Remarks delivered to the VSB
re the budget on Feb 22, 2005 by Q PAC Chair John M.
Thank you for the opportunity to
speak with you this evening. I am here on behalf of the PAC at Quilchena
Elementary. We appreciate that you are taking the time to hear from
a number of us who share your commitment to the quality of public education
we are providing for our children here in Vancouver.
To quickly give you the context of the school I represent, Quilchena is a
west side, dual-track school offering K to 7 in both French Immersion and
English. Well over 50% of our English stream is ESL students, so we
have a diverse population and a varied set of needs to meet. We are
proud of the scholastic achievements of the school. We consider ourselves
fortunate to have a terrific team of teachers, and an effective partnership
of administrators, parents and teachers who work well together.
Our PAC has been active this year in engaging with other schools in our part
of the city, to identify common needs and interests, and to promote informed
discussion about the Vancouver Public School system and how it can be better.
We have been in regular contact with our MLA, to lobby for increased funding
for K to 12 education, to identify issues of concern and potential, and to
more generally ‘make the case’ for public education.
It seems to us that this year, the VSB has a unique opportunity to think
more boldly than has been the case for many years. The provincial government
has announced additional funding of $150 million for the 2005/06 school year,
which translates into just over $14 million for this District. This
is an unprecedented opportunity to think more courageously, more broadly
and with more of an eye to the future than has been possible for the past
few years, when each year we were faced with having less money than the year
before.
Our PAC has recommendations – both specific and general – about how this
opportunity can be used to the greatest potential and benefit the children
of Vancouver. We are under no illusions that the demands on this ‘new’
money will be significant, and that the requests will be worthy.
First, to deal with the broader, more general issues, we encourage you, the
Trustees, to avoid the temptation of ‘tinkering’ with the system. Do
not put small amounts of funding into many areas across the system.
Challenge the VSB staff and management to recommend multi-year solutions.
Take the reins and work with parents, teachers and others to create a long-term
plan and agenda for Vancouver’s public schools and from here, develop a road
map consisting of three to five key areas in which the VSB can develop excellence
in scholarship and citizenship.
We believe that it is essential that the VSB create a longer-term plan that
involves “scenario planning”, considering factors such as enrolments, provincial
funding, immigration patterns, ESL needs, gifted learning and special needs
programs. Consider what families are seeking in the educational programs
and environment for their children, and see what is required to make the
system work for children and families. Look at creative ways to increase
funding from other sources. Bring in some help to do this. Engage the community.
And use some of the new funding available this year to undertake this important
exercise.
Second, to address specifics, we propose that the new monies be directed
to three key areas. Each of these areas are important for the overall
success of the VSB and the children we are here to serve. If the Board
can decide upon strategic investments that will benefit children across the
city, you will have accomplished a great deal. We therefore recommend
that the new monies be directed to:
1. Library Staffing: Virtually all VSB schools had their
librarian staffing resources cut over the past year. We believe that
libraries are a vital anchor to the life of every school, and that children
from all walks of life, from every culture and from every part of the city
need and deserve libraries that are open, staffed and well-resourced, every
day that school is open. We therefore recommend that staffing in each
school be returned to previous levels (in our case, one FTE). To paraphrase
John Raulston Saul when he was here in 2004, “when and why did we convince
ourselves that we can no longer afford to have libraries in our schools?”
Well, we can afford full-time librarians, and this resource should be reinstated.
2. Programs for Students with Special Needs: Gifted students,
those for whom English is a Second Language, students with disabilities,
all of these and others with special needs require and deserve additional
resources in order for them to reach their potential. This is reflected
in how we treat the vulnerable and the gifted and how we ensure that we are
delivering the experience that challenges and nurtures the entire educational
experience for each child. We recommend that significant new resources be
placed in these areas in all schools.
3. Create a Sustainable Plan for French Immersion Education:
We believe that French Immersion is one of the areas of strength within the
Vancouver school system. We also have come to the conclusion that the
Board is ignoring the fundamental issue of ensuring that French Immersion
continues to be vigorous and challenging throughout the student’s entire
elementary school experience. It has become apparent over the past
few years that demand is consistently exceeding supply. In response,
the Board has, to be frank, been tinkering with the system – adjusting boundaries,
changing Kindergarten entry policies and procedures – but the underlying
issue remains the same: this highly popular program is significantly
under resourced in comparison to the demand.
Furthermore, over the past year the Board has done nothing to address structural
weaknesses of present French Immersion program – how to maintain a vibrant
program for students as a result of attrition in the intermediate years,
and how to most effectively nurture and develop the program given the challenges
of supply, demand, available space, and the resources required. During last
year’s discussions your staff acknowledged that enrolment in FI is reduced
through attrition. As a result, the intermediate grades are often small groups
in split classes with fewer resources to draw upon. Yet the Board’s focus
seems to be on Kindergarten and establishing single-intake FI programs, which
in our view perpetuate the structural weakness of the FI program overall.
In our opinion, there needs to be a comprehensive assessment of the role
of French Immersion in the Vancouver school system that focuses on the well
being of the current and future students enrolled in the program. By
failing to undertake a comprehensive review of the FI program and continuing
to tinker with the program, we believe that you are showing an absence of
leadership, and are neglecting to provide the quality of educational experience
that could readily be available to children in the FI program, both now and
in the future.
Let me close this evening by stating that we fully appreciate that the decisions
to be made are NOT easy. However, it is our strong belief that the
Board needs to show leadership – not by screaming the loudest or by trying
to embarrass the provincial government, but by developing an informed, strategic
plan that provides a model of how the system should work. As Trustees
you are entrusted and obliged to govern to the education system in Vancouver.
During your stewardship you have the ability to create and influence the
culture, to challenge the system to perform – in short, to provide leadership.
This year, we all have an opportunity to challenge the assumptions that have
been built into the system over many years. As our Trustees, you have
a responsibility to create a culture that rewards participation and excellence,
that encourages flexibility, and in which we measure results rather than
process.
Thank you for your dedication to the cause of our children’s education.
And thank you for your time this evening. We look forward, with great
interest, to the budget deliberations of the coming weeks.