Amy Shoup
School Trustee
In last month's column, I covered two of the four goals the School Board will be pursuing in the 2004-2005 school year. Thesewere student learning and technology. The remaining Board goals, communication and budget, will be discussed in this week's edition.
Communication is something that the Board is continually grappling with. Who do we need to communicate with, what do we need to be communicating and how will that communication take place?
Under the communication heading, the Board facilitated some great meetings in Whistler, Pemberton and Squamish last year called "Secondary Futures" whereby all partner groups met to try and determine what we want our secondary schools to look like in the future. There will be follow up meetings in each community next month as we take the next step towards bringing some of these ideas to reality.
The Board will schedule meetings with representatives of the District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC), students from secondary schools, our employee groups and provide opportunities to meet with First Nations representatives. To date we have met with DPAC, students, our local teacher's association (HSTA) and representatives from our principals and vice principals association (HSPVPA). These have been very informative, interesting meetings that provide the Board with differing perspectives when looking at student achievement.
The Board has sought community and employee advice as the following were considered for 2005-2006: school calendar options, school boundaries, and French Immersion at Spring Creek Elementary school in Whistler. As you may have read recently, the Board, at its meeting last month, decided to offer late French Immersion in Whistler beginning next September at the grade 5 level. This is another example of this Board's commitment to offering as much choice as possible within the public school framework that exists in our district.
As well, under the communication heading, the District website (www.sd48.bc.ca) is being redeveloped and enhanced to provide information to and from students, parents, employees and other interested members of our corridor.
In the realm of the budget, the Board has undertaken an in-depth review of the School District's budget development process. The Board's very successful winter and summer international education programs will continue to support learning opportunities for all SD#48 students. The Board's Finance Committee has undertaken a review of services provided to schools by vendors to determine if a district, rather than individual school contracts would be more cost efficient. The Board will also consider its options as a joint partner with the SLRD regarding the development of the old Pemberton Secondary School site. The Board will review its current land holdings in light of population trends in the corridor. As well, the Board will consider making available a limited number of rental housing options as part of an employee recruitment and retention strategy.
