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Agenda
Board of Trustees’ Board Meeting
Date: October 26, 2015
Time: 6:00 p.m. *
* Committee of the Whole In Camera, if necessary, will precede or follow the Board Meeting, as appropriate.
Location: Board Room, Catholic Education Centre, 35 Weber Street, Kitchener
Attendees: Board of Trustees: Joyce Anderson, Bill Conway, Manuel da Silva (Chair), Amy Fee, Frank Johnson, Wendy Price, Greg Reitzel, Brian Schmalz, Melanie Van Alphen Student Representatives: Karen Hakim, Sebastian Monsalve
Senior Administration: Loretta Notten, Gerry Clifford, David DeSantis, Derek Haime, John Klein, Shesh Maharaj, Laura Shoemaker
Special Resource: John Shewchuk
Recording Secretary: Barb Pilsner
ITEM Who
Agenda
Section
Method &
Outcome
1. Call to Order Board Chair
1.1 Opening Prayer & Memorials Board Pastoral Team
1.2 Approval of Agenda Board of Trustees
Approval
1.3 Declaration of Pecuniary Interest 1.3.1 From the current meeting 1.3.2 From a previous public or in-camera meeting
Individual Trustees
2. Consent Agenda: Director of Education (e.g.: day –to –day
operational matters from the Ministry of Education that the Board is required to do)
2.1 Minutes of June 3, 2015 CPIC meeting 2.2 Compliance Audit Committee for Trustee Election Expenses
Trustees Trustees
pp. 1-3 pp. 4-6
Receipt Approval
ITEM Who
Agenda
Section
Method &
Outcome
3. Consent Agenda: Board (Minutes of meetings, staff report)
3.1 Approval of Minutes of Regular and Special Meetings 3.1.1 Minutes of Sept 28, 2015 Board meeting 3.1.2 Minutes of Sept 9, 2015 SEAC meeting 3.1.3 Items for action from previous In-camera meeting of
October 26, 2015 related to personnel
Trustees Trustees Trustees
pp. 7-10 pp. 11-25 --
Approval Receipt Approval
4. Delegations/Presentation
5. Advice from the CEO
5.1 Saint John Paul II Boundary Review 5.2 APF008 Pupil Accommodation and Review Process 5.3 APF012 Facility Partnerships 5.4 Grade 9 EQAO Results 2015 5.5 Literacy/Numeracy Building Capacity Plan 5.6 APF015 Dedication Within Board Facilities
Lindsay Ford Lindsay Ford Lindsay Ford David DeSantis John Klein Loretta Notten
pp. 26-38 pp. 39-93 pp. 94-104 pp. 105-109 pp. 110-113 pp. 114-117
Approval Approval Approval Information Information Information
6. Ownership Linkage (Communication with the External Environment)
7. Reports from Board Committees/Task Forces
7.1 Student Trustee report
Karen Hakim/ Sebastian Monsalve
pp. 118
Information
8. Board Education (at the request of the Board)
9. Policy Discussion
10. Assurance of Successful Board Performance
10.1 Board Policy II 003 Board Job Description 10.2 Is There a Need to Review This Policy?
Trustees Trustees
pp. 119 --
Approval Discussion
11. Assurance of Successful Director of Education Performance
11.1 Monitoring Reports & Vote on Compliance
11.1.1
12. Potential Agenda Items/Trustee Inquiry Report (CEO)
12.1 Trustee Inquiry Report from the CEO 12.2 Shared concerns
13. Announcements
13.1 Upcoming Meetings/Events (all scheduled for the Catholic Education Centre unless otherwise indicated): Nov 2 Governance Committee Nov 3 Audit Committee Nov 4 SEAC Nov 9 Committee of the Whole Nov 13 St. Louis Graduation, St. Mary’s Church Nov 19 Board Office Mass Nov 20 St. Louis Graduation, St. Mary’s Church Nov 23 Board Meeting
ITEM Who
Agenda
Section
Method &
Outcome
13.2 Pending Items:
Look at building our rural population
Consider a committee to review the boundaries for future consideration
13.3 Pending Items for OCSTA Consideration
Committee/Task Force
Due Date
Action Taken
14. Items for the Next Meeting Agenda Trustees
15. Adjournment Confirm decisions made tonight
Director of Education
16. Closing Prayer
17. Motion to Adjourn Board of Trustees Motion Approval
CLOSING PRAYER
O Risen Lord, you have entrusted us with the responsibility to help form a new generation of disciples
and apostles through the gift of our Catholic schools.
As disciples of Christ, may we educate and nurture hope in all learners to realize their full potential to
transform God’s world.
May our Catholic schools truly be at the heart of the community, fostering success for each by providing
a place for all.
May we and all whom we lead be discerning believers formed in the Catholic faith community; effective
communicators; reflective and creative thinkers; self-directed, responsible, life-long learners;
collaborative contributors; caring family members; and responsible citizens.
Grant us the wisdom of your Spirit so that we might always be faithful to our responsibilities.
We make this prayer through Christ our Lord.
Amen Rev. Charlie Fedy, CR and the Board of Trustees, 2010
Catholic Parent Involvement Committee Agenda
Date: Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015
Time: 5:30pm
Location: Catholic Education Centre- St. Aloysius Room
Next Meeting: Wednesday, October 7th, 2015
Attendees: Committee Members: Chris Spere (Chair and St. Mary Elementary), Bill Conway(Trustee), Melanie Van Alphen (Trustee), Brian Schmalz (Trustee-alternate), Melina Pearson (Diocesan Rep.), Kimberly Snage(Resurrection-Elementary), Dorothy McCabe (member at large), Linda Gregorio (Monsignor Doyle- Elementary), Christine Dixon (St. David Elementary), Jorge Cortes(Kitchener-Secondary), David Perlaky (St. Benedict Elementary), Teresa Palmer(Waterloo-Secondary), Jody Fritz (Cambridge -Secondary), Paul Smith (Elementary Principal Rep.) , Simone Beaucage (Secondary Principal Rep.)
Administrative Official: Derek Haime
Regrets: Melina Pearson, Jody Fritz, Melanie Van Alphen, Dorothy McCabe, David Perlaky, Linda Gregorio
1. Welcome, Introduction of Guests and Opening Prayer: Chris, Derek
2. Approval of Agenda: Item 7.6 moved to after item #4 Teresa, Kim.
3. Declared Pecuniary Interest: none
4. Approval of the Minutes: George, Kim
5. OAPCE: see item 7.6
WCDSB, 35 Weber Street West, P.O. Box 91116, Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 4G2 519-578-3660
1
6. Trustee Update: (Bill, Brian): French Immersion Update- 2 WCDSB schoolsstarting in September. International students- 225 in 2014-2015 -secondary andelementary. Parent and Staff School Climate Survey was completed and a briefoverview was provided to the CPIC. Resiliency Initiative Survey for students inGrades 4-12. 7000 students participated. Results are currently being analyzed.Extended day sites- 27 in total. Monday evening- Senior Staff presented a balancedbudget to the Board. Multi-year strategic plan (MYSP). Trustees met with staff onSaturday about the MYSP. A new Director of Education will be announced well priorto the retirement of Michael Schmitt on August 31 and the MYSP for years 2, 3 and 4will be further developed at this time. Superintendent Maria Ivankovic has beenseconded to the Ministry of Education for 3 years. This position will be filled on aninterim basis in the next month or so. The Community Partner Award and Chair’sAward were recently presented. The Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Councilwas the recipient of the Community Partner Award. Joan Grundy was the recipient ofthe Chair’s Award. Dr. Doug Letson won the Distinguished Graduate Award. StudentJesse Ventura won a Gold Medal at the National Skills Competition. Reminder of theOctober 1 Diocesan Mass at St. Mary Church, Kitchener.
7. Discussion Items
7.1 –Follow up: (Chris) Discussion stemming from the additional information Laura Morelli sent us in response to our questions from our last meeting.
7.2 – PIC Symposium Report (David): deferred
7.3 – EQAO Planning Session Report (Kimberly): EQAO walked through strategies for upcoming years and asked for feedback. There was discussion about how EQAO information is used and what education is necessary for parents to best interpret the results.
7.4 –WCDSB Multi-year strategic plan: (Chris): High level strategies have been set and working plans will be developed by staff going forward.
7.5- Strategies for communication-(Simone): Simone presented on how to find a central communication that is secure. Desire to learn- (D2L) was selected. A CPIC D2L site was created and a CPIC sub-committee will be formed in the next school year to help move this work forward.
7.6- OAPCE Conference Report (Denise Porter, Susan Smit): Susan and Denise attended the conference on behalf of WCDSB school councils and the CPIC. Presentations attached. Sherry Campbell gave the keynote address on “Raising Resilient Children” and Susan gave a brief verbal report on the keynote address.
7.8- CPIC Focus for 2015-2016: (Chris): (subject to approval by 2015-2016 CPIC) CPIC Communication, promote Catholic School Council handbook and update as
WCDSB, 35 Weber Street West, P.O. Box 91116, Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 4G2 519-578-3660
2
required, continue to support PRO Grants, continue to promote Council of Directors of Education parent resources, inquiry on possible research support to survey WCDSB catholic school councils.
7.9-CPIC Meeting 2015-16 (5:30 p.m. start, dinner 5 p.m.) (Derek) • Wednesday, October 7th, 2015 • Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015 • Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 • Wednesday, April 6th, 2016 • Wednesday, June 1st, 2016 *Plus sub-committee dates as required*
8. Gratitude and Closing Prayer: (Chris, Derek):
9. Adjournment:
Discussion Items for next meeting: CPIC Communication (D2L)- subcommittee for 2015-2016 school year, discussion about workshop evening for handbook. Next CPIC Meeting: Wednesday, October 7th, 2015
WCDSB, 35 Weber Street West, P.O. Box 91116, Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 4G2 519-578-3660
3
Date:
To:
From:
Subject:
October 13, 2015
Board of Trustees Director of Education Resignation of a Member of the Compliance Audit Committee for Trustee Election Expenses
Type of Report: Decision-Making Monitoring Incidental Information
Type of Information: Information for Decision Making Monitoring Information Information Only
Origin:
In September of 2014, the Board of Trustees approved a group of 5 individuals to sit on the Board’s Compliance Audit Committee for Trustee Election Expenses. This report provides information on the resignation of one of the Committee’s members.
Policy Statement / Reference:
Municipal Elections Act (1996)
Background:
The Municipal Elections Act (1996) required a Compliance Audit Committee for Trustee Expenses be struck in advance of the last municipal election. In September of 2014, the Board of Trustees appointed the following individuals to its Committee:
Roger Lawler Raf Wyszynski Philip Silveira Allan Wong Erin McDonald
The Municipal Elections Act indicates that Committee members cannot be currently employed by the School Board. Since being appointed, Raf Wyszynski has been hired as the Manager of Budget. Accordingly, Raf has respectfully submitted his letter of resignation from the Committee (attached).
The Act stipulates a minimum of 3 members are required, and a maximum of 7 members are allowed. As there will still be 4 active members on the Committee, a replacement for Raf is not required.
Recommendations:
That the Board of Trustees accepts the resignation of Raf Wyszynski from the Compliance Audit Committee for Trustee Expenses.
4
Page 2
Prepared/Reviewed By: Loretta Notten Director of Education Shesh Maharaj Superintendent of Corporate Services *Bylaw 5.2 “where the Board of Trustees receives from the Director of Education a monitoring report that flows from a responsibility delegated to the Director under Board Policy – except where approval is required by the Board of Trustees on a matter delegated by policy to the Board - the minutes of the Meeting at which the Report is received shall expressly provide that the Board has received and approved of the Report as an action consistent with the authority delegated to the Director, subject in all instances to what otherwise actually occurred.”
5
6
Minutes
Board of Trustees’ Meeting
A public meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on Monday, September 28, 2015 at the Waterloo Region Catholic Education Centre.
Trustees Present: Joyce Anderson; Bill Conway; *Manuel da Silva (Chair); Amy Fee; Frank Johnson; Wendy Price; *Greg Reitzel; Brian Schmalz; Melanie Van Alphen *attended by teleconference
Student Trustees Present: Karen Hakim; Sebastian Monsalve
Administrative Officials Present: Loretta Notten; Gerry Clifford; David DeSantis; Derek Haime; John Klein; Shesh Maharaj; Laura Shoemaker
Special Resources For The Meeting: Jason Connolly
Regrets: John Shewchuk
Recorder: Barb Pilsner, Executive Administrative Assistant NOTE ON VOTING: Under Board by-law 5.7 all Board decisions made by consensus are deemed the equivalent of a unanimous vote. A consensus
decision is therefore deemed to be a vote of 9-0. Under Board by-law 5.11 every Trustee “shall vote on all questions on which the Trustee is entitled to vote” and abstentions are not permitted.
1. Call to Order:
The Vice-Chair of the Board called the meeting to order at 5:59 p.m.
1.1 Opening Prayer & Memorials The meeting opened with prayer by F. Johnson. Intentions were offered for Samantha da Sousa who died on the weekend, and her family, friends, and the students and staff at Monsignor Doyle and Conestoga College; for a co-worker of B. Schmalz from G & A Lock who passed away last week. 1.2 Approval of Agenda Change Item 3.1.4 to receipt and add the wording ‘and personnel’ 2015-92 -- It was moved by M. Van Alphen and seconded by B. Conway: THAT the agenda for September 28, 2015 as amended be now approved. --- Carried by consensus.
1.3 Declaration of Pecuniary Interest 1.3.1 From the current meeting – NIL 1.3.2 From a previous public or in-camera meeting – NIL
1.4 Student Trustee Oath and Declaration
2. Consent Agenda: Director of Education (e.g. day-to-day operational matters from the Ministry of
Education that the board is required to do)
2.1 Minutes of April 1, 2015 CPIC Meeting 2015-93 -- It was moved by W. Price and seconded by B. Schmalz:
7
Waterloo Catholic District School Board – Monday, September 28, 2015 Minutes – Public Board Meeting
- 2 -
THAT the Consent Agenda Director of Education and the recommendations contained therein be now approved. --- Carried by consensus
3. Consent Agenda: Board of Trustees (Minutes of meetings)
3.1 Approval of Minutes of Regular and Special Meetings 3.1.1 Minutes of June 22, 2015 Board meeting 3.1.2 Minutes of September 14, 2015 Special Board meeting 3.1.3 Minutes of June 3, 2015 SEAC Meeting 3.1.4 Items for Action from Previous In-camera Meeting of September 28, 2015 Related to Property and Personnel 2015-94 -- It was moved by A. Fee and seconded by W. Price: THAT the Consent Agenda Board of Trustees and the recommendations contained therein be now approved. --- Carried by consensus
4 Delegations
4.1 OECTA/OCSTA Collective Bargaining P. Reitmeier as a parent with children in the system spoke of his concerns especially the use of students as pawns during the labour dispute. Although the labour dispute was resolved he asked trustees to dialog with OCSTA about the concerns with this round of bargaining and prepare for the next.
5 Advice from the CEO
5.1 Enrolment Report/Update J. Connolly provided the update on our enrolment numbers for this coming year which have increased at elementary and secondary over previous projections for budget in June. The board has undertaken a number of initiatives over the last three years to encourage stronger enrolment through radio, TV, print advertisements, schools newswire, and news releases. A more in-depth report on enrolment will be brought back to Committee of the Whole in November. 5.2 OSSLT Results D. DeSantis thanked our staff who are responsible for the success rates this year. The OSSLT is based on the expectations for literacy (reading and writing) across all subjects in the Ontario curriculum up to the end of Grade 9. The key initiatives identified as Literacy team support, mock OSSLT tests, intervention strategies, parents-student information/literature and adolescent literacy guide and cross panel initiative are detailed in the report. 5.3 Special Education – Mental Health Plan L. Shoemaker reviewed the areas of focus for the board in the 2015-2016 Mental Health & Wellness Goals document. 5.4 Parents Reaching Out Grants D. Haime presented the list of 38 schools who received Parents Reaching Out grants for 2015-16 which are designed to support parents in identifying barriers to parent engagement in their own community and to find local solutions to involve more parents in support of student achievement and well-being. Trustees will have the opportunity to attend these events.
6 Ownership Linkage (Communication with the External Environment)
7 Actions From Board Committees/Task Forces
7.1 Student Trustee Report S. Monsalve reported the main focus for this academic year will be planning a leadership conference for elementary students with a goal to empower young student leaders and provide them with motivation to be servant leaders in their school and communities. We are currently working to create an elementary school senate in order to open a channel of communication with our elementary schools to gain insight and develop stronger relationships. K. Hakim advised the highlight of this month was a week dedicated fully to grade 9 students full of activities, and sports concluding with a dance all to welcome our youngest members to high school. Student Activity Councils are preparing for Thanksgiving, Halloween, and fund raising in support of the refugee crisis in Syria. 7.2 2014-15 Trustee Quarterly Budget Update J. Anderson advised the quarterly update is for information.
8
Waterloo Catholic District School Board – Monday, September 28, 2015 Minutes – Public Board Meeting
- 3 -
7.3 2015-16 Committee Assignments J. Anderson advised committee assignments have remained the same for this year.
8 Board Education (at the request of the Board)
9 Policy Discussion
10 Assurance of Successful Board Performance
10.1 Board Policy II 002 Governing Style There was discussion on how the multi-year strategic plan will be monitored. L. Notten advised a report will be forthcoming outlining the goals with suggestions by senior staff on monitoring. 2015-95 -- It was moved by F. Johnson and seconded by A. Fee: THAT the Board of Trustees reviewed Policy II 002 Governing Style and find we are in compliance. --- Carried by consensus 10.2 Is There a Need to Review This Policy? Trustees agreed there is a need to review this policy. 10.3 Board Policy III 006 CEO Compensation and Benefits Trustees discussed whether they were in compliance for this policy. 2015-96 -- It was moved by W. Price and seconded by B. Conway: THAT the Board of Trustees reviewed Policy III 006 CEO Compensation and Benefits and find we are in compliance. --- Carried by consensus 10.4 Is There a Need to Review This Policy? Trustees agreed there is no need to review this policy.
11 Assurance of Successful Director of Education Performance
11.1 Monitoring Reports & Vote on Compliance
12 Potential Agenda Items
12.1 Trustee Inquiry Report from the CEO 12.2 Shared Concerns
13 Announcements
13.1 Upcoming Meetings/Events (all scheduled for the Catholic Education Centre unless otherwise indicated):
Oct 1 Diocesan Mass – St. Mary’s church Oct 3 The Feast – St. Jerome’s University Oct 7 5:30 CPIC Oct 7 7:00 SEAC Oct 13 Committee of the Whole Oct 23 Board Office Mass Oct 26 Board Meeting
13.2 Pending Items:
Look at building our rural population
Consider a committee to review the boundaries for future consideration
13.4 Pending Items for OCSTA Consideration
9
Waterloo Catholic District School Board – Monday, September 28, 2015 Minutes – Public Board Meeting
- 4 -
14 Items for the Next Meeting Agenda
15 Adjournment – Confirm decisions made tonight.
The Recording Secretary confirmed the meeting decisions.
16 Closing Prayer
17 Motion to Adjourn
2015-97 -- It was moved by W. Price and seconded by M. da Silva: THAT the meeting be now adjourned. The meeting was adjourned by consensus at 7:03 p.m.
Vice-Chair of the Board Secretary
10
SEAC Committee Meeting Minutes
Date & Time: Wednesday, September 9, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: Boardroom C.E.C.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Committee Members: Amy Fee, Frank Thoms, Rhonda Ruetz, Kim Murphy, Jeanne Gravelle, John Spinak, Zina Bartolotta, John Gilbert, Melanie Van Alphen Administrative Officials: Sherry Peeples, Laura Shoemaker Regrets: Irene Holdbrook, Zina Bartolotta
Opening Prayer Welcome: Loretta Notten, Director and Sherry Peeples, new Principal to Special Education were introduced to SEAC.
Laura Shoemaker
Approval of Agenda
Motion by: John Gilbert Seconded: Rhonda Ruetz
3. Declared Pecuniary Interest
None
4. Approval of the Minutes
June 3, 2015
Motion by: Rhonda Ruetz Seconded: Amy Fee
5. School System Operational Business 5.1 Special Education Plan
Send Special Education Plan as an attachment to September minutes
Pages with changes to be highlighted
Approval of September minutes will act as SEAC approval of SEP changes.
5.2 Twitter Update
Members are encourages to follow us at: @WCDSB_SEAC
September 16th Administrator meeting inform principals about the WCDSB twitter account for SEAC
Update twitter icon
L. Shoemaker
11
5.3 Special Needs Update
5.9 Ministry Updates 1. The link to all memorandums sent from the Ministry to school boards
www.cal2.edu.gov.on.ca/index.html
6. SEAC Committee Functions 6.1 2015-2016 Planning for SEAC meetings locations and guest speakers
attached. 6.2 SEAC Conference presentations were reviewed: Suggestion from the conference discussion that SEAC would like to carry forward in the Fall, for 2015-2016 planning:
Parents coming into SEAC meeting to share stories. o Align with SEAC topics by having Behaviour Team presentation
include parents.
Having Ministry Memos distributed at meetings o Rhonda to provide link to Jeanne/Laura to check for updates prior
to meetings
SEAC idea card o Will go forward with this for next meeting
Sacramental preparation for Students with special needs o Suggestion for future PRO Grant.
More sub-committees – specifically to apply for PRO grants. o Open to all members who would like to join this working group.
We discuss through email and meeting prior to SEAC meetings when necessary.
Elementary and secondary admin at SEAC o Also consider offering parish priests associated with schools to
attend.
Recognizing people who champion special education in the WCDSB o Laura and Sherry to take on this initiative. Winner of this
recognition could be invited to our June meeting/social.
SEAC going to school councils o Rather than individual school councils, attending the Family of
Schools Council meetings is more practical.
SEAC more visible at board meeting/committees o Trustees and members to be aware of committees/initiatives that
should have SEAC representation.
SEAC and CPIC having joint meeting o Laura to speak to Derek Haime about Feb 3 joint meeting.
Admin support o Support will be provided for minute-taking in future meetings.
6.3 Subcommittee
See IEP checklist. This letter to parents will be distributed with students IEP packages and posted to the board site. If it is successful we will look to do similar communications in future years. The next task for the subcommittee is to prepare for our application for a PRO Grant.
Attachment
7. Association Concerns/Association Updates (20 minutes) 7.1 Easter Seals website available mid-September to provide a general Q&A for Special Education questions.
7.2 Twisters Cheer Athletics - cheer, tumbling and dance movements for special
needs children.
12
7.3 Waterloo Region Family Network (WRFN) hosting a Family Fund Day, September 26, 2:00-5:00 pm. And an IEP/IPRC seminar Sept 22, 7-9pm. The link to all associate update flyers and the SEAC conference presentation:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5pV0Mx30jwEQzAyV2RHLTczOVE
Association updates can all be found here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5pV0Mx30jwEeTU5WjVremVUMkE
8. Policy Advice to the Board
9. Pending Items
10. Adjournment Motion by: Rhonda Ruetz Seconded: John Gilbert
11. Action Items Place Holder
13
SEAC TOPICS FOR 2015-2016
Month Topic Presenter Location
October 7, 2015
SNS Feedback from Subcommittee letter
C.E.C.
November 4, 2015
Program Services/SLP
& Literacy /Learning for
All
December 2, 2015
Behaviour Team Carizon Family
and Community
Services
January 6, 2016
Mental Health/IEP
February 3, 2016
CPIC
March 2, 2016
Wayne Hobbs – E.A.’s
& CYCW’s – PD/
Training/Vision/CSW
April 6, 2016
Transition Support
Worker Updates/IEP
May 4, 2016
Laura Isaac
Magnus Mode
May 25, 2016
Budget
June 1, 2016
Social
14
5
Summary of Revisions to WCDSB Special Education Plan- 2015
(original Plan 2009; amended 2014)
Special Education
Plan 2015
Addition Update Reordering Deletion
Entire document Header with WCDSB logo
Footer with WCDSB
Special Education Plan-
2015
Introduction p. 3-website link added to
access Special Education
Handbook 2015
p.3-wording changes made
to reflect Special
Education Plan 2015 from
former document original
Plan 2009; amended 2014
Section 1-The
Board’s
Consultation
Process
p. 5-Purpose of the
Standard and
Requirements of the
Standard – this
information was quoted
from the Ministry
document – Standards
for School Board’s
Special Education Plans
2000; inclusion of this
Purpose and
Requirements
information was not
consistent throughout all
Sections of the original
Plan 2009; amended
15
6
Special Education
Plan 2015
Addition Update Reordering Deletion
2014 and so was
removed from the
Special Education Plan
2015 document; see
below for other examples
p. 5-paragraph 3-
removed reference in
original Plan 2009;
amended 2014 to Public
Consultation Survey and
Appendix 1.1 as this
Appendix did not appear
in 2014 version
p. 5-removed outdated
references in original
Plan 2009; amended
2014 to reviews of
Special Education
programs and services
by Phil DeFrancesco and
KPMG
p. 5-removed outdated
references in original
Plan 2009; amended
2014 to Terms of
Reference Vision of
Inclusion subcommittee
Section 2-Model for
the Delivery of
p.7-first paragraph added
to reflect information in the
16
7
Special Education
Plan 2015
Addition Update Reordering Deletion
Special Education
Programs and
Services
Special Education
Handbook 2015-Section 1-
Philosophy-Placement-
Programs
p.8-paragraph added re:
changes in placement
through IEP or IPRC
processes to reflect
information in the Special
Education Handbook 2015-
Section 1-Philosophy-
Placement-Programs
Section 3-Roles and
Responsibilities
Section 4-Early
Identification
Procedures and
Intervention
Strategies
p. 14-website link to
Special Education
Handbook 2015-Section 2-
Process-Procedures
p.14-paragraph 5 and 6 in
original Plan 2009;
amended 2014 moved to
right after paragraph 2 in
Special Education Plan
2015 to create better flow
of information
p. 14- Purpose quoted
from Standards for
School Board’s Special
Education Plans 2000
document-see Section 1
above
Section 5-IPRC
Process and
Appeals
p. 16-website link to
Special Education
Handbook 2015-Section
12-IPRC
p. 16-information re: IPRC
referrals and appeals
updated for 2014-2015
p. 17-28-information from
original Plan 2009;
p. 18-Appendix 5.2-first 4
paragraphs –moved from
p. 31 in original Plan
2009; amended 2014
WCDSB Parent Guide to
the IPRC was included in
its entirety in original
Plan 2009; amended
2014; this information
has been revised and so
17
8
Special Education
Plan 2015
Addition Update Reordering Deletion
p. 16-website link to
WCDSB Parent Guide to
the IPRC
amended 2014 sorted into
separate appendices and
updated to reflect Special
Education Handbook 2015-
Section 12-IPRC
redundant information in
Section 5 (appeared in 2 or
more other Sections of
original Plan 2009;
amended 2014) was re-
ordered as follows
-Categories and Definitions
of Exceptionalities – now
only appears in Section 8
of the Special Education
Plan 2015
-Alternative Programs –
now only appears in
Section 8 of the Special
Education Plan 2015
-Placement Options – now
only appears in Section 9
of the Special Education
Plan 2015
Provincial Demonstration
Schools-now only appears
in Section 11 of the
Special Education Plan
2015
was replaced by a
website link to provide
updated access to the
document-see second
column left
Section 6-
Educational and
Other Assessments
p. 30-31-information re:
academic, educational,
speech-language,
psychoeducational
all Appendices updated to
coordinate with Special
Education Handbook 2015-
Sections 2 and 7 (see right),
Specific copies of
Student Services forms,
which change
periodically; links to
18
9
Special Education
Plan 2015
Addition Update Reordering Deletion
assessments added to
coordinate with Special
Education Handbook-2015-
Section 2-Process-
Procedures and Section 7-
Assessments in Special
Education
p. 32-45-web links to
Special Education
Handbook 2015 added as
needed
p. 45-Appendix 6.11-
Overview of Special
Education Process and
Procedures to coordinate
with Special Education
Handbook 2015-Section 2-
Process-Procedures
and to create a logical flow
of information re: classroom
intervention, In-school
Team and Collaborative
Team processes
Special Education
Handbook 2015-Section
17-Forms to enable
access to forms
discussed in Section 6
provided as necessary
Section 7-
Specialized Health
Support Services
In all Appendices-links to
appropriate AP memo
added
p. 69-75-Appendix 7.8-
Catheterization and
Suctioning Procedures-
added to Special Education
Handbook 2015-Section 13-
Health-Therapy-Emergency
p. 51-59-information re:
Medical Conditions and
corresponding AP Memo
grouped together for
logical flow (Appendices
7.2-7.6) and to coordinate
with Special Education
Handbook-2015-Section
13-Health-Therapy-
Emergency
19
10
Special Education
Plan 2015
Addition Update Reordering Deletion
p. 60-68-information
related to Community Care
Access Centre
(Appendices 7.7-7.8)
moved to follow Medical
Conditions (see above) to
coordinate with Special
Education Handbook-
2015-Section 13-Health-
Therapy-Emergency
p. 76-82-other information
re: life-threating situations
and corresponding AP
Memos (Appendices 7.9-
7.12) grouped together to
coordinate with Special
Education Handbook-
2015-Section 13-Health-
Therapy-Emergency
Section 8-
Categories and
Definitions of
Exceptionalities
p. 85-removed Purpose
quoted from Standards
for School Board’s
Special Education Plans
2000 document-see
Section 1 above
Section 9-Special
Education
Placements
p. 91-added Special
Education Assistive
Technology Resource
Teacher; Behaviour
p. 101-107 – Appendix 9.2 –
updated with current
information re: support staff
roles, to coordinate with the
Special Education
20
11
Special Education
Plan 2015
Addition Update Reordering Deletion
Provided by the
Board
Analyst; Autism Support
Facilitator
All points below are
coordinated with the
Special Education
Handbook 2015-Section 1-
Philosophy-Placement-
Programs
p. 93-94-added Special
Education Program –
Gifted Education
p. 96-added Special
Education Program –
Supervised Alternative
Learning (SAL)
p. 97-added Special
Education Program -
College Cooperative
Education Program and
Section 23 Schools
p. 98-added Special
Education Program -
Provincial Demonstration
Schools
Handbook 2015 – Section 3
– Roles-Learning Services;
this replaced outdated
information in original Plan
2009; amended 2014 p.
115-118
21
12
Special Education
Plan 2015
Addition Update Reordering Deletion
Section 10-
Individual
Education Plans
p. 109-IEP Definition;
Function and Purpose of
an IEP
p. 110-paragraph re:
process for parental and
student disagreement with
the IEP
p. 110-IEP Improvement
Plan-outdated information
from original Plan 2009;
amended 2014 removed
and replaced with
information re: 2014-2015
IEP Compliance
Subcommittee
Outdated information re:
IEP Template and
sample IEP removed
(original Plan 2009;
amended 2014 p. 122-
129) as they do not
reflect the current
template and PPM 140
and 156
Appendix 10.1 (original
Plan 2009; amended
2014 p. 130-131) System
Priority re: IEP Standards
as it is outdated
Section 11-
Provincial and
Demonstration
Schools in Ontario
p. 114-117-website links
for all provincial schools
added
Section 12-Special
Education Staff
p. 120-123-Appendices 12.1
and 12.2 updated to include
new staff positions from
2014-2015 (eg. Behaviour
Analyst); FTE column in
both Appendices updated
as per Laura Shoemaker
and John Klein
The information re:
Support Staff roles from
original Plan 2009;
amended 2014 p. 141-150
was moved to Special
Education Plan 2015
Section 9 Appendix 9.2 p.
101-107 (see Section 9
Update column above);
22
13
Special Education
Plan 2015
Addition Update Reordering Deletion
information did not need to
be included in two places
Section 13-Staff
Development
p. 125-paragraph 4 updated
to reflect current PD trends
p. 125-paragraph 5 updated
to reflect PD supports for
training of new SETs
p. 125-paragraph 6 updated
to reflect name change to
Carizon from KidsLink
p. 126-130-Staff
Development chart updated
to reflect 2014-2015 data
Section 14-
Equipment
p. 132-134-general
information re: SEA updated
to reflect current information
in Special Education
Handbook 2015-Section 9-
Individualized Equipment
p. 135-138-Appendix 14.1
Computer SEA Funding
updated to reflect current
information in Special
Education Handbook 2015-
Section 9-Individualized
Equipment
23
14
Special Education
Plan 2015
Addition Update Reordering Deletion
Section 15-
Accessibility of
School Buildings
p. 140-website link added
re: WCDSB Accessibility
plan
Dated info from original
Plan 2009; amended
2014 p. 163 removed re:
accessibility funding;
accessibility plan working
group
Section 16-
Transportation
p. 142-43-information
updated to reflect WCDSB
Special Education website
T1 and T2 forms
replaced with link to
Special Education
Handbook 2015-Section
17-Forms-Transportation
subfolder
Section 17-Special
Education Advisory
Committee
p. 149-51-new Appendix
17.1 created to incorporate
information from original
Plan 2009; amended 2014
re: Roles of Ministry;
School Board; Local
School; Provincial
Associations; Other
Ministries
p. 148-links to Special
Education Handbook-2015
and WCDSB SEAC
Brochure provided to
ensure access to current
information re: SEAC Roles;
Responsibilities; Meeting
Procedures; Meeting
Agenda; Membership
p. 173-183-old
Appendices 17.1-17.6
related to SEAC from
original Plan 2009;
amended 2014 -see
update column on right
Section 18-
Coordination of
Services with other
Ministries
p. 153-reference to
WCDSB’s APO026 re:
partnerships with external
agencies
p. 155-information re:
Connections for Students
program
24
15
Special Education
Plan 2015
Addition Update Reordering Deletion
p. 155-information re: Child
and Adolescent Inpatient
Program (CAIP) Protocol
Section 19-
Submission and
Availability of
School Board Plans
p. 158-updated re: SEAC
approval of Special
Education Plan 2015
25
Report
Date: October 26, 2015
To: Board of Trustees
From: Director of Education
Subject: Saint John Paul II – Initiate Boundary Review
Type of Report: Decision-Making
Monitoring Incidental Information concerning day-to-day operations
Type of Information: Information for Board of Trustees Decision-Making
Monitoring Information of Board Policy XX XXX Information only of day-to-day operational matters delegated to the CEO
Origin:
Capital Plan – 2015: Identified need for a boundary review to address enrolment pressures at Saint John Paul II. Board Report – June 22, 2015 – “Saint John Paul II – Boundary Change”
Policy Statement and/or Education Act/other Legislation citation:
Executive Limitation IV 010, “Facilities/Accommodations” … “the CEO shall not: 1. “Allow material changes to facilities, boundary changes, or the closure of existing facilities to occur without
established procedures.” 7. Fail to follow the Pupil Accommodation Review Process dated June 10, 2013. APF008 Pupil Accommodation Review Process
Background/Comments:
Further to the June 22, 2015 board report and the updated APF008: Pupil Accommodation Review Process (to be updated effective October 26, 2015) an initial staff report (attached) has been prepared to initiate a boundary review involving Saint John Paul II and St. Daniel. The purpose of the review is to reduce enrolment pressure at Saint John Paul II. With the approval of the recommendations in this report, a boundary review will commence immediately. A public meeting will be held in January and a recommendation will be brought forward to the Board of Trustees in March for a decision end of April 2016. The boundary change is proposed to be effective September 2016. The urgency for this boundary change is directly related to the site size and configuration. Specifically, the addition of a 7th portable to the site would negatively impact the playground/sports fields. In addition, parking on site is extremely limited. The site currently cannot accommodate visitors, including support staff. Enrolment is projected to continue to increase and the addition of a 7th portable and additional staff seems inevitable if no changes are made.
26
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Solutions In June, senior administration approved a boundary change to designate a new development area from Saint John Paul II to Canadian Martyrs. Despite this, enrolment at Saint John Paul II is still expected to increase. The attached Initial Staff Report proposes to relocate 60-100 existing students from Saint John Paul II to St. Daniel. Option 1 would move approximately 100 students living in the Idlewood area to St. Daniel. Option 2 would move approximately 60 students living in the Chicopee area to St. Daniel. Portables would be added to St. Daniel to accommodate these students in either option. It should be noted that since Saint John Paul II opened in 2010, moving students away from this school now means that some students will have to change schools twice in their elementary school career. However, this cannot be avoided if the board wishes to reduce enrolment at Saint John Paul II.
Recommendation:
That the Board of Trustees initiates a boundary review involving Saint John Paul II and St. Daniel Catholic Elementary Schools with the purpose of reducing enrolment pressure at Saint John Paul II.
Prepared/Reviewed By: Loretta Notten
Director of Education Shesh Maharaj Superintendent of Corporate Services Lindsay Ford Manager of Planning *Bylaw 5.2 “where the Board of Trustees receives from the Director of Education a monitoring report that flows from a responsibility delegated to the Director under Board Policy – except where approval is required by the Board of Trustees on a matter delegated by policy to the Board – the minutes of the Meeting at which the Report is received shall expressly provide that the Board has received and approved of the Report as an action consistent with the authority delegated to the Director, subject in all instances to what otherwise actually occurred.”
27
Saint John Paul II Boundary Review Initial Staff Report
October 26, 2015
28
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Goals of the Review 1
2.0 BOUNDARY REVIEW PROCESS 2
2.1 Initial Staff Report 2
2.2 Boundary Review Committee 2
2.3 Public Consultation 3
2.4 Recommendations and Approval 3
2.5 Timelines 3
3.0 HISTORICAL BOUNDARY CHANGES 3
3.1 East Kitchener Accommodation Review (2007/2008) 3
3.2 Saint John Paul II Boundary Change (2015) 3
4.0 ANALYSIS 4
4.1 Saint John Paul II Enrolment 4
4.2 Sub-Area Analysis 5
4.3 Student Distribution 6
4.4 Transportation 6
5.0 OPTIONS 8
5.1 Option 1 – Move “B – Idlewood” to St. Daniel School 8
5.2 Option 2 – Move “C – Chicopee” to St. Daniel School 9
6.0 RECOMMENDATION 9
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this report is to obtain a decision from the Board of Trustees to proceed with a boundary review involving Saint John Paul II and St. Daniel schools. The existing boundaries are shown below.
1.1 Goals of the Review Reduce enrolment pressure at Saint John Paul II Catholic Elementary School.
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2.0 BOUNDARY REVIEW PROCESS
The purpose of a boundary review is to transfer students from one school to another in order to balance enrolment. In this case, the purpose is to move students from Saint John Paul II to St. Daniel, effective September 2016. The Ministry of Education guideline does not apply to boundary reviews and therefore the procedure outlined in APF008: Pupil Accommodation Review Process is the only applicable policy.
2.1 Initial Staff Report
This report serves as the Initial Staff Report as per the revised APF008: Pupil Accommodation Review Process. This report includes all relevant background information and two boundary options for consideration. Once a decision is made by the Trustees to proceed, a Boundary Review Committee will be formed and the community will be consulted.
2.2 Boundary Review Committee
The Boundary Review Committee (BRC) will be assembled following a decision to proceed with a boundary review. The BRC will follow the process outlined in Part A – Boundary Review of APF008.
The BRC will consist of two parent representatives from each school under review (Saint John Paul II and St. Daniel), principals of both schools, two Trustees, superintendent of the affected schools, and the superintendent of Corporate Services. One parent representative from each school will be selected by the school’s principal and the other will either be the school’s council chair or a designate.
The role of the BRC is: To act as the official conduit for information shared between the school board
and the school communities. Act as a consultation body, providing advice to staff. Review materials provided by board staff. Comment and provide suggestions on the boundary option(s) and materials
provided. Consider the needs of the entire school system and resist advocating for any
particular school or neighbourhood. Attend public meetings and review public comments.
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3 | P a g e
2.3 Public Consultation
A minimum of one public meeting is required, which will be facilitated by Board staff. This meeting will be advertised in advance using a variety of methods to ensure all interested parties are aware.
2.4 Recommendations and Approval
Subsequent to the public consultation process, a Final Staff Report will be completed for the Board of Trustees’ review. This report will be made public and those interested may register as delegations to address the Board of Trustees directly. The final decision will be made by the Board of Trustees.
2.5 Timelines
As outlined in Appendix A, it is proposed that the Boundary Review would begin in November and end in April 2016. The Board of Trustees’ final decision is tentatively scheduled for April 25, 2016.
3.0 HISTORICAL BOUNDARY CHANGES
3.1 East Kitchener Accommodation Review (2007/2008)
An accommodation review was conducted during the 2007-2008 school year that included the following schools: Canadian Martyrs, Notre Dame, St. Anne (K), St. Daniel, and St. Patrick. The decision involved the closures of Notre Dame and St. Patrick as well as the opening of Saint John Paul II. There were various boundary changes, including the movement of the Idlewood area from Notre Dame and the Chicopee area from St. Anne (K) to Saint John Paul II. Both of these moves were implemented in 2010, when Saint John Paul II School opened.
3.2 Saint John Paul II Boundary Change (2015)
In June 2015, a decision was made to move the new growth area at the corner of Old Zeller Drive and Fairway Road from Saint John Paul II to Canadian Martyrs. There were no students enrolled during the 2014/2015 school year and only two families were registered for this fall (2015). This area is projected to produce 50-100 students and therefore moving it to Canadian Martyrs relieves some future pressure from Saint John Paul II.
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4 | P a g e
4.0 ANALYSIS
4.1 Saint John Paul II Enrolment
Saint John Paul II has a capacity of 611 pupil places. Enrolment is currently 729 (September 2015) and is projected to increase to 856 by 2020.
There are currently 6 portables on site. This is the maximum the site can accommodate due to the site’s size and configuration. Additional portables would negatively impact the ability to use the sports fields and playground.
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5 | P a g e
4.2 Sub-Area Analysis
Saint John Paul II’s boundary has been divided into 3 sub-areas for further analysis (see map).
A – Grand River South B – Idlewood C – Chicopee
The majority of the anticipated growth is within sub-area A (Grand River South). Specifically, there are approximately 347 unbuilt units in sub-area A (approximately 35-50 students). In contrast, there is no new development planned for sub-area B and there are only 25 unbuilt units in sub-area C (approximately 2-4 students).
In addition, below are the 10-year enrolment projections for each sub-area. Areas B (Idlewood) and C (Chicopee) are projected to remain relatively stable. The majority of enrolment increases are anticipated within sub-area A (Grand River South).
It should also be noted that there are high student yields in all three sub-areas, with Idlewood being the highest
SUB-AREA 2014 Actual 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024A - Grand River South 511 555 593 630 653 665 685 688 688 678 668B - Idlewood 113 112 110 106 111 111 106 107 98 105 100C - Chicopee 55 57 58 62 62 65 65 62 64 62 61
WCDSB Student YieldA Grand River South 0.379B Idlewood 0.461C Chicopee 0.324
Sub-Area Boundary
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6 | P a g e
4.3 Student Distribution
The below table shows the 2014/2015 student distribution within the 3 sub-areas. These numbers reflect the number of WCDSB students living in the sub-areas and not necessarily attending Saint John Paul II school.
Overall, the number of JK students is larger than the number of grade 8 students. As smaller grade 8 classes graduate and larger JK classes enter, enrolment will increase. This is one of the main contributing factors to the enrolment growth that is projected.
4.4 Transportation
The map to the right illustrates the number of Saint John Paul II students who are designated as walkers and bussed students. As illustrated, the students living in sub-areas B (Idlewood) and C (Chicopee) are currently being bussed to Saint John Paul II.
The map below illustrates the 1.6km walking webs for St. Daniel and Saint John Paul II. A portion of sub-area B (Idlewood) is within walking distance to St. Daniel school.
JK SK Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 4 Gr 5 Gr 6 Gr 7 Gr 8 TotalA Grand River South 65 65 60 55 39 57 48 42 44 36 511B Idlewood 13 3 17 8 14 10 6 15 14 13 113C Chicopee 6 7 4 8 5 4 6 3 6 6 55
84 75 81 71 58 71 60 60 64 55 679
Sub-Area Boundary
Total
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5.0 OPTIONS
5.1 OPTION 1 – Move “B – Idlewood” to St. Daniel
There are currently 113 students living in sub-area B. This is projected to remain relatively stable. A portion of the Idlewood sub-area is within walking distance of St. Daniel.
Based on this option, Saint John Paul II is projected to have 2-6 portables and St. Daniel is projected to have 6-7 portables. As mentioned earlier, Saint John Paul II currently has 6 portables on the site which is the maximum it can accommodate. St. Daniel school is able to accommodate 6-8 portables on the site.
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9 | P a g e
5.2 OPTION 2 – Move “C – Chicopee” to St. Daniel
There are currently 55 students living in sub-area C. This is projected to remain relatively stable in the future.
Based on this option, Saint John Paul II is projected to have 4-8 portables and St. Daniel is projected to have 3-5 portables. As mentioned earlier, Saint John Paul II currently has 6 portables on the site which is the maximum it can accommodate.
6.0 RECOMMENDATION
That the Board of Trustees initiates a boundary review involving Saint John Paul II and St. Daniel Catholic Elementary Schools with the purpose of reducing enrolment pressure at Saint John Paul II.
38
Report
Date: October 26, 2015
To: Board of Trustees
From: Director of Education
Subject: APF 008 (Accommodation Reviews) – New Procedures
Type of Report: Decision-Making
Monitoring Incidental Information concerning day-to-day operations
Type of Information: Information for Board of Trustees Decision-Making
Monitoring Information of Board Policy XX XXX Information only of day-to-day operational matters delegated to the CEO
Origin:
The administrative procedure on accommodation reviews has been updated and is ready to be approved.
Committee of the Whole Board Report – September 14, 2015 – “APF 008 (Accommodation Reviews) – Draft of New Procedures”
Committee of the Whole Board Report – June 15, 2015 – “Accommodation Review Guideline Update Discussion”
Policy Statement and/or Education Act/other Legislation citation:
Executive Limitation IV 010 “Facilities/Accommodation” “…the CEO shall not… 7. Fail to follow the Pupil Accommodation Review Process dated June 10, 2013.” Ministry of Education’s Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline – March 2015
Background/Comments:
Following the September 14, 2015 Committee of the Whole meeting, a survey was created and completed regarding the changes to APF008. The survey was posted on the Board’s website and advertised via Newswire. The draft revised AP and new Ministry Guideline was posted along with the survey. The survey results are attached. Summary of Results Of the 45 respondents, the majority were parents/guardians of students and WCDSB staff who have not previously participated in an accommodation review. The survey asked for input on the most effective communication tools for sharing information between the school board and the school communities. The following are ordered by respondent preference:
1. Email distribution list 2. Notices sent home with students
39
Page 2
3. School’s newsletter & WCDSB website 4. Newswire 5. Twitter
Staff currently promotes every public consultation session and Board meeting related to boundary reviews and school closure reviews using all of the above methods. All of the above communication methods will continue to be used. The majority of respondents agreed with the proposed change regarding the selection of the parent reps (i.e. one will be the school council chair or designate, one will be selected by the principal through an application process). A comment was made by one respondent who recommended that parents involved should be impacted by the boundary change. This comment has been raised many times in past reviews. The challenge with this suggestion is that there may be several different boundary options making it impossible to represent each area on the committee. Also, the BRC/ARC is tasked with keeping the entire system and all of its students in mind throughout the process rather than focusing on the impacts of a single area. Two questions were asked regarding transition planning: who should be included on the transition planning committee and what types of activities should be incorporated into transition planning. Transition planning committees should include the following (ranked in order of preference):
1. Parents 2. Principals 3. Students 4. Superintendent 5. Other (teachers, parish priest)
There were many great suggestions regarding the types of activities that should be done to help students and families transition from one school to another. The amount and types of activities would differ depending on the type of review (boundary vs. closure) and the number of students affected. Questions were posed regarding the appropriate timelines for implementing a school closure decision and a boundary review decision. The preferences were:
School Closure – one year (June decision with implementation in September of the following calendar year)
Boundary Change – 8 months to 1 year An open-ended question was included asking if there was any additional information that should be included in the School Information Profiles. Several respondents indicated that the impact of a school on the local community should be considered. The intent of the new Ministry Guideline for Accommodation Reviews and the new Ministry Guideline for Community Planning and Partnerships is to have the majority of the discussions around community impact in advance of any accommodation review. The intention of the board to complete accommodation reviews, specifically school closure reviews, will be communicated to municipalities and community partners through the board’s capital planning process and procedures under APF012 – Community Planning and Facility Partnerships in advance of any decision to begin an accommodation review. In addition, boards will notify municipalities and interested community partners once an ARC process is initiated to invite further opportunity to comment. Conclusions Transition plans are developed for every boundary and school closure review. However, WCDSB does not currently have a formalized process or clear strategies that can be shared with the school communities in advance of any accommodation decision. The transition period is arguably the most critical component of the entire process. The activities arranged (and relationships built) during the transition period directly influence whether families have a positive experience and may ultimately impact whether they chose to remain at a WCDSB school following an accommodation decision. As a result, it is recommended that a transition planning framework be developed. The purpose of the framework would be to assist school communities in developing and implementing activities to ease the transition as well as to assure parents that they will receive support from WCDSB following an accommodation decision. Once developed, the framework should be appended to the APF008 as a resource. One change has been made to the draft APF008 that was presented to the Board of Trustees in September following discussions with other school boards (and not as a result of the survey). The following change (bolded) has been made to
40
Page 3
section 11.0 Exemptions under Part B related to the notification process. “At least 5 days following a decision to proceed with an exemption resulting in a school closure, the board will provide written notification to…” This change means that boards will be able to move grades and programs (e.g. French Immersion) without the need to notify the Ministry, municipalities, community partners, and co-terminus boards. The change maintains the spirit of the notification process to inform the community when a major decision is made regarding the school building and presence within a community but allows the board to move students in grades and programs using the boundary review process rather than the ARC exemption process.
Recommendation:
That the Board of Trustees endorses the changes to APF008: Pupil Accommodation Review Process dated October 26, 2015 and revises Executive Limitation IV 010 policy #7 to reflect this. That staff prepare a formal transition planning framework to be appended to APF008 by December 31, 2015.
Prepared/Reviewed By: Loretta Notten
Director of Education Shesh Maharaj Superintendent of Corporate Services Lindsay Ford Manager of Planning *Bylaw 5.2 “where the Board of Trustees receives from the Director of Education a monitoring report that flows from a responsibility delegated to the Director under Board Policy – except where approval is required by the Board of Trustees on a matter delegated by policy to the Board – the minutes of the Meeting at which the Report is received shall expressly provide that the Board has received and approved of the Report as an action consistent with the authority delegated to the Director, subject in all instances to what otherwise actually occurred.”
41
Response Percent
Response Count
51.1% 230.0% 0
35.6% 166.7% 36.7% 3
450
Number Response DateOther (please specify)
Categories
1 Oct 11, 2015 12:51 AM N/A2 Sep 27, 2015 12:08 AM both WCDSB staff and parent of WCDSB student3 Sep 24, 2015 2:02 AM parent and staff member
skipped question
Which of the following best describes you?
Community Member
Parent/Guardian of WCDSB student
answered question
Pupil Accommodation Review Process Survey
WCDSB Staff Member
Answer Options
Other (please specify)
WCDSB Student
Which of the following best describes you?
Parent/Guardian of WCDSB student
WCDSB Student
WCDSB Staff Member
Community Member
Other (please specify)
42
Response Percent
Response Count
86.7% 3913.3% 6
450
Pupil Accommodation Review Process Survey
skipped question
Have you previously participated in an accommodation review with WCDSB?
Answer Options
NoYes
answered question
Have you previously participated in an accommodation review with WCDSB?
No
Yes
43
Response Percent
Response Count
0.0% 016.7% 133.3% 250.0% 3
639
Number Response DateOther (please specify)
Categories
1 Sep 25, 2015 1:33 AM staff2 Sep 24, 2015 1:04 AM I was none of be above.3 Sep 23, 2015 8:54 PM Non voting Administrator
If you answered yes to the previous question, which group did you belong to:
Other (please specify)
ARC/BRC Committee Member
skipped question
Pupil Accommodation Review Process Survey
Community Member
Answer Options
answered question
Parent/Guardian
If you answered yes to the previous question, which group did you belong to:
ARC/BRC CommitteeMember
Parent/Guardian
Community Member
Other (please specify)
44
Response Percent
Response Count
60.0% 2757.8% 2671.1% 3257.8% 2640.0% 1817.8% 86.7% 3
450
Number Response DateOther (please specify)
Categories
1 Oct 6, 2015 1:19 AM Face to face public meetings
2 Sep 24, 2015 5:16 PM3 Sep 24, 2015 1:04 AM Local radio
skipped question
Notices sent home with students
all options should be included. no such thing as too much information when it comes to a possible school closure
Pupil Accommodation Review Process Survey
Email distribution list
answered question
Answer Options
Newswire
School’s newsletter
Other (please specify)
The role of parent reps on the ARC is to act as the official conduit for information shared between the school board and the school communities. What type of communication methods would you consider to be most effective? (Check all that apply)
Website
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
No
tice
s se
nt
hom
e w
ithst
uden
ts
Sch
ool’s
ne
wsl
ette
r
Em
ail
dist
ribu
tion
list
Web
site
Ne
wsw
ire
Tw
itte
r
Oth
er
(ple
ase
spec
ify)
The role of parent reps on the ARC is to act as the official conduit for information shared between the school board and the school communities.
What type of communication methods would you consider to be most effective? (Check all that apply)
45
Response Percent
Response Count
86.4% 3813.6% 6
441
Number Response DateNo (please specify)
Categories
1 Oct 6, 2015 1:19 AM
2 Sep 29, 2015 8:09 PM
3 Sep 24, 2015 1:16 PM
4 Sep 23, 2015 10:22 PM
5 Sep 23, 2015 7:21 PM
6 Sep 23, 2015 7:02 PM
Pupil Accommodation Review Process Survey
skipped question
The Accommodation/Boundary Review Committee (ARC/BRC) consists of two parents from each affected school. The process used to select the parent reps has varied over the years. The revised procedure proposes that one parent rep will be the school council chair (or designate) and the other will be selected by the school principal through an application process. Do you agree with the revised procedure? If not, how would you suggest they be selected?
Answer Options
YesNo (please specify)
answered question
School council chair is already a busy position - allow interested parents to apply and be selected - no restrictions.Selected by School council through application processShould be someone from outside the home school to avoid favouritism to select the other memberNot sure why there needs to be an application process. Application or not, principals are going to select whom they want anyways. Just a rhetorical process.
Rep should be a parent of spec needs child.
please ensure the parent is able to speak to the boundary change - it must impact them
The Accommodation/Boundary Review Committee (ARC/BRC) consists of two parents from each affected school. The process used to select the parent reps
has varied over the years. The revised proced
Yes No (please specify)
46
Response Percent
Response Count
62.2% 2891.1% 4197.8% 4464.4% 2924.4% 11
450
Number Response DateOther (please specify)
Categories
1 Oct 7, 2015 5:32 PM Parish Priest2 Sep 27, 2015 12:08 AM teachers3 Sep 24, 2015 1:16 PM teachers4 Sep 24, 2015 1:00 PM staff affected by the decision5 Sep 24, 2015 12:46 PM community members that may have imput6 Sep 24, 2015 1:18 AM Social worker7 Sep 24, 2015 1:04 AM Staff8 Sep 23, 2015 10:22 PM Teachers9 Sep 23, 2015 8:54 PM parish reps
10 Sep 23, 2015 7:14 PM parish priest is critical11 Sep 23, 2015 7:09 PM Staff
skipped question
Following a decision to close a school, a separate committee will be established to address the transition of students and staff. Who would you recommend to be on this committee? (Check all that apply)
Students
Superintendent
answered question
Pupil Accommodation Review Process Survey
Parents
Answer Options
Other (please specify)
Principals
0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
120.0%
Superintendent Principals Parents Students Other (pleasespecify)
Following a decision to close a school, a separate committee will be established to address the transition of students and staff. Who would you
recommend to be on this committee? (Check all that apply)
47
Response Count
262619
Number Response Date Response TextCategories
1 Oct 11, 2015 12:51 AM
2 Oct 6, 2015 1:19 AM
3 Sep 30, 2015 4:27 PM4 Sep 29, 2015 11:57 PM
5 Sep 29, 2015 8:09 PM
6 Sep 28, 2015 6:49 PM
7 Sep 27, 2015 12:08 AM
8 Sep 24, 2015 5:16 PM
9 Sep 24, 2015 4:56 PM
10 Sep 24, 2015 1:16 PM
Pupil Accommodation Review Process Survey
What type of activities would you recommend for transitioning students?
Answer Options
answered questionskipped question
Understanding the new school that they will be attending Frequent discussions with the established committee to ensure concerns are being heard, understood and discussed. Communication, communication, communication.
-Tours of new school -Ability to meet teachers in advance
-Learn about their new school and ways to get invovled before starting on their first day
-make a celebration at the school welcoming new students; buddy program?- visits well ahead to alternate schoolsClear plans of transportation - early and after school activities - ability to participate in after school activities with possible transportation - support programs (ie. breakfast clubs), Parent/ student representation on School Council from each neighbourhood
Plan school trips together to get kids meeting offsite - neutral zone.
Pick pen pals during the year before transitions. Ask the kids.
Closing mass and welcoming visits/mass prior to movement to new school the following year. Creation of a time capsule to be brought to new school and opened at a later anniversary of the school to reflect the joining of communities.
team building for students and staff- integration building for students and staff - youth care support for students having difficulty with change
Open houses with tours and community building events for parents and students
Visiting the new school with ice breaker activities with students at both schools
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11 Sep 24, 2015 1:00 PM12 Sep 24, 2015 12:18 PM13 Sep 24, 2015 12:16 PM14 Sep 24, 2015 1:18 AM
15 Sep 24, 2015 1:06 AM
16 Sep 24, 2015 1:04 AM
17 Sep 23, 2015 11:13 PM
18 Sep 23, 2015 10:22 PM
19 Sep 23, 2015 8:54 PM
20 Sep 23, 2015 8:02 PM21 Sep 23, 2015 7:23 PM BBQ
22 Sep 23, 2015 7:21 PM
23 Sep 23, 2015 7:14 PM
24 Sep 23, 2015 7:02 PM
25 Sep 23, 2015 6:55 PM26 Sep 23, 2015 5:10 PM Spirit building
having the students visit each other's schools to meet some of the students who will be in their classrooms at their new schoolTime spent at new school - orientation style.
depends on the child ageField play activities including all feeder schools.Orientation visit to the new school building before school starts the following year.School visits, pen pals, carnival/sharing special events.visits to the new school the year before, penpals from the new schoolVisits to the new school; social activities between same grade classes.The students would need to have at least 2-3 activities with the new school community. A family night would also be helpful.
activities to get both schools together deciding on a new name for the school together
Meet and greet-give them a chance to see new school
unclear on the questionperhaps choosing mascot design, naming rooms, etc?
pairing them with others at the new school. Have a day where they are taken to their new school for activities with the other students ahead of time.
Ensuring there is something "in it" for all students involved regardless of which school they will attend (old or new).
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Response Percent
Response Count
0.0% 04.4% 2
31.1% 1464.4% 29
450
If the final decision includes a school closure, how much time would you consider to be appropriate before implementation?
June to September the following year (e.g. June 2016
June to September (e.g. June 2016 decision for Sept
skipped question
Pupil Accommodation Review Process Survey
January to September (e.g. January 2016 decision for
Answer Options
answered question
April to September (e.g. April 2016 decision for Sept
If the final decision includes a school closure, how much time would you consider to be appropriate before implementation?
June to September (e.g. June 2016decision for Sept 2016implementation)
April to September (e.g. April 2016decision for Sept 2016implementation)
January to September (e.g. January2016 decision for Sept 2016implementation)
June to September the followingyear (e.g. June 2016 decision forSept 2017 implementation)
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Response Percent
Response Count
4.4% 211.1% 546.7% 2137.8% 17
450
If the final decision is a boundary change, how much time would you consider to be appropriate before implementation?
June to September the following year (e.g. June 2016
June to September (e.g. June 2016 decision for Sept
skipped question
Pupil Accommodation Review Process Survey
January to September (e.g. January 2016 decision for
Answer Options
answered question
April to September (e.g. April 2016 decision for Sept
If the final decision is a boundary change, how much time would you consider to be appropriate before implementation?
June to September (e.g. June 2016decision for Sept 2016implementation)
April to September (e.g. April 2016decision for Sept 2016implementation)
January to September (e.g. January2016 decision for Sept 2016implementation)
June to September the followingyear (e.g. June 2016 decision forSept 2017 implementation)
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Response Count
66
39
Number Response Date Response TextCategories
1 Oct 6, 2015 1:19 AM
2 Sep 29, 2015 8:09 PM
3 Sep 24, 2015 1:00 PM
4 Sep 24, 2015 1:04 AM
5 Sep 23, 2015 10:22 PM6 Sep 23, 2015 7:02 PM I don't know.
skipped question
Municipalities particularly one or more planning stuff should be included on the ARC committee. The community impact should be included - distance to school; partnerships with the school and the community Schools are about more than education - about community - needs to take into account what other services/ community spaces are within neighbourhood or can be provided through the schoolthe dynamic of the schools involved, eg. economic status and look at both communities individually to take into consideration the similarities and differences
I feel that facilities should be throughly inspected for health and safety concerns when merging two schools together. This includes assuring the school has enough space both in its interior and exterior to accommodate the population.
We need to close schools that are living with empty classrooms and that are too small or old. They suck the resources out of other schools that might need more minor repairs or updates. Mid size schools are best. They provide kids with the best opportunities without being too big. 2 or 3 classes of each grade would be ideal.
Pupil Accommodation Review Process Survey
Please share any additional information that should be included in the School Information Profiles.
Answer Options
answered question
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Response Count
77
38
Number Response Date Response TextCategories
1 Oct 6, 2015 1:19 AM2 Sep 24, 2015 1:00 PM Not at this time
3 Sep 24, 2015 1:04 AM
4 Sep 23, 2015 10:22 PM
5 Sep 23, 2015 8:54 PM
6 Sep 23, 2015 7:09 PM7 Sep 23, 2015 7:02 PM I don't know.
skipped question
This is a very basic survey and not in depth. I think the WCDSB should have a public discussion with parents, students, staff to discuss all the issues regarding this. A simple survey like this is NOT enough.
I think the board should consider the importance/impact/ value that a school has on the community before considering closure.
While the various stakeholders want to be heard, the board sometimes needs to make decisions because they need to make decisions. They need to be transparent about their reasoning, but keeping a school open (like St. Agatha) makes no sense to anyone but the families that are fighting for it. $2 million dollars in repairs and updates could be spent in so many other buildings. People are upset riding a bus... too bad! We all did it when we went to school. I turned out alright! While sometimes we need to listen to others, sometimes we need to do what is right for the bigger picture. Common sense needs to prevail!
Whenever a school is involved in an ARC and the public is aware of the "pending closure" it takes years to get rid of the perception that the school is closing. As an Administrator of the school involved in the ARC it is very difficult to be a nonvoting member.
If there are boundary changes or school closures, families may need time to find alternate child care arrangements for before / after school, transportation. Some may even consider moving.
Pupil Accommodation Review Process Survey
Is there anything you feel is missing in the revised procedures that should be included?
Answer Options
answered question
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Administrative Procedures Memorandum
#: APF008 Pupil Accommodation Review Process
DATE OF ISSUE: August 31, 1999 Reviewed / Revised: September 18, 2001; February 4, 2003; June 25, 2007; October 7, 2008; May 17, 2010,
November 14, 2011; June 10, 2013, October 26, 2015 MEMO TO: Principals; Vice Principals; Executive Council; Trustees; School Council Chairs FROM: Director of Education
PURPOSE The purpose of this administrative procedures memorandum is to outline the procedures to be followed when conducting accommodation reviews (i.e. boundary reviews and school closure reviews). REFERENCES Executive Limitation IV 008, “Financial Conditions and Activities”…”The CEO shall not 8. Acquire, encumber or dispose of real property.” Executive Limitation IV 010, “Facilities/Accommodations”… “The CEO shall not:
1. Allow material changes to facilities, boundary changes, or the closure of existing facilities to occur without established procedures that includes the board appointing two trustees as non-voting members of the Accommodation Review Committees. 2. Fail to present to the board an annual report on current enrolment status, future demographic trends
and a list of potential schools being considered for boundary changes or closure.
Ministry of Education, Pupil Accommodation Review Guidelines (March 2015) (Appendix A) Ministry of Education, Administrative Review of Accommodation Review Process (Appendix D) FORMS N/A APPENDICES Appendix A – Ministry of Education Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline (March 2015) Appendix B – Generic Terms of Reference Template Appendix C – Generic School Information Profile Appendix D – Ministry of Education Administrative Review of Accommodation Review Process
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AP memo #
AP Memo Title Page 2 of 11:
COMMENTS AND GUIDELINES PREFACE An accommodation review is a public process used to determine how students will be accommodated in schools. This may include adjusting boundaries, building capacity, or closing schools. There are two types of accommodation reviews:
a) Boundary Review (Part A): The purpose of a boundary review is to transfer students from one school to another school in order to balance enrolment. The Ministry Guideline does not apply.
b) School Closure Review (Part B): The school closure review process applies where one or more schools is being considered for closure, consolidation, or as defined in the Ministry Guideline. The review process reflects the Ministry of Education Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline (Revised March 2015) and applies only to schools offering elementary or secondary regular day school programs.
RATIONALE FOR AN ACCOMMODATION REVIEW There are many reasons an accommodation review (either boundary review or school closure review) may be initiated. Examples include but are not limited to:
Enrolment exceeds capacity Enrolment is below capacity causing an inefficient use of board resources Building condition Excessive transportation costs Site and building limitations Accommodation of special programs
PART A – BOUNDARY REVIEW The Boundary Review Process will ensure that the public has opportunity to comment on the proposed boundary solution, the impact on affected students has been considered, and that decisions are based on an efficient and equitable use of system resources. The decision to proceed with a boundary review will be made by the Board of Trustees following the review of an initial staff report. This staff report may, but is not required to, include boundary options. 1.0 BOUNDARY REVIEW COMMITTEE (BRC) A BRC will be formed following the Board of Trustee’s decision to proceed with a boundary review. 1.1 Membership The BRC membership will include:
Two (2) parent representatives from each school under review
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Principal of each school under review Two (2) Trustees Superintendent of the affected schools Superintendent of Corporate Services One (1) student from each school under review (secondary reviews only)
Parents of each school community will be invited to apply to become a parent representative on the BRC. One of the parent representatives will be selected by the principal at each school and one will be the school council chair or designate. No substitute parent reps will be allowed to attend BRC meetings in the absence of the designated parent reps. 1.2 Role The role of the BRC is as follows:
To act as the official conduit for information shared between the school board and the school communities
Act as a consultation body, providing advice to staff Review materials provided by board staff Comment and provide suggestions on the boundary option(s) and materials provided Consider the needs of the entire school system and resist advocating for any particular school or
neighbourhood Attend public meetings and review public comments
If, for any reason, the BRC refuses to complete or unnecessarily delays the review process then board administration may continue on behalf of the BRC. 1.3 Meetings Meetings of the BRC will be open to the public. Members of the public attending committee meetings are expected to act with decorum and in a manner that respects the work of the committee. Individuals or groups that disrupt the committee proceedings may be asked to leave. 1.4 Terms of Reference Board staff will provide the BRC with a Terms of Reference based on the generic Terms of Reference found in Appendix B. The Terms of Reference will include the following:
The board’s education and accommodation objectives for the BRC The roles and responsibilities of the BRC The procedures of the BRC Approximate number of meetings
2.0 PUBLIC CONSULTATION All data, reports, submissions, parent/ratepayer comments received during the boundary review process are subject to Freedom of Information/Protection of Privacy legislation. All written public comments received by staff may be distributed to the Board of Trustees in their entirety. Public comments received throughout the process may be shared with the public and may become part of the public record.
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AP memo #
AP Memo Title Page 4 of 11:
2.1 Public Meetings A public meeting is an open meeting with the purpose of sharing relevant information with members of the public and soliciting feedback. The meeting may take on a variety of formats including, but not limited to, a presentation, question/answer period, open house, workshop, or small group discussions. A minimum of one (1) public meeting is required. This meeting will be facilitated by Board staff. The public meeting will be advertised in advance using a variety of methods (e.g. posted on website, notice in school newsletter, notice sent home with students at the affected schools, etc.). Trustees are encouraged to attend all public meetings. 3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS AND APPROVALS 3.1 Final Staff Report Following the public consultation process, staff will submit a final staff report to the Board of Trustees. This report will include an overview of the process and materials considered, the recommended option, and implementation recommendations. The final staff report will be made available to the public and posted on the board’s website. 3.2 Approvals Once the final staff report is submitted to the Board of Trustees, members of the public will be invited to register as a delegation to provide their comments directly to the Trustees. Delegations must adhere to the WCDSB General Board Operational and Procedural By-law. The final decision will be made by the Board of Trustees. No delegations will be permitted at the meeting where the board is scheduled to make their final decision. 4.0 EXEMPTIONS In most cases, the final approval of a boundary change rests with the Board of Trustees and would involve a public consultation process. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule which would allow senior administration to be the decision making body. These exceptions are as follows:
Where a boundary change is being considered for an area where there is no existing students, the boundary options may be considered by senior administration and a decision reached by them without community consultation.
Where there are relatively few students affected by a proposed boundary change, the families of those students will be consulted directly and given an opportunity to comment on the boundary options being considered. Following this consultation, senior administration may make a decision or elect to conduct a full review.
Where a boundary change is being considered for an area which was part of an Accommodation Review up to and including five years previous, the change will come to the Board for information and approval.
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AP memo #
AP Memo Title Page 5 of 11:
4.1 Notification Where senior administration is the decision making body, the proposed boundary change will be communicated directly to the affected school community. In addition, the details of the boundary change will be posted on the Board’s website. 4.2 Appeals The public will have the ability to appeal the decision of senior administration to the Board of Trustees within thirty (30) days of public notification. The Board, upon receipt of an appeal, will have the option of endorsing the decision of senior administration, directing staff to advise on minor modifications, or ordering administration to conduct a full review. If no appeal is received within thirty (30) days of the notification date the decision of senior administration will be final. PART B – SCHOOL CLOSURE REVIEW 1.0 MINISTRY GUIDELINE In October 2006, the Ministry of Education released the Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline. This Guideline was revised in June 2009 and March 2015. The purpose of the Guideline is to provide a framework of minimum standards for school boards to undertake pupil accommodation reviews (school closure reviews) in order to determine the future of a school or group of schools. The Guideline ensures that a decision is made with the involvement of an informed local community and is based on a broad range of criteria regarding the quality of the learning experience for students. The Ministry of Education recommends that, wherever possible, schools should only be subject to a school closure review once in a 5-year period, unless there are circumstances determined by the school board that deem it necessary (e.g. significant change in enrolment, changes to funding, building deterioration, etc.). 2.0 GUIDING PRINCIPLES All school closure reviews shall align with the following guiding principles.
1. Catholic presence in each community 2. Student well-being 3. Academic achievement 4. School Board financial viability/sustainability
3.0 INITIATING A SCHOOL CLOSURE REVIEW A school closure review shall be initiated through an initial staff report and subsequent decision by the Board of Trustees to proceed. The initial staff report must include the following:
Summary of accommodation issues for the school(s) under review One or more options to address the issues, including supporting rationale
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AP memo #
AP Memo Title Page 6 of 11:
o Where students would be accommodated o If proposed changes to existing facilities are required o Identify any program changes o How student transportation would be affected o If new capital investment is required including how the board intends to fund the project
and an alternative solution should funding not become available A recommended option (if more than one option is presented)
o A timeline for implementation Any relevant information obtained from municipalities or community partners, including any
confirmed interest in using underutilized space.
Following a decision by the Board of Trustees to proceed with a school closure review, the initial staff report will be made available to the public and posted on the board’s website. 4.0 ACCOMMODATION REVIEW COMMITTEE (ARC) An ARC will be formed following the Board of Trustee’s consideration of the initial staff report and prior to the first public meeting. 4.1 Membership The ARC membership will include:
Two (2) parent representatives from each school under review (1 selected by School Council, 1 selected by the principal)
Principal of each school under review Two (2) Trustees (selected by the Chair of the Board) One (1) parish representative, where possible Superintendent of the affected schools Superintendent of Corporate Services One (1) student from each school under review (secondary reviews only)
Parents of each school community will be invited to apply to become a parent representative on the ARC. One of the parent representatives will be selected by the principal at each school and one will be the school council chair or designate. No substitute parent reps will be allowed to attend ARC meetings in the absence of the designated parent reps. The parish representative must not be personally affiliated in any way with the schools under review. 4.2 Role The role of the ARC is as follows:
To act as the official conduit for information shared between the school board and the school communities
Act as a consultation body, providing advice to staff Comment on the initial staff report Seek clarification on the initial staff report Request clarification about information in the school information profiles Suggest other accommodation options, including supporting rationale Review materials provided by board staff
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AP memo #
AP Memo Title Page 7 of 11:
Consider the needs of the entire school system and resist advocating for any particular school or neighbourhood
Attend public meetings and review public comments If, for any reason, the ARC refuses to complete or unnecessarily delays the review process then board administration may continue on behalf of the ARC. Staff will compile feedback from the ARC and present this information in the final report to the Board of Trustees. 4.3 Meetings Meetings of the ARC will be open to the public. Members of the public attending committee meetings are expected to act with decorum and in a manner that respects the work of the committee. Individuals or groups that disrupt the committee proceedings may be asked to leave. The first meeting of the ARC will describe the ARC’s mandate, its roles and responsibilities, and the procedures of the ARC. 4.4 Terms of Reference Board staff will provide the ARC with a Terms of Reference based on the generic Terms of Reference found in Appendix B. The Terms of Reference will include the following:
The board’s education and accommodation objectives for the ARC Reflect the board’s strategy for supporting student achievement and well-being The roles and responsibilities of the ARC The procedures of the ARC Minimum number of working meetings
5.0 SCHOOL INFORMATION PROFILES (SIP) The purpose of the SIP is to provide an understanding of and familiarity with each school under review. The SIPs will be shared with the ARC and the community as an orientation document. Prior to the commencement of the review, Board staff will prepare SIPs that are complete and accurate to the best of the board’s ability. A generic SIP is attached as Appendix C. The generic SIP may be customized to reflect the specific circumstances of the review. The SIP must consider the value of each school to the student and to the board. For comparison purposes, the SIPs must examine the same criteria for each school under review. 6.0 PUBLIC CONSULTATION All data, reports, submissions, parent/ratepayer comments received during the school closure review process are subject to Freedom of Information/Protection of Privacy legislation. All written public comments received by staff may be distributed to the Board of Trustees in their entirety. Public comments received throughout the process may be shared with the public and may become part of the public record.
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AP memo #
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6.1 Consultation with Governments & Community Partners Following the Board of Trustee’s decision to proceed with a review, staff will invite the affected municipalities (single & upper-tier via the Clerks Department) and community partners (who have requested to be notified) to a meeting to comment on the recommended option in the initial staff report. Staff will document its efforts to meet with municipal and community partners and provide any relevant information as part of the final staff report to the Board of Trustees. In addition, the parish of the school(s) proposed to close will be notified as will the Diocese of Hamilton. Feedback must be received prior to the final public meeting in order to be considered in the final report. 6.2 Public Meetings A public meeting is an open meeting with the purpose of sharing relevant information with members of the public and soliciting feedback. The meeting may take on a variety of formats including, but not limited to, a presentation, question/answer period, open house, workshop, or small group discussions. A minimum of two (2) public meetings are required. The public meetings will be advertised in advance using a variety of methods (e.g. posted on website, notice in school newsletter, notice sent home with students at the affected schools, etc.). Board staff will facilitate the public meetings. The first public meeting must include the following:
An overview of the ARC orientation session (first meeting) The initial staff report with recommended option(s) A presentation of the SIPs
Trustees are encouraged to attend all public meetings. 7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS AND APPROVALS 7.1 Final Staff Report Following the public consultation process, staff will submit a final staff report to the Board of Trustees. This report will include the following:
Community Consultation section: contains feedback from the ARC and public consultations, including any relevant information from municipal and community partners.
A recommended option including a proposed accommodation plan and a timeline for implementation. The recommended option does not have to be the same as the recommended option provided in the initial staff report.
The final staff report will be made available to the public and posted on the board’s website. 7.2 Delegations to the Board of Trustees Once the final staff report is submitted to the Board of Trustees, members of the public will be invited to register as a delegation to provide their comments directly to the Trustees. Delegations must adhere to the WCDSB General Board Operational and Procedural By-law.
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The community will be made aware of the dates and times of these board meetings in a similar manner to the notification provided for the other public consultation sessions. Comments from delegations will be compiled through the regular board process (e.g. included in the minutes for that meeting). There must be a minimum of ten (10) business days between the meeting when the Board received the last delegation(s) and the meeting when the Board of Trustees makes a decision. As a result, delegations will not be permitted at the same meeting where the Trustees are scheduled to make their final decision. Likewise, delegations may not be permitted at the Committee of the Whole meeting prior to the final decision if that meeting date falls within ten (10) business days of the final decision. 7.3 Decision of the Board of Trustees The Board of Trustees has the discretion to approve the recommendations of the final staff report, modify the recommendations of the final staff report, or approve a different outcome. Where a proposed decision varies from the recommendations of the final staff report, sufficient time should be taken to evaluate the merits and feasibility of the proposal. The public should also be given the opportunity to comment prior to the decision being finalized. 8.0 TRANSITION PLANNING Following a decision to close a school, a separate committee will be established to address the transition of students and staff. 9.0 TIMELINES The school closure review must comply with the following timelines at a minimum:
Within five (5) business days of the decision to proceed with the review, staff will provide written notice to:
o The affected single and upper-tier municipalities as well as community partners that expressed an interest prior to the review. The notice will include an invitation for a meeting to discuss and comment on the recommended option(s) in the initial staff report.
o The Directors of Education at the coterminous boards o The Ministry of Education through the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Financial Policy
and Business Division The affected single and upper-tier municipalities and the notified community partners must
provide their comments prior to the final public meeting. There must be no fewer than thirty (30) business days between the decision to proceed with the
review and the first public meeting. There must be a minimum of forty (40) business days between the first and final public meeting. The final staff report must be publicly posted no fewer than ten (10) business days after the final
public meeting. From the posting of the final report, there must be no fewer than ten (10) business days before
public delegations. There must be no fewer than ten (10) business days between public delegations and the final
decision of the Board of Trustees.
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AP memo #
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10.0 MODIFIED PROCESS The Ministry Guideline allows for an optional modified process for reviews that are less complex. Specifically, a modified process would include only one (1) public meeting. The Board of Trustees must approve a defined set of criteria that would allow a review to qualify for the modified process. Community consultation would be required to adopt the modified process as part of this administrative procedures memorandum. Additional consultation with the school community would be required prior to the initiation of a modified school closure review. A modified process has not been included in this procedure at this time. 11.0 EXEMPTIONS The Ministry of Education Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline (Appendix A) outlines specific circumstances where there is no requirement to undertake a school closure review.
Where a replacement school is to be rebuilt by the board on the existing site, or rebuilt or acquired within the existing school attendance boundary as identified through the board’s existing policies;
Where a replacement school is to be built by the school board on the existing site, or built or acquired within the existing school attendance boundary and the school community must be temporarily relocated to ensure the safety of students and staff during the reconstruction;
When a lease for the school is terminated; When the board is planning the relocation in any school year or over a number of school years of
grades, or programs, in which the enrolment constitutes less than 50% of the enrolment of the school’s enrolment. This calculation is based on the enrolment at the time of the relocation or the first phase of a relocation carried over a number of school years;
When the board is repairing or renovating a school, and the school community must be temporarily relocated to ensure the safety of students during the renovations;
Where a facility has been serving as a holding school for a school community whose permanent school is over-capacity and/or is under construction or repair; or
Where there are no students enrolled at the school at any time throughout the school year. In advance of a decision by the Board to provide an exemption based on the criteria above, the Board will consult with local school communities about the proposed accommodation options for students. At least 5 days following a decision to proceed with an exemption resulting in a school closure, the board will provide written notification to the following:
The Ministry of Education (Assistant Deputy Minister of the Financial Policy and Business Division)
Single and upper-tier municipalities (Clerks Department or equivalent) Community partners who have previously expressed an interest prior to the exemption. Coterminous school boards (Director of Education)
A transition plan will be put in place following the Board of Trustees’ decision to consolidate, close, or move a school or students in accordance with this section.
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12.0 ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW The Ministry of Education has outlined a process by which the public may apply for administrative review of a Board decision. Administrative review applies only to those reviews that follow the school closure process and does not apply to boundary review decisions. An administrative review cannot overturn a decision by the Board of Trustees and can only examine the Board’s process. The Ministry of Education’s Administrative Review of Accommodation Review Process can be found in Appendix D.
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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
PUPIL ACCOMMODATION REVIEW GUIDELINE
March 2015
65
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREAMBLE
I. PURPOSE II. INTRODUCTION III. GUIDING PRINCIPLES IV. SCHOOL BOARD ACCOMMODATION REVIEW POLICIES V. SCHOOL BOARD PLANNING PRIOR TO AN
ACCOMMODATION REVIEW VI. ESTABLISHING AN ACCOMMODATION REVIEW VII. THE ACCOMMODATION REVIEW COMMITTEE VIII. SCHOOL INFORMATION PROFILE IX. CONSULTATION WITH LOCAL MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS X. PUBLIC MEETINGS XI. COMPLETING THE ACCOMODATION REVIEW XII. TRANSITION PLANNING XIII. TIMELINES FOR THE ACCOMMODATION REVIEW PROCESS XIV. MODIFIED ACCOMMODATION REVIEW PROCESS XV. EXEMPTIONS XVI. DEFINITIONS
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PREAMBLE
School boards are responsible for managing their school capital assets in an effective manner. They must respond to changing demographics and program needs while ensuring continued student achievement and well-being, and the financial viability/sustainability of the school board.
One aspect of a school board’s capital and accommodation planning is reviewing schools that have underutilized space. These are schools where the student capacity of the school is greater than the number of students enrolled. When a school board identifies a school that is projected to have long-term excess space, a school board would typically look at a number of options such as:
• moving attendance boundaries and programs to balance enrolment between over and underutilized schools;
• offering to lease underutilized space within a school to a coterminous school board;
• finding community partners who can pay the full cost of operating the underutilized space; and/or
• decommissioning or demolishing a section of the school that is not required for student use to reduce operating costs.
If none of these options are deemed viable by a school board, the board may determine that a pupil accommodation review process take place which could lead to possible school consolidations and closures. These decisions are made within the context of supporting the school board’s student achievement and well-being strategy and to make the most effective use of its school buildings and funding.
The Ministry of Education expects school boards to work with their community partners when undertaking capital planning, including when a school board is beginning to develop options to address underutilized space in schools. The Ministry of Education’s Community Planning and Partnerships Guideline (CPPG) outlines requirements for school boards to reach out to their local municipalities and other community partners to share planning related information and to explore potential partnership opportunities. This version of the Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline (the “Guideline”) builds upon the CPPG by providing requirements for school boards to share information with and seek feedback from their local municipalities and other community partners related to any pupil accommodation reviews a school board initiates.
If a pupil accommodation review results in a school closure decision, a school board will then need to decide whether to declare that school as surplus, potentially leading to the future sale of the property. These sales are governed by provincial regulation. Alternately, a school board may decide to use a closed school for other school board purposes, or hold the property as a strategic long-term asset of the school board due to a projected need for the facility in the
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future. Each school board decides when it is appropriate to review its strategic property holdings to determine if these properties are still required to be held or should be considered surplus to the school board’s needs and considered for a future sale.
This document provides direction to school boards on one component of their capital planning - the pupil accommodation review process. It provides the minimum standards the province requires school boards to follow when undertaking a pupil accommodation review. It is important to note that school boards have flexibility to modify their pupil accommodation review policies to meet their local needs, and can develop policies that exceed the provincial minimum standards outlined in this document.
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of the Guideline is to provide a framework of minimum standards for school boards to undertake pupil accommodation reviews to determine the future of a school or group of schools. This Guideline ensures that where a decision is taken by a school board regarding the future of a school, that decision is made with the involvement of an informed local community and is based on a broad range of criteria regarding the quality of the learning experience for students.
This Guideline is effective upon release and replaces the previous Guideline of June 2009.
II. INTRODUCTION
Ontario’s school boards are responsible for deciding the most appropriate pupil accommodation arrangements for the delivery of their elementary and secondary programs. These decisions are made by school board trustees in the context of carrying out their primary responsibilities of fostering student achievement and well-being, and ensuring effective stewardship of school board resources. In some cases, to address changing student populations, this requires school boards to consider undertaking pupil accommodation reviews that may lead to school consolidations and closures.
Under paragraph 26, subsection 8 (1) of the Education Act, the Minister of Education may issue guidelines with respect to school boards’ school closure policies.
III. GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The Guideline has been established to align with the Ministry of Education’s vision and as such, focuses on student well-being; academic achievement; and school board financial viability/sustainability.
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All school board pupil accommodation review policies should be designed to align with these guiding principles.
IV. SCHOOL BOARD ACCOMMODATION REVIEW POLICIES
School boards are responsible for creating and implementing a policy to address pupil accommodation reviews to serve their local needs. The Ministry of Education expects school boards to consult with local communities prior to adopting or subsequently amending their pupil accommodation review policies.
All pupil accommodation review policies must be clear in stipulating that the final decision regarding the future of a school or group of schools rests solely with the Board of Trustees. If the Board of Trustees votes to close a school or schools in accordance with their policy, the school board must provide clear timelines regarding the closure(s) and ensure that a transition plan is communicated to all affected school communities within the school board.
It is important to note that this Guideline is intended as a minimum requirement for school boards in developing their policies. School boards are responsible for establishing and complying with their pupil accommodation review policies to serve their local needs.
A copy of the school board’s pupil accommodation review policy, the government’s Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline and the Administrative Review of Accommodation Review Process documents are to be made available to the public as determined in the school board’s policy, and posted on the school board’s website.
The Guideline recognizes that pupil accommodation reviews include a school or group of schools to facilitate the development of viable solutions for pupil accommodation that support the guiding principles.
School board pupil accommodation review policies will include statements that encourage the sharing of relevant information as well as providing the opportunity for the public and affected school communities to be heard.
The Ministry of Education recommends that, wherever possible, schools should only be subject to a pupil accommodation review once in a five-year period, unless there are circumstances determined by the school board, such as a significant change in enrolment.
V. SCHOOL BOARD PLANNING PRIOR TO AN ACCOMMODATION REVIEW
As described in the Community Planning and Partnerships Guideline, school boards must undertake long-term capital and accommodation planning, informed
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by any relevant information obtained from local municipal governments and other community partners, which takes into consideration long-term enrolment projections and planning opportunities for the effective use of excess space in all area schools.
School boards must document their efforts to obtain information from local municipal governments as well as other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the pupil accommodation review; and provide any relevant information from municipalities and other community partners as part of the initial staff report (see Section VI).
VI. ESTABLISHING AN ACCOMMODATION REVIEW
School boards may proceed to establish a pupil accommodation review only after undertaking the necessary assessment of long-term capital and accommodation planning options for the school(s).
Initial Staff Report
Prior to establishing a pupil accommodation review, the initial staff report to the Board of Trustees must contain one or more options to address the accommodation issue(s). Each option must have a supporting rationale. There must be a recommended option if more than one option is presented. The initial staff report must also include information on actions taken by school board staff prior to establishing a pupil accommodation review process and supporting rationale as to any actions taken or not taken.
The option(s) included in the initial staff report must address the following:
• summary of accommodation issue(s) for the school(s) under review; • where students would be accommodated; • if proposed changes to existing facility or facilities are required as a result
of the pupil accommodation review; • identify any program changes as a result of the proposed option; • how student transportation would be affected if changes take place; • if new capital investment is required as a result of the pupil
accommodation review, how the school board intends to fund this, as well as a proposal on how students would be accommodated if funding does not become available; and
• any relevant information obtained from municipalities and other community partners prior to the commencement of the pupil accommodation review, including any confirmed interest in using the underutilized space.
Each recommended option must also include a timeline for implementation.
The initial staff report and School Information Profiles (SIPs) (see Section VIII) will be made available to the public, as determined in the school board’s policy,
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and posted on the school board’s website following the decision to proceed with a pupil accommodation review by the Board of Trustees.
School boards must ensure that individuals from the school(s) under review and the broader community are invited to participate in the pupil accommodation review consultation. At a minimum, the pupil accommodation review process must consist of the following methods of consultation:
• Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) (see Section VII); • consultation with municipal governments local to the affected school(s)
(see Section IX); • public meetings (see Section X); and • public delegations (see Section XI).
VII. THE ACCOMMODATION REVIEW COMMITTEE
Role
School boards must establish an ARC that represents the school(s) under review and acts as the official conduit for information shared between the school board and the school communities. The ARC may comment on the initial staff report and may, throughout the pupil accommodation review process, seek clarification of the initial staff report. The ARC may provide other accommodation options than those in the initial staff report; however, it must include supporting rationale for any such option.
The ARC members do not need to achieve consensus regarding the information provided to the Board of Trustees.
The school board’s staff resources assigned to the ARC are required to compile feedback from the ARC as well as the broader community in the Community Consultation section of the final staff report (see Section XI) to be presented to the Board of Trustees.
Membership
The membership of the ARC should include, at a minimum, parent/guardian representatives from each of the schools under review, chosen by their respective school communities.
Where established by a school board’s pupil accommodation review policy, there may also be the option to include students and representation from the broader community. For example, a school board’s policy may include a requirement for specific representation from the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities. In addition, school board trustees may be ad hoc ARC members to monitor the ARC progress.
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Formation
The ARC should be formed following the Board of Trustees’ consideration of the initial staff report but prior to the first public meeting. The school board will invite ARC members from the school(s) under review to an orientation session that will describe the mandate, roles and responsibilities, and procedures of the ARC.
Terms of Reference
School boards will provide the ARC with Terms of Reference that describe the ARC’s mandate. The mandate will refer to the school board’s education and accommodation objectives in undertaking the ARC and reflect the school board’s strategy for supporting student achievement and well-being.
The Terms of Reference will also clearly outline the school board’s expectations of the roles and responsibilities of the ARC; and describe the procedures of the ARC. At a minimum, the ARC will provide feedback on the initial staff report option(s).
The Terms of Reference will outline the minimum number of working meetings of the ARC.
Meetings of the Accommodation Review Committee
The ARC will meet to review materials presented by school board staff. It is recommended that the ARC hold as many working meetings as is deemed necessary within the timelines established in their school board’s pupil accommodation review policy.
VIII. SCHOOL INFORMATION PROFILE
School board staff are required to develop School Information Profiles (SIPs) as orientation documents to help the ARC and the community understand the context surrounding the decision to include the specific school(s) in a pupil accommodation review. The SIP provides an understanding of and familiarity with the facilities under review.
The SIP is expected to include data for each of the following two considerations about the school(s) under review:
• value to the student; and • value to the school board.
A SIP will be completed by school board staff for each of the schools under review. The following are the minimum data requirements and factors that are to be included in the SIP:
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• Facility Profile: o School name and address. o Site plan and floor plan(s) (or space template) of the school with the date
of school construction and any subsequent additions. o School attendance area (boundary) map. o Context map (or air photo) of the school indicating the existing land uses
surrounding the school. o Planning map of the school with zoning, Official Plan or secondary plan
land use designations. o Size of the school site (acres or hectares). o Building area (square feet or square metres). o Number of portable classrooms. o Number and type of instructional rooms as well as specialized classroom
teaching spaces (e.g., science lab, tech shop, gymnasium, etc.). o Area of hard surfaced outdoor play area and/or green space, the number
of play fields, and the presence of outdoor facilities (e.g., tracks, courts for basketball, tennis, etc.).
o Ten-year history of major facility improvements (item and cost). o Projected five-year facility renewal needs of school (item and cost). o Current Facility Condition Index (FCI) with a definition of what the index
represents. o A measure of proximity of the students to their existing school, and the
average distance to the school for students. o Percentage of students that are and are not eligible for transportation
under the school board policy, and the length of bus ride to the school (longest, shortest, and average length of bus ride times).
o School utility costs (totals, per square foot, and per student). o Number of parking spaces on site at the school, an assessment of the
adequacy of parking, and bus/car access and egress. o Measures that the school board has identified and/or addressed for
accessibility of the school for students, staff, and the public with disabilities (i.e., barrier-free).
o On-the-ground (OTG) capacity, and surplus/shortage of pupil places. • Instructional Profile:
o Describe the number and type of teaching staff, non-teaching staff, support staff, itinerant staff, and administrative staff at the school.
o Describe the course and program offerings at the school. o Describe the specialized service offerings at the school (e.g.,
cooperative placements, guidance counseling, etc.). o Current grade configuration of the school (e.g., junior kindergarten to
Grade 6, junior kindergarten to Grade 12, etc.). o Current grade organization of the school (e.g., number of combined
grades, etc.). o Number of out of area students. o Utilization factor/classroom usage.
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o Summary of five previous years’ enrolment and 10-year enrolment projection by grade and program.
o Current extracurricular activities.
• Other School Use Profile: o Current non-school programs or services resident at or co-located with
the school as well as any revenue from these non-school programs or services and whether or not it is at full cost recovery.
o Current facility partnerships as well as any revenue from the facility partnerships and whether or not it is at full cost recovery.
o Community use of the school as well as any revenue from the community use of the school and whether or not it is at full cost recovery.
o Availability of before and after school programs or services (e.g., child care) as well as any revenue from the before and after school programs and whether or not it is at full cost recovery.
o Lease terms at the school as well as any revenue from the lease and whether or not it is at full cost recovery.
o Description of the school’s suitability for facility partnerships.
School boards may introduce additional items that could be used to reflect local circumstances and priorities which may help to further understand the school(s) under review.
Each school under review will have a SIP completed at the same point-in-time for comparison purposes. The Ministry of Education expects school boards to prepare SIPs that are complete and accurate, to the best of the school board’s ability, prior to the commencement of a pupil accommodation review.
While the ARC may request clarification about information provided in the SIP, it is not the role of the ARC to approve the SIP.
IX. CONSULTATION WITH LOCAL MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS
Following the Board of Trustees’ approval to undertake a pupil accommodation review, school boards must invite affected single and upper-tier municipalities as well as other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the pupil accommodation review to discuss and comment on the recommended option(s) in the school board’s initial staff report.
The invitation for this meeting will be provided through a written notice, and will be directed through the Clerks Department (or equivalent) for the affected single and upper-tier municipalities.
The affected single and upper-tier municipalities, as well as other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the pupil accommodation review, must provide their response on the recommended option(s) in the school board’s initial staff report before the final public meeting. School boards must provide
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them with advance notice of when the final public meeting is scheduled to take place.
School boards must document their efforts to meet with the affected single and upper-tier municipalities, as well as other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the pupil accommodation review; and provide any relevant information from this meeting as part of the final staff report to the Board of Trustees (see Section XI).
X. PUBLIC MEETINGS
Once a school board has received an initial staff report and has approved the initiation of a pupil accommodation review, the school board must arrange to hold a minimum of two public meetings for broader community consultation on the initial staff report. School board staff are expected to facilitate the public meetings to solicit broader community feedback on the recommended option(s) contained in the initial staff report.
The public meetings are to be announced and advertised publicly by the school board through an appropriate range of media as determined by the school board.
At a minimum, the first public meeting must include the following:
• an overview of the ARC orientation session; • the initial staff report with recommended option(s); and • a presentation of the SIPs.
XI. COMPLETING THE ACCOMMODATION REVIEW
Final Staff Report
At the conclusion of the pupil accommodation review process, school board staff will submit a final staff report to the Board of Trustees which must be available to the public as determined in the school board’s policy, and posted on the school board’s website.
The final staff report must include a Community Consultation section that contains feedback from the ARC and any public consultations as well as any relevant information obtained from municipalities and other community partners prior to and during the pupil accommodation review.
School board staff may choose to amend their proposed option(s) included in the initial staff report. The recommended option(s) must also include a proposed accommodation plan, prepared for the decision of the Board of Trustees, which contains a timeline for implementation.
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Delegations to the Board of Trustees Meeting
Once school board staff submits the final staff report to the Board of Trustees, the school board must allow an opportunity for members of the public to provide feedback on the final staff report through public delegations to the Board of Trustees. Notice of the public delegation opportunities will be provided based on school board policy.
After the public delegations, school board staff will compile feedback from the public delegations which will be presented to the Board of Trustees with the final staff report.
Decision of the Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees will be provided with the final staff report, including the compiled feedback from the public delegations, when making its final decision regarding the pupil accommodation review.
The Board of Trustees has the discretion to approve the recommendation(s) of the final staff report as presented, modify the recommendation(s) of the final staff report, or to approve a different outcome.
The Ministry encourages school boards not to make final pupil accommodation review decisions during the summer holiday period (typically from July 1 to the day after Labour Day).
XII. TRANSITION PLANNING
The transition of students should be carried out in consultation with parents/guardians and staff. Following the decision to consolidate and/or close a school, the school board is expected to establish a separate committee to address the transition for students and staff.
XIII. TIMELINES FOR THE ACCOMMODATION REVIEW PROCESS
The pupil accommodation review process must comply with the following minimum timelines:
• Following the date of the Board of Trustees’ approval to conduct a pupil accommodation review, the school board will provide written notice of the Board of Trustees’ decision within 5 business days to each of the affected single and upper-tier municipalities through the Clerks Department (or equivalent), other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the pupil accommodation review; and include an invitation for a meeting to discuss and comment on the recommended option(s) in the school board’s
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initial staff report. School boards must also notify the Director(s) of Education of their coterminous school boards and the Ministry of Education through the office of the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Financial Policy and Business Division.
• The affected single and upper-tier municipalities, as well as other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the pupil accommodation review, must provide their response on the recommended option(s) in the school board’s initial staff report before the final public meeting.
• Beginning with the date of the Board of Trustees’ approval to conduct a pupil accommodation review, there must be no fewer than 30 business days before the first public meeting is held.
• There must be a minimum period of 40 business days between the first and final public meetings.
• The final staff report must be publicly posted no fewer than 10 business days after the final public meeting.
• From the posting of the final staff report, there must be no fewer than 10 business days before the public delegations.
• There must be no fewer than 10 business days between public delegations and the final decision of the Board of Trustees.
XIV. MODIFIED ACCOMMODATION REVIEW PROCESS
In certain circumstances, where the potential pupil accommodation options available are deemed by the school board to be less complex, school boards may find it appropriate to undertake a modified pupil accommodation review process. The Guideline permits a school board to include an optional modified pupil accommodation review process in its pupil accommodation review policy.
A school board’s pupil accommodation review policy must clearly outline the conditions where a modified pupil accommodation review process could be initiated by explicitly defining the factors that would allow the school board the option to conduct a modified pupil accommodation review process. The conditions for conducting a modified pupil accommodation review process need to be based on two or more of the following factors:
• distance to the nearest available accommodation; • utilization rate of the facility; • number of students enrolled at the school; or
• when a school board is planning the relocation (in any school year or over a number of school years) of a program, in which the enrolment constitutes more than or equal to 50% of the school’s enrolment (this
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calculation is based on the enrolment at the time of the relocation, or the first phase of a relocation carried over a number of school years).
School boards may consider additional factors that are defined in their pupil accommodation review policy to qualify for the modified pupil accommodation review process. Multiple factors may be developed by the school board to appropriately reflect varying conditions across the board (e.g., urban, rural, elementary panel, secondary panel, etc.). The Board of Trustees must approve these explicitly defined factors, after community consultation, in order to adopt a modified pupil accommodation review process as part of their school board’s pupil accommodation review policy.
The guiding principles of this Guideline apply to the modified pupil accommodation review process.
Even when the criteria for a modified pupil accommodation review are met, a school board may choose to use the standard pupil accommodation review process.
Implementing the Modified Accommodation Review Process
The initial staff report will explain the rationale for exempting the school(s) from the standard pupil accommodation review process, in accordance with the school board’s pupil accommodation review policy.
The initial staff report and SIPs must be made available to the public, as determined in the school board’s policy, and posted on the school board’s website.
A public meeting will be announced and advertised through an appropriate range of media as determined by the school board.
Following the public meeting, school board staff will submit a final staff report to the Board of Trustees which must be available to the public as determined in the school board’s policy, and posted on the school board’s website. The final staff report must include a Community Consultation section that contains feedback from any public consultations as well as any relevant information obtained from municipalities and other community partners prior to and during the modified pupil accommodation review.
Once school board staff submit the final staff report to the Board of Trustees, the school board must allow an opportunity for members of the public to provide feedback through public delegations to the Board of Trustees. Notice of the public delegation opportunities will be provided based on school board policy.
After the public delegations, school board staff will compile feedback from the public delegations which will be presented to the Board of Trustees with the final staff report.
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The Board of Trustees has the discretion to approve the recommendation(s) of the final staff report as presented, modify the recommendation(s) of the final staff report, or to approve a different outcome.
The Ministry encourages school boards not to make final pupil accommodation review decisions during the summer holiday period (typically from July 1 to the day after Labour Day).
A transition plan will be put in place following the decision to consolidate and/or close a school.
Timelines for the Modified Accommodation Review Process
The modified pupil accommodation review process must comply with the following minimum timelines:
• Following the date of the Board of Trustees’ approval to conduct a modified pupil accommodation review, the school board will provide written notice of the Board of Trustees’ decision within 5 business days to each of the affected single and upper-tier municipalities through the Clerks Department (or equivalent), other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the modified pupil accommodation review; and include an invitation for a meeting to discuss and comment on the recommended option(s) in the school board’s initial staff report. School boards must also notify the Director(s) of Education of their coterminous school boards and the Ministry of Education through the office of the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Financial Policy and Business Division.
• The affected single and upper-tier municipalities, as well as other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the modified pupil accommodation review, must provide their response on the recommended option(s) in the school board’s initial staff report before the final public meeting.
• The school board must hold at least one public meeting. Beginning with the date of the Board of Trustees’ approval to conduct a modified pupil accommodation review, there must be no fewer than 30 business days before this public meeting is held.
• The final staff report must be publicly posted no fewer than 10 business days after the final public meeting.
• From the posting of the final staff report, there must be no fewer than 10 business days before the public delegations.
• There must be no fewer than 10 business days between public delegations and the final decision of the Board of Trustees.
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XV. EXEMPTIONS
This Guideline applies to schools offering elementary or secondary programs. However, there are specific circumstances where school boards are not obligated to undertake a pupil accommodation review. These include:
• where a replacement school is to be built by the school board on the existing site, or built or acquired within the existing school attendance boundary, as identified through the school board’s policy;
• where a replacement school is to be built by the school board on the existing site, or built or acquired within the existing school attendance boundary and the school community must be temporarily relocated to ensure the safety of students and staff during the reconstruction, as identified through the school board’s policy;
• when a lease for the school is terminated;
• when a school board is planning the relocation (in any school year or over a number of school years) of grades or programs, in which the enrolment constitutes less than 50% of the school’s enrolment (this calculation is based on the enrolment at the time of the relocation, or the first phase of a relocation carried over a number of school years);
• when a school board is repairing or renovating a school, and the school community must be temporarily relocated to ensure the safety of students during the renovations;
• where a facility has been serving as a holding school for a school community whose permanent school is over-capacity and/or is under construction or repair; or
• where there are no students enrolled at the school at any time throughout the school year.
In the above circumstances, a school board is expected to inform school communities about proposed accommodation plans for students before a decision is made by the Board of Trustees. The school board will also provide written notice to each of the affected single and upper-tier municipalities through the Clerks Department (or equivalent), as well as other community partners that expressed an interest prior to the exemption, and their coterminous school boards in the areas of the affected school(s) through the Director of Education, and to the Ministry of Education through the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Financial Policy and Business Division no fewer than 5 business days after the decision to proceed with an exemption.
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A transition plan will be put in place following the Board of Trustees’ decision to consolidate, close or move a school or students in accordance with this section.
XVI. DEFINITIONS
Accommodation review: A process, as defined in a school board pupil accommodation review policy, undertaken by a school board to determine the future of a school or group of schools.
Accommodation Review Committee (ARC): A committee, established by a school board that represents the affected school(s) of a pupil accommodation review, which acts as the official conduit for information shared between the school board and the affected school communities.
ARC working meeting: A meeting of ARC members to discuss a pupil accommodation review, and includes a meeting held by the ARC to solicit feedback from the affected school communities of a pupil accommodation review.
Business day: A calendar day that is not a weekend or statutory holiday. It also does not include calendar days that fall within school boards’ Christmas, spring, and summer break. For schools with a year-round calendar, any break that is five calendar days or longer is not a business day.
Consultation: The sharing of relevant information as well as providing the opportunity for municipalities and other community partners, the public and affected school communities to be heard.
Facility Condition Index (FCI): A building condition as determined by the Ministry of Education by calculating the ratio between the five-year renewal needs and the replacement value for each facility.
On-the-ground (OTG) capacity: The capacity of the school as determined by the Ministry of Education by loading all instructional spaces within the facility to current Ministry standards for class size requirements and room areas.
Public delegation: A regular meeting of the Board of Trustees where presentations by groups or individuals can have their concerns heard directly by the school board trustees.
Public meeting: An open meeting held by the school board to solicit broader community feedback on a pupil accommodation review.
School Information Profile (SIP): An orientation document with point-in-time data for each of the schools under a pupil accommodation review to help the ARC and the community understand the context surrounding the decision to include the specific school(s) in a pupil accommodation review.
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Space template: A Ministry of Education template used by a school board to determine the number and type of instructional areas to be included within a new school, and the size of the required operational and circulation areas within that school.
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Appendix B
GENERIC TERMS OF REFERENCE Accommodation/Boundary Review Committee
1.0 Mandate
The Board of Trustees has asked that an Accommodation Review Committee be formed as part of a pupil accommodation review of _______________ (review area). The ARC, as a consultation body and official conduit for information shared between the school board and the school communities, will review and comment on staff’s initial report, review school information profiles and other relevant data, and suggest alternative accommodation scenarios with supporting rationale. 2.0 Education and Accommodation Objectives 2.1 Board Parameters
All elementary schools are JK-8. All secondary schools are Grade 9-12. Facilities should not limit students from fully experiencing the curriculum. Physical accessibility in new and existing facilities should be maximized. All capital projects (i.e. new schools, additions) require Ministry and Board approval.
2.2 Board-wide Accommodation Review Goals
Provide the highest quality learning environment possible.
o Consider program environments and how they support student achievement. Ensure an efficient use of system resources by balancing enrolment and facilities.
o Maximize the use of Board-owned facilities over the long term. o Minimize the use of non-permanent accommodation (portables) as a long-term
strategy while recognizing that it may be a good short-term solution. Provide a long-term (5 years +) accommodation solution. Create boundaries that maximize the number of students that can walk to school.
o Consider the Board’s existing transportation policy and how it may be impacted by or limit accommodation scenarios.
Provide logical attendance boundaries. o Follow logical divides such as major roads, physical barriers, etc. o Recognize existing neighbourhoods wherever possible.
Reduce operating costs (e.g. maintenance, operations, transportation, etc.) Develop accommodation options with consideration for Ministry of Education capital
funding formulas and the Board’s long term capital plan. 2.3 Review Goals [This section will be customized to the individual review prior to distributing the terms of reference to the review committee. The review goals are those created to address issues or concerns specific to the individual review area.] 3.0 Roles and Responsibilities An ARC has been appointed by the Board, in accordance with Board policy, to act as the official
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Appendix B conduit for information shared between the school board and the school communities throughout this accommodation review process. ARC members can expect approximately ARC meetings over a month period. A minimum of public meetings will also be held. Throughout the process the committee, as a consultation body, will be required to review and comment on various data, options, and reports provided by board staff. The outline below illustrates the relative division of responsibilities between the committee and staff. The role of the ARC terminates once the Final Report and recommendations have been submitted to the Board of Trustees.
ROLE OF THE ARC ROLE OF BOARD STAFF Agendas & Minutes
Approve minutes of each ARC meeting.
Ensure the accuracy of meeting minutes.
Prepare meeting agendas. Record minutes. Post minutes on the Board
website. Materials, Support and Analysis
Review information prepared by staff
Seek clarification as necessary.
Prepare a timeline outlining tasks, milestones and deadlines according to APF008.
Organize school tours for the ARC.
Prepare, distribute and present information to the ARC and public.
Provide any additional information requested by the ARC, if appropriate.
Staff’s Initial Staff Report
Review initial staff report prepared by staff
Seek clarification as necessary.
Prepare initial staff report for the Board of Trustees, which includes: o Summary of issues; o Proposed option(s); and, o Recommended option, if
various options are presented.
School Information Profile (SIP)
Review the School Information Profiles.
Seek clarification as necessary.
Prepare a School Information Profile for each school in the review.
Alternative Accommodation Scenarios/Options
Suggest additional accommodation options with supporting rationale.
Analyze and evaluate accommodation options for consistency with the Education and Accommodation Objectives.
Consider the needs of all students at all of the schools objectively and fairly.
Prepare accommodation options.
Prepare data to support the evaluation of options.
Advise the ARC on legislative requirements, Board policy and budget implications.
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Appendix B
Community Consultation
Ensure that respective school communities are aware of public meetings.
Ensure that all relevant information is made available to the public.
Attend public meetings and review public comments.
Hold a minimum of _____ public meetings.
Advertise meetings in accordance with Board policy.
Prepare presentation materials.
Post all relevant information on the Board’s website.
Ensure that the ARC and Board of Trustees receive all written public comments.
Respond to public inquiries regarding the review.
Recommendations & Final Report
Provide input, where necessary.
Determine a recommended option (may differ from initial report).
Prepare the Final Report to the Board of Trustees, outlining recommendations and public consultation summary.
Present the final report to the Board of Trustees.
Post the Final Report on the Board’s website.
Meeting Conduct
The chair shall guide the meeting according to the agenda. ARC members are expected to treat each other and board
staff with respect. The goal is to work toward consensus on key issues. ARC members are expected to attend every ARC meeting
where feasible. At least one parent representative from each school should be in attendance at every meeting.
ARC members are expected to attend public consultation sessions.
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Appendix C
1
GENERIC SCHOOL INFORMATION PROFILE
SCHOOL DESCRIPTION
School Name:
Address:
Building:
Original Construction Year:
Year of Additions/ Renovations:
Building Size – GFA (sq.ft/m2):
Number of Permanent Classrooms:
Number of Port-a-Pak/RCM Classrooms:
On-The-Ground Capacity:
Number of Regular Classrooms:
Number of Purpose-Built Kindergarten Rooms:
Number of Empty Classrooms:
Number of Portables:
Describe the classroom layout: open concept (pods) permanent walls combination
Do all regular classrooms have windows? Yes No
Does the school have purpose-built classrooms for: Science: Music:
Yes No Yes No
Art: Spec. Ed:
Yes No Yes No
What size is the gymnasium? single over-sized single double partition wall?
Are the following spaces available? change rooms gym storage stage servery Is the size of the gymnasium appropriate for the capacity of the school? Yes No
Are the size, shape, and configuration of the library adequate for the capacity of the school?
Yes No
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Is the size of the administration adequate for the size of the school? Yes No
Is there sacred space for small groups to reflect, pray and share? Yes No
Are there clear sight lines inside the school that allow corridors and stairwells to be easily monitored? Describe any deficiencies.
Yes No
Describe the accessibility of the school. (eg. Accessible entrance, sufficient door widths, barrier-free washrooms, percentage of school that is accessible, etc.)
Site:
Site Size (Ha/Acres):
Area of hard surfaced outdoor play area:
Area of green space:
List the site’s amenities and playground space (e.g. baseball diamond, soccer field, basketball court, outdoor classrooms, creative play structure, etc.)
Is there parkland adjacent to the school site? If yes, does it have sports fields? If not, is there a park within 200m of the school with sports fields?
Yes No Yes No Yes No
Number of parking spaces on site:
Recommended minimum number of parking spaces (2 per classroom):
Are there designated barrier-free parking spaces? Number: _____ Yes No
Is there a designated bus drop-off area? on the site on the street
Yes No
Describe any site limitations (e.g. steep slope, forest, etc.).
Approximate number of portables that could be accommodated on the site:
Is there space on the site to accommodate an addition if needed? Yes No
Are there clear sight lines that allow the site to be easily monitored? Does the site require extra staff to supervise? Describe any deficiencies.
Yes No Yes No
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3
PROXIMITY TO STUDENTS Number of students walking to school: Percentage:
Total number of students bussed to the school: Percentage:
Number of students bussed due to a hazard: Percentage:
Number of students living in the bussed area: N/A Percentage:
Number of students attending the school but living out of boundary: Percentage:
Number of students living in the boundary but attending another school:
Lengths of bus ride: Shortest Time: ________ Longest Time: ________ Average Time: ________
Average distance to the school for students:
PARISH
Which parish is affiliated with this school?
Which other parishes do students at this school attend? N/A
Distance from the school to the parish (km):
ENROLLMENT FACTORS Year Enrolment Utilization
Historical Enrolment: past 5 years
Current enrolment:
Enrolment Projection: next 10 years
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Appendix C
4
Student yield: Board average student yield:
Describe the student yield trend at the school:
declining stable increasing
STAFFING
Current Staffing (# FTE)
# FTE Students
Staffing Benchmark
No. of Staff Provided by Benchmark
Full-time Principal
Vice-Principal
Teac
hing
S
taff
JK/SK Teachers
Primary Teachers
Junior/Intermediate Teachers
Pro
gram
Sup
port
Sta
ff Special Education Teachers
Education Assistant
French as a Second Language Teachers
Planning Time Teachers
English as a Second Language Teachers
Sch
ool S
uppo
rt S
taff
Secretary
Library Technician
Lunch Hour Supervisor
Custodial Staff
Other (Specify)
Total Number of FTE Staff
SCHOOL PROGRAMS & ACTIVITIES
Current grade configuration: Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 Grades 9 to 12 Other (please specify) ________________
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Appendix C
5
Current grade organization:
Grade Number of Classes Combined Grades Number of Classes
JK JK/SK
SK SK/GR 1
GR 1 GR 1/GR 2
GR 2 GR 2/GR 3
GR 3 GR 3/GR 4
GR 4 GR 4/GR 5
GR 5 GR 5/GR 6
GR 6 GR 6/GR 7
GR 7 GR 7/GR 8
GR 8 Total
Total Total Number of Classes:
Programs: Describe the course and program offerings at school (eg. French immersion, Intensive French, etc.)
N/A
Describe specialized services offerings at school (eg. Cooperative placements, guidance counselling, etc.)
N/A
Extracurricular Activities:
Which extracurricular activities are currently offered?
Athletics: Basketball Volleyball
Softball / 3 pitch Other (List):
girls boys girls boys girls boys
Soccer: junior intermediate
Cross Country Track & Field PALS
Arts:
Choir Drama
Dance Art/Crafts
Other (List):
Clubs:
Chess/checkers Fundraisers
Computers Other (List):
Does the school have a large enough population to enable participation in intramurals against other schools?
Yes No
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Appendix C
6
FACILITY COSTS & PROJECTS 3-year Average Utility Costs: Total: $ Per Square Foot: $ Per Student: $
Current Facility Condition Index (FCI) (5-year cost to repair vs. cost to replace, as calculated by the Ministry of Education):
10-year history of major facility improvements:
Year Project Cost
Projected 5-year facility renewal needs:
Year Project Cost
Accessibility projects:
Completed Identified
PARTNERSHIPS & COMMUNITY USE List any facility partners or tenants that currently have an agreement for space in the school.
N/A
Partner/Tenant Revenue Full Cost Recovery (Yes/No)
Types of groups & number of annual hours of rented space in the school (Community Use of Schools):
N/A
youth hours:_________ adult hours:________ other hours:_______
Year Revenue Full Cost Recovery (Yes/No)
List current non-school programs or services resident at or co-located with the school.
N/A
Program Revenue Full Cost Recovery (Yes/No)
Is there currently a before/after school program? N/A Before school only After school only Both before and after school No If not, has it been available in the past three years? Yes No Revenue: $________ Full cost recovery? Yes No
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Appendix C
7
List any agreements governing the joint use of green space.
N/A
Description of the school’s suitability for facility partners:
Is there sufficient parking to accommodate an additional use? Yes No
Is it located within 400m of a transit stop? Yes No
Is it located on a collector or arterial road? Yes No
Can a portion of the building be segregated from the rest of the school? Yes No
Do the surrounding land uses support an alternate use? Yes No
Have any community organizations or government agencies expressed an interest in partnering on this site?
Yes No
Attachments:
Official Plan Secondary Plan Zoning By-Law Aerial/Context Map School Boundary Map Site Plan Floor Plan/Space Template
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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW OF ACCOMMODATION REVIEW PROCESS
A review of a school board’s accommodation review process may be sought if the following conditions are met. An individual or individuals must: Submit a copy of the board’s accommodation review policy highlighting how the
accommodation review process was not compliant with the school board’s accommodation review policy.
Demonstrate the support of a portion of the school community through the completion of a petition signed by a number of supporters equal to at least 30% of the affected school's student headcount (e.g., if the headcount is 150, then 45 signatures would be required). Parents/guardians of students and/or other individuals that participated in the accommodation review process are eligible to sign the petition1
o The petition should clearly provide a space for individuals to print and sign their name; address (street name and postal code); and to indicate whether they are a parent/guardian of a student attending the school subject to the accommodation review, or an individual who has participated in the review process.
Submit the petition and justification to the school board and the Minister of Education within thirty (30) days of the board’s closure resolution.
The school board would be required to: Confirm to the Minister of Education that the names on the petition are
parents/guardians of students enrolled at the affected school and/or individuals who participated in the review process.
Prepare a response to the individual’s or individuals’ submission regarding the process and forward the board’s response to the Minister of Education within thirty (30) days of receiving the petition.
If the conditions set out above have been met, the Ministry would be required to: Undertake a review by appointing a facilitator to determine whether the school board
accommodation review process was undertaken in a manner consistent with the board’s accommodation review policy within thirty (30) days of receiving the school board’s response.
1 Information contained in the petition is subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 1990.
Ontario 93
Report
Date: October 26, 2015
To: Board of Trustees
From: Director of Education
Subject: Updates to APF012: Community Planning and Facility Partnerships
Type of Report: Decision-Making
Monitoring Incidental Information concerning day-to-day operations
Type of Information: Information for Board of Trustees Decision-Making
Monitoring Information of Board Policy XX XXX Information only of day-to-day operational matters delegated to the CEO
Origin:
This report provides information to Trustees on changes made to APF012: Facility Partnerships.
Committee of the Whole Board Report – September 14, 2015 – “Updates to APF012: Community Planning and Facility Partnerships”
Policy Statement and/or Education Act/other Legislation citation:
Executive Limitation IV 008, “Financial Conditions and Activities” ... “the CEO shall not: 8. Acquire, encumber or dispose of real property 9. Enter into any financial agreements over 5 years” Ministry of Education, Community Planning and Partnerships Guideline, March 2015 APF012: Facility Partnerships
Background/Comments:
Following the September 14, 2015 Committee of the Whole meeting, a survey was created and completed regarding the changes to APF012. The survey was posted on the board’s website, advertised via Newswire, and emailed to existing facility partners. The revised AP and new Ministry Guideline was posted along with the survey. The survey results are attached. Summary of Results Of the 23 respondents, 8 were parents of a WCDSB student, 6 were board staff, and 8 were community representatives. Almost half were current partners (municipality/neighbourhood association, childcare/Early Years, Diocese/church) with WCDSB. Regarding notification of the annual Community Planning and Partnership Meeting, the respondents valued the following methods of communication (ranked by preference):
1. WCDSB Website
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2. Invitations in newspapers 3. Email distribution list
An open-ended question was asked regarding the capital plan process and whether there is any additional information that should be considered to determine whether a school has surplus space over the long term. The intent of the question was to identify information that should be considered in order to determine whether the school has space available that could be used for a partnership. The majority of the respondents did not have any suggestions. Of those who had suggestions, it appears that the question was misunderstood by most. In terms of the method of receiving the information at the annual meeting, the respondents indicated that the below methods would be preferred (ranked by preference):
1. Presentation 2. Summary report 3. Copies of the Capital Plan
Conclusions No changes are being made to the draft procedures document as a result of the survey. However, the format and notification preferences will be used when planning the annual community planning and partnership meeting.
Recommendation:
That the Board of Trustees endorses APF012: Community Planning and Facility Partnerships dated October 26, 2015.
Prepared/Reviewed By: Loretta Notten
Director of Education Shesh Maharaj Superintendent of Corporate Services Lindsay Ford Manager of Planning *Bylaw 5.2 “where the Board of Trustees receives from the Director of Education a monitoring report that flows from a responsibility delegated to the Director under Board Policy – except where approval is required by the Board of Trustees on a matter delegated by policy to the Board – the minutes of the Meeting at which the Report is received shall expressly provide that the Board has received and approved of the Report as an action consistent with the authority delegated to the Director, subject in all instances to what otherwise actually occurred.”
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Administrative Procedures Memorandum
# APF012: Community Planning and Facility Partnerships
DATE OF ISSUE: May 30, 2011 Reviewed / Revised: October 26, 2015 MEMO TO: All Staff FROM: Director of Education
PURPOSE The purpose of this administrative procedures memorandum is to provide a framework to work with community organizations to benefit the board, students, and the community. The board’s primary responsibility is to support student achievement and safety. Within this context, the intent of this administrative procedures memorandum is to:
Reduce operating costs for school boards and government; Improve services and supports available to students; Strengthen relationships between WCDSB and community partners and the public; Maximize use of public infrastructure through increased flexibility and utilization; and Provide a foundation for improved service delivery for communities.
This procedure applies to arrangements for regular and consistent use of board facilities where such uses are operating during the normal school day (i.e. Monday to Friday; 6 am to 6 pm). For all other use of school facilities refer to APF002 – Use of School Facilities. REFERENCES Education Act, Regulation 444/98 – Disposition of Property Executive Limitation IV 008 “Financial Conditions and Activities” Executive Limitation IV 009 “Accommodations” Ministry of Education, Community Planning and Partnerships Guideline, March 2015 APPENDICES Appendix A – Approved Partner List Appendix B – Partner Application
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AP memo #
AP Memo Title Page 2 of 6:
COMMENTS AND GUIDELINES The Ministry of Education released the “Community Planning and Partnership Guideline” in March 2015. This replaces the previous “Encouraging Facility Partnerships” directive from 2010. The Guideline does not prevent school boards from closing schools or from disposing of surplus assets when required. Boards are still expected to use Ontario Regulation 444/98 to lease or sell surplus assets. Boards are expected to identify which schools will or will not be suitable for a facility partnership based on board-determined criteria. License or joint-use agreements will be used to enter into a facility partnership with another entity. There are circumstances where unused space within a school will not be considered suitable for a partnership nor be considered as surplus. This procedures document follows the eight (8) sections outlined in the Ministry Guideline 1.0 SCHOOL BOARD PLANNING AND BROADER COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES WCDSB will use their capital plan as the basis for identifying space that is suitable for facility partnerships. The capital plan includes enrolment projections, school capacity, renewal needs, potential consolidations (closures), and construction projects (new schools, additions, significant renovations). WCDSB will share this information with community partners by posting the document on the board’s website. 2.0 COMMUNITY PLANNING AND PARTNERSHIP (CPP) POLICIES It is the role of the board to determine which facilities are suitable for partnerships and which entities are suitable as partners. These decisions should be made in a way that is well-informed, well-coordinated, transparent, and consistent with the goals and priorities of WCDSB’s Multi-Year Strategic Plan, WCDSB’s Catholic values and social teachings, as well as student achievement, well-being and safety. 2.1 Identification of Suitable Space The following factors will be used to determine if space is suitable for a partnership. The factors listed below are considered a starting point and additional factors may also be considered.
Schools where there are 200 surplus pupil places or the school is at or below 70% utilization and this trend is expected to continue
No accommodation review is expected within the next 3 years The space is not required for school resources or other board programming Size and configuration of the available space Ability to separate the partner occupied space from student areas Availability of separate exterior entrance Adequate parking for both the school and partner needs Site use restrictions Facility condition including the adequacy of utilities Municipal zoning bylaw restrictions Other criteria as appropriate
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AP memo #
AP Memo Title Page 3 of 6:
2.2 Partner Selection Potential partners will be listed on the Approved Partner List (Appendix A). Partners will be notified of upcoming capital projects and available space in existing schools/facilities. Based on the interest of potential partners, the partnership will be evaluated to determine its suitability for the board and the particular school/location. The Approved Partner List will include, but not be limited to, the following:
Diocese of Hamilton Agencies listed under Ontario Regulation 444/98 (other school boards should not be
disadvantaged by WCDSB facility partnerships policies) Applicable District Social Services Administration Boards or Consolidated Municipal Service
Managers Region of Waterloo Public Health Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network Children’s Mental Health Centres Childcare providers with current operations in WCDSB schools
Organizations and agencies interested in partnering with WCDSB must complete the Approved Partner Application Form (Appendix B). The application will be evaluated based on the partner selection criteria outlined below.
Respect the values of the WCDSB and the Catholic faith Health and safety of students and staff must be protected The partner is appropriate for a school / board setting The student achievement strategy will not be compromised (partnerships that support student
achievement will be given priority) Partner activities will not interfere with school / board operations and activities The use must comply with local by-laws Willingness to enter into a license, or joint-use / partnership agreement Ability to pay full costs related to capital improvements and operations
Non-eligible partners include:
Entities that provide competing education services such as tutoring services, JK-12 private schools or private colleges, adult education programs similar to those run by WCDSB, and credit offering entities that are not government-funded
Political organizations Other organizations as identified by the WCDSB
3.0 NOTIFICATION PROCESS For surplus space being offered for sale or lease, the board will continue to follow the circulation process outlined in Ontario Regulation 444/98. For all other space, the procedures outlined in this document will apply. Information regarding new school construction, including major renovations, and unused space in open and operating schools and administrative buildings that is available for partnerships will be posted on the board website. This information will be updated on an annual basis or as needed. Entities on the Approved Partner List will be notified when the information on the board website has been updated. A contact name and number will be available on the website to respond to facility partnerships inquiries.
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AP memo #
AP Memo Title Page 4 of 6:
4.0 ANNUAL CPP MEETING WCDSB will hold at least one meeting per year to discuss potential planning and partnership opportunities with the public and community organizations. This meeting may be held as part of a regular board meeting. The meeting will be advertised to the general public as well as entities on the Approved Partner List. The invitation to approved partners should include a request for any pertinent planning information related to the process. During the meeting, WCDSB staff will share relevant information from the capital plan, details of the schools identified for partnerships, and other pertinent information. The invitation list, attendees, as well as the information exchanged should be formally documented by WCDSB. 5.0 PLANNING PRIOR TO AN ACCOMMODATION REVIEW WCDSB should obtain a clear indication of any community planning and partnership opportunities in areas where an accommodation review may take place. Technical information (e.g. population projections, development information, etc.) may be requested from municipalities for these areas. 6.0 CO-BUILDING WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS Proposed new schools, additions, and significant renovations are identified in the board’s Capital Plan. Where possible, WCDSB will notify approved partners one (1) to three (3) years in advance of the potential construction start date. An approved funding source for WCDSB’s portion of a construction project is not required prior to partner notification. Notification should be supported by a board motion. Community partners are encouraged to provide notification to the board when they have proposals or plans to build their own facilities. This information can be provided directly to the contact person listed on the website or during the annual CPP meeting held by the board. 6.1 Interested Partners After receiving notification of co-build opportunities, interested partners may submit a proposal and initiate discussions with the board to determine whether the proposed partnership would be a suitable fit. Interested partners must be on the Approved Partner List. If they are not, then they must submit an Approved Partner Application Form. In some instances, the board may issue a request for expressions of interest to community partners where a specific partnership is being sought to complement the particular needs of a school community. 6.2 Evaluation Proposed partnerships will be evaluated to determine compatibility with school operations. Consultation with the school community may be required prior to implementation.
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AP memo #
AP Memo Title Page 5 of 6:
Should the board receive multiple proposals, each proposal will be evaluated and a determination will be made regarding its suitability. There may be cases where more than one partnership is feasible at one site. At a minimum, proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria.
The type of use proposed and its compatibility with a school setting; The benefits, if any, to the school, the school community or the board; Past experience with similar proposals; Facility requirements (dedicated space, shared space, hours of operation, parking, etc.); Timing (date for commencement of the partnership, duration of the partnership); Funding availability and financial statements; Required capital improvements, including sources of funding; The ability to ensure the safety of students and staff.
7.0 SHARING UNUSED SPACE IN EXISTING SCHOOLS Board facilities will be assessed on an annual basis through the board’s capital planning process to determine whether there are unused spaces available in schools that may be appropriate for partnerships. The Approved Partner List will be notified of available space. This notification should include information about the size, location, facility amenities and required renovations, if needed. This notification should be supported by a board motion. From time to time, there may be a small amount of vacant space within board facilities that would not normally be considered as unused or surplus and therefore would not be listed as available space for partners. The board recognizes that there may be certain partnership programs, requiring minimal space that could operate within a school setting and would provide a valuable service to students. These spaces would be considered for partnership on a case by case basis. The process outlined under sections 6.1 and 6.2 will be followed to receive proposals from interested partners and to evaluate the merits of those proposals. 8.0 PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS AND COST RECOVERY Partnerships will operate at no additional cost to the board. The exception to this would be when the board chooses to support the partnership based on the board’s student achievement strategy. In co-building situations, partners will be required to pay for and finance their share of construction, including a proportional share of joint-use or shared space. Where the co-build partner portion is of a substantial size the preference will be that the partner own the property on which their portion of the co-build stands. Fees will be charged on a cost recovery basis for operating costs, capital costs, administrative costs and property taxes (if applicable). Additional costs to obtain municipal approvals, perform minor renovations to protect student safety, provide appropriate washrooms, and otherwise make the space suitable for use by facility partners would be borne by the partner.
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AP memo #
AP Memo Title Page 6 of 6:
The WCDSB will provide clear instructions to partners whose partnership proposal has been accepted and are entering into either a formal agreement (joint use, joint venture, license or lease) or a letter of intent, about their rights and responsibilities as tenants, including, but not limited to maintenance standards and the applicability or the lack thereof, of board user policies, including accessibility and inclusiveness policies.
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APPENDIX A
Approved Partner List
Diocese of Hamilton
Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud
Waterloo Region District School Board
Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest
Conestoga College
Wilfrid Laurier University
University of Waterloo
College Boreal
City of Kitchener
City of Waterloo
City of Cambridge
Township of Woolwich
Township of Wilmot
Township of North Dumfries
Township of Wellesley
Regional Municipality of Waterloo
Infrastructure Ontario
Public Works and Government Services Canada
YMCA of Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge
YWCA of Kitchener Waterloo
YWCA of Cambridge
Owl Child Care Services
Ontario Early Years Centre
Region of Waterloo Public Health
Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network
Grand River Hospital
Cambridge Memorial Hospital
Children’s Mental Health Centres
Lutherwood
Carizon Family and Community Services
Interfaith Community Counselling Centre
Ray of Hope
Hospice of Waterloo Region
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APPENDIX B
WCDSB Partner Application Organizations/Agencies interested in partnering with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) are required to complete and submit this application. Approval of this application will allow the organization to be placed on the Approved Partner List, and automatically receive notification of potential partnership opportunities. All organizations that partner with WCDSB must agree to respect the values of WCDSB and the Catholic faith. Contact Info Name of organization: _________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________________________ Contact Name: ________________________________________________________________ Position: _____________________________________________________________________ Phone Number: _______________________________________________________________ Fax Number: _________________________________________________________________ Email address: ________________________________________________________________ Website (if applicable): __________________________________________________________ About the Organization: Brief history of the organization:
Is the organization non-profit? Yes No
Number and location of existing facilities:
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APPENDIX B
Description of the type of service you would potentially provide in a WCDSB facility:
To whom would you be providing this service (e.g. students, parents, community at large, etc.)?
Outline any past experience with similar projects and projects in a school setting:
Outline any potential benefits to the WCDSB:
WCDSB will not be responsible for any costs associated with any partnership. Does your organization have the financial means to cover all operating and capital costs associated with any potential partnership?
Yes No Will require funding approval unsure Is your organization willing to enter into a lease, license or joint-use/partnership agreement for any partnership with the WCDSB?
Yes No
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Report
Date: October 26, 2015
To: Board of Trustees
From: Director of Education
Subject: Grade 9 EQAO Results – 2015
Type of Report: Decision-Making Monitoring Incidental Information concerning day-to-day operations
Type of Information: Information for Board of Trustees Decision-Making Monitoring Information of Board Policy Information only of day-to-day operational matters delegated to the CEO
Origin:
Board Policy I 001 - Ends Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO)
Policy Statement and/or Education Act/other Legislation citation:
Achieving Excellence: A Renewed Vision for Education in Ontario - http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/about/excellent.html 2015-2016 Numeracy Strategy - https://www.wcdsb.ca/programs/pdf/Student-Success-Learning-to-18.pdf Background/Comments:
Grade 9 EQAO aligns with The Ontario Curriculum expectations for grade 9 Math. These expectations build upon curriculum from grade 7 & 8. The assessment evaluates the math skills students are expected to have learned by the end of Grade 9. Different versions of the assessment are administered in the academic and the applied math courses. All students working toward their Academic or Applied Grade 9 math credit are required to take this assessment. Students registered in essential level math courses do not write this assessment. Grading of the EQAO assessment is done through teacher moderation and contributes to each student’s reported grade for the course. (15% of the 30% culminating section of the course) Note: Results from EQAO show students perform better when the assessment is used as part of their grade determination for credit, especially at the Applied level. Our students’ success on EQAO is facilitated through attentive day-to-day learning in their grade 9 math course. Other initiatives that support student success, responsive instruction, and teacher professional development are described below. Numeracy Team or Grade 9 Professional Learning Teams:
A focus on effective instruction strategies to make student thinking visible
EQAO trend and item analysis to inform focussed instruction needs
Building improved content knowledge for teaching
Some cross-panel question and lesson development
Focus on & monitoring of marker students to gauge effectiveness of instruction Mock EQAO tests:
Customised tests are produced for each school according to trends gleaned from analysis of past years’ IIRs. Grade 9 teachers, in consultation with the Math Consultant & Program Head, decide the scope and content of the mock test
Moderation of marking – all grade 9 teachers, facilitated by Math Consultant, beginning with a session to co-
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construct success criteria for levels of achievement; fosters professional conversation and consistency
Results of Mock inform intervention needs & areas for review prior to actual EQAO assessment
Feedback provided to students at all schools in a timely manner Intervention Strategies:
After school programs, utilising LOG grants through St. Louis exist at some schools
Lunch hour math-help at all schools; individually scheduled as required
Student success rooms provide targeted individual support
Pathways re-direction to enable student success
Some special focus programs, such as Sports Math In-class preparation:
Targeted strategies such as TIPS4RM, spiraling, punctuated learning, marker students, accountable talk, and regular learning check-ins
Practice with EQAO-style questions (multiple choice and open response)
Attention to areas of need as informed by EQAO trends and Mock results
Collaborative moderation of student work enables responsive instruction and precise student feedback
Board-developed resource practice package - this augments what the schools already use for EQAO prep Parent-Student Information:
Course SIS forms
School and board websites feature live links to EQAO preparation sites
Letter home regarding accommodations available for IEP students Cross Panel Initiatives:
Annual professional learning opportunities (e.g. collaborative inquiry, classroom observation/debrief, Question Strings PD, cross-panel numeracy teams) support understanding curriculum connections and informed pathways placement
Use of EQAO to connect curriculum from grade 6 – 9
Our five year Grade 9 Math EQAO Success Rates relative to the provincial averages as posted by EQAO:
Province 42 % 44 % 44 % 47 % n/a
WCDSB 39 % 43 % 45 % 59 % 59 %(n=) (513) (434) (427) (427) (413)
Monsignor Doyle 41 % 23 % 35 % 49 % 48 %(n=) (96) (75) (85) (79) (79)
Resurrection 54 % 43 % 48 % 76 % 81 %(n=) (100) (79) (62) (74) (69)
St Benedict 34 % 47 % 40 % 47 % 47 %(n=) (96) (109) (88) (88) (98)
St David 30 % 51 % 28 % 67 % 47 %(n=) (47) (39) (43) (57) (36)
St Mary's 34 % 48 % 57 % 60 % 65 %(n=) (174) (132) (149) (129) (131)
2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015
Applied
FTE
GroupingsProvince 83 % 84 % 84 % 85 % n/a
WCDSB 81 % 78 % 79 % 83 % 83 %(n=) (1128) (1041) (1079) (1065) (957)
Monsignor Doyle 87 % 78 % 77 % 80 % 74 %(n=) (163) (152) (154) (143) (134)
Resurrection 91 % 83 % 81 % 91 % 87 %(n=) (248) (235) (239) (195) (180)
St Benedict 78 % 75 % 75 % 77 % 81 %(n=) (228) (213) (228) (250) (201)
St David 75 % 78 % 79 % 79 % 81 %(n=) (170) (189) (181) (184) (183)
St Mary's 76 % 77 % 81 % 86 % 86 %(n=) (319) (252) (277) (293) (259)
Academic
FTE
Groupings 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015
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Success Rates by Gender (%):
Success Rates for Students who received Accommodations:
Province 39 % 42 % 41 % 45 % n/aWCDSB 39 % 37 % 40 % 55 % 55 %
(n=) (228) (197) (180) (185) (182)
Monsignor Doyle 35 % 29 % 29 % 49 % 38 %(n=) (46) (34) (38) (35) (40)
Resurrection 67 % 31 % 36 % 71 % 80 %(n=) (42) (35) (22) (35) (30)
St Benedict 28 % 35 % 35 % 37 % 43 %(n=) (40) (60) (40) (38) (44)
St David 27 % 44 % 24 % 58 % 43 %(n=) (22) (16) (21) (19) (14)
St Mary's 35 % 44 % 58 % 60 % 69 %(n=) (78) (52) (59) (58) (54)
Province 44 % 47 % 46 % 49 % n/aWCDSB 39 % 48 % 49 % 62 % 61 %
(n=) (285) (237) (247) (242) (231)
Monsignor Doyle 46 % 17 % 40 % 50 % 59 %(n=) (50) (41) (47) (44) (39)
Resurrection 45 % 52 % 55 % 79 % 82 %(n=) (58) (44) (40) (39) (39)
St Benedict 39 % 61 % 44 % 54 % 50 %(n=) (56) (49) (48) (50) (54)
St David 32 % 57 % 32 % 71 % 50 %(n=) (25) (23) (22) (38) (22)
St Mary's 34 % 50 % 57 % 59 % 62 %(n=) (96) (80) (90) (71) (77)
Girls
Boys
2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015Province 82 % 83 % 84 % 84 % n/aWCDSB 79 % 74 % 79 % 81 % 80 %
(n=) (608) (544) (525) (519) (476)
Monsignor Doyle 87 % 71 % 75 % 76 % 70 %(n=) (100) (82) (99) (75) (69)
Resurrection 87 % 80 % 83 % 94 % 88 %(n=) (120) (123) (100) (93) (85)
St Benedict 75 % 72 % 69 % 70 % 79 %(n=) (118) (111) (110) (122) (98)
St David 73 % 77 % 85 % 76 % 78 %(n=) (85) (92) (81) (80) (93)
St Mary's 75 % 71 % 83 % 87 % 83 %(n=) (185) (136) (135) (149) (131)
Province 84 % 85 % 85 % 86 % n/aWCDSB 83 % 82 % 79 % 85 % 85 %
(n=) (520) (497) (554) (546) (481)
Monsignor Doyle 86 % 86 % 80 % 84 % 78 %(n=) (63) (70) (55) (68) (65)
Resurrection 95 % 87 % 79 % 89 % 85 %(n=) (128) (112) (139) (102) (95)
St Benedict 81 % 77 % 81 % 84 % 83 %(n=) (110) (102) (118) (128) (103)
St David 76 % 78 % 74 % 82 % 83 %(n=) (85) (97) (100) (104) (90)
St Mary's 77 % 83 % 80 % 85 % 90 %(n=) (134) (116) (142) (144) (128)
Girls
Boys
2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015
Province 33 % 35 % 35 % 39 % n/aWCDSB 33 % 34 % 36 % 56 % 55 %
(n=) (240) (199) (182) (196) (188)
Monsignor Doyle 37 % 18 % 21 % 42 % 50 %(n=) (51) (40) (38) (26) (28)
St Benedict 50 % 31 % 55 % 81 % 83 %(n=) (42) (39) (31) (32) (35)
St David 37 % 43 % 25 % 42 % 42 %(n=) (41) (49) (32) (43) (48)
St Mary's 21 % 42 % 16 % 62 % 42 %(n=) (29) (26) (25) (34) (24)
0 23 % 38 % 52 % 56 % 58 %(n=) (77) (45) (56) (61) (53)
IEP*
2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015Province 73 % 72 % 73 % 74 % n/aWCDSB 82 % 70 % 61 % 77 % 72 %
(n=) (104) (86) (80) (83) (80)
Monsignor Doyle 77 % 59 % 67 % 78 % 79 %(n=) (22) (17) (9) (9) (14)
St Benedict 90 % 77 % 62 % 78 % 82 %(n=) (21) (30) (29) (18) (17)
St David 81 % 43 % 53 % 80 % 67 %(n=) (21) (7) (15) (15) (12)
St Mary's 83 % 82 % 69 % 73 % 57 %(n=) (18) (17) (13) (22) (14)
0 77 % 67 % 57 % 79 % 74 %(n=) (22) (15) (14) (19) (23)
IEP*
2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015
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Success Rates for ELL Students:
BOARD Cohort Trend Data: Grade 6 to Gr 9: Students Maintaining/Improving Achievement
Students Achieving at a Lower Level
Province 29 % 33 % 35 % 38 % n/aWCDSB 37 % 31 % 41 % 37 % 39 %
(n=) (49) (36) (37) (35) (31)
Monsignor Doyle 42 % n/a 100 % 67 % 100 %(n=) (24) (1) (3) (1)
Resurrection n/a n/a 50 % 100 % 50 %(n=) (2) (1) (2)
St Benedict n/a n/a 50 % n/a n/a(n=) (2)
St David n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a(n=)
St Mary's 32 % 31 % 38 % 32 % 40 %(n=) (25) (35) (32) (31) (25)
ELL
2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015Province 79 % 81 % 81 % 82 % n/aWCDSB 62 % 83 % 75 % 77 % 67 %
(n=) (42) (42) (76) (61) (27)
Monsignor Doyle 80 % n/a n/a n/a 50 %(n=) (10) (2)
Resurrection 100 % 100 % 50 % 73 % n/a(n=) (2) (2) (4) (11)
St Benedict n/a 100 % 100 % n/a 50 %(n=) (2) (2) (2)
St David 100 % 100 % 75 % 100 % 100 %(n=) (2) (1) (4) (3) (1)
St Mary's 50 % 81 % 76 % 80 % 68 %(n=) (28) (37) (66) (45) (22)
ELL
2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015
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EQAO Trend/Needs Analysis EQAO stopped producing formal analysis of strand and category trends as of 2012-13. We do know Measurement and Geometry remains a strength in both academic and applied, sustained by the strong connection between the grade 9 and grade 8 curriculum. Conversely, Linear Relations/Analytic Geometry & Algebra are areas we need to continue our efforts; content areas which build extensively from grade 8 to grade 9. Category of Achievement trends have shown Knowledge & Application are often weakest areas; Thinking category is strongest. Other notes: There is a success rate discrepancy between academic and applied level students which mirrors the province, however our improvement rate at grade 9 applied is better than the province. The success rates for students receiving accommodations and ELL learners are an area of continued need and focus. Next Steps: Our team will continue to focus our efforts on building teacher and student capacity in areas of need, across the transition years, grade 7- 9. In addition, will strive to improve our tracking and re-mediation strategies in an effort to close the gaps found between academic and applied, as well as, ELL and special education students with accommodations. We will embed our efforts in a growth mindset culture, fostering a productive disposition in both teachers and students. Students that require assistive technology will engage in learning plans that will have them immersed in the use of these tools to build capacity and familiarity in all subject areas so that they will be more inclined to use it when writing EQAO. Furthermore, as of last school year, all students have access in all subject areas to Google read and write which allows students to independently use this application through their laptop, tablet or chrome book. This accommodation will enhance our students' literacy development which supports reading comprehension in all subject areas. In the interests of continuous improvement and a commitment to excellence, EQAO success rates will weave into our data analysis to inform our future Student Success, 21st Century Teaching and Learning, Special Education and Professional Learning strategies. These strategies will facilitate more engaging Catholic learning environments for all of our students with the hope of improving overall academic success. Recommendation: For Information Prepared/Reviewed By: Loretta Notten Director of Education David DeSantis Superintendent of Learning Nancy Snyder Numeracy Consultant Kelly Roberts Research Coordinator *Bylaw 5.2 “where the Board of Trustees receives from the Director of Education a monitoring report that flows from a responsibility delegated to the Director under Board Policy – except where approval is required by the Board of Trustees on a matter delegated by policy to the Board – the minutes of the Meeting at which the Report is received shall expressly provide that the Board has received and approved of the Report as an action consistent with the authority delegated to the Director, subject in all instances to what otherwise actually occurred.”
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Report
Date: October 26th, 2015
To: Board of Trustees
From: Director of Education
Subject: Literacy & Numeracy Teacher Capacity Building Plan 2015-2016
Type of Report: Decision-Making
Monitoring Incidental Information concerning day-to-day operations
Type of Information: Information for Board of Trustees Decision-Making
Monitoring Information of Board Policy XX XXX Information only of day-to-day operational matters delegated to the CEO
Origin: (cite Education Act and/or Board Policy or other legislation)
. Education Act “…a teacher shall (a) be responsible for effective instruction, training and evaluation of the progress of pupils…”
Policy Statement and/or Education Act/other Legislation citation:
Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession “Members recognize that a commitment to ongoing professional learning is integral to effective practice and to student learning. Professional practice and self-directed learning are informed by experience, research, collaboration and
knowledge.” “Members strive to be current in their professional knowledge and recognize its relationship to practice.” “Members apply professional knowledge and experience to promote student learning. They use appropriate pedagogy, assessment and evaluation, resources and technology in planning for and responding to the needs of individual students and learning communities. Members refine their professional practice through ongoing inquiry, dialogue and reflection.” Achieving Excellence 2014 “At the core of Achieving Excellence is a commitment to collaborative, continuous learning among educators, leaders, and government.” (p.20)
Background/Comments:
According to Achieving Excellence, A Renewed Vision for Education in Ontario (2014), the province of Ontario, “…will cultivate and continuously develop a high-quality teaching profession…” as it strives to meet its renewed goals for education:
Achieving Excellence
Ensuring Equity
Promoting Well-Being
Enhancing Public Confidence At the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, these goals are clearly articulated in the Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement (BIPSA) which is itself comprised of four pillars: Catholic Community, Culture & Caring;
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Literacy; Numeracy; and Pathways. Furthermore, each of these pillars, contains a professional learning component through which Board personnel work to strengthen the capacity of staff to achieve the WCDSB’s Strategic Priorities (Nurturing our Catholic Community; Student Engagement, Innovation and Achievement; and Building Capacity to Lead,
Learn and Live Authentically), Mission (“As disciples of Christ, we educate and nurture hope in all learners to realize their full potential to transform God’s world.”) and Vision (“Our Catholic Schools: heart of the community -- success for each, a place for all.”), as well. The professional development plan for WCDSB staff is rooted in the learning needs of the students which are discerned and articulated through ongoing collaboration among school and Board instructional staff who examine a variety of local and provincial qualitative and quantitative data often with the assistance of other stakeholders (i.e. university Faculty of Education and Ministry of Education Staff). The WCDSB’s plan draws upon current research on effective teacher professional capacity building strategies. Ontario’s Ministry of Education has stated that teachers should be, “…engaged as co-learners in professional learning inquiries, working collaboratively to promote the most effective teaching and learning…for all students.” (Paying Attention to Mathematics Instruction, 2011) The professional development plan for WCDSB staff is open to each and every school staff. It is derived from student achievement data and strikes a balance between school and system gaps and needs. It is flexible and based upon current best practice. Indeed, “When professional learning is job-embedded and inquiry-based, it contributes to a culture of ongoing learning for classroom educators and students alike and builds the capacity of the entire system for change and innovation. Professional learning occurs in a variety of contexts and settings – wherever educators share practice, examine evidence of learning, access opportunities to build instructional skills and knowledge and reflect upon the impact of their work.” (Paying Attention to Literacy, 2013) For example, Precision Teaching is a combined effort – literacy consultant and speech and language pathologist – that invites teachers in primary grades to re-examine and develop their literacy instruction. Over six sessions, teachers and principals through a cross-disciplinary stance, deepen their understanding of the relationship between oral language development and vocabulary development. Math for Young Children (M4YC) sees the continuation of a four-year-long action-research partnership between the WCDSB and Trent University. Data gathered contributes to school and Board understanding of student need as well as the province.
The 2015-2016 the WCDSB Plan for Professional Learning For
Literacy & Numeracy K-12
Literacy or Numeracy
Initiative Consultant Description # of Schools
Panel
Literacy Precision Teaching (Gr. 1-3) Year One, FDK teachers & Gr. 3
Julie Tonin To build & sustain knowledge of gradual release, effective vocabulary building and metacognition when guiding readers. Literacy consultant and Speech and Language Pathologists collaborate on this initiative
6 Elem.
Literacy Year Two Schools: Sustaining Learning from 2014-2015: includes Gr 1-3 classroom teachers
Julie Tonin To build & sustain knowledge of gradual release, effective vocabulary building and metacognition when guiding readers. Literacy consultant and Speech and Language Therapists collaborate on this initiative
10 Elem.
Literacy Precision Teaching Year One Schools -
Beth Wolf To build & sustain knowledge of gradual release, effective vocabulary building and metacognition when guiding readers.
10 Elem.
Literacy Precision Teaching Principal Learning Network:
Beth Wolf & Julie Tonin
The focus is to: • build understanding of the knowledge & skills for literacy learning to support monitoring • identify language that supports gradual release within classroom contexts • continue to develop & sustain the professional learning from the precision teaching networks 2014-2015.
9 Elem.
Numeracy CIL-M Year One Petra Le Duc
The goal of CIL-M is to build understanding of teaching and learning mathematics, build understanding of the continuum of the curriculum through classroom embedded collaborative inquiry that incorporates different school contexts for learning.
4 Elem.
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Numeracy CIL-M Year Two Petra Le Duc
The goal of CIL-M is to build understanding of teaching and learning mathematics, build understanding of the continuum of the curriculum through classroom embedded collaborative inquiry that incorporates different school contexts for learning.
5 Elem.
Numeracy CIL-M Principal Learning Network
Petra Le Duc
Teams of principals & vice principals conduct investigations of student “at-work” artifacts and video of math lessons in classrooms, using a collaborative inquiry process.
9 Elem.
Numeracy NUMBER SENSE ROUTINES: Number Strings & Number Talk Refresher
Petra Le Duc
The Number Strings / Number Talk initiative is for FDK to grade 6 teachers to establish the daily routine of 15 mins. of mini-lessons to increase arithmetic, mental math and computational fluency.
Invitational
Elem.
Numeracy Numeracy Learning Leaders
Petra Le Duc
Elementary teachers (K to 6) and their administrators who have taken leadership in and have indicated a continued professional learning focus for building capacity in the area of effective mathematics teaching and learning.
Invitational
Elem.
Numeracy Grades 3 to 6 Numeracy Network
Petra Le Duc
This initiative is open to grades 3 to 6, including grade 3/4 and grade 6/7 teachers. The goal of this numeracy network is to construct understanding of the expectations/big ideas from grade 3 to grade 6 and to build capacity of effective teaching and learning of upper primary & junior mathematics curriculum through classroom embedded collaborative inquiry that incorporates different school contexts for learning.
6 Elem.
Numeracy Junior Numeracy Network yr 2 Principal learning
Petra Le Duc
To continue developing a job-embedded professional learning framework for numeracy that incorporates different school contents for learning.
17 Elem.
Numeracy Math 4 Young Children Petra Le Duc
Student outcome: Students will increase knowledge, understanding and performance performing the clinical interviews in relation to the explicit exploratory lesson-study activities within M4YC. Teacher outcome: Use of the initial clinical interviews to create baseline knowledge of learning for JK to grade 2 students within a focused area of mathematics learning. Use of mid-lesson study cycle to align effective exploratory lessons to student learning. Use of the final clinical interviews to gauge the trajectory in learning and assess the alignment of lesson study with student achievement and explicit-focused mathematical experiences within the learning.
3 Elem.
Numeracy SWST Sherrie Rellinger
Interrogate student learning experience through ethnographic research 5 Elem.
Numeracy Small and Northern Board SW Learning Session
Petra Le Duc
Build capacity of educators in Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching 1 Elem.
Numeracy 7-12 Numeracy Networks
Nancy Snyder
Differentiated goals based on the needs of secondary schools (i.e. accountable talk, questioning, use of student achievement data, etc.)
5+ Sec.
Numeracy Leading Math Success Team
Nancy Snyder
Math content knowledge & concept continuum; effective instruction; school-based instructional rounds
5+ Both
Numeracy EQAO Nancy Snyder
Formal preparation for Gr. 9 EQAO (Math) assessment through moderated assessment of student work by teacher learning communities; informally with elementary schools
5+ Both
Numeracy Intermediate Math PD Series: What Does EQAO Have to Do With Me?
Nancy Snyder
Using EQAO to build content knowledge by connecting curriculum between grades six and nine (Focus: proportional reasoning, operational sense, algebraic reasoning)
All Both
Numeracy Supporting Spiraling Instructional Approach
Nancy Snyder
August instructional session followed up by monthly release time for teachers to co-plan and learn in collaboration
5+ Both
Numeracy Refresher Question Strings
Nancy Snyder
1 half-day session for teachers new to Intermediate or those who did not get PD last year = 1 intermediate per school + new gr 9/10 secondary Math teachers for any elementary school - follow up at divisional mtg as requested
Open Both
Numeracy Growth Mindset Pilot Nancy Snyder
invited teachers with duplicate preps - Math & Science (5) co-develop a set of explicit GM lessons and strategies to use weekly/bi-weekly - what might GM teaching look like at secondary? observation/debrief check-in once per month
5 Sec.
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one class gets explicit GM lessons, one is ‘control’ group How does explicit focus on GM affect learning in secondary math/science? Will share with all Math/Science teachers Sem 2
Literacy OSSLT Mock Tests Beth Wolf FOCUS: OSSLT Format, and Reading and Writing Strategies
5 Sec.
Literacy Cross-Curricular Literacy Teams:
Beth Wolf FOCUS: Reading and Writing Strategies Cross-curricular Literacy Teams there will be greater focus on the mantra “We are all Literacy Teachers,” providing specific Reading Strategy instruction, and embedding reading and writing strategies into all areas of the curriculum to assist with the skill development.
5 Sec.
Literacy Cross-Panel Collaborative Inquiry Satellite Project – Metacognition & Questioning
Beth Wolf FOCUS: Adolescent Literacy Guide and Making Inferences – practical application of the work done in the Metacognition and Questioning sessions this year
Open Both
Literacy Supporting Junior/ Intermediate Readers
Beth Wolf FOCUS: Adolescent Literacy Guide, Vocabulary Development in conjunction with Metacognition and Gradual Release of Responsibility To build & sustain knowledge and use of the gradual release model, through the use of intentional and effective subject-based and general vocabulary building, and metacognition when guiding readers for a higher level of comprehension.
Open Elem.
Literacy Intermediate/ Secondary Cross-panel Collaborative Inquiry—History and Geography
Beth Wolf FOCUS: FNMI and the History/Geography Revised Curriculum, Integration into the Literacy Block, specifically Language/Vocabulary Acquisition (Purposeful Language)
Open Both
Literacy Reader Resiliency Project
Beth Wolf A continuation of the Ministry-funded project at Monsignor Doyle, with a specific focus on Grade 10 Applied level classes, teachers will continue to focus on engaging students in reading comprehension opportunities (last year’s project centred around metacognition – understanding what good readers do as they read; becoming aware of their own reading habits).
1 MDCSS
Literacy Grade 9/10 Essential/OLC Teacher Network
Beth Wolf
Focus: Supporting the connection between oral language components, literacy skills and core subject areas Grade 9 and 10 essential level teachers from the English, Math, Science, and History/Geography program areas will be invited to attend a workshop, and then be involved in a learning network for the semester. Working with the language and speech pathologist (Cara Cressman) in order to help teachers understand the connection between oral and written language, teachers will engage be asked to engage in this new learning, and consider new strategies for students to assist them with their reading comprehension in the various program areas.
5+ Sec.
General CITE (Collaborative Inquiry Team in Education)
Sherrie Rellinger
2nd Year of a Collaborative Action Research initiative involving WCDSB staff (St. Peter CES and Board support staff) and researchers from Nipissing and WLU Faculty of Education
1 Elem.
Recommendation:
This report is presented to Trustees as information.
Prepared/Reviewed By: Loretta Notten, Director of Education
John Klein (Superintendent of Learning) *Bylaw 5.2 “where the Board of Trustees receives from the Director of Education a monitoring report that flows from a responsibility delegated to the Director under Board Policy – except where approval is required by the Board of Trustees on a matter delegated by policy to the Board – the minutes of the Meeting at which the Report is received shall expressly provide that the Board has received and approved of the Report as an action consistent with the authority delegated to the Director, subject in all instances to what otherwise actually occurred.”
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Report
Date: October 26th, 2015
To: Board of Trustees
From: Director of Education
Subject: Board Policy IV 009 Asset Protection
Type of Report: Decision-Making
Monitoring Incidental Information concerning day-to-day operations
Type of Information: Information for Board of Trustees Decision-Making
Monitoring Information of Board Policy IV 009 Information only of day-to-day operational matters delegated to the CEO
Origin: (cite Education Act and/or Board Policy or other legislation)
Board Policy IV 009 “Asset Protection” indicates that “The CEO shall not allow assets to be unprotected, inadequately maintained nor unnecessarily risked. Further, without limiting the scope for the foregoing, the CEO shall not: 11. Endanger the organization’s public image or credibility, particularly in ways that would hinder its accomplishment of Ends. The following report briefly celebrates a recent WCDSB facility enhancement that highlighted the need for a new Administrative Procedure, consistent with policy, that would allow schools to follow a consistent process for dedication(s) within Board facilities.
Policy Statement and/or Education Act/other Legislation citation:
Policy IV 009 “Asset Protection”
Background/Comments:
Consistent with the Waterloo Catholic DSB Vision, St Benedict’s Catholic Secondary School recently undertook a project centered on St Benedict’s as “Heart of the Community”.
The school set out to dream about how they could consider a series of expansions to their main sports field that ultimately could draw in all members of the whole family. Increased use and improved physical fitness are amongst the goals. The vision included the possibility of an outdoor space where children could read, an outdoor games area for checkers or chess and/or a pavilion where families could gather, sheltered from the elements. The marquee item was an electronic scoreboard and fitness equipment added to the main sports field.
The school was successful in raising a budget of $450,000, of which $300,000 came from a successful grant application to the charitable Lyle S. Hallman Foundation. It is notable that the school was successful in acquiring 75% of the Hallman funds available for the Waterloo Region for this year. This remarkable accomplishment is worthy of
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celebration and speaks to the tremendous dedication and passion of Waterloo Catholic staff for their school communities.
The acquisition of the new score board and the enhancements that will be made to the field area have highlighted a possible challenge for the board. In this case and others that may be similar to it, the school may wish to dedicate the scoreboard or name the field in some manner. In another school it might be a gymnasium, learning commons or other common area.
School communities often have occasion to want to recognize significant individuals in their community, but in some cases the direction to do so could be temporal and/or personal. That is – the direction taken might be subjective or imprudent if not guided by a clear process. Further, in the absence of a clear and objective process, with guidelines embedded therein, there is the possibility that a decision could be made that might ultimately adversely affect the reputation of the school and/or the board community, thereby affecting the board’s public image and credibility.
APF 015 extends APF 013 which deals with the Naming of Schools. APF 014 provides a process and guiding principles for schools to use should they wish to make a dedication or an acknowledgement within a board facility or property. In short, each school would have a committee comprised of individuals, defined by their roles, that would be governed in their deliberations by guiding principles. Ultimately the recommendation would be brought forward to the Board of Trustees for ratification.
Recommendation:
That the Board of Trustees congratulate the St Benedict’s Community for their efforts and advocacy in successfully acquiring a new score board for their school track and field. That the Board of Trustees receive this report on APF 015 as information.
Prepared/Reviewed By: Loretta Notten
Director of Education *Bylaw 5.2 “where the Board of Trustees receives from the Director of Education a monitoring report that flows from a responsibility delegated to the Director under Board Policy – except where approval is required by the Board of Trustees on a matter delegated by policy to the Board – the minutes of the Meeting at which the Report is received shall expressly provide that the Board has received and approved of the Report as an action consistent with the authority delegated to the Director, subject in all instances to what otherwise actually occurred.”
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Administrative Procedures Memorandum
APF 015
Dedications Within Board Facilities
DATE OF ISSUE: October 26th, 2015 Revised: N/A
MEMO TO: All Staff
FROM: Director of Education
Purpose: The Waterloo Catholic District School Board is the owner of all system properties and identifies the parameters and procedures not only for the naming of schools (APF 013) but also for the dedication of Board properties, or aspects contained therein. On occasion school communities may be inspired to name an aspect of their facilities, be it a particular room, common area or aspect of the property such as the school field or scoreboard, by honouring a particular person or institution. This Administrative Procedure outlines the process to be followed in such an instance. References: Board Policy IV 009: Asset Protection. The CEO shall not allow assets to be unprotected, inadequately maintained nor unnecessarily risked. Further, without limiting the scope for the foregoing, the CEO shall not:
11. Endanger the organization’s public image or credibility, particularly in ways that would hinder its accomplishment of Ends.
Board Policy IV 010: Facilities / Accommodations The CEO shall not permit the establishment of facilities that: a. That lack physical signs of our Catholic faith and allowance for sacred space.
Board Policy II 005: Consultation The Board of Trustees values a culture that holds consultation at its core… 1. The Board of Trustees and associated advisory committees will confirm that meaningful consultation occurs on matters of importance that affect the WCDSB. Matters of importance shall include but not be limited to:
b. Matters which specifically require a board decision. Cross Reference: APF 013: Naming of Schools
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APF014 Dedications Within Board Facilities
Page 2 of 2
Guidelines: Waterloo Catholic District School Board supports the concept of giving special recognition to significant contributors to Catholic education through the dedication of a room or other feature of a school or other Board building in honour of said person, group or organization. The naming of new schools and/or dedication of board property is intended to forge a connection with a Saint or other significant Catholic individual or tradition, whose gifts/meaning will provide a focus for the school and kindle a unique identity and spiritual bond for the students and staff. There is a distinction to be made between the practice of naming an aspect of Board facilities as a dedication to that group or individual as outlined above, versus a group that may make a significant financial contribution and wish to be acknowledged for their financial support. In the case of an acknowledgement, it is still essential to ensure that the donor holds and espouses values and beliefs that are reflective of our gospel values and Catholic social teachings. Each case must be considered on its own merit and reflective of the events that have caused the facility room or feature to be considered for a dedication or acknowledgement. Process:
In the eventuality that a school community decides or has need to name an aspect of their facility or school property, a Name Dedication Committee will be struck.
The Name Dedication Committee shall have composition from the immediate Catholic community, and shall be involved in the naming process and bring recommendations to the Board for approval. The community committee shall be comprised of the following individuals: One Trustee, Director or designate, the school principal and two representatives of the school community.
Prior to selecting a name for an aspect of the facility, the Board shall normally follow a consultative process to seek suggestions from parents, teachers, students, the pastor(s) of associated parishes and ratepayer representatives of the area within which the school/facility is located.
Notwithstanding the referenced consultative process, the Board shall reserve the right, in exceptional circumstances, to declare the chosen name of a Board school/facility feature, and / or to proceed with the acknowledgement of a given donor, once properly vetted.
In making a name dedication in a board facility, the chosen name shall be named in honour of the Divinity, a Catholic tradition, a person or group that has been officially recognized by the Church or an outstanding Catholic figure.
In dedicating a Board feature, requests from the school and community groups or individuals shall include a rationale that outlines in specific terms the extraordinary contributions by the individual, groups or organizations to the Waterloo Catholic District School Board and its Mission. The Board of Trustees will make the final decision regarding the name of the facility or specific Board feature.
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Report
Date: October 23, 2015
To: Board of Trustees
From: Karen Hakim and Sebastian Monsalve, Student Trustees
Subject: Monthly Student Report
Type of Report: Incidental Information
The month of October was an opportunity for our schools to give back to the community during a festive Thanksgiving week and allowed for giving thanks for divine goodness and all our blessings. A variety of social justice initiatives were executed during this week in order to assist those who are experiencing poverty. Each secondary school collected non-perishable food items to support our local food banks. In additional a myriad of initiatives were led by schools to help students recognize our blessing and give thanks for everything we have. At Resurrection CSS, each student was given a leaf and then wrote what they were thankful for, the leaves were then arranged to from the word thanksgiving. As Halloween approaches our secondary schools are hard at work at planning a spooky and engaging Halloween week for the school community. Monsignor Doyle CSS celebrates Halloween by transforming their school into a massive haunted house attraction which is also open to the public. As well, Halloween movies, costume day, pumpkin decorating, classroom and door decorating are other events that will be occurring during this very exciting and noteworthy season of the school year. Our schools have done a magnificent job at supporting our glorious nation’s baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays. Many schools permitted their students to wear blue jays attire or blue clothing to support our triumphant Toronto Blue Jays. A great event that brought a sense of community and inclusiveness. The WCDSB student senate continues to develop the elementary student senate initiative and is working closely alongside principals of elementary schools to execute this initiative and promote student voice by creating channels of communication with elementary school students. Also, we are working alongside Loretta Notten to establish a Waterloo Catholic District School Board town hall, creating a forum for student voice and to further analyse the issues and concerns of students in our schools.
Prepared By: Karen Hakim and Sebastian Monsalve, Student Trustees
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Number: II 003
Subject: Board Job Description
Approval Date: September 29, 2008
Effective Date: September 29, 2008.
Revised: April 26, 2010; January 30, 2012
Policy Statement:
The work of the board is to serve as trustees for the Catholic ratepayers of Waterloo Region in determining and ensuring appropriate organizational performance within the legal requirements of the Province of Ontario. To distinguish the board’s own unique work from the work of its staff, the board will plan and detail its work annually concentrating its efforts on the following outputs:
1. The link between the organization and the Catholic ratepayers of Waterloo Region.
2. Clarity of values and vision in written governing policies which, at the broadest levels of all organizational decisions and situations, address:
a. Aims/Ends: Organizational products, impacts, benefits, outcomes, recipients, and their relative worth (what good, for which people and needs, at what cost)
b. Governance Process: Description of how the board conceives, carries out and monitors its own work
c. Board-Director of Education Relationship: Delegation of power and its proper use monitored; the Director of Education role, authority and accountability
d. Executive Limitations: Constraints on executive authority which establish the prudence and ethics boundaries within which all executive activity and decisions must take place.
3. The assurance of Director of Education performance as described in all board policies and detailed in legal
responsibilities.
4. Advocacy for positive change to legislation and government policy that impact the organization.
5. Orientation of all new board members.
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