It was a thin agenda and several rounds of thanks that greeted the school trustees during their last meeting for District 57's current board, which will say goodbye to Betty Bekkering, Kate Cooke and Sharon Bourassa. They are replaced by newcomers Tony Cable, Bruce Wiebe and Bob Harris who will join returning members, including chair Sharel Warrington, Tim Bennett, Brenda Hooker and Trish Bella at the new board's inaugural meeting on Dec. 9.
"You have given much time and energy," Tina Cousins, president of the Prince George and District Teachers Association, said to the group. "We know this job is not glamourous or for the faint of heart. It involves a lot of commitment."
Despite the board winding down, the district's trustees discussed a number of issues:
Adventure playground for Southridge
Plans moved forward for Southridge Elementary School's upcoming adventure playground, with trustees voting unanimously on the project.
"The Southridge Parent Advisory Council have raised all of the monies and the proposal complies with the requirements of our policy," said Bekkering, who leads the education services committee.
The total cost of the new playground is just over $54,000. It will replace the existing playground which will be removed and recycled by a contractor.
After the playground was approved, Warrington noted, "My goodness it looks pretty nice."
Better signs for school busses
One parent thinks the district needs to take a more serious look at safety and signs for busses
"We are doing what we can to make that which we control as safe as possible, but is it enough," said Gillian Burnett of Nukko Lake Elemenary School's parent advisory group.
She said the public needs to be better educated on the laws around school buses once the bright lights are blinking - that traffic must stop in both directions.
"Our signs for school busses don't give any direction as to what the laws are."
Burnett said the existing signs aren't clear enough and the district should have signs similar to those created for emergency vehicles, specifically telling road users how to react.
"They take things one step further," she said, noting those signs tell drivers to slow down and move over.
Her school has opted to create their own sign in that vein - but said there should be more.
"At this time of year in the mornings, it's dark," said Burnett, and brought out a bright vest that the workers use as well as safety tags that they give to students.
Warrington said the future council would look at the recommendation, noting that the Nuko Lake signs - even the handmade ones - stand out.
"They make the point," she said.
Provincial parent meeting
An accountability framework is coming down the pipeline next year through the Ministry of Education, Prince George District Parent Advisory Council chair Sarah Holland reported.
Holland attended a provincial meeting with parent groups last weekend. She highlighted that many agreed it addressed problems with existing reporting mechanisms
"Nobody believed they were working as they should," said Holland, adding that often people mistake accountability with the concept of testing the students to death, then blaming the teachers for the failure.
She said the ministry outlined a tight time frame for consultation on the new system, with a draft scheduled for mid-January, focusing on the question: "how can we tell that what we're doing for our kids works?" In the coming months, she said the BC Coalition of Parent Advisory Council would be consulting with the ministry on the project.
Student Conduct Review Committee
A committee created almost 20 years ago to look at student conduct had its mandate reduced thanks to declining use of its services. The board approved a motion to move from quarterly reviews to once-a-year reports since there are so few hearings.
"This is not to say that there are fewer incidents," said Cooke, reading from the recommendation, "but rather, schools are addressing these issues in other ways, such as principal-to-principal transfers, program changes, connections to counselling, etc."
Cooke said there was a "dramatic decline in number of hearings being scheduled."
In 2008 and 2009 reporting year, the committee saw 71 students, Bennett said. That moved down to 31 in 2012.
"I guess this is a good news story," said Hooker, adding it seems schools are using more restorative practices rather than resorting to the committee for solutions.
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
