Orangeville Banner
Register User
Close

Lots of work ahead for schools in 2008/2009
Friday September 5 2008
Bob Borden TRUSTEE’S NOTEBOOK
 
At the Aug. 26 board meeting, the first for this school year, the trustees were engaged in a number of issues. However, there were two that I’d like to highlight in this column:

1. We concluded the annual evaluation of our chief executive officer, Dr. Martha Rogers. The board commended its director for her exceptional leadership in our goal of continuing to improve student success. Dr. Rogers is one of the most senior directors in the province and is highly respected both within the ministry and across the country. We look forward to another successful year of student growth under her leadership.

2. That leads us to our second issue. The board received and approved the director’s goals for the system for the 2008-9 school year. These goals reflect those of the Ministry of Education and will form the basis of the goals for each and every school in the district. To give you a glimpse into what will happen in your local public schools over the coming year, I’d like to highlight a few goals:
High levels of student achievement — the key to this goal is the establishment and maintenance of an alignment between the ministry’s goals and those of the system and each school. The director will lay out those system directions and each school will be expected to implement them within their School Improvement Plan. System in-service will focus on specific forms of instruction, assessment and evaluation that has proven effective through use in the system.
Reduce the gaps in student achievement — this means reducing the gap in achievement between our highest and lowest achieving students. To do this, we must review existing programs dealing with at-risk students, focus on reading success for junior aged students, and continue to focus on applied and essential courses in secondary schools. In addition, we will expand the number of specialist high skills majors courses available from seven to 16 across the district, institute more dual credit courses with Humber College, and increase the number of credit recovery and alternative education options at our high schools.
Ministry of Education mandates —  these include the Primary Class Size Reduction Plan (90 per cent of junior kindergarten to Grade 3 classes at 20 or less), completing the ministry’s “E and E” review of our transportation consortium and then hopefully receiving full funding for our consortium, and finally implementing a system-wide Character Education Plan.
Finally, human resources/operations — this includes two major reviews currently underway: the Central Guelph & French Immersion Accommodation Review and the East Wellington and Dufferin French Immersion Program Review. Depending on the board’s decisions on the committee’s recommendation, the later review could have major implications to the accommodation picture in our Orangeville schools.

As you can see, there is much to be done in our schools over the next academic year. In addition to the points outlined above, each and every teacher will cover a very perscriptive curriculum for their grade level. It will be a busy time in your local public school. To parents: stay tuned and stay connected.

Bob Borden is the UGDSB trustee for the Town of Orangeville and chair of the Board. He can be reached by phone at 519-940-0279 (home office), 519-822-4420, ext. 735 (Guelph office) or by email at bob.borden@ugdsb.on.ca.