Superintendent's Monthly Message

September 2007

As we commence another school year, I would extend a special invitation to all parents to become involved with our schools and the programs enjoyed by your children (and young adults). Our trustees, together with our school staffs and Central Office support personnel, appreciate the difference parental involvement and participation can make in the success of our schools and the growth of our youth. Whether it be attendance at the “Open Houses” in September, a discussion with the teachers of the progress of your son or daughter during Parent Visitation, a phone call or visit to check on a concern, or simply being a ‘volunteer’ and working with the school to carry out an event or help with an activity, each and every time parents and schools communicate with one another serves to support student learning. Likewise, parents are encouraged to become involved with their local Home & School or Parent Council as these organizations provide parents with a voice in your school while fostering greater cooperation and collaboration. While we recognize everyone has their own priorities and busy schedules, make 2007-08 your year to become more involved with your local school(s) - regardless of the grade level of your son/daughter, take the time to know and understand what it is your child is doing on a daily basis - inquire about the types of things that happened in class that day, what did he/she learn that day, what is expected to be completed at home (contrary to common belief, ‘homework’ is quite often an expectation even at the lowest of grade levels). Plan to take a few minutes at the end of each day - perhaps before or after the evening meal - to have this conversation and stay in touch with what is happening in the daily life of your son or daughter. The interest and involvement will be a great investment of your time!

To the staff of the Western School Board, I welcome you to the new school year. Whether a new or returning staff member, I wish you well in meeting the challenges and welcoming the opportunities of the coming year. Whether a teacher, an Educational Assistant, an Administrative Assistant, a custodian, a driver, or perhaps one of our Central Office system support staff, each and every one of us has a responsibility to put forward his/her best efforts in providing our youth with the very best educational opportunities available. Regardless of our particular position or job, each person has a role to play, directly or indirectly, in leading and supporting the educational journey of our children. It is up to us to use our abilities and talents in such a way as to positively influence the growth and development of our 7,000 students. We must work collaboratively and cooperatively with our colleagues, parents, and members of the broader community in establishing and cultivating a positive learning environment for our students.

As teachers (and administrators), we must embrace the challenges of teaching new programs, adapting to the changes in curriculum and assessment, conquering the ever-increasing demands of new technologies, accommodating the diverse academic/social/physical/emotional needs of our students, and finding the time and energy to develop a supportive teaching-learning environment in each of our classrooms. It is an exciting career with the potential to impact so many young lives - let’s accept the demands and plan to do our job well!

To the trustees, you have been entrusted with an awesome challenge - the stewardship of operating our 21 schools with a budget of over $50 million, the oversight of educational programs for 7,000 students, and monitoring the leadership and management of approximately 800 staff. As we enter another school year and the final year of your three-year term of office, you are to be commended for your sincere interest and dedication to the successful operation of the Western School Board and the success of the programs operating across our system from Tignish to Amherst Cove to Kinkora and Kensington and all points in between.. The challenges of declining enrolments, the pressures of limited Capital funding for building repairs and upgrades, the scarcity of resources for our instructional programs (for example, those extra costs resulting from increasing numbers of students participating in our trades and vocational offerings), and the need to identify a strategic direction for our Board as we provide excellence in education for our students today and those of the future are significant responsibilities you have accepted on behalf of our communities. Your ideas, questions, and advice are always focused on what is best for our students across the system - well done!

Preliminary enrolments for our schools suggest a continuation of decline - approximately 200 fewer students this September than a year ago. This pattern will continue for a number of years knowing we presently have 650-700 students in each of the 3 high school grades and only 425-500 students currently in each of Grades 1, 2, and 3. This smaller number of students in the lower grades may take another 10 years or so to work its way through the system before we will have a relatively stable population. While the decline actually allows the Board to have a lower average class size and creates an opportunity to provide more support staff in the classroom/school, it also challenges the Board and our schools to find the most appropriate class combination when numbers in a particular grade fall to very small numbers or perhaps end up being just slightly larger than a single class can accommodate (note: most of our elementary schools now have one or more combination classes). While the decrease in numbers and reduction in number of classes might suggest less space being needed, such savings have been minimal. If one thinks of a school having 170 students and going to 150, the loss of 20 students might be 2 or 3 per room which would likely result in the same number of classes. Similarly, losing 200 students in our system this year might make one think we could reduce the number of buses - however, with 100 buses that all do two or more runs, the average change in bus load is likely less than 1 student. Consequently, while the provincial Education budget has allowed the Board to retain our total numbers of teaching staff and increase our Educational Assistants to address an ever-growing number (and breadth) of student needs, the decline of enrolment and requirements of other budget areas of the Board continue to present significant demands to the Board in the equitable provision of services to students.

2007-08 promises to be another interesting year for education in P.E.I.. Now that we have experienced the first ‘common assessments’ in Primary Literacy and Intermediate Mathematics, much work needs to be done in analysis of the results and appropriate follow-up. Not only do we need to know where our students have done very well, we also need to develop strategies and provide resources (human or material) to address any areas where improvement for individuals or groups of students would be desirable. Meetings with teachers are already planned for this month to initiate this discussion and make plans for the coming year. We also know an additional assessment - Elementary Language Arts (Grade 6), will be introduced this year to further this process across the Island. Keeping in mind that our primary goal is to educate every child, the identification of more effective teaching and learning tools through these assessments and their interpretation is one more avenue that will allow improvements in the performance of all students. Let’s work together to overcome the obstacles, accept the challenges, and explore the many opportunities in front of us. Not to be overly simplistic or to understate the complexity of our work, we might also keep in mind the words of Earvin “Magic” Johnson (an American Basketball legend):

All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them.

Dale C. Sabean, Superintendent of Education