Blog - Page 34 of 35 - British Columbia School Trustees Association

Media Release: BCSTA Statement on Barry Neufeld’s Comments About SOGI Policies

[Vancouver – October 24, 2017] Please see below a statement from BCSTA President Gordon Swan on Barry Neufeld’s Facebook post regarding SOGI policies and initiatives:

“BCSTA does not support, nor agree with the position taken by Chilliwack school trustee Barry Neufeld. Our Association strongly believes that schools need to be safe and welcoming places for ALL students, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, religion or background. It is important that we all stand up and defend our students and our staff against any incidents of prejudice, bullying or discrimination.”

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Message of Support for SOGI Policies and Initiatives

[Vancouver, B.C, – September 22, 2017] – The British Columbia School Trustees Association (BCSTA) would like to express its full support for boards of education, the Ministry of Education and the Provincial Government in their work towards fostering safer and more inclusive communities for all British Columbians, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

In 2016, the Government amended the BC Human Right’s Code to include explicit protection for gender identity and expression, and, following that, the Ministry of Education required all public boards of education to address gender identity and expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination under their codes of conduct. BCSTA fully supports both the intent behind the decision and the requirement itself.

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Surrey School District Takes Their Data to a New Digital Level

Surrey Schools has designed a creative, innovative and interactive online tool called Our Data Story as part of the Our Learning Story webpage established to share facts and stories with parents and the public about student success in the district.

“Over the past few years, the district has been supporting teachers to explore the use of digital portfolios as a means to share evidence of learning with parents and students,” says Surrey Schools superintendent Dr. Jordan Tinney. “In many ways, Our Learning Story is mirroring a student digital portfolio approach by providing parents and the community with the advantages and convenience of online district performance reports.”

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New Learning Guide Sets Trustees on Path to Success

Gordon Swan will never forget the pressures of being an novice trustee in the newly merged Nicola-Similkameen School District.

With hard decisions to be made around school closures, Swan and his fellow board members were forced to learn quickly about their new roles and responsibilities in the face of passionate opinions from parents.

“Having a learning guide for reference during that time would have been extremely helpful in my first few years as a new Trustee,” Swan said.

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Student-Centred Governance Takes the Spot at This Year’s Trustee Academy

BCSTA’s Winter Trustee Academy is set to inspire trustees as they assemble under the theme of “Education Evolution: Student-Centred Governance” this November. This year’s winter academy will serve to highlight the important role students play in the governance of our public education system along with the value their unique perspective brings to decision-making.

The keynote session features Maria LeRose, a well-known and highly regarded television, webcast and live-event Moderator. Maria LeRose will be working with a student panel, consisting of Secondary students from the Surrey School District, which will explore the topic of Authentic Student Voice in School Board Governance. These students have been working diligently with their teacher to study the role of school boards and governance and to consider how best to make student input into board decision-making meaningful.

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Media Release: BCSTA Responds to New Government’s First Budget

[Vancouver, B.C. – September 12, 2017] BCSTA was generally pleased with the September budget update offered by Finance Minister Carole James on behalf of BC’s new government.

While the allocation of funding towards public education was generally well-received by BCSTA representatives in attendance, the organization noted that it will continue to maintain its focus on the fulfilment of election promises in the full provincial budget that will follow in 2018.

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Media Release: BCSTA Responds to Vancouver School Board By-Election Announcement

[Vancouver, B.C. – August 3, 2017] The British Columbia School Trustees Association commends BC Minister of Education, Rob Fleming for his recent announcement which will see the return of a democratically elected board to the Vancouver School District by way of a by-election, taking place on October 14, 2017.

The Vancouver School Board recently rejoined the BCSTA as members, and the Association looks forward to offering assistance to the new board as it takes on the challenges of governance once elected.

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Media Release: BCSTA Installs New Board of Directors

[Richmond B.C. – April 22, 2017] The British Columbia School Trustees Association held their 113th Annual General Meeting at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel at Richmond, B.C. At the AGM’s business session on April 22, 2017, the membership voted for the 2017-18 Board of Directors:

President: Gordon Swan, SD58 (Nicola-Similkameen)
Vice-President: Stephanie Higginson, SD68 (Nanaimo-Ladysmith)
Past President: Teresa Rezansoff, SD51 (Boundary)
Director: Carolyn Broady, SD45 (West Vancouver)
Director: Alan Chell, SD19 (Revelstoke)
Director: Gloria Jackson, SD28 (Quesnel)
Director: Donna Sargent, SD38 (Richmond)

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Media Release: BCSTA Celebrates Education Week 2017

[Vancouver, B.C. – March 10, 2017] The B.C. Ministry of Education has designated March 6-10, 2017 as Education Week. In response to this announcement, the B.C. School Trustees Association is highlighting several success stories that celebrate K-12 public education in the province. The stories are as follows:

Student refugees make a new start in Abbotsford schools
Bulkley Valley School District sees success with new B.C. curriculum
PISA results rank BC students amongst the best in the world
Partnership between schools and college help students transition to post-secondary

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Media Release: BCSTA Pleased BC Budget Speaks to the Importance of Public Education

[Victoria, B.C. – February 21, 2017] The announcement today of $740 million additional dollars for K-12 education over the next three years is a significant step toward meeting the overall needs of B.C.’s students and schools.

BCSTA was pleased to hear from Minister of Finance Mike de Jong that education is “the single most important service government operates or funds,” and will look for government to translate his statement into stable, sustainable and predictable funding for B.C. school districts.

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