DRAFT NVPAC Report - SP Objectives Consultation PDF Prep

8/6/2019 DRAFT NVPAC Report - SP Objectives Consultation PDF Prep

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February 25, 2011NVPAC Presidents Council Report

Results of NVPACs Parent Consultation on Proposed Draft Objectives for the Boards 10-YearStrategic Plan.

Executive Summary

In order to gain feedback and input from the parent community on the current draft of the10-Year Strategic Plan, NVPAC conducted an open survey asking parents to rate thepriority of each high level goal and the related draft objectives. The survey used the exactlanguage proposed by the Strategic Plan Design team.

A very large majority of parents expressed difficulty with understanding much of thejargon and the nature of many of the programs referred to within the goals. They reactedquite negatively to the use of such language and expressed strong desire to see plain,clear language used throughout, where possible. Parent support for the Boards StrategicPlan will likely be increased if this is addressed.

Parents generally did not view these goals as focused, clear or measurable. In other wordthey do not meet the SMART standard. They want to see goals to which they canclearly hold the school district accountable.

Certain goals and objectives were controversial with a wide range of parent responses.For example, parents are supportive of the outdoor school but not at the expense ofquality instruction. Parents are supportive of specialty programs but also consider theman expensive distraction from delivering quality education for all. Investments in IB andDistributed Learning and improved environmental practices in particular received bothmixed and lower support.

The parent community indicated strong support for goals that directly addressedoutcomes for their children: quality teaching, rich curriculum, career linkages and apersonalized learning experience. Parents however did not have such clear support for theprovided sample strategies. This can be linked to comments that showed a lack ofunderstanding of the proposed strategies and a general cynicism about the ability todeploy new best practices when there are no good ways in which teachers can beevaluated.

Disclaimer

The NVPAC wants to fairly represent all the views of the parents in the community whether theyare insightful, balanced, well-informed or politically incorrect, unpopular or otherwise difficult to

accept. The authors of this report (David Whitehead and Mike Sexsmith) have done their verybest to summarize these views in as balanced a way possible without adding any of their views orbiases. This is however a difficult task so we apologize in advance if we have not metexpectations in this regard. We encourage feedback and clarification because in the end it is ourintent to relate the views of the parents. A short opinion from Mike Sexsmith is included as anAppendix because he really needs to get it off his chest.


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Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1Introduction 3Part I Survey Analysis 3

Overall Comments 3High level Goals 4Sub Objectives 5 to 13

Part II Workshop 13Appendix A Power point from Workshop 17Appendix B Mike Sexsmiths Opinion 22Appendix C Raw Survey Data 24Appendix D Complete List if Comments 29


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Introduction

The NVSD #44 is presently preparing a 10-Year Strategic plan. As of February 2011 they havedeveloped a set of six high-level goals, several proposed draft objectives under each goal and alist of sample strategies. Partner groups were then asked to provide their input and feedback. TheNVPAC quickly constructed a survey to poll the parent community about the relative priority of

the goals and draft objectives to gather comments. A total of 1,055 survey responses werereceived, including 820 comments - forming the basis of this report. All results and comments areincluded in the Appendix in an unabridged form. The preliminary survey results were then usedto frame a workshop at the February NVPAC General Meeting. During this workshop, groups ofparents discussed four goal themes to try to identify key performance indicators, and to refine thelanguage of the goals to make them follow the SMART goal quality indicator used in the SchoolPlans and many industries. During this workshop however the parents also generated alternativestrategies proposal.

Part I - Parent Survey

The survey asked parents to rank the relative importance of each of the high level goals identifiedin the plan and each of the objectives that support those goals.

The original wording of the goals and objectives and the sample strategies suggested within theplan was used to present the survey. The survey was emailed to all parents through the synervoicesystem and conducted online. In total 1,055 responses were collected to the survey over 10 days.Comments were also collected for each goal and the overall set of high-level goals. In total, 820comments were collected.

Early respondents (first 300 approx.) were surveyed with the objectives appearing in randomorder, which may have differed from the order that the objectives were presented in theexplanatory text. In response to some early feedback from a handful of survey respondents, thiswas revised to a fixed order for the remaining respondents to avoid any confusion that may have

occurred from the mismatched list order.

Overall Results Brief

Ratings Data

In general, all goals received positive support in the rating scales with no goal scoring below 3(neutral). The results were self-consistent, and in general there were no anomalous distributionsof scores. The typical standard deviation was around 1 point; which over a survey this large issufficient to distinguish the ratings. Thus from a statistical perspective the survey results can beconsidered significant. Most of the objectives tended to receive similar scores to the goals theywere intended to support, where this was not true suggests parents did not see the objective as agood fit for the goal. Examination of the questions that received a significant number of "don'tknows" suggests many of the goals and objectives are confusing and unclear to parents. The needto eliminate jargon and desire for measurable results oriented goals is reflected in these resultsand heavily in the comment. Looking at the items with a large number of "not important"responses suggests parents question the value of land management, the outdoor school and IB asimportant strategic initiatives for the district. The raw survey data is available on the NVPACblog and a complete data summary in included in the appendix. We encourage the reader toconduct their own analysis.


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Comments Summary

Reading the comments suggests that overall parents found the goals confusing, immeasurable,vague and poorly connected to successful student learning. The goals fail the SMART test, theyare not seen as specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, or time bound (see Appendix). Many

parents consider the effort cynical. They see the plan as enabling the district to fit pretty muchanything within the plan without any sense of accountability. With such vague and jargon ladengoals and objectives, they appear to be written with hidden meanings in mind. Parents want a planthat doesnt force them to interpret or guess what the district wants to do and what the district willdo as a result of the plan. The comments however often had constructive recommendations andgood insight and it is recommended that the reader spend some time with them (see Appendix).Note that in order to protect the stakeholders some comments had names removed. All commentedits are annotated.

Out of the comments several themes came out that indicate that there are some missing goals:

Where is the ability to overcome technology gaps?teachers need to learn abouttechnology.

Where is the goal to provide support for struggling kids, especially those withdisabilities, discipline issues, or other challenges?

Question # 1 High Level Goals

NVSD Strategic Plan High Level Goals

4.06

4.52

3.94

3.95

3.59

3.35

1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00

Encouragethegrowthofcollaborativeandadap tive

learningenvironments

Expandtheavailabilityofbestinstructionalpracticesand

enrichedcurriculum

Developandpromoteinnovativeandsustainable

programs

Nurtureaninspiringandhealthyworkplace

Provideleadershipinenvironmentaleducationand

sustainabilitypractices

Strengthenandexpandreciprocalcommunityrelations

Summary Data

Sample Comments:

All of these items are important to ensure the students become productive contributingmembers of society once they have passed through the school system.

Although goals 1, 4 and 5 are important, in terms of priorities, it is essential that energy,money and support be first directed toward improving instructional practice and creatingeffective and responsive classrooms. If only a limited number of goals can be met,student support and learning must take a front seat.


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C'mon guys, you need to explain what the heck these are. This is such consultantgibberish. How can anyone respond intelligently? Why wouldnt everyone want theircake and eat it too. Where are the tradeoffs?

Focus should be on good quality instruction to engage learners and specific remediationfor those who are not making good progress. Need school leadership that encouragesteachers to be engaged and excited about what they do. Seek out best practice and

strategies for all struggling learners that is evidence based; keep expectations high forevery learner.

I am not sure how we will measure when we have achieved these goals? I understand theconcept of long-term goals, but believable that they can still have measurable features tothem.

I think if you are going to go about this by setting goals the goals need to be SMART.These are not specific enough are difficult to measure and difficult to understand. Veryacademic, no teeth and nothing that sounds like it would have significant returns.

Authors interpretation:

Parents do not in general understand these goals or buy into them. They feel that they are vague

and difficult to link to tangible changes in practice or student outcomes. They do however supportthe general direction these push for. Many parents expressed a high degree of cynicism aboutboth the goals and the process and question the value of the planning process if there is notangible outcome.

The number one concern of parents can be summarized as "which goals say my children will geta good education?" This is reflected in the comments and shown here by the high ranking ofGoal #2 "instructional practice". Looking at the dispersion of the results there is strong agreementamongst parents that instructional practice and curriculum IS the most important goal for thedistrict. Parents want the focus to be on delivering high quality education for their kids. Thosegoals perceived as being connected to student success received the strongest support. There isalso strong agreement related to career development, collaborative learning and retaining good

teachers.

Goals and objectives with little visible connection to investment in education were not wellsupported. Where parents are less certain about the options shows up in areas of sustainability,community connection and the specialty programs.

Question # 2 Encourage the growth of collaborative and adaptive learning environments

Goal #1 -Encourage the growth of collaborative and adap tive learning environments

4.01

4.21

3.56

1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00

Strengthenasenseofbelongingandconnectionforall

learners

Provideincreasedopportunitiesforpersonalizedlearning

Enhanceopportunitiesforcollaborationamongall

educators(professionallearningcommunity)


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Survey Data

Overall category rating 4.06 or 2nd

Sample Comments:

Again as I've mentioned, the professional learning community has to stop isolating itselfand recognize and work with the community at large.

Another objective you should add is "strengthen and enhance flexible career-focusedprograms for secondary students.

Finally some acknowledgment that not all the bright children shine in the currentacademic environment. Some require parallel structures and accommodations (testanxiety, more verbal as opposed to written testing, longer time to take tests etc).

Given these three objectives ... why are you closing Windsor House? You should behighlighting it as an example of how NVSB reaches these objectives in education.

I still don't know what the outcomes of this strategy are? What will you have achieved in5 years by implementing these strategies? How will you be measuring progress andsuccess?

I will assume that the educators are using best practices to identify the areas of focus. Onfirst glance, I think that we are being optimistic with the number of tactics that have beensuggested.

It all sounds great - but what does it mean? There seem to be a lot of ideas / programs thathave some deeper meaning or need to be clarified/ defined before I can accuratelycomment on the above. Educators seem to spend a great deal of our children's time inmeetings and PD days - surely they are already getting ample time to collaborate withother educators. It is difficult to rate these because ( cut off by character limit)

I don't know what many of the terms you are using mean, for example, 'multi-year in-service calendar', 'tribes', 'the second Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement'.I'm sure many other parents will also not know what these mean, probably lowering thevalidity responses to this survey. My responses reflect what I understand the meaning to

be of the overall draft objective.

Authors interpretation

From the parent response it is clear that the parent community supports a more personalizedlearning approach. They generally expressed specific needs (in the comments) about support for avariety of different types of students. They expressed a need for better support for all learners,especially those that are struggling.

There were some very negative comments about more professional development days. Manyparent expressed the belief that (as with most professionals) teachers ought do a lot ofdevelopment but that it should be outside of classroom time. Parents also want to see better

linkage between the professional development and the actual practices applied in the classroom.They want to see mechanisms by which the teachers are given support to implement newpractices and some sort of way in which the teachers are assessed and held accountable forteaching quality.

While collaboration was seen as important, parents were generally unsure what was meant by theterminology. Collaboration amongst teachers is expected but they see a need for morecollaboration with students and parents. Collaboration amongst students, with students andbetween parents and teachers were seen as missing elements.


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Question # 3 Expand the availability of best instructional practices and enriched

curriculum

Goal #2 - Expand the availab il ity of best instructional practices a nd enrichedcurriculum

3.67

3.88

1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00

Providequalityin-serviceandprofessionaldevelopment

opportunitiesforstaffthroughthecontinuationofthe

InstructionalIntelligenceInstitute

Supportlocaldevelopmentofenhancedcurriculumand

assessmentmethodstosupportthelearnerandlearner

engagement

Survey Data

Overall category rating 4.52 Ranked 1st

Sample Comments:

These are both 'inputs' rather than 'outputs' ... Let's see some measurement whichensures the kids feel the impact of this work

Again, does the average parent know what an IEP is???? All of this seems directed at administration and someone with a teaching background. As

a professional outside of the teaching arena this has very little importance to me, nor do Isee its value to my children.

Any professional development requirements of teachers should be made public online:what they need yearly and whether that have completed it As well as continuing to provide quality in-service and professional development, annual

performance reviews should be performed on the staff. There are many excellentteachers, but there are also a few that need to either pull up their socks or retire!!!

Focus on the kids more; less on programs, practices. How about performance evaluation and recognition as is used in most industries. I support improved training for teachers, but this needs to be tied to improved

performance in the classroom, anyone can take a course but those skills need to bedeployed in the classroom after all the goal of teacher education should ultimately be tohelp the children learn more effectively

If this means even more Pro D days, then forget it - I want the teachers in school teachingthe children. As a professional myself, continuing education is my problem and I satisfymy association's requirements on my own time.

Rubric Central, Revise IEP Central and Report Central, What are these items?Authors interpretation

The data shows this as the highest rated overall goal however support for the stated objectiveswas relatively low. This is likely because parents do not see the connection between theobjectives under instructional practice and the higher goal. The comments suggest they are


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looking for more direct strategies to improve the quality of education and found the identifiedobjectives confusing and insideroriented rather than student oriented. Many parents are unsureabout the need for local curriculum and assessment development in North Vancouver and are alsounsure about the need for the Instructional Institute and Distributed Learning. This may bebecause few parents understand what these are.

Similar comments about professional development were found in this section and these arediscussed under Question #2. PD is supported but parents think that there is too much PD time.

There is no real support for the development of local curriculum. It is considered a nice to havebut the objective needs to be to have the best curriculum. They want to see the district source thebest globally rather than invent everything here.

Parents want high quality instruction they havent seen that IB, II or any othersingle program isbest. We dont know what is best but we want to see it in action and see changes if it isntworking.

A small fraction of parents expressed frustration that IEPs are not being used in the intended way.

This indicates a need to strengthen existing best practices before moving onto new initiatives.

Question # 4 Develop and promote innovative and sustainable programs

Goal 3 - Deve lop and promote innovat ive a nd susta inab le p rograms

3.72

3.52

3.80

3.49

4.09

3.85

1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00

ContinuetostrengthenandexpandschooldistrictAcademy

programstoprovideequitableaccessforstudents

ExpandcourseofferingsprovidedthroughDistributed

Learning

ExpandFineandPerformingArtsprogramopportunitiesfor

students

ExploretheexpansionoftheInternationalBaccalaureate

Programmetoprovideincreasedandequitableaccess

Expandandenhancecareerprogramopportunitiesfor

students

Increasetheawarenessofprogramopportunitiesavailableto

studentsthroughouttheSchoolDistrict

Survey Data

Overall Category score 3.94 ranked 4th

Sample Comments:

A variety of career programs should be offered to students -- may be even better linked tojob shadow opportunities -- like they do at Van Tech.

Again, this SOUNDS good, but no confidence this will actually happen as long as $ reignand actual progress twds (sic) these goals is lip service.


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Careers should include trades as well as professions. Trades are often rewarding, goodpaying jobs but are often promoted as something to be done only if a child is not dongwell academically.

Customized education to meet the needs of your clients, the children, is key.Separating kids into different locations and classrooms isn't the answer. Tech is advancedenough that this shouldn't be required.

Distributed learning is something we can't do!! Do the basics right, then expand your offerings. Why dilute the effort to cover a wide

range of courses, rather than concentrate on the fundamentals? Expanding course offeringmay result in quite easy courses with high grades, but leave them unprepared for the realworld. Basics provide a greater foundation for learning diverse skills than an intro courseinto those diverse areas. Clearly will not be able to go into depth if the students do nothave strong basic skills!

Expansion of the IB program included a note about feasibility study for programexpansion including French Immersion. Slow down...be sure that you are able to providequality to the programs that exist. We are already noticing a shortage of qualified FrenchImmersion teachers, so unless your study includes locating and securing quality teachers,I don't think expansion is the wisest move.

I for one do not believe that the IB programming is for all children. It does not support alllearning needs nor all learning styles. These initiatives seem directed at High School andCollege aged people. How will you plan to survey the children from ages 5-14 yrs toassess their needs and how relevant are their wants to their educational needs.

If there is too much choice, it will end up watering down all the other programs, by tryingto expand you will become weaker. Everyone needs to have a core of the same education.Do not over expand. Do not cater to the squeaky wheels that only benefit their children(i.e., Cantonese programs) - give everyone a solid foundation. Public education should befor the greater good - become an expert at the essentials! Too much choice also makes itharder for kids to choose - beware of that fact (read the "paradox of choice")

Authors interpretation

The parents did not strongly support this category overall and there was mixed support for mostof the objectives. Overall this category showed the highest dispersion in the results. This wasshown in the numerical data and the wide-ranging comments.

The one theme in this category that seemed consistently supported was the concern that theirstudents be well prepared for transitions to careers. This also came up strongly in the workshop(discussed below). Parents want to see a more diverse range of career preparation programs orcourses. Programs that reach few students are not seen as important as the overall delivery ofquality education to all students. Parents appear to be uncertain about the value of specialinterest programs like the academies and IB.

Elitist programs are controversial, desirable for a few students but also expensive d istractionstaking resources and attention from teaching all kids. Special programs however seem to havestrong support from a sub-section of the overall parent population.

Question # 5 Nurture an inspiring and healthy workplace


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Goal 4 - Nurture an inspiring and healthy workplace

3.79

4.25

3.65

3.75

3.29

1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00

Developandimplementacomprehensivehumanresource

programtooptimizethepotentialforstaffmemberstosupport

studentlearning

Attract,recruitandretainexceptionalstaffandfosteremployee

engagementandprideintheSchoolDistrict

Supportmeaningfulwaystorecognizethevalueandcontributions

ofourstudents,staff,andcommunitypartners

Developmodern,attractiveandefficientfacilitiesthatenhancethe

learningandteachingenvironment,improvehealthandsafetyconditions,andprovideawelcomingappearance

Continuetheimplementationofthestrategicplanfortheretention

anddispositionofland

Survey Data

Category Score 3.96 ranked 3rd

Sample Comments:

A healthy, facility that is attractive and well-lit contributes to learning, as does beautifuloutdoor space for the children to play in.

Again, speak English! What does all this mean to the end results of how it effects studentlearning - which is the ONLY goal in the strategic plan. Our students are falling behindglobally, and it is what should primarily be addressed. The rest is just fluff - as much as itmay support that goal, let's address getting quality curriculums and quality education so

that our nation can remain innovative and competitive. Let's move away from beingaddicted to mediocrity and political correctness. Although you are dealing with budget cuts - do not dispose of land if at all possible.

These assets should be retained for future expansion of the population. Renting outschools to other organizations should be considered whenever possible.

Attracting exceptional staff is a laudable goal; however, what will be done to addressstaff that is anything but exceptional? What will you do to address sub-standardteachers/staff? How will they be held accountable?

Develop specific training and credentialing/qualifications of Special Education Assistantsaround common learning disabilities (e.g. autism, Downs, dyslexia). Provide sufficientSEA support to each school that is very flexible as needs change and shift within andbetween school years. Assign teaching positions based on merit not seniority.

I believe the District should sell land, or make a lot of money on it. Don't just leave itsitting, or rent it out when the District NEEDS the money. It's a waste of space if you'veclosed a school and there isn't any plan to build another school there - SELL IT!

If it was possible to comment on the individual objectives as they relate to the high levelgoal, I would grade the third bullet under "support meaningful ways to recognize..." ashigh importance and the other three as low importance.

Authors Interpretation


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The vast majority of the comments relate to either the land disposition strategy or thedevelopment of excellence in teaching. The other topics received little support or dialogue. Thereis a strong and clear message that parents want to see good teachers rewarded, encouraged andgiven the tools to do their jobs well. There is an equally strong message that parents want theschool district to find ways to hold poor teachers accountable. Performance reviews areadvocated both as an accountability tool but also as a mechanism to help good teachers become

better (the way most other professionals use them).

Most parents do not support the sale of land. A very small minority do. There is reasonablesupport for using vacant land for revenue although this is still controversial. Parents want to seenice clean schools with good working environments but do not necessarily connect this with newbuildings. The new buildings are seen as lacking key attributes that support a complete education.

Question # 6 Provide leadership in environmental education and sustainability practices

Goal 5 - Provide leade rship in environmental education and sustainabilitypractices

3.59

3.67

3.65

1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00

TransformtheNorthVancouverOutdoorSchoolintoa

CentreofExcellenceforenvironmentaleducationand

stewardship

Integrateenvironmentaleducationandsustainabilityinto

thecurriculum

Integratesustainabilityasapriorityinallbusinesspractices

Survey Data

Category Score 3.59 ranked 5th

Sample comments:

Aren't we already integrating environmental education and sustainability into thecurriculum?

At what cost to other issues would need to be addressed - yes ideal - but. Continue to embrace the positive learning that arises for all NV students who visit

Outdoor School. This is a gem to our district and provided lifelong memories for allNorth Shore students.

Focus on teaching and learning and good ACADEMIC programs for our students. Ofcourse environmentalism is important, but look at the waste produced in schools, and thelack of cleaning and hygiene. Please focus on the learning conditions for students and theneed for them to have strong skills to compete in the future job markets.

Physical education is a higher priority for students and N.V. community than the outdoorschool focused on environmental education

Authors Interpretation


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This goal was ranked 5th overall and all three objectives received relatively low scores. Whilethere are some passionate advocates for a strong environmental aspect to the school district mostparents want to see a focus on quality education in all areas not just this one. Parents were mixedin their opinions of sustainability curriculum but think the district should at least be sustainable inits practices. From the comments, it appears parents agree the outdoor school is a wonderful placebut many question its value as a strategic priority relative to other education needs. Most already

believe that outdoor school is a center of excellence and want to see that continue. There isgeneral sentiment that it does not need a transformation.

Question # 7 Strengthen and expand reciprocal community relations

Goal 6 - Strengthen and e xpand recip rocal co mmunity relations

3.73

4.20

3.40

3.59

1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00

Deve lopschoolsascommunityserviceshubsforthemutual

benefitofchildren,familiesandresidentsofNorthVancouver

Provideseamlesstransitionforstudentstocareersandpost-

secondaryopportunities

Enhancereciprocalcommunicationswiththebroadcommunity

throughmediaandtheapplicationoftechnology

Workwithourmunicipalpartners,otherschooldistrictsand

serviceagenciestobenefitourstudentsandthebroader

community

Survey Data

Score 3.35 Ranked Last (6th place)

Sample Comments:

Jeeze, just use plain language and people will start to trust you again. Again, focus the limited resources on education and learning in the schools -- that's what

we're paying taxes for! Too many outreach, technology or "seamless" programs divertresources and attention from the fundamentals of learning!

Coordinated services are important. Too complicated for parents to know and access allthe resources that are out there. I understand teachers are filling the parent role in manycases but I'm not sure making them a hub is the answer. Could distract from their mainresponsibility which is to educate children. Not sure it is the role of the schools.

Given the number of families with 2 working parents, school use should be expanded toincluded before/after school care. The placement of the Strong Start program at BoundaryElementary is a great example of utilizing the school for a community purpose. Yearsago the Church was the center of the community, now we build our communities aroundmalls, our goal should be to shift this focus to include the schools. Consider the fact thatour residential communities are only as healthy as the schools around them: families with


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young children will often select the neighborhood to live in based on its proximity to agood school.

Lets focus on our schools being a place to teach kids vs. community services hubs.Authors interpretation

This high level goal was ranked lowest. Many parents see the value of good community relationsas a strategy but not an end goal. The most important rated sub objective was to see a goodtransition for their kids into careers and they want to see better relationships with organizationsthat can help this (universities trade schools, industry etc..). The overall parent sentiment is forthe school to be a good school before any effort should be placed on making schools intocommunity hubs. There is however a general belief that such hubs would be a good thing. Therewere however very mixed and bipolar views on schools as community hubs. Some love it; somethink it will distract the district from its core job. This category also produced the most positiveset of comments in terms of tangible suggestions and the reader is encouraged to read them indetail.

Part II - NVPAC workshop

On February 17, 2011 at their monthly GM, the NVPAC hosted a workshop to gather feedbackon the School District #44 10-Year Strategic Plan. Prior to this meeting, the NVPAC posted asurvey to the parents asking them to rate the importance of each of the high level goals and theassociated draft objectives. Based on preliminary survey results, we chose to discuss in detail fourspecific goals that were rated as high importance:

1. Attract, recruit and retain exceptional staff and foster employee engagement andpride in the School District.

2. Expand the availability of best instructional practices and enriched curriculum.3. Provide increased opportunities for personalized learning.4. A combination of: Provide seamless transition for students to careers and post-

secondary opportunities; AND Expand and enhance career program opportunities forstudents.

The attendees at the GM were given a short primer on strategic planning, KPIs, and how to makeSMART goals. This primer is included as an Appendix. Four Sub teams were formed to enable adetailed discussion of the 4 high importance topics.

1. Discuss how we could measure progress in each area. Try to define KeyPerformance Indicators (KPIs) that will be relevant to us as parents. Discuss whatan appropriate rate of progress and target level of Achievement would be.

2. Propose a specific (SMART) version of the objective that would satisfy (evenplease) the parent community.

Discussion Results

Item # 1 - Attract, recruit and retain exceptional staff and foster employee engagement and pride

in the School District.

The group assigned to this item divided it into two parts:


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Attract and retain exceptional staff:

Training for Administrators to foster School Spirit; ensure retention; and attract thebest educators.

Find mechanisms for the best teachers to become mentors for student teachers. Identify and recruit from the top universities. Provide incentives for educators to take the best and most appropriate training. (form

of incentive was not discussed but was intended to apply for more than just largescale training like masters degrees)

Engagement and pride:

PAC activities to appreciate and celebrate KPI some type of PAC based Poll Possibility of NVPAC awards fro teaching excellence

Item # 2 - Expand the availability of best instructional practices and enriched curriculum.

This high level goal was chosen for discussion because the two sub-goals provided did not seemto fit with parent expectations and were rated with low scores. The top-level goal however wasrated as the most important.

The group discussed KPIs for the implementation of the strategy to use the Instructional Instituteto disseminate best practices. These were listed as:

Percent of teachers certified Number of II trainers certified

The group also examined KPIs for the overall availability of best instructional practice anddetermined that a survey of parents, students and teachers in which they assess student

engagement and satisfaction would be best, but that all three perspectives were needed. Thissurvey would need to be done on an annual basis to get a meaningful measure of improvement.

The group then discussed what were the elements that defined an enriched curriculum:

1. Challenge (different for each student)2. Diversity3. Relevant to students.4. Interconnected (with other elements of the curriculum)

A possible KPI in this area is for the school to report the number of specific enrichment eventsthat took place at the school.

The group then discussed that many parent dont understand how rich the curriculum is and thatthere would be value in giving the teachers the opportunity to explain how they have provided arich experience. This would make is possible to assess this element in a parent survey.

A specific goal for curriculum enrichment could then be to: Improve the satisfaction score on aTeacher, Parent, Student survey by 10% year over year


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The group also proposed a goal on instructional Practice: 100% of schools and more than TBD% of teachers report the implementation of a specific list of best practices generated by educationprofessionals; AND that TBD % of teachers felt that they are supported properly in implementingthese practices (e.g. confidence, training, budget, time etc)

Item # 3 Provide increased opportunities for personalized learning.

The group discussed two main type of personalized learning: The variety of choices in programavailable and any kind of special learning style, talent, need etc.

Possible Measures

Greater flexibility on part of teachers Actual # of new programs #Students enrolled Some level of subjective satisfaction (survey) Transition to post programs

Possible Strategies

Self Direction in regular class Need budget Specialized Staff Specific professional development training

Overall Assessment: we have a lot of program variety already; AFK, NVOS, LiteracyCentre, Many individual teachers, band and Strings, French Immersion, IB etc.

Item # 4 Provide seamless transition for students to careers and post-secondary opportunities *AND * Expand and enhance career program opportunities for students.

This goal was chosen as a combination as the two related items scored very high in theirrespective categories and seemed to be closely related.

This group started out by discussing possible strategies:

Standardize a cohort Counselor model across the district Explore ways of integrating a stronger careers focus in secondary school

Planning (10, 11, and 12) courses Encourage the development of student and family driven academic/vocational

paths. Explore connections to fine art programs and services that have a career focus.

(e.g. SASSThe School Alliance of Student Songwriters organizationteaching songwriting workshops in school settings, but also providing linkagesand excursions to studios to build career connections)

Increase support of entrepreneurship Have career fairs/career days Improve access to real life careers ed opportunities Strengthen career explorations program Attract and retain dedicated career counselors at secondary level supported by a

centralized model (specialists)


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Proposed KPIs

Number of students accepted into apprenticeship, university trade schools etc(multiple career paths)

Track and measure number of touch points meaning direct connectionsbetween industry and students in a given year.

# of scholarships # of career placements in a given year within career exploration programs

Additional Objective to consider:

Develop and implement an entrepreneurship program Develop and implement a reciprocal partnership program with local industry, Govt etc

Facilitator Summary

Based on the energy and passion behind the discussion, the four proposed elements were clearly

important topics for the parents present. The groups struggled quite a bit with the concept ofmeasurement and in many cases felt that the measurement and the specific strategies needed tocome from education professionals. They did however want the district to measure and quantifyprogress against these objectives. It was also clear from the discussion that the parents in thecommunity want to contribute directly to the tactics and strategies that they think will work in ourcommunity. Much of the discussion was focused on immediate things that could be done to makeimprovement in the areas discussed.


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Appendix A

Powerpoint from Workshop

1)

Strategic Plan

NVPAC Workshop

2)

Strategic Planning Process

1. Know where you are and where

you have been

Dashboard

Achievement Reports

Experience of Stakeholders

2. Define where you want to be

Ideal future Paint a picture

Dream big

Be SMaRt

3. Understand your reality

SWOT analysis ( Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)

Be honest and frank with yourself and

each other

Know your values

4. Define Objectives

Not too many!!!! ( 3 or 4)

Top Down and Bottom Up.

SMART

5. Explore Strategic Options

Cross functional Senior Experts

Needed

4 points of view ($, People, Process,

Customer)

6. Drill Down into Possible

Tactics/Goals

Specialist experts needed

Be SMART

Make a Map

7. Chose the Tactics/Goals

Be selective

Objective Filter

Buy-in!!!!

8. Deploy Tactics/Goals

Monitor Progress

Reward Success/ Help where needed

9. Assess Results

5. Were Tactical goals met?

6. Was there a positive impact on HighLevel Goals?

today

Pre

Survey


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3) Survey Summary

4)

Top Themes In Comments

( I have only processed High level Goals So far)

Goals are too lofty

Goals are vague

Goal are in confusing language

Missing something about students who need

extra help.

Disenchantment with process/history

5)

Top 5

HighLevel

Goal DetailedGoalAsProvided

Individual

Score

Category

Score Product Ranks

3

Supportlocaldevelopmentofenhancedcurriculumandassessmentmethodsto

supportthelearnerandlearnerengagement3.88 4.52

17.5 1

2 Provideincreasedopportunitiesforpersonalizedlearning 4.21 4.05 17.1 2

5

Attract,recruitandretainexceptionalstaffandfosteremployeeengagementand

prideintheSchoolDistrict4.25 3.95

16.8 3

3

Providequalityin-serviceandprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesforstaff

throughthecontinuationoftheInstructionalIntelligenceInstitute3.66 4.52

16.5 4

2 Strengthenasenseofbelongingandconnectionforalllearners 4.01 4.05 16.2 5

4 Expandandenhancecareerprogramopportunitiesforstudents 4.09 3.91 16.0 6

4

Increasetheawarenessofprogramopportunitiesavailabletostudentsthroughout

theSchoolDistrict3.84 3.91

15.0 7

5

Developandimplementacomprehensivehumanresourceprogramtooptimize

thepotentialforstaffmemberstosupportstudentlearning3.78 3.95

14.9 8

7

Provideseamlesstransitionforstudentstocareersandpost-secondary

opportunities4.19 3.34

14.0 9

6 Integrateenvironmentaleducationandsustainabilityintothecurriculum 3.66 3.59 13.1 10

7

Developschoolsascommunityserviceshubsforthemutualbenefitofchildren,

familiesandresidentsofNorthVancouver3.73 3.34

12.5 11


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6)

Todays Task

Drill down into 4 or 5 selected objective and propose ways to make them better.

We will use the same standard we apply in the School Planning ( SPC) process.

Each Objective needs to be S.M.A.R.T

Specific, Measureable, Achievable Relevant and Timebound

Given the survey results we are assuming that the objectives under discussion are

relevant.

We will break into 3 to 5 table groups. Each group will discuss 1 objective and:

1. Discuss how we could measure progress in each area. Try to define Key Performance Indicators

( KPIs) that will be relevant to us as parents. (M)

2. Discuss what an appropriate rate of progress and target level of Achievement would be. (T&A)

3. Propose a specific version of the objective that would satisfy ( even please) the parent

community. ( S)

7)

Key Performance Indicators

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is an industry jargon term for a type of Measurement used to guide an

organization towards a goal.

Paraphrasing Wikipedia

KPIs are commonly used by an organization to evaluate its success or the success of a particular activity.

Sometimes success is defined in terms of making progress toward s a goals or success is simply the repeated achievement of some existing

capabiltiy.

Quantitative indicators which can be presented as a number.

Practical indicators that interface with existing company processes.

Directional indicators specifying whether an organization is getting better or not.

KPIs are most commonly defined in a way that is understandable, meaningful, and measurable.

They must be largely controllable by the organizations or individuals responsible.

It is best to chose KPIs that are as directly related to what the organization defines as success but this is

not always possible. Do the best you can.

In our case how would we as parents assess the success of the goals?

They should not be inputs to the process ( example: How much money we spend of Special Education)

It is OK if it takes work to make the measurement but should be in reasonable proportion to the effort

spent trying to acheive the goal.

Should not be High Stakes where success is measures on a small or narrow sample. It is best if the KPI

integrates lots of diverse data. Perhaps more than 1 is needed to achieve this.


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8)

A SMART Test

Specific

1. Does the goal have a quantified level of achievement at which we can

celebrate success?

2. Can each individual in the organization understand what success looks likefor them and can they understand how their actions contribute to the

goal?

Measureable

1. Is there a way we can determine if we are making progress against this

goal?

Types of measures

1. Direct Quantity: A direct measure of success:

E.g.. Total Annual Sales, Frequency of Failures

2. Indirect Quantity: Use a quantity which is expected to correlate with success

E.g. 6 year graduation rates, % Post secondary registrations.

3. Qualitative Evidence: Observations or Anecdotal data, Perceptions

Survey results, Focus Groups, Expert Interviews or reports

9)

A SMART TestAchievable

1. Often a matter of Judgment.

2. Do most people involved in doing the work believe that if we work hard we can reach the targetin the time we have? With the resources we have?

3. Do other organization achieve our target and can we be better than them? How?

4. Are we aiming to low? Will our stakeholders be happy when we hit the target?

Relevant

1. Does achieving this goal make our organization successful?

2. Is it a Management Fad to have such a goal?

3. Do our customers and owners want us to pursue this goal?

4. Would it be the first to go if we had to cut spending? Is it a need to have or a nice to have?

Timebound

1. Is it clear when we need to reach the goal?

2. Do we have checkpoints along the way?

3. Are they in time to help us make changes to our approach if we are off track?

4. What happens if we are late? Who will it impact and how?

5. Are we being aggressive enough? To aggressive?


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10) 3

Objective Filter1. Criticality

The criticality is the relative importance ofmaking a tactical improvement

Combined effect on ALL objectives

2. Remaining Opportunity

How much improvement remains to bemade along each technology path?

How much effort will need to be made?

3. If a tactical path is fully mature we reach theNatural Limit and further improvement willrequire a breakthrough or the exploitation ofa different path.

4. You should chose the High Value tactics

Rate High on Both Criticality Scale andOpportunity Scale. (B)

These should change each year becauseas we get better, the value of the tacticgets less.

BUT we may still need to keep parts of it

to avoid slipping back

A B

DC

Opportunity

Criticality

Opportunity

Improvement

Effort

Technology Limit

Status

Maturity Plot

Value Plot


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Appendix B

Mike Sexsmiths Opinion Piece

As a management professional in technology development I have participated in many differentstrategic planning exercises. I have experienced many of the common pitfalls that occur when

organizations do such work. Several of these pitfalls appear in the proposed goals and I wish topoint out three of the key ones.

Most of these high-level goals and objectives fail to meet the SMART test (see workshopPowerpoint) and as a result it is very difficult to link specific actions to them. Organizations oftenare afraid of SMART goals because either they fear accountability or they do not feel empoweredto do what it takes to reach them. Ive observed evidence of both in this school district.Accountability is not something to be feared, it is in fact something most successful peoplechoose to take on and it is accountability that allows you to reach out to harness the power tomake change happen. Accountability however requires assessment and, as all educators know,good quality assessment is hard work. We need to create an environment where everyone feelsaccountable to meeting the goals. This needs to start at the top and it may take years before it can

be flowed down through the whole organization. One key tool that can help with bothaccountability and the improvement of all personnel is a formal performance review anddevelopment plan process.

The second key pitfall is a lack of focus. Strategic planning is mostly about deciding which of themany good things that you could do, you will do. Most large organizations can only focus on a fewobjectives at a time. This large goal set has no focus. Many organizations are overconfident in theirability to move forward and often set too many objectives and as a result fail on all of them. It isclear from the parent feedback that the parents want the quality and richness of the educationexperience to improve and they want this to happen by making it possible for each student to have apersonal learning experience with a high quality teacher. This should be the source of all goals.

The third key pitfall seen in these goals is a lack of customer presence. This is seen in severalways in these goals. The language of the goals is not fully understood by the customerrepresentatives. In addition, the objectives appear to be derived from organizational hubris and adesire to continue the methods and practices already in use. It is just fine to use your strengths tomove towards your objectives but many of the proposed objectives are actually tactics. They arethus inputs and not outputs. These goals need to be entirely re-written into a form that states whatthe outcomes of the educational experience will be for the students. Strengthening theInstructional Institute may be a good tactic but it is not a student outcome.

These pitfalls are very common and thus no-one should feel bad that the team has fallen prey tothem but to help the strategic planners in the district avoid these and other pitfalls I have created arubric (yes, I had to look that up!) that the team could use to test the plan.

Category Below

ExpectationsApproaching

ExpectationsGood Excellent

OperatingProcesses

-The plan ignoresbottlenecks andgaps in internalprocesses.-The plan has nospecific actions to

-The plan haselements toimprove basicbusiness processes.-Processimprovements are

-There are specificprocess improvementsplanned in alldepartments that linkdirectly to the highlevel goals.

-The true root causesof past performancegaps have beenexamined across theentire organizationand a comprehensive


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adjust processes toenable goalachievement.

only loosely tied tohigh-level goals.-Only the directlyaffecteddepartments wereconsidered

-A SWOT or similaranalysis has beencompleted onoperational processes

tactical plan exists toeliminate them.

People And Skills -The plan requirespeople in theorganization toperform thingsthey are nottrained to do.-The plan requiresunreasonableeffort to achievethe goals. No planexists to deployappropriatestaffing levels.-Many people inthe organizationdo not understandthe plan.

-The plan addressesgeneral resource orskill gaps indirectly affecteddepartments.-The plan relies toomuch on keyexperts orspecialists. Burn

out is likely.-Many people inthe organization donot understand howthey contribute tothe plan but acceptthat it is good.

-The plan has specificelements to improvethe skills needed-The plan allowssufficient resources tobe available during thelearning period andallows time for expertsto mentor their peersand replacements.-Most people in theorganization can linktheir every dayactivities to achievingthe goals.

-The plan not onlyachieves the goalsbut broadens andstrengthens skills ofthe wholeorganization forfuture challenges.-Everyone in theorganization putstheir passion andenergy intoachieving the planbecause they seehow it helps themand the organization.

Financing Plan -The plan wouldneed to bechangeddramatically if thefunding changed.-The plan does notaddress theresourceredeploymentsneeded.

-The plan haselements to redirectsome resources tothe directlyaffecteddepartments.-The plan is basedon realisticexpectations forfuture funding and

is robust to smallchanges.

-The finance plan isdirectly linked to theother elements of theplan.-The plan clearlyindicates the responseof the organizationshould fundingchange.-Funding priorities are

clear on an ongoingbasis.

-There is a clearlinkage betweeneach goal in the planand the availableresources.-A thorough andrecurring bottom-upanalysis of the planis linked to aresponsive finance

plan to ensureoptimal flow ofresources to neededareas.

Customer Focus -The plan is basedlargely on needsperceived byinternal experts.-The plan is drivenby internalpolitics, inertiaand hubris.

-The customerneeds wereincluded in the plandevelopment.-The customer mayloosely understandhow the plan wouldbenefit them.

-The plan is based ona good understandingof how theorganization needs tochange (or stay thesame) to meet wellunderstood customerneeds.-Thorough and

meaningfulconsultation withcustomers occurredduring the generationof the plan.

-The plan includeselements tocontinuouslyimproveunderstanding ofcustomer needs andto respond tochanges.-The plan causes the

whole organizationto be orientedaround the customer.


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Appendix C Survey data summary

High Level Goals

The DRAFT Objectives of the 10-Year Strategic Plan are grouped into the six high-level Goals listedbelow. Using the scale provided, please rate the relative importance of each high-level Goal fromyour own perspective. 1 2 3 4 5

Answer Options 1 -LowestImportance2 -LowImportance

3 -AverageImportance4 - HighImportance

5 -HighestImportanceDon'tKnow RatingAverage Response Count

Dispersion (St.Dev)Encouragethegrowthofcollaborativeandadaptivelearningenvironments

15 28 180 450 340 42 4.06 10550.869

Expandtheavailabilityofbestinstructionalpracticesandenrichedcurriculum

12 5 62 308 640 28 4.52 10550.735

Developandpromoteinnovativeand

sustainableprograms

17 39 229 446 296 28 3.94 1055

0.900Nurtureaninspiringandhealthyworkplace

23 26 230 450 303 23 3.95 10550.904

Provideleadershipinenvironmentaleducationandsustainabilitypractices

37 74 340 398 181 25 3.59 10550.976

Strengthenandexpandreciprocalcommunityrelations

36 113 441 286 124 55 3.35 10550.958

CommentsontheHighLevelGoals 208

answered question 1055 skipped question 0

Question 2: Encourage the growth of collaborative and adaptive learning environments

Answer Options 0 - NotImportant 1 -LowestImportance2 - LowImportance

3 -AverageImportance

4 -HighImportance

5 -HighestImportanceDon'tKnow

RatingAverageResponseCount Dispersion(St. Dev)

Strengthenasenseofbelongingandconnectionforalllearners

8 10 30 177 402 308 16 4.01 951 0.939

Provideincreasedopportunitiesforpersonalizedlearning

4 6 31 135 333 427 15 4.21 951 0.903

Enhanceopportunitiesforcollaborationamongalleducators(professionallearningcommunity)

14 10 63 335 368 138 23 3.56 951 0.962

Comments(PleasesuggestanymissingObjectivesthatwouldsupportthishighlevelGoal)

110

answered question 951skipped question 104


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Question 3: Expand the availability of best instructional practices and enriched curriculum

Answer Options 0 - NotImportant1 -LowestImportance

2 -LowImportance


4 -HighImportance


RatingAverageResponseCount

Dispersion (St.Dev)

Providequalityin-serviceandprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesforstaffthroughthecontinuationoftheInstructionalIntelligenceInstitute

13 19 40 247 373 158 71 3.67 921 1.00

Supportlocaldevelopmentofenhancedcurriculumandassessmentmethodstosupportthelearnerandlearnerengagement

8 11 28 207 355 226 86 3.88 921 0.95


105


Question 4: Develop and promote innovative and sustainable programs


2 -LowImportance


4 -HighImportance



Dispersion (St.Dev)

ContinuetostrengthenandexpandschooldistrictAcademyprogramstoprovideequitableaccessforstudents

13 8 52 245 314 197 51 3.72 880

0.944

ExpandcourseofferingsprovidedthroughDistributedLearning

12 20 63 282 302 131 70 3.52 8800.896

ExpandFineandPerformingArts

programopportunitiesforstudents

11 12 35 252 327 232 11 3.80 880

0.957ExploretheexpansionoftheInternationalBaccalaureateProgrammetoprovideincreasedandequitableaccess

25 30 78 269 252 189 37 3.49 880

0.957

Expandandenhancecareerprogramopportunitiesforstudents

7 10 22 146 351 330 14 4.09 8800.957

IncreasetheawarenessofprogramopportunitiesavailabletostudentsthroughouttheSchoolDistrict

7 12 36 217 375 219 14 3.85 880

0.957


114



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Question 5: Nurture an inspiring and healthy workplace


2 -LowImportance


4 -HighImportance



Dispersion (St.Dev)

Developandimplementacomprehensivehumanresourceprogramtooptimizethepotentialforstaffmemberstosupportstudentlearning

12 7 24 251 354 192 24 3.79 864 0.944

Attract,recruitandretainexceptionalstaffandfosteremployeeengagementandprideintheSchoolDistrict

7 6 10 106 335 389 11 4.25 864 0.896

Supportmeaningfulwaystorecognizethevalueandcontributionsofourstudents,staff,andcommunitypartners

10 15 46 272 349 156 16 3.65 864 0.957

Developmodern,attractiveand

efficientfacilitiesthatenhancethelearningandteachingenvironment,improvehealthandsafetyconditions,andprovideawelcomingappearance

11 13 40 243 349 196 12 3.75 864 0.957

Continuetheimplementationofthestrategicplanfortheretentionanddispositionofland

19 37 74 324 243 94 73 3.29 864 0.957


117


Question 6 Provide leadership in environmental education and sustainability practices


2 -LowImportance


4 -HighImportance



Dispersion (St.Dev)

TransformtheNorthVancouverOutdoorSchoolintoaCentreofExcellenceforenvironmentaleducationandstewardship

25 19 67 253 257 203 31 3.59 855 0.944

Integrateenvironmentaleducationandsustainabilityintothecurriculum

13 19 53 248 329 183 10 3.67 855 0.896

Integratesustainabilityasapriorityinallbusinesspractices

13 13 53 260 341 162 13 3.65 855 0.957


92



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Question 7: Strengthen and expand reciprocal community relations


2 -LowImportance


4 -HighImportance



Dispersion (St.Dev)

Developschoolsascommunityserviceshubsforthemutualbenefitofchildren,familiesandresidentsofNorthVancouver

9 14 54 244 317 202 13 3.73 853 0.944

Provideseamlesstransitionforstudentstocareersandpost-secondaryopportunities

3 3 17 131 335 352 12 4.20 853 0.896

Enhancereciprocalcommunicationswiththebroadcommunitythroughmediaandtheapplicationoftechnology

9 20 82 348 261 111 22 3.40 853 0.957

Workwithourmunicipalpartners,otherschooldistrictsandserviceagenciestobenefitourstudentsand

thebroadercommunity

6 18 47 308 320 135 19 3.59 853 0.957


74


Consolidated data in Rank Order

Goal All Goals and Objectives - Sorted by Rating Rating Average Response Count Agreement (St.Dev)

0.2 Expandtheavailabilityofbestinstructionalpracticesandenrichedcurriculum 4.52 1055 0.735

4 Attract,recruitandretainexceptionalstaffandfosteremployeeengagementandprideintheSchoolDistrict 4.25 864 0.871

1 Provideincreasedopportunitiesforpersonalizedlearning 4.21 951 0.903

6 Provideseamlesstransitionforstudentstocareersandpost-secondaryopportunities 4.20 853 0.840

3 Expandandenhancecareerprogramopportunitiesforstudents 4.09 880 0.936

0.1 Encouragethegrowthofcollaborativeandadaptivelearningenvironments 4.06 1055 0.869

1 Strengthenasenseofbelongingandconnectionforalllearners 4.01 951 0.939

0.4 Nurtureaninspiringandhealthyworkplace 3.95 1055 0.904

0.3 Developandpromoteinnovativeandsustainableprograms 3.94 1055 0.900

2 Supportlocaldevelopmentofenhancedcurriculumandassessmentmethodstosupportthelearnerandlearnerengagement

3.88 921 0.954

3 IncreasetheawarenessofprogramopportunitiesavailabletostudentsthroughouttheSchoolDistrict 3.85 880 0.949

3 ExpandFineandPerformingArtsprogramopportunitiesforstudents 3.80 880 1.004

4 Developandimplementacomprehensivehumanresourceprogramtooptimizethepotentialforstaffmemberstosupportstudentlearning

3.79 864 0.950

4 Developmodern,attractiveandefficientfacilitiesthatenhancethelearningandteachingenvironment,improvehealth

andsafetyconditions,andprovideawelcomingappearance

3.75 864 0.994

6 Developschoolsascommunityserviceshubsforthemutualbenefitofchildren,familiesandresidentsofNorthVancouver

3.73 853 1.018

3 ContinuetostrengthenandexpandschooldistrictAcademyprogramstoprovideequitableaccessforstudents 3.72 880 1.023

2 Providequalityin-serviceandprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesforstaffthroughthecontinuationoftheInstructionalIntelligenceInstitute

3.67 921 1.002

5 Integrateenvironmentaleducationandsustainabilityintothecurriculum 3.67 855 1.049

4 Supportmeaningfulwaystorecognizethevalueandcontributionsofourstudents,staff,andcommunitypartners 3.65 864 0.975

5 Integratesustainabilityasapriorityinallbusinesspractices 3.65 855 1.009

0.5 Provideleadershipinenvironmentaleducationandsustainabilitypractices 3.59 1055 0.976


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6 Workwithourmunicipalpartners,otherschooldistrictsandserviceagenciestobenefitourstudentsandthebroadercommunity

3.59 853 0.947

5 TransformtheNorthVancouverOutdoorSchoolintoaCentreofExcellenceforenvironmentaleducationandstewardship

3.59 855 1.184

1 Enhanceopportunitiesforcollaborationamongalleducators(professionallearningcommunity) 3.56 951 0.962

3 ExpandcourseofferingsprovidedthroughDistributedLearning 3.52 880 1.027

3 ExploretheexpansionoftheInternationalBaccalaureateProgrammetoprovideincreasedandequitableaccess 3.49 880 1.206

6 Enhancereciprocalcommunicationswiththebroadcommunitythroughmediaandtheapplicationoftechnology 3.40 853 0.990

0.6 Strengthenandexpandreciprocalcommunityrelations 3.35 1055 0.958

4 Continuetheimplementationofthestrategicplanfortheretentionanddispositionofland 3.29 864 1.095


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Appendix D Survey Comment Summary

Please note that these comments have not been edited and are reprinted exactly as written. NoAttempt has been made to correct typos and other errors. Many of the views expressed may not

be nice, politically correct or popular but they are the views expressed but the parent surveyed.

Comments on High Level Goals

"Strengthen and expand reciprocal community relations" means what? This is a very confusing statement

A lot has to be done for the community relation in younger adults. They are a bit lost in the time between high school andcollege/ university!!

Adaptive learning environments are key to our children's success - this one could have used a bit more explanation onwho/what we are collaborating with. enriched curriculum across the board, not just in one academic area.

All of the above are far too vague to be able to give an accurate response.

All of these "ideas" are broad and have no definition. There is no where for me to go to find out what you mean by any ofthese stated programs. I can not put an informed decision down here based on the very poor description you are providing.This seems like another " face value" survey to which you will add your own actual plans to later and then present as ....but we did ask ! Give me something that has facts and details and I will then provide you with my answers.

all of these are important

All of these items are important to ensure the students become productive contributing members of society once they havepassed through the school system

All seem very important

Alternative models of education must be available to students who require special needs and or have an advanced or slowermode of learning

Although goals 1, 4 and 5 are important, in terms of priorities, it is essential that energy, money and support are firstdirected toward improving instructional practice and creating effective and responsive classrooms. If only a limited numberof goals can be met, student support and learning must take a front seat.

Are you serious? encourage growth of collaborative and adaptive learning environments? expand reciprocal communityrelations? Can you tell me how your management would change if I indicated that these goals are of average importanceversus highest importance? The language is so unclear that whatever reults you get will be meaningless. And whatabout nurturing an inspiring and healthy wokplace. Why would you even ask if I support that. I would hope a low scorewould not drive you to actievly create an unhealthy workplace.

Bottom line, believe we need to provide a great alternative to the regular school system, for which, some of our children donot seem to fit into. They should be able to reach similar academic achievements through a different environment that theyfeel they are being successful in, with encouragement for future college/job prospects, which must be promoted and

nurtured.By adaptive learning, I strongly support this IF it means to find new ways for a child to successfully achieve the curriculumWITHOUT feeling like the odd one out - that they are opting in, not rejected from the more standard learning methods.Giving a child two paths to choose from to reach the same PLO as their peer while still staying in the same classroomtogether. Sustainability needs to go deeply into the roots of our community, not just pay homage to a fluorescent light bulbwith so much mercury in it that breaking one creates a bio-hazard.

children learn at all levels and differently and should be able to learn at their comfort level .Special needs should beincluded. All of this means that we should have adaptive learning environments for all children.

Choices and options that are realistic and sustainable are always a positive, I'm disappointed at the lack of extra curricularactivities at the High School level, sports seem to be the most frequent option, and the community already has a richresource in terms of sports organizations to provide this outlet, more academic, and interest group clubs would helpaugment these goals

c'mon guys, you need to explain what the heck these are. This is such consultant gibberish. How can anyone respondintelligently. Why wouldnt everyone want their cake and eat it too. Where are the tradeoffs?

Collaborative and adaptive learning environments for who - the educators or the students?

Commendable as these goals are, they appear to be esoteric in nature and don't seem to have much connection to teaching

my children math, science, history, etc.Difficult to rate without understanding the complete picture or whatr exactly these mean.

Each goal is important for our children to grow

Elementary schools should strengthen their ability to teach math beginning in Kindergarten and following through all theway to grade seven. Teachers should be held accountable for their math teaching skills and there should be consistencythrough every grade. If students have a teacher who is weak in math of less interested in math students suffer in the longterm.

encouragin to have a firendly and posetive school enviroment

Encouraging all intelligences are nurtured in respectful ways ie:emotional intelligence

Enriched community should mean enriched education

enriched curriculum is of particular importance to me, and other parents I know (e.g., more access to IB programs;improved identification and programs for above-average or gifted learners)


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Environmental Ed. and sustainability practices are post-secondary goals. The curriculum is tight enough on ABC's, 123'sand NVSD44 must meet those goals first. We lose too many high school kids to W.Van innovative programs. Why notacademy here?

Even as a teacher I don't know what you mean by each of the goals listed above. I can only guess at their meaning andcontext. Depending on the what is really meant, they could all be very worthy goals.

Excellent goals, would have liked to see something about providing on-site after school programs for families with twoworking parents.

Excellent Goals.

Focus on educational fundamentals, not saving the planet from itself! Be sure our children know how to read andcommunicate as well as understand and be able to work with math & statistics.

Focus on points of strength or talents that some students have? or you can call it as talent development program.

Focus should be on good quality instruction to engage learners and specific remediation for those who are not making goodprogress. Need school leadership that encourages teachers to be engaged and excited about what they do. Seek out bestpractice and strategies for all struggling learners that is evidence based; keep expectations high for every learner.

Goal 1: Instruction and Curriculum Having come from another country, I am often dissappointed in the quality ofeducation offered here. I believe that a country like Canada could improve on the curriculum and instructional practices. Ifind that the teachers that my children have had (4 years of instruction) do not know my children, this is reflected infeedback to us, in reports that conflict with professional reports - like those from educational psychologists. The number ofnon-instructional days is astounding: PD days, supervision (ie. reading own book all day) in other classes whilst teachergoes off with the rest of split class on outing. Goal 2: Community within the School body As a working parent I amdeeply concerned that there is a BIG gap between the time that adults are expected to get to work (8am) and when schoolstarts and children are allowed to enter the building. For many of us, finances, lack of family supports, difficulty asoutsiders making friends who can help and support us, mean that our children are unsupervised before and after school.This to me is the biggest breakdown in community relations - how the school system does not support the parents in this

basic way. When this has been brought up by parents at PAC meetings, it is not supported by the school or the Canadianparents at the meeting. Most of whom either don't work or have extensive support networks. (I volunteered at the schoolfor 2 years and still don't have any real friends - Canadian locals, including staff are happy to see us foreigners working atschool, but do not attempt to embrace us in the community) This attitude means that parents stay away from PACmeetings which are often a cosy pat on the back for a few parents and staff who impose their view on all parents. Meetingsare one way - being talked AT - not collaborative.

Goals 2 and 6 should be more clear. By "inspiring and healthy workplace" I hope this means a healthy workplace for thestudents as well as staff. The most important goals to me are quality of education for all children not just the "average"child and to finally stop bullying once and for all in all our schools. In order to achieve these goals class sizes must reduceand class size is either missing or burried - send the Province a message and adopt a goal to reduce class sizes.

Hard to know what some of these mean. E.g. "Strengthen and expand reciprocal community relations".

healthy workplace also means a safe workplace!!!

Healthy Workplace leads to better morale and support which directly impacts students and thus serves furthering thefollowing: Learning environments and quality instructional practices impact ability to attain high academic standards andstaff/parent encouragement for new and sustaining programs. CLASSROOMS FIRST

High Level Goals should be framed and defined in terms of results, rather than processes. For example, the Goal shouldnot be to "expand the availability of best instructional practices" but rather to ensure that our children receive the highest

quality instruction and improve their readiness for high school / university as applicable. Best instructional practices isonly one way to encourage that Goal is obtained. Similarly, the Goal should not be to "nurture an inspiring and healthyworkplace" but rather to obtain the best quality instructors for our schools by ensuring that they are engaged andchallenged in their job and find their work rewarding and stimulating. Nurturing an inspiring and healthy workplace is justone of the ways in which we can obtain the best instructors for our children, which should be the actual Goal.

I am all for innovative programs but don't think it is important to focus on developing them in our district.

I am hoping the "collaborative and adaptive learning" includes both the students and teachers and not just a one way streetsituation.

I am not sure how we will measure when we have achieved these goals? I understand the concept of long term goals, butbelievable that they can still have measurable features to them.

I am not sure what the High level goal is......innovative - how? New styles of teaching, learning?

I am unsure of what a reciprocal communit relation is

I believe that if children have a strong beginning and roots, they will successed more through out their life

I believe that relationships between schools, children/families and teachers is a priority and feel that an atmosphere ofcommunity reciprocity is of up most importance. As well, instructional practices and curriculum need to be led by a strongleadership that continually re-evaluates and reassesses it's philosophy of education. A shift in teaching paradigms needs to

happen in order to educate children to become creative thinkers and problem solvers of the future. (Schools must movefrom the goal of normalization, rather become pedagogies of listeners and creators.)

I believe the high level goals should be focused on creating and maintaining adaptable and sustainable innovative programswith the goal of providing our learners with the tools to acheive their highest potential in any area.

I believe the primary strategic goals should be centered on children and their learning - curriculum, and best practices. Asa neighbour of Ridgeway school, I know that the School Board needs to work on i ts community relations in the way ofconsulting and informing the larger community about results and activities. In working with some NVSD staff, I have seenthe disconnect between the neighbours, City staff, businesses and the greater community.

I belive students should be singing the national anthem every morning before school starts. I wish you could incorporatethis in the six high-level goals.


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I bellieve these are strong and valuable long term goals, but I am much more concerned with the emphasis on today andworking with leadership programs NOW, definately not seeing it.

I don't know what "Strengther & expand reciprocal community relations" means.

I don't understand "Encourage the growth of collaborative and adaptive learning environments"; sounds like nonsense.

I don't understand the specifics of the options. What would each option look like if 'high importance' compared to 'lowimportance'?

I don't understand what reciprocal community relations means

I feel in the elememtary school level the most important goal is to make our kids feel safe,happy, excited about school,

nurtured and motivated to have the confidence to go forward to secondary and post secondary education so they can makegood choices that will allow them to succeed and have good self esteem. I do not feel this is a top priority in our schoolanyways.

I feel like I don't have enough background to answer the questions properly. It all seems important?

I feel that an inspiring and healthy workplace will help teachers remain energetic and excited about teaching which helpsour children! Of course availability of best instructional practices and enriched curriculum can help teachers stay on top ofthe game when they are so busy and may not have time to research it themselves.

I feel that sustainability, partnerships and innovative programming (including upgrading for teachers in these areas) willserve our community and children over the next 10 years.

I find it hard to understand in a tangible way what is really meant by these high level goals - I would suspect a lot of peoplssay they are all of fairly high importance as they are all positive traits to instill in our kids.

I find these objectives to be too vague. Examples of how you would see them implemented would make it easier to ratethem individually and against each other.

I find this survey too ambiguous for example what does each of the goals look like. Forthe author(s) of this surveyexpand the availability of best instructional practices and enriched curriculum might mean more enriched programs forsome students or is that innovative programs for all students? I think the present model is based still too heavily on a

factory, institutional type of system that does encourage creative critical thinking for the most part & still functions on anevaluation system that looks for right and wrong answers, paying more attention to correct spelling than to creative ideas although there is much talk given to learning outcomes and personal educational plans when it comes down to it theevaluations in particular and the teaching often does not reflect this model. Some things can be implemented with lessfunding required like "strengthen and expand reciprocal community relations' - so again the survey is hard to answer - if Icheck off high importance for this I would not be suggesting that I think that this is a high funding priority, but it could beinterpreted as such! Develop innovative and sustainable programs - who wouldnt want sustainable programs? I get that itis more to do with priorities but what reasonable, responsible parent or educator would even suggest bringing in a programthat wasnt sustainable - seems like a strange proposition. As far as innovated programs again it would seem obvious thatwe should always be stretching our programs to be up-to-date with the most innovative approaches new doesntnecessarily mean better but if we are not growing in our abilities to educate our young with the growing times, they maymiss the boat. Also how can you expect to provide any kind of healthy learning environment if you do not put nurture aninspiring and healthy workplace as a top priority (no I am not a teacher in the district) but if we cannot model respect,dignity and a collaborative spirit, how can we teach that to our young people. Which brings me to my last point that in thisage of kumon and getting the edge on knowing facts, we should be stressing equal if not more importance on emotionalintelligence and social interaction which seems to be missing from the survey, suggesting that it is not of importance tothe author(s) of this survey, and I suggest that it should be.

I have answered the above questions but can only guess at what they actually mean. For the average parent you need toexplain the terminology. What exactly are "best instructional practices" and "collaborative and adaptive learningenvironments"? I can only guess at what "reciprocal community relations" involves. You should consider explaining thesix high-level goals in plain language prior to asking for a rating. My answers might be different if I were clearer on thesubstance of these goals. Consequently, I have only rated two goals as being of high importance. Average importance wasmy default answer.

i have no idea what you are talking about, very difficult if not intimately involved in education to understand what theseobviously large vague draft objectives mean.

I have worked my whole life in fields that are now called sustainability, and I am pleased to see this be a part of thecurriculum. However, the primary mandate of our schools remains to teach students to think critically and creatively andwith compassion. Only when they can do that can they contribute to a healthy community. I prefer the emphasis to remainon good teaching. We can't do it all.

I just became a new member of Eastview Elementery School and I don't have any idea about it

I like the link to "environmental and sustainability practises" as we prepare our students for a potential career in the "greencollar workforce". This is an initiative that the higher education sector is becoming closely involved in.

I presume inspiring and healthy workplace means for students as well as teachers. If this is the aspirational goal, the rest

fall into place naturally.I realize these are meant to be high level goals but I don't find them meaningful. I have no idea what number six actuallymeans. I have my guesses but my interpretation can be 180 degrees from what is actually intended. What I really careabout is a healthy and safe environment for my child. Is this what you mean by number 4? I also don't know what is meantby enrichment. I would like the school to be able to provide a uniform for my child's sport team but does that count asenrichment. My concern about these high level goals as stated above is that the basic have been over looked and the abovegoals are focused more on change a diversion from the basic school functions to something that will just cost most money.Maybe reference to sustainability in number 3 means continued affordability but this is unclear to me as to what is meant inthe goal. Does sustainability refer to economics or environmental? In number 2 above there is an implied message that bestinstructional practices and enriched curriculum are being followed in some places and not others but I am not sure what thebaseline standard is from which to judge. The above goals would be better understood if they stated the standard thatshould be established versus the improvement of a standard that is not know.


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I really think it's time to look at the overall experience that an average student is getting from their school. Are theylearning using the best resources possible? Does each student have access to an up-to-date textbook? Are the areas such asband getting too expensive for the average family? Will library provide enrichment rather than a simple book exchange?Are children being exposed to a variety of information and concepts so they can develop a passion that will help directthem later in life? Sometimes too much time is spent widening the realm of what teachers are teaching (ex. sustainableenvironments, etc...) rather than teaching concepts that will further enhance a student's ability to carry on after high schoolso they can lead a happy, productive life! Unfortunately, many students are leaving high school without a passion or aninterest and therefore don't even know what direction or job they'd like to pursue. To me, this is a real issue that needs to be

addressed!I think here in North Vancouver it is rather distressing that the cost of living here has increased so much that it is forcingmany families to move out of the area. As a result, the 'numbers' show lower enrollment rates and other costly problemsfor the schools. I don't know why these 'high leve

Documents

DRAFT NVPAC Report - SP Objectives Consultation PDF Prep