costs related to increasing teacher salary, administrator salary, and SEA and support staff wages.
Iseli listed all of the increase and decrease in supplies as part of the budget, including Professional Development, IBM Technology Assessment, the Long Term Facilities Plan, and the Project Definition Report for the new Smith Secondary School among other items. He also talked about examples of local capital purchased from the Operating Fund, which included computer equipment & technology support, four portables, furniture and equipment, software, and vehicle upgrades. To balance the budget, the District will have to appropriate $350,000. Iseli listed the various special purpose funds received by the District.
To close the presentation, Iseli explained the process moving forward which includes first and second reading at tonight’s meeting, and third reading at the next Regular Board Meeting on June 18. He also announced the District is hosting a Budget Open House for the public on June 4, 2024.
Recommendation: That the School District No. 35 (Langley) Annual Budget Bylaw for fiscal year 2024/25 in the amount of $389,929,643 be given first reading.
Recommendation: That the School District No. 35 (Langley) Annual Budget Bylaw for fiscal year 2024/25 in the amount of $389,929,643 be given second reading.
The Board approved all of the above motions. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
Superintendent’s Reports
Career Discoveries
District principal District Kendra Simonetto began the presentation by explaining the shift in how the District views career transitions. As she noted, instead of asking students “What do you want to be when you grow up?” we should be asking students “Who do you want to be in this world?” She went on to say that as educators they should be working to determine the child’s unique skills and what are they passionate about and how that should be the focus. Simonetto introduced District teacher of Career Discoveries Larry Fraser to talk about the program.
Fraser gave the background on the program and how it started in 1988. As he explained, in those days, students would be in groups completing community projects and it was aimed to give students with diverse abilities meaningful work experiences. Fast forward to the program now and he noted how this year, the program developed a new vision, mission, and values that align with the District’s vision, mission, and values. Fraser went over the placement process, which included creating a caseload, students to complete a WorkSafeBC Safety Presentation, among other steps. He shared the stories of students and their work experiences in various places in the community. He also shared the criteria of eligibility for students.
Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the report on the Career Discoveries Program for information, as provided.
The Board approved the report as presented. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
Student Code of Conduct Update – Cell Phone Usage
Assistant Superintendent Marcello Moino provided the Board with background information on the changes in cell phone use in schools. He gave a timeline which started with the January 2024 announcement by the Ministry of Education and Child Care to implement restrictions around the use of cell phones. In April 2024, there was a Ministerial Order with details that advised for changes in the Code of Conduct for school districts. The District consulted with its regular stakeholders. On July 1, the Ministry approve is expected to approve the changes made by districts. The Langley School District decided to update its code of conduct and have an appendix. The Ministry and local consultation feedback included the following main themes: guidelines and restrictions should be flexible, teachers need to incorporate digital technology use for educational purposes, and students need to learn to self-regulate.
Moino went on to explain how the community’s feedback suggested transparent and regular communication and clarity and consistency among administrators, teachers, support staff. He shared the new language found in the proposed code of conduct. He outlined the contents of the new appendix in summary format according to age group. Below are some key points found in the appendix:
Elementary and Middle
- Personal digital devices (PDD) are not to be used at all during the school day and should be kept at home.
- If personal digital devices are brought to school, they are stored in backpacks or lockers.
- Digital Devices (not necessarily PDDs) can be used for instructional purposes.
- Classroom teachers should co-construct classroom “norms” and expectations.
- No capturing of photos, videos, or audio of other people unless administrators give consent.
Secondary Schools
- During instruction, PDDs must be turned off and stored away in pockets, backpacks, or lockers
- There may be alternate storage in the classroom should be locked
- DDs (not necessarily PDDs) to be used for instructional purposes
- All of the above – differentiate between grades 8/9 and 10/11/12
Moino went over the administrative procedure’s section around Accessibility and Accommodation, Medical Health Considerations, and Equity in Support of Learning Outcomes. He closed the presentation with an explanation of the administrative procedure’s Interventions and Communications section.
Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the update on the Student Code of Conduct with regards to Personal Digital Devices for information, as received.
The Board approved the report as presented. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
Middle School Programming in the WGSS Region
Assistant Superintendent Marcello Moino provided the Board with some background regarding a board motion in 2017 which resulted in the formation of a transition committee to look at middle school programming in the region. He explained how, at the time, barriers included no Ministry funds to build a middle school and convert an existing one, converting a single elementary school would lead to a middle school of over 1150 students, and converting two elementary schools to middle schools would mean not enough schools for elementary schools. Research and data (feedback) from the community was positive. Moino introduced Walnut Grove Secondary principal Jeremy Lyndon to talk about what work has been done to engage the middle school learners in the region.
Lyndon talked about the shift to a middle-school model of explorations in the region. In 2018-2019, the schoo,l through teacher Tim Stephenson, started programming focused on science and technology. He also highlighted the school’s GQ (Gator Quality Ambassadors) program which is a leadership and mentorship program at the school which engages with the younger learners in the feeder schools. He then introduced the two speakers who would talk about those two items for the rest of the presentation.
Vice-Principal Erin Florko talked about the work of Tim Stephenson. She explained how he regularly visits the feeder schools, makes connections with those students, and organizes opportunities for the students to visit WGSS. Many of these younger students, through their experiences, become familiar with the school before they get there. An example of learning opportunities outside of the school include learning about salmon spawning and plant life in the outdoors. An example of the learning opportunities at WGSS include science fairs, astronomy, and library research days assisted by the GQ ambassadors. There are other activities such as learning about solar panels and Lego.
Walnut Grove teacher Adrienne Stubbings talked about the GQ program and its impact on the feeder schools. The role of GQ is to help Ggrade 8 students transition, she said – including going over how to open lockers, hosting school tours, answering questions, and volunteering at school events that involve families and parents. They also help organize a Grade 7 conference. Stubbings explained how, by second semester, they visit the feeder schools and do research and library sessions with them. To end the presentation, the presenters taught the Board the “gator chomp” which is like a cheer that brings the school community together.
Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the update on Middle School Programming in the Walnut Grove region for information, as presented.
The Board approved the report as presented. The video above will begin on this agenda item.