Is there really an opportunity for you to cruise through the aisles of a shopping mall near you and spend hours looking at things but not having to spend as much as a dime – and get paid for just walking around?
There may be jobs like that out there but the email shown below isn’t going to get you one of those jobs.
This isn’t a job opportunity – it is an opportunity for these people to learn all thy can about YOU so they can take much of what you own.
There is no address for the company and there is no way for you to communicate directly with them.
They want you to click on that email and send them some basic information about yourself. Once you do that they will begin grooming you; collecting bits and pieces of information about you and your finances and if they determine that you have anything worth stealing – they will bleed you dry.
Remember, if it looks too good to be true – it probably isn’t true.
Don’t let you greed and you gullibility get the best of you.
The Halton District School Board held a public meeting to gather data on what people felt about how public educations are delivered and paid for. The Gazette has run a three part series on the data collected. This is the third of the series.
The 25 questions were asked of about 350 people attending the event. 256 were given hand held clickers to enter their responses. 58.6% of the responders were from Central high school; 16.8% from Pearson and 16.8% from Hayden; 2.7% from Aldershot ; 2.3% from Nelson; 2% from Bateman and .8% from Robinson.
Quite how the members of the PARC are going to evaluate and use data that is so heavily skewed to one school will be interesting to watch.
Question 18:The Board’s current walk distance for secondary students is a maximum of 3.2 km. How important is it that your child(ren) are within the Board mandated walking distance to reach school? Very 78.3%; somewhat 8.7%; not very 8.3%; not at all 4.7%
Question 19: Which of the following is your child’s most common form of travel to school currently?
School bus 14.5%; car 8.6%; Public transit 0%; walk 68.8%; bike 6.6%; other 1.6%
Question 20: How important is it that the Board be fiscally responsible by reducing transportation to each school? Very 61.1%; somewhat 17.8%; not very 8.9%; not at all 12.1%
Question 21: How important is it for your child(ren) to spend their secondary years in one school community? Very 92.2%; somewhat 5.4%; Bot very 2.3%; not at all 0%
Question 22: The Ministry does not fund empty pupil places. To what extent do you agree that the Board should reallocate its limited budget to fund these places? Strongly 52.6%; 21.6%; somewhat disagree 12.1%; strongly agree 8.3%
Question 23: The Board’s MYP (Define) states it will maintain a minimum overall averae of 90% building capacity. To what extent do you agree with this goal around future sustainability of Burlington’s secondary schools? Strongly agree 8.3% ; somewhat agree 14.1%; somewhat disagree 22%; strongly disagree 55.6%
Question 24: The goal in the current MYP is to use innovative approaches to student learning spaces (e.g. classrooms, gymnasiums). To what extent do you feel the current situation in Burlington high schools is sustainable? Very 47.6%; somewhat 28.8%; not very 10.5%; not at all 13.1%
Question 25: Of the four themes which is the most important to you?
The facilitator wanted to know which of the four themes the questions were put into was the most important to the audience
The themes were:
Programing and enrollment Physical sate of existing school Geographical and transportation issues Fiscal responsibility and future planning
Data on the choices was not captured
Members of the PARC at a quick meeting after the first public meeting at Gary Allan high school early in December.
It took a little arm twisting to get the data from the Board of Education. The Gazette was at first told it would be made available to the PARC and then released to the public. The Gazette persuaded the Board that it was public information gathered at a public meeting and was therefore public – and they released it the following day.
Scott Podrebarac, a Board of Education Superintendent and Chair of the PARC
Scott Podrebarac, a Board of Education Superintendent and Chair of the PARC, said a more fulsome report will be prepared before the first working meeting of the PARC in late January.
Parent comment varied – little of it all that positive:
One parent said: “My thoughts are that if the purpose of the meeting was to actually gather public input, it pretty much failed big-time. If the purpose was simply for the board to be able to check off a box that they satisfied Ministry or Board guidelines to hold a public session to say they gathered public input, I suppose they accomplished their mission. The meeting occurred, but that’s about it.
Parents and some students at the public meeting where data was gathered.
Another said: “We thought since it was billed as a chance for us to answer their questions and ask our own questions that (a) the questions we were answering would be non-biased and easy to understand. They were neither; and (b) that our own questions for them would be answered, not simply asked and then left to float off into the air.
I don’t see how they will be able to use the data to prove anything, since many schools were barely represented according to the attendance figures from each school, and since it was clearly publicly aired over the course of the entire evening that people were confused by the questions, found them biased, and felt they were not being heard at all with their own questions.
The fact that many Superintendents and senior staff and the Director all fled the meeting instead of offering to answer those questions, certainly did not go over well.
The gathering of the data from 256 parents who were responding to the 25 questions posed by Kirk Perris of Ipsos, the company hired by the Board of Education to facilitate the public meetings and the meetings of the PARC (Program accommodation Review Committee) was not a particularly friendly event.
HDSB Director of Education Stuart Miller
The parents were expecting a dialogue – with questions asked and answers given. The Board Director of Education chose not to stay for the meeting – he was at the Gary Allan high school greeting people but said he left before the meeting got underway on the advice of staff.
Stuart Miller is not the kind of man to avoid an issue – the public would have been better served if Miller had chosen to follow his own instincts.
The data gathered came from: 58.6% of the responders were from Central high school; 16.8% from Pearson and 16.8% from Hayden; 2.7% from Aldershot ; 2.3% from Nelson; 2% from Bateman and .8% from Robinson.
They were clearly skewed to how parents from Central high school felt.
Questions 1 to 8 were covered in the first part of this three part series.
Question 9: How concerned are you that your child(ren) has access to appropriate learning facilities (ie kitchens, science labs gyms, libraries)? Very, 63.7%; somewhat 22.4%; not very 6.6%; not at all 7.3%
Question 10:How concerned are you that some high schools have large amounts of specialized learning spaces that remain underutilized? Very 7%; somewhat 21.7%; not very 35.7%; Not at all 35.7%
Question 11:How important is it for your home school to have a full range of extra-curricular activities? (e.g. drama, arts, athletics, clubs) for your child(ren).
Very 46.4%; somewhat 35.2%; not very 13.4%; not at all 5%
Question 12: How likely are you to support your child(ren) participating in extracurricular activities at another school? Very 27.9%; somewhat 26.7; not very 19%not at all 26.4%
Question 13: How important is it for your child to have access to the highest level of competition in athletics? Very 7.3%; somewhat 11.5%; not very 26.9%; not at all54.2%
Given the number of people who responded to the question and the fact that more than 50% were from Central this question and the answers given should not be seen as the view for all the high schools. Nelson and Hayden parents would respond quite differently – which suggests there could perhaps be a couple of high schools that would have sports team with other high schools offering a different academic environment.
Central high students outside the provincial legislature.
Does an arts high school, a science focused high school make sense? Is there going to be an opportunity for parent’s city wide have a fulsome discussion about this?
There are all kinds of questions that come to the surface as the data captured is analyzed. Serious question but the schedule set out doesn’t all all that much time for pauses and opportunities for the parents to gather and discuss amongst them selves with their trustees in the room in a less than formal format what they as a community wants. The existing schedule might not really be serving the public interest.
The parents may need some time to be educated on just what is possible and what doesn’t work from an educational point of view.
Question 14: How important is the physical condition of your existing school to you (e.g. environmental sustainability, energy consumption, safety)? Very 31.4%; somewhat 15.5%; not very 13.4%; not at all 39.7%
Question 15: How important is it that the board ensures that schools have an up to date fully accessible learning environment, e.g. elevators, air-conditioning? Very 23.1%; somewhat 15.7%; not very 13.2%; not at all 47.9%
Central high school – the oldest of the seven schools with a rich local history and a community deeply committed to keeping it open,
Do the answers to this question reveal the different realities different high schools face? At Central the students use classroom on the third floor where there is acceptable heat in the really cold weather. Are Occupational Health and Safety Policies going to require elevators or escalators in high schools? And can older high schools be upgraded at an acceptable cost?
Question 16:How important is it to you to preserve existing community partnerships at your child(rens) current school? (e.g. swimming pool. Library, community centre). Very 38.6%; somewhat 14.3%; not very 19.5%; not at all 27.5%
Question 17: How important is it to you to minimize the use of portable classrooms? Very 63.1%; somewhat 10.7%; not very 10.7%; not at all 15.5%
Did anyone expect much in the way of a different response to this question?
Questions 18 to 25 will be covered in the third part of this series.
Everyone likes nature – to be out for a walk in a forested area and suddenly see a young doe standing very still watching you. There is both an intimacy and a magic to it all.
Watching traffic stop while a flock of geese cross the road taking their sweet time aggravates for a moment until you begin to appreciate that we share this planet.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology sent out the following short video.
It will change the way you see the day – less than a minute to view – well worth the time.
They met on December 8th at the Gary Allan high school in Burlington for what many thought was going to be a dialogue with questions asked and answered.
It wasn’t that kind of meeting.
Scott Podabarac, an HDSB Superintendent and the Chair of the Program Accommodation Review Committee (PARC) explained that the occasion was going to be used to gather data and Kirk Perris of Ipsos and the man who will serve as the facilitator of the meetings to be held between now and next March began to put a total of 25 questions up on a screen and asking people to give their answer by using a small hand held device.
The time line the Program Accommodation Review committee will be working to.
There were 256 people responding.
The first question put to the audience was – which high school do you children attend. A little awkward for parents with children in two different high schools.
This article is an attempt to analyze the answers that were given and put them in a larger context. It is going to be published in three parts.
What needs to be fully appreciated is the imbalance that impacted everything: 58.6% of the responders were from Central high school; 16.8% from Pearson and 16.8% from Hayden; 2.7% from Aldershot; 2.3% from Nelson; 2% from Bateman and .8% from Robinson.
The issue is the recommendation from the Board to the trustees that two high schools be closed.
The recommendation the Director of Education sent to the school board trustees.
Given that the trustees are completely free to recommend the closing of any high school in the city – they could also decide to direct the Staff to not close any schools but to find a way to change boundaries.
Stewart Miller, Director of Education has said that from his perspective any high school could be closed and that is the decision they must make.
That is a little disingenuous – these trustees are never going to close Nelson, Hayden or Aldershot. Bateman is certainly at some risk – perhaps more so than Central.
Question 2 was: How important is the availability of mandatory/core courses for your child(ren) within your home school. Very 71.9%; somewhat 22.3%’ not very 4.6%; not at all 1.2%.
Question 3 was: How acceptable is it to attend a school outside of a home school for mandatory/core programming for your child(ren)? Very 8.4%; somewhat 16%; not very 24.3%; not at all 51.3%
The parents clearly want core courses available from the school in their community. Questions 2 and 3 appear to have been to determine how significant this was to parents and how open they might be to their children getting perhaps a part of their education in a school elsewhere in the city.
There was close to 400 people in the room – 256 of them responded to the 25 questions they were asked. Many of the parents didn’t like the format of the meeting.
The question addressing importance pulled 94.2% – resounding no matter how you read the answer. The question addressing accepting some classes outside the school got an equally resounding (75.6%) not at all interested,
These people want their children educated in their community.
Question 4: How important is the availability of optional elective courses within your home school for your child(ren)? Very 35.7%; somewhat 44.5%; Not very 14.4%; not at all 5.3
Question 5: How acceptable is it for your children to attend a school outside of a home school for optional/elective courses? Very 14.2%; somewhat 35.2; not very 26.8; not at all 23.8%
Question 6: How willing are you to have your child(ren) take a mandatory core course in an alternative method, e.g summer school, night school, e-learning or attend another school. Very 21%; Somewhat 20.6%; not very 21.8%; not at all 36.6%
Question 7: How willing are you to have your child(ren) take an optional elective course in an alternative method, e.g summer school, night school, e-learning or attend another school. Very 34.7%; somewhat 28.6%; not very 17.8%; not at all 18.9%
Question 8: How important it is for your high school to offer a full range of pathway programming, e.g. Workplace, college, university. Very 46.7%; somewhat 34.6%; not very 12.8%; not at all 5.8%
Questions 9 through to 16 will be analyzed and commented in a separate article; questions 17 to to 25 in a third article
When one looks at the questions one wonders why they weren’t asked in each community much earlier in the process. What parents want; what they will put up with and what they won’t tolerate would have been very useful to the board as they worked through the process of determining how they were going to resolve the problem of 1800 + classroom seats that don’t have students sitting in them.
To gather that data now and, after analyzing it, place it before the two representatives from each high school seems counterproductive.
There is no mistaking the message. It is getting through to parents?
The Board has placed large signs to the side of every high school telling people that the school is at some risk. They are there now – they could and perhaps should have been put up when the question of a Program Accommodation Review was being considered.
The Gazette takes the view that an informed community can make informed decisions. The Board and the trustees have not delivered on that responsibility.
Burlington Community Engagement Charter – April 8, 2013
Introduction
The Burlington Community Engagement Charter is an agreement between and among Burlington City Council and the citizens of Burlington concerning citizen engagement with city government that establishes the commitments, responsibilities, and fundamental concepts of this relationship.
At the core of democratic government are two pillars that also form the basis of effective citizen engagement:
• That government belongs to the citizens within its political boundaries, and
• That the inhabitants of a city are “citizens” with the rights and responsibilities of citizenship based on justice, human rights, fundamental freedoms and rule of law.
The city holds budget review meetings that draw 50 people sometimes – seldom more.
Engaging people on issues that affect their lives and their city is a key component of democratic society. Public involvement encourages participation, actions and personal responsibility. The goal of community engagement is to lead to more informed and, therefore, better decision-making.
This Charter‟s overarching objective is to enhance communications and access to information for citizens, and to facilitate and enable meaningful engagement.
This Charter is composed of five sections:
1. Common Terms and Definitions 2. Vision and Mission Statements 3. City Commitments 4. Citizen Rights and Responsibilities 5. Public Participation Spectrum.
1. Common Terms and Definitions
As used in this document, the following terms are defined to mean:
Citizen: For the purposes of this Charter, the word citizen refers to a resident of the City, entitled to its rights and services and with a responsibility to take an active part in community decision-making. The words citizen and resident can be used interchangeably.
Citizen engagement: The right and responsibility of citizens to have an informed say in the decisions that affect their lives though a dialogue of mutual respect between government and citizen.
Community engagement: The process by which citizens, organizations, and government work collaboratively. It includes information sharing, consultation, and active involvement in decision- making.
Decision-making: The process followed by the City of Burlington’s City Council to reach decisions on those items that are presented in staff reports.
Meaningful engagement: Citizens and stakeholders have the opportunity to access information on the engagement topic that is timely, relevant, constructive and substantive. Their resulting input to decision-makers is expected to meet similar standards and is intended to ensure that a balance and range of public perspectives is available for consideration in the decision-making process.
The members of Burlington’s city council at a photo-op at the Performing Arts Centre.
Stakeholder: An individual, organization or group that has an interest in an issue, will be or is likely to be affected, or has the ability to affect a decision or outcome. Organizations include non- governmental organizations, government, institutions and businesses.
Standing Committee: Committees comprised of members of City Council, established through the Procedural By-Law, with an ongoing mandate or purpose.
2. Charter Vision and Mission Statement Vision:
Burlington aspires to become increasingly more engaged and connected with its community.
Mission:
To provide Burlington citizens, members of City Council and City staff a plain language, living policy document that guides and promotes active and meaningful citizen engagement in the City of Burlington‟s planning, policy-setting and decision-making processes.
3. City Commitments
To fulfill the vision and mission of the Burlington Community Engagement Charter, City Council makes the following commitments:
Accountability
The City of Burlington will be responsible to its citizens and stakeholders for decisions made and policies implemented, as well as its actions or inactions.
Capacity Building
The City of Burlington will encourage the ability of its citizens and stakeholders to effectively participate in the development and implementation of engagement processes with respect to issues and decisions that affect their lives and their community.
Clear Language
The City of Burlington will use plain and clear language in documents and public communications that is more engaging and understandable for citizens than technical language and jargon.
City Feedback
The City of Burlington will inform citizens and stakeholders about how their input was considered and adopted or why it was not adopted in City projects, initiatives and policy development. Feedback will usually be provided in a summarized format rather than on an individual basis.
Delegation Process
Orchard Park residents pack the public gallery at city hall where nine delegations spoke AGAINST a city staff recommendation for parkland in their community.
The delegation process, which allows citizens to address Council and Standing Committees on issues, will be respectful and welcoming. Delegations can learn how their input affected decision-making by reading the minutes of Standing Committees and Council on the city’s website or by requesting a written copy, or by viewing webcasts of discussions on the topic of their delegation. However, it is suggested that citizens first explore alternatives such as approaching City staff or their ward Councillor to see if their issue can be resolved without escalation to a decision by Council.
Early and Widespread Notification
The City of Burlington will provide early and widespread notification to citizens and stakeholders about proposed developments, policies, initiatives and municipal projects. Widespread notification will not be given for purely localized issues such as neighbourhood traffic calming.
Inclusion and Accessibility
Every citizen has the right to participate in community engagement regarding issues of concern to them. Engaging and enabling the participation of all Burlington citizens is a goal of this Charter.
Openness and Access to Information
The City of Burlington will provide a variety of ways for citizens, city staff and members of City Council to access and share information and discuss ideas and options. The City of Burlington will provide open data and information to the public in recognized and useable formats, including routinely available information in on-line formats, print material, and face-to-face opportunities to facilitate healthy discussion of city issues.
Resourcing
The City of Burlington will support the Engagement Charter by ensuring that its engagement processes are adequately resourced. Charter requirements will be met by City Council, city employees, volunteers, agents and contractors in their efforts on behalf of the City of Burlington.
Transparency
The city’s decision-making processes will be open and clear to the public and the city will actively encourage and facilitate citizen and stakeholder participation in them.
4. Citizen Rights and Responsibilities/Participation
Citizen Rights: Citizen Engagement is grounded on the premises that citizens have the right to have an informed say in decisions that affect their lives, the right to access information from their local government, and the right to transparent and open government that provides them opportunities for engagement.
Citizen Responsibilities/Participation:
Citizens discussing a concern in the Council chamber with a staff member.
Along with rights come responsibilities Citizens who choose to do so can meet their responsibilities by being aware of community issues, exploring options with respect to those issues, meeting with City staff and Members of Council when necessary, and discussing issues with fellow citizens.
Mutual Respect: Successful community engagement requires mutual respect of all participants including citizens, staff, and members of council.
Respect is exemplified by:
• Listening with an open mind; • Showing consideration and value for another person‟s point of view; • Valuing the role each person plays in engagement processes; and • Following meeting “guidelines for engagement”.
Successful citizen engagement requires meaningful interaction and dialogue between citizens and their local government resulting in a constructive relationship among the parties.
Burlington citizens elect a mayor and ward representative whose role is defined in the Municipal Act. Council must represent the public and consider the well-being and interest of the municipality.”
5. Public Participation Spectrum
The International Association for Public Participation‟s (IAP2) spectrum of participation is a recognized global standard for identifying the different levels of participation. Five levels of engagement, referenced from the IAP2‟s Public Participation Spectrum, will be used in City of Burlington community engagement activities.
IAP2‟s Public Participation Spectrum shows the possible types of engagement with stakeholders and communities. The spectrum also shows the increasing level of public impact progressing through the spectrum beginning with „inform” through to „empower‟. A complete description of the IAP2 Spectrum of Participation appears in the appendix to this charter.
The next five months are going to be filled with a lot of meetings and conversations over whether or not two high schools in Burlington should be closed.
The Halton District School Board trustees have a major decision to make – do they accept the recommendation that came from the Director of Education to close two Burlington high schools and shift some boundaries or do they craft a motion of their own and try to sell that to the people they represent?
The Gazette has put a number of questions before each of the 11 trustees to get a sense of what their thinking is and what they see as their prime role as trustees.
The Board of Education staff have put forward a convincing argument and a set of facts that are difficult to argue with – there are now 1800 seats in high school classrooms that do not have students in them. That just isn’t a sustainable model.
A number of Gazette readers have asked how a situation like this came about and they point to a period of time before the Hayden high school was opened in the Alton Village when they feel some major errors were made by the Board’s planning department. They might be right and at some point the Gazette will do a feature on how decisions were made in the past.
The errors, if they were really made, would call for some changes in the staffing model at the Board but any mistakes made in the past can’t be corrected; the Director of Education has a significant problem which he has put in front of the elected trustees along with a proposed solution.
Closing a high school isn’t quite as drastic as closing a local hospital but when a high school closes it changes the fabric of a community and that is important – vital to some parents.
While not the prime argument, the closing of a high school impacts property values; the community wonders what the property will be used for should the buildings be demolished.
What do trustees base the decision they will make on?
Financial:
Is it financial prudence – the cost of the decision they make?
Academic:
Do the trustees first concern themselves about the academic soundness of any decision they make?
Community:
Where does community fall in their decision making?
Do they feel that schools are a vital part of a community and that every community should have a school in its neighbourhood?
Trustee candidates Oliver, Dilly and Shuttleworth signed a pledge to “act with the highest level of integrity”. One of the three was elected – she was from Oakville.
While getting themselves elected every trustee will have said something about how important schools are and that every student should be given the opportunity to have the best possible elementary and high school experience with the richest mix of course offerings possible.
The four Burlington trustees are now facing an issues they probably didn’t expect to have to deal with when they ran for office. The pressure on the Burlington trustees will be intense.
Three of the four are new to school board politics – and make no mistake about it – the closing of a school is a political issue; one that involves the full community which includes city hall.
School are one of the brighter threads in the fabric of a community. Those who expect this decision to be made by the school board trustees without any input from the wider public are both naïve and fools.
Three of Burlington’s four school board trustees listening during the first city wide public meeting at which data on what an audience thought about school closings. From the left, Richelle Papin, Leah Reynolds and on the far right Andrea Grebenc.
Of the 11 trustees only three have more than a single term in office by way of experience.
The groups that want Central high school kept open are using traditional protest tools – petitions, lawn signs and taking part in public meetings.
Central high school students in the Santa Claus parade – some thought it was a controversial stand.
The time when those tools were effective is probably past.
The one event they held did make a very strong statement – the Silent Auction raised $14,000 – to the surprise of many. The strength of local support was made clearly evident. Their participation in the Santa Claus parade was seen as controversial by some – it was an excellent way to get their point across to a larger audience.
What that group does to grow that support and turn it into something that becomes more than compelling is the challenge they face. It is a daunting challenge.
So let us see where the current crop of school board trustees stands on a couple of fundamental questions: Is their decision rationale:
Any time there’s a proposal to close a school, things are bound to get a bit bumpy.
Witness the uproar over Burlington Central High School (BCHS) students holding “Save Central High School” signs as part of their school float in the Santa Claus Parade. Enter “Float-gate.”
The Burlington Post ran an article raising concerns (as well as support) for the students’ actions, and followed that up with an editorial criticizing the students.
Students in the Santa Claus parade.
The mayor pledged to review the city’s policies. The students were accused of “politicizing” the event – never mind that elected officials ride in it every year – rather than praised for raising awareness about what’s happening in our own community and how they feel about it.
The majority of residents I heard from supported the students, as did I. As one resident summed it up: It’s okay to commercialize the parade with businesses, but not a student group advocating for their community. Huh?
Witness also the (lesser) uproar over my appointment on the Program & Accommodation Review Committee (PARC) studying the proposed school closures. I took heat from some of my colleagues and online commenters for accepting the Parent Council’s nomination as one of two parent representative for BCHS, where my son attends.
Keep politics out of it, was the theme, including from the mayor, who believes elected officials should stay out of this and chose the city manager as the municipal representative on the PARC.
Our city manager, James Ridge, will be terrific and I look forward to working with him. But the mayor missed an opportunity to sit on the committee himself and represent the entire community. I met with the mayor in advance to encourage him to be on the committee, and also spoke about this publicly during the council vote, so reading it here won’t be a surprise.
Why raise these two incidents? First, there seems to be an aversion to anything labelled “political” – which is a terrible way to treat our democracy.
Everything about the school closure process is already political. Elected trustees will make the final decision on any school closures, based on policies set by an elected provincial government. Governments advocate to different levels all the time. Several Ontario city councils are taking tangible action to save their schools. More on that in a future post. Earlier this year, a fellow councillor and myself both delegated at a meeting of Catholic trustees considering elementary school closures in Burlington. Happily, trustees voted not to close any schools.
All of this is democracy in action. Call it politics if you will, but people fought and died for the rights we enjoy to elect and expect our representatives to listen to us, and advocate for us.
Second, notice the criticism isn’t about the issue, the proposal to close schools, but rather about the manner in which people choose to be involved in that issue. This, too, is an attack on democracy. Every time someone is criticized for speaking up or getting involved, it creates a chilling effect on others doing likewise. Safer to keep your head down, and stay out of the issues. You won’t draw fire.
But you also won’t achieve much for your community. This is not a time for elected officials, our young people, or anyone to sit on the sidelines. We all must step up, get involved, and work for the best outcome for our students and our entire community.
Yes, it may get a bit bumpy. So it should. Schools are the heart of communities. We should care passionately about what happens in our schools, and to our schools. With passion, comes differing perspectives. Let’s welcome the discussion.
Central high school students and parents on the GO train to a demonstration in front of Queen’s Park.
Thank goodness our students are bold and bright and won’t be silenced. They showed courage in going public with their views and doing what they can to raise awareness to save their school. We should be celebrating these students, and encouraging all our young citizens to follow suit. These kids are embracing and acting on the privileges that come with living in a democracy. You make our community proud!
The final recommendation and decision by the trustees could be very different from the initial recommendation to close Central, close Pearson HS and make other program and boundary changes. It could be your school proposed to close instead.
Marianne Meed Ward is the city Councillor for ward 2. She is serving her second term on city council. Central high school is located in ward 2.
America’s first black president. That is how Barack Hussein Obama will be remembered in the history books. His 2008 campaign logo, “Yes We Can”, was forgotten long ago. People might well ask what it really meant anyway.
The best orator the Western World has heard in decades.
It’s not that he was a bad president, like Nixon, the crook, or GW Bush, the war monger, or even Bill Clinton, the womanizer. Having achieved the highest honour the nation could bestow, he was someone to look-up to for his meteoric rise to power, particularly if the ones looking were non-white Americans.
Trump’s people called him an elite, and he was. He was consumed with the bigger picture, worried about the ins and outs and the every detail of everything he did. Analysis, vision and debate are his strengths. Articulate and a great speaker even if his speeches were dotted with enough pregnant pauses to start a new family. He’ll do well in academia and on the speaker circuit in days to come.
Obama, the idealist was also a compromiser, the art of the deal, something Trump should appreciate. Though history may disprove of his deals. His Obamacare was neither an efficient single payer system nor a purely private affair between an insurer and the patient. His was a costly compromise which will be axed, deservedly by the new administration.
President Bush meets in the Oval Office with Former President Jimmy Carter, Former President George H.W. Bush, Former President William J. Clinton, and the President-elect Sen. Barack Obama, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. (Doug Mills/ The New York Times)
He settled for the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons in lieu of the destruction of its leader, and set up, for failure, the rebels he’d promised to support. In the interest of minimizing American casualties he fought the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen with drones or precision jet fighters and proxies, hurting but never really eliminating his enemies.
True enough, he succeeded in rescuing the US economy after the crash in 2008. And he got bin Laden. But he choked when it came to Russia, giving sway to that global lesser power in Syria and Ukraine. Having won the Nobel peace prize, in large part for his commitment to work towards the elimination of nuclear weapons, he should have made Ukraine a real red line.
The expressions on their faces tells the story; there was no respect between these two men.
After all Ukraine, once with the third largest nuclear stockpile, gave up its weapons in exchange for written guarantees of security from the USA, UK and Russia, guarantees which were ignored by all the signatories following Russia’s invasion and occupation of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. In the face of that breach of trust why would any nation hesitate to develop its own nuclear defence arsenal, as North Korea has done?
There was the Paris climate change agreement which the US signed on, and on which Trump promises to white-out the words USA, once in office. And there was the multilateral Iran deal which Trump would like to re-negotiate but can’t – though everyone knows it is only a matter of time until Iran has its own nukes. And Cuba finally got formal diplomatic recognition, though GITMO is still operating and Guantanamo Bay is still occupied by the Americans, and the Cubans are wary that one day soon their little bit of progress will get Trumpled.
President Barack Obama receives a standing ovation from guests as he is introduced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, Wednesday, June 29, 2016. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
This relatively unimpressive record is reflected in his mixed popularity numbers. And in the end it’s hard to figure out what all the commotion was about, and why the celebrities loved him. But then, how many US presidents were really that much better? Maybe the problem is that being head of state and head of government is too big a job for one person – the imperfect American political system. Or maybe his heart wasn’t really in it after all – to be the leader of the free world.
They say it’s hard to turn around a big ship in a short water, but eight years in office is still a long time. Did he just give up convincing the Republicans and so many Americans of the wisdom of his ways, particularly after he lost Congress mid-way though his first term? That was perhaps his biggest failure – his inability to get people to share his vision, be they the Congressional Republicans, the Russians and Chinese or even the Israeli leadership which, despite its unveiled acrimony, will be receiving its largest US aid package ever under Obama.
Finally having helped elect one of their own, what did black Americans get out of this contract? To be fair Obama only ever promised to lift ethnic minorities with the same wave that lifted all the ships in the good fleet America. Still, today with a near booming economy, home ownership is on the decline generally and black ownership has fallen from 46% in 2009 to 43% 2014.
The poverty rate for blacks is 26% and fewer than half young black men have full time jobs, though unemployment has fallen to pre-2008 levels. But the median ethnic minority family’s income, at $18,100, is 20% lower than when Obama took office. At the same time national median wealth has increased by 1% to $142,000. And while white households were 7 times wealthier than black households back then, they are now 8 times richer.
Michelle and Barack changed the way the world saw Presidential couple; she added to the Jackie legacy.
At the least one would have expected America’s first black president to have made an effort to raise the standard of living of those in need who share his minority status. Or was ‘Yes We Can’ just about winning the election. I’ll be expecting a better performance from Michelle Obama after she wins the presidential campaign in 2020. It should be an easy win in light of the upcoming Trump legacy.
Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington in 1995. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Tweet @rayzrivers
While parents with students in high schools worry about just which high schools are going to be open in the years ahead – those parents with children getting ready to move on to high schools have to begin having the conversation with their children about which educational path they want to take.
The Halton District School Board is hosting several Pathways Planning Information Evenings in January that will allow parents and Grades 7-12 students to explore program opportunities that high schools have to offer in Halton.
Pathways is a collaborative program between the Halton District school Board and the Halton Catholic District School Board and was created by the Ministry of Education as one of the four pillars of the Student Success Initiative
Literacy, Numeracy and Community, Culture and Caring are the other pillars. The primary purpose of Pathways is to develop learning opportunities and programs and to re-culture our education system to value all learners, all choices, and all destinations.
The goal of Pathways K-12 is to provide learners with a variety of engaging learning opportunities (including Pathways Programs, contextualized learning experiences that incorporate real world situations, curriculum integration, and cross-curricular literacy and numeracy) and to facilitate the development of learners who know themselves (including the ability to identify strengths, accomplishments, and competencies) and are able to create a Pathways Plan to work towards their goals and future education and career opportunities.
Pathways Planning
Through Pathways we encourage students to take advantage of the opportunities provided in elementary and secondary school to know themselves, identify strengths, set educational and career goals and create a Pathways Plan to achieve them.
The Board offers more than 70 programs geared to meet individual needs, helping more students succeed in their chosen pathway after high school, whether they are pursuing apprenticeship, college, community, university or the workplace. The meetings provide information on how to better prepare students for a rapidly changing world, at the same time receiving a relevant and engaging education.
Registration to attend is not required and all are welcome.
The 6-8 p.m. meetings will be held at the following locations:
• Thursday January 12, 2017: Abbey Park High School, 1455 Glen Abbey Gate, Oakville
• Tuesday January 17, 2017: Georgetown District High School, 70 Guelph Street, Georgetown
• Thursday January 19, 2017: Milton District High School, 396 Williams Avenue, Milton • Tuesday January 24, 2017: M.M. Robinson High School, 2425 Upper Middle Road, Burlington
Pathways programs include the
Specialist High Skills Major programs,
Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Programs,
Specialty School to Career programs,
the Employ-ability Skills Certificate program,
Dual Credit college programs,
Grade 8-9 Transition programs.
Agenda for each night:
6:00-6:30 p.m. – Pathways displays and meet the Pathways Program teachers
6:30-7:15 p.m. – Pathways presentation (Programs & planning for post-secondary)
7:15-8 p.m. – Pathways displays and specific workshops.
For the parents of students at Central and Pearson high schools the question – Why are we in this mess? Is not unreasonable.
Ward 5 school board trustee Amy Collard
Where were the trustees and why didn’t we know about this several years ago? Another good question and the answer to that one is – the trustees for the most part weren’t there; of the 11 people who serve as trustees four represent Burlington and just one of those trustees has been in office for more than one term. Amy Collard, trustee for ward 5 was acclaimed in 2010 and again in 2014.
This was the recommendation the Halton District school Board staff gave the trustees
We can’t find anything that Collard has written or said about the student population problem at the Burlington high schools.
The other three Burlington school board trustees, Grebenc, Papin and Reynolds, were all elected for the first time in October of 2014 – they’ve been in office a little more than two years. The smarter ones were aware of the problem but we could find nothing in the public record in the way of comments they may have made.
Milton school board trustee Donna Danielli who is the trustee sitting on the PARC – Program Accommodation Review Committee.
The two trustees who have been on the board for the longest time are Kathy Amos, the current chair who represents Oakville and Donna Danielli who represents Milton.
Both have been in office for more than 12 years and they certainly did know or should have known that there was a growing problem that was only going to get worse.
The current Director of Education Stuart Miller has been with the Halon District school board all of his career and had to have been aware – however he was made Director just over a year ago.
His predecessor, David Euale, did not have all that much to say on the subject other than when the LTAP (Long Term Accommodation Plan) was being discussed.
The HDSB web site is not exactly a fountain over flowing with information (it is better than it used to be) and what is there is not all that easy to dig through, especially if you want to go back a number of years.
Many parents are having a problem squaring the staff recommendation with the facts.
How did we get into this mess – demographics is a science – most of the data needed was known – has been known since the late 90’s Few of the trustees in place now were on the board then but they were given updates each year when the LTAP was reviewed.
Was is disturbing and disappointing is that those trustees with several terms of experience have not said a word publicly about how the mess Burlington is in came to pass.
Collard is serving her second term as a trustee and was acclaimed in both elections. She served as chair of the board in the past.
Grebenc, Papin and Reynolds are all first time trustees in Burlington. At least two of the four have aspirations for higher office.
Leah Reynolds
Richelle Papin
The four that represent Oakville are:
Kelly Amos, chair of the board of trustees in 2016 and returned to that position for 2017. She represents Oakville – Ward 5 & 6
Tracey Ehl Harrison: Oakville – Wards 1, 2;
Ann Harvey Hope: Oakville – Ward 3
Joanna Oliver: Oakville – Ward 4
The two representing Milton are:
Kim Graves, Vice-Chair for 2016 and re-elected to that position for 2017. She represents Milton – Wards 1, 6, 7, 8
Donna Danielli a Milton school board trustee will sit on the PARC and bring a season trustee viewpoint to the discussions. She is probably the most direct and knowledgeable trustee the board has.
Donna Danielli represents Milton – Wards 2, 3, 4, 5 Danielli also sits on the PARC representing the trustees.
Jeanne Gray represents Halton – Wards 1, 2, 3, 4
Of the 11, just three have more than one term in office as a trustee. The other eight were all elected for the first time in 2014 – they have two years’ experience as school board trustees.
The Director of Education prepares a report for the trustees. In preparing that report he is advised by a Program Accommodation Review Committee that has representation from all seven Burlington high schools
That PARC will meet several times between publicly to deliberate. They group is chaired by Superintendent Scott Podabarac. We understand he will be supported by the facilitator from Ipsos, the organization that handled the data capture and is expected to do an an analysis of the data. A link to the data collected so far is set out at the bottom of this report.
The Director of education will write report to the trustees with his recommendation that will include the PARC recommendations.
The trustees will vote on the Directors recommendation. It is the trustees who will make the final decision.
The two high schools that were recommended for closing are Central high school and the Lester B. Pearson high school.
The Director of Education has an accommodation problem. He has 1800 + seats that do not have students sitting in them. From a financial responsibility – he cannot justify allowing those seats to remain empty – and the province won’t allow him to continue to do that for very long.
Add to that the belief that he cannot offer the students the choices he believes they are entitled to with high schools that cannot offer the choices.
If there are no students in the schools – then there will be no teachers – put it slightly differently – fewer students – fewer teachers. Fewer teachers, fewer course offerings.
Miller’s solution to this problem is to close two high schools which solves his immediate 1800 empty seat problem and allows him to offer the courses he believes students are entitled to.
That is the job Miller has – to run a fiscally responsible school system and offer students the widest possible course offerings. He believes closing two high schools will do that.
Throughout the process so far Miller has maintained that the PARC may well come up with a recommendation or a set of ideas that will solve the overcapacity problem. In a presentation made to parents the board has said:
Staff is required to present a recommended option according to Ministry Guidelines and Board policy whenmore than one option is present
Option 19 is presented to initiate discussion for the PAR and will be used to start the PAR process
This option is not the final Board decision
The parents see things much differently.
They are opposed to losing their community school – they believe that having a high school within their community is what community is all about.
More than 350 parents at the first city wide public meeting. The vast majority of the parents were from Central high school. Few parents appear that there are several other high schools that could be at risk.
Further at this point they do not trust the process that is in place. Many parents don’t feel they are going to be able to communicate with the members of the PARC – the process that has been set up does not, from their point of view, create a situation that allows open dialogue and the free exchange of ideas.
All the PARC appears to be able to do is accept data, briefs written by parent groups. The PARC doesn’t appear to have a hard and fast set of limitations – and with Meed Ward on that committee you can expect her to stretch the boundaries as far as they can be stretched,
With this task she isn’t going to get hi-jacked the way she has been in the past at city council.
Will the city manager attempt to reign in Meed Ward – we don’t know what his agenda is – yet.
Everything eventually gets put in front of the trustees – who at this point have for the most part dummied up. You can’t get them to say a word.
The seats of the four Burlington trustees are on the line.
The PARC will begin their meetings in late January.
Assuming the decision to close Central and Pearson stands those schools would not open to students in September of2018.
The municipal election takes place in October 2018
When a group of people meet a chemistry takes place. The different styles of arriving at a conclusion become evident, leaders become evident. There are some strong personalities on the PARC and people we know next to nothing about.
Are there any really creative thinkers in that PARC? What will Meed Ward say if the evidence for closing the school is very very strong? Her council seat might be at risk if the PARC recommends that Central be closed and her wish to become Mayo of the city might be dashed as well.
Burlington city manager James Ridge
City manager James Ridge serves at the pleasure of city city council – has the city given Ridge a set of marching orders he is expected to follow ?
How many agendas are there going to be in the room that the PARC meets in?
The PARC that was created to advise the Director of Education has some interesting people on it. There is very little in the way of biographical material on any of the 14 people (parents) representing the seven high schools.
The city has a representative on the PARC – Mayor Rick Golding chose city manager James Ridge to represent the city’s interests – Mayor Goldring said Ridge volunteered.
Meed Ward has said privately that she would like to run for the office of mayor. If there was ever an issue given to a potential candidate on a silver plate – the possible closing of two high schools in their city is about as good as it could get.
Will Meed Ward be able to show the leadership that many feel has been missing on city council? Will she shine during the PARC meetings ?
This one is hers to lose.
Ward 2 city Councillor Marianne Meed Ward
Does it matter what the PARC says? It is the trustees that are going to decide and they are not bound by either what the PARC says or what the Director of Education recommends.
They have to be responsible – but each will have their own definition of responsibility.
This is a very significant decision for Burlington and few of the trustees have neither the background nor the experience to make this kind of decision. There are a few.
Is this a choice between
ensuring that every high school student has the best opportunity possible to obtain the education they desire
or maintaining complete neighbourhoods that have a local high school?
That’s the challenge faced by the PARC, the Director of Education and the 11 trustees.
We picked up a note on Halton District school Board trustee Richelle Papin’s Facebook page in which she wrote:
Well….Bye bye Ontario 😢😢😢 I finally got the answer I have been waiting for…for MONTHS😊 I’m happy to announce that in a few weeks, I am moving to Halifax.
Didn’t want to make it known to anyone, not even my friends or other family members, but I felt it was better this way!
I will be heading out the end of January … right after New Year’s to start my new life!
To start a new beginning!
I will try to phone everyone individually, but thought it would be easier to post on Facebook.
There was a second part to the posting. We did not see the additional wording nor did we follow up with Ms Papin to ensure that what she write was true.
The wording wasn’t all that clear but our failure to follow up is where we were clearly wrong.
A Gazette reader pointed out to us that there was a second part to the note on the Facebook page that we didn’t read. When we checked and saw the second part we immediately took down the article.
Ms Papin asked that we retract the article – which we did and she wanted an apology – which we will give her but we do so somewhat reluctantly
The Halton District School Board is in the process of making a very significant decision that will have a very significant impact on two high schools in the city; one of which, Lester B. Pearson, is in Papin’s ward. The “fake” Facebook page posting is not in the least amusing to those high school students parents.
Our mistake, and it was a mistake, we missed something.
Ms Papin’s act was deliberate, intended to by funny.
Richelle Papin is not moving to Halifax and she does not intend to resign from the Halton District School Board – that is something the voters in her ward can deal with in 2018
Sometimes all the pieces come together at just the right time.
Last week a handful of Halton Learning Foundation were gathered in a room putting nice fashionable winter coats into bags for distribution to students in the Region
Halton Learning Foundation volunteers, Tracey Ehl-Harrison (trustee) on the right and Sarah Pollock, on the left pack winter coats for students that don’t have the winter clothing they need. Jeff Blackwell, who is an HLF Board Member is bent over on the far left, Sheri Armstrong is in the center.
Mountain Warehouse had donated 400 winter coats for elementary school students who were going without. The city was still experiencing decent weather – at best you needed a light sweater – winter was on its way but had yet to arrive.
The Foundation holds an annual fund raising event – Benefit Bash – that is always a fun event.
During their 2015 Benefit people from Mountain Warehouse offered to donate quality winter coats. Their offer was quickly accepted.
Executive Director, Lesley Mansfield commented on the gift and said: “We are incredibly grateful to Mountain Warehouse for their support of HDSB students – those who face the financial barrier to buy a warm winter coat.
These wonderful coats were sent out within two days of their arrival here to schools across Halton by many of our HDSB trustees and it’s thanks to Mountain Warehouse, that these children can now make it to school in warmth and play outside at recess. This is their second year of support and the joy on the children’s faces when they receive their coats is simply indescribable. Thank you Mountain Warehouse!”
It took some time and some paper work for the clothing to arrive – when it did the Foundation knew exactly where the clothing was going to go.
The clothing was packaged, labelled and sent on its way through the Board of Education’s distribution system.
All the winter parkas got to the students days several days before the snow started to fall.
The Foundation has a unique Christmas gift opportunity – if you have someone on your list and you are looking for a unique, interesting gift – this is one they will never forget. Check it out. See the link on the advertisement that is on the right side column of most Gazette pages.
Sherri Armstrong
Sherri Armstrong, who does communications work for the Halton Learning Foundation handled all the logistics and made sure things got done when they needed to get done.
Sometimes things just come together the right way at the right time.
It isn’t bed time reading but it is the kind of information for parents that are at all concerned as to just what is happening at the school board.
Board of Education staff have recommended Central high school be closed in 2018
The possible closing of two high schools in Burlington has drawn attention to the financial side of the Board of Education – they make up a sizable chunk of your tax bill.
Lester B. Pearson high school has been recommended for closure in 2018.
The Halton District School Board has posted the 2015-16 financial statements, for the year ending August 31, 2016, on the Board’s website at www.hdsb.ca (search: financial statements).
The 2015-16 audited financial statements include:
Management Report Independent Auditors’ Report Consolidated Statement of Financial Position Consolidated Statement of Financial Operations Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows Consolidated Statement of Changes in Net Debt Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For residents who do not have Internet access, the Halton District School Board’s 2015-16 financial information is also available:
• By mail, by calling the Business Services Department 905-335-3663, ext. 3261
• For pick-up at the J.W. Singleton Education Centre, 2050 Guelph Line, Burlington
They are doing the best they can. Lawn signs are being handed out; T-shirts are being sold, petitions signed and last night they held a Silent Auction at Joe Dogs – these people want to keep Central high school open.
Dania Thurman, singing up a storm at the Central high Silent Auction at Joe Dogs.
They have handed out 850 signs and placed an order for another 500.
The Silent Auction raised $14,000
There was a very impressive Silent Auction offering – they raised $14,000 Is that a war chest?
Many just cannot understand why the school board has targeted their school for possible closure. For many this is their first time they have put their toe into the waters of local politics – some are finding it intimidating other think they might like to run for public office.
There are small splinter groups doing research and looking for answers to the questions raised by the Director of Education – what does he do about the 1800 empty classroom seats in the city’s seven high schools.
The #central strong crowd appreciates that the problem and thinks it exists because the boards planning department botched the job they are supposed to have done.
Reconsidering a bid during th Silent Auction
Those 1800 empty seats didn’t just pop up – the demographics of the city have been pretty stable, if anything there has been an increase in the number of people in the Alton community that were not predicted – the result of several families living in the same house. That pushed the Hayden high school numbers to 115% of the OTG – which is the number of seats a school was built to accommodate.
They have a problem with the way the process has gone so far. These parents have questions and feel that they have yet to have a real opportunity to have it out with the senior staff in a public setting. And, the senior people at the board have been ducking the occasions when they could be upfront and out-front with the parents.
The process has become a phrase that sticks in the craw of many parents – they feel they are being manipulated and want to be heard.
Lynn Crosby on the left looking over an item on the Silent auction tables.
There are all kinds of solutions being tossed around – change the boundaries – realign the elementary schools that feed into the different high schools are just a few of the solutions parents are talking about. Many, and these are people with first class professional credentials, think there is a solution that is better for the board of education and a better solution for the city and the parents in the community.
There are those who are close to flaming mad but the community seems to have managed to keep them under control.
With data from the first meeting in hand the parents from Central high are able to dig in and start crafting the solutions that will get sent to the PARC.
And where do the trustees stand in all this? There are some of the Burlington trustees who are way in over their heads – the voters in Burlington are going to think a lot differently about who they elect as school board trustees in 2018. Turns out it is an important job – most people have not seen it that way.
Some are wondering just how their ideas are going to get to the PARC and how the PARC is going to respond. Will there be a dialogue between the PARC and the parents or will it be up to the school representatives to discuss ideas with the parents.
Members of the Program Accommodation Review (PAR) committee holding a quickie meeting after the first public meeting last week.
The PARC committee meetings are open to the public – no delegations apparently – but given who Central high has representing them – expect ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward to come up with some innovative thoughts on a better way to work through the issues.
Interesting political gambit here as well. Meed Ward was chosen by the parents to represent their interests.
The city was invited to send a representative and chose the city manager.
Should Meed Ward run for the Office of the Mayor and win – she will then work with James Ridge on a day to day basis running the city. And should Med Ward win – it will be run a lot differently than it has in the past 10 years. Is the current city manager up to that task?
Somebody changed their mind – and that is healthy. The school board has released the data gathered at the public meeting last Thursday.
The Gazette attended the first really public meeting of the PARC Program Accommodation Review Committee that was created to provide comment on the Boards decision to close two of the city’s high schools.
Lester B. Pearson and Central high school were marked for closure because the city had more than 1800 seats that were not occupied.
The meeting was boisterous but serious questions were asked and the audience of more than 350 dutifully clicked the devices they were given to record the answers.
Given the number of parents from Central, 58.6% of those who voted on the questions asked, the data is going to be somewhat skewed but a close read of all the data suggests that parents from the other high schools could feel much the same way.
With 2 votes from Robinson; 7 from Aldershot and 5 from Bateman- it is difficult to get a sense as to what they think or feel.
That they don’t feel they are at risk and that the problem doesn’t impact them is not the smartest position to take.
All the data is now publicly available and parents can begin to do their own analysis.
The Gazette wants to thank the school board for making the data available.
That data; captured at a public meeting with more than 350 people in the room.
You are not going to be allowed to see it – with the exception that the Gazette captured most of the data and has made it public.
Scott Podrebarac, Chair of the PARC.
Scott Podrebarac, Chair of the PARC and a Superintendent with the Halton District Public School Board has said that he has “not yet reviewed the raw response data from IPSOS and that he “will not release the information until it is presented as a formal report to the PARC members in advance of the first working meeting on January 26th.”
Ipsos is the company the Board of Education hired to “facilitate” the meetings. They are doing a lot more than facilitating – they are gathering the data, they are probably heavily involved in the phrasing of the questions, and they will in all probability do the analysis of the answers they got to the questions they wrote and present that analysis to the PARC which is expected to meet January 26th.
There is something fundamentally wrong with the approach the Chair of the PARC has taken.
In the meantime, the parents who are at risk of losing their high school, are left high and dry as the saying goes – unable to do their own analysis of the answers that were given at the December 8th meeting
It is evident now that the data is heavily skewed to what the Central high school students think because they were by far the largest group in the room.
Podrebarac adds that “I do not want our PARC members getting information from the media before they receive it.”
These people answered 25 questions at a public meeting. The answers they gave were flashed up on a large screen – made public. But the Board of Education does not want to release this raw data until it gets presented to a committee. The parents need that data to prepare their arguments that will go to the same committee.
The Gazette wonders which part of “public” Podrebarac is having a problem with?
In his response to our asking for the raw data to ensure that what we have published is correct Podrebarac said: “we will prepare and present this to them and post the full report as soon as it has been prepared. This is the process that was shared and agreed to with the PARC members.”
Podrebarac said he is “happy to make myself available throughout the process, so please do not hesitate to call me on my cell or in the office. He means well.
The school board has created the PARC as the body that will be the “official” body that is used to communicate with the public – PARC.
The Board has contracted with Ipsos to handle the “facilitation” of the meetings. The lead person from Ipsos, Kirk Perris, holds a doctorate as well as the title Director of Consultations, Canada
On can deduce that Perris will be doing the analysis of the data and presenting that analysis to the PARC at the end of January.
Central high school parents are going to have to be more than strong – they are going to have to fight to keep their school open with one hand tied behind their back.
Meanwhile the parents who stand a better than even chance of losing their high school have to sit and stew for more than a month.
The is (a) unfair, (b) not in the interests of the public
There isn’t a reason in the world for withholding the raw data that was gathered at a public meeting.
Several hundred parents who do not want to see their neighbourhood high school closed and who are out fundraising and preparing their arguments for the PARC and for the trustees, now have to wait until close to the end of January before they can review the data and come to their own conclusions as to what was the data really says. The kind of information gathered has to be analyzed and filtered – and this takes time.
The parents do have representation on the PARC – they appointed one of the two people on the PARC to represent them. The school board has created email addresses for the members of the PARC. A single email address is used to reach both people representing our school.
The addresses are shown below. Urge the members of the PARC to direct the chair of the committee to release the raw data now.
Email addresses for the members of the PARC representing the high schools in the city.
Director of Education Stuart Miller has said that the recommendation staff made to close Pearson and Central high schools was the starting point of a lengthy process.
Director of Education Stuart Miller gets out to dozens of events where students are involved. The same cannot be aid for several of his predecessors.
He said that parents may well come up with ideas that will result in a solution that keeps everyone happy. And the Gazette believes Miller is sincere – what he does not appear to appreciate is that the parents who stand to lose a core part of their community are left to work with data that is incomplete and may have errors with at least one hand tied behind their back.
Miller was on-hand to greet people before the December 8th meeting started but said that he had been advised not to stay. Miller needs to get better advisers.
Informed people can make informed decisions. In a world of almost instant communication data is king. Let the public have what their taxes paid for.
Director Miller has a number of options. He can release the raw data to the public and the members of the PARC and then send Chair Podrebarac back to the civics class he seems to have missed.
And if you are at all concerned about what happens to Burlington’s Central high school – scoot on to Joe Dogs Gas Bar and take part in some fine entertainment and a Silent auction.
Marianne Meed Ward, the council member for ward 2 and a member of the Program Accommodation Review Committee (PARC) that will be giving the Director of Education some advice will probably not make the event – she will be stuck in council chamber listening to the 27 people expected to delegate at city hall.
By Staff
Question 19
The Halton District School Board trustees have a major decision to make – do they accept the recommendation that came from the Director of Education to close two Burlington high schools and shift some boundaries or do they craft a motion of their own and try to sell that to the people they represent?
Marianne Meed Ward is the city Councillor for ward 2. She is serving her second term on city council. Central high school is located in ward 2.
Pathways is a collaborative program between the Halton District school Board and the Halton Catholic District School Board and was created by the Ministry of Education as one of the four pillars of the Student Success Initiative
The Board offers more than 70 programs geared to meet individual needs, helping more students succeed in their chosen pathway after high school, whether they are pursuing apprenticeship, college, community, university or the workplace. The meetings provide information on how to better prepare students for a rapidly changing world, at the same time receiving a relevant and engaging education.
Assuming the decision to close Central and Pearson stands those schools would not open to students in September of2018.
Well….Bye bye Ontario 😢😢😢 I finally got the answer I have been waiting for…for MONTHS😊 I’m happy to announce that in a few weeks, I am moving to Halifax.
The Foundation has a unique Christmas gift opportunity – if you have someone on your list and you are looking for a unique, interesting gift – this is one they will never forget. Check it out. See the link on the advertisement that is on the right side column of most Gazette pages.
With 2 votes from Robinson; 7 from Aldershot and 5 from Bateman- it is difficult to get a sense as to what they think or feel.
