Monday December 9, 2024 | LANGFORD, BC [Posted at 5:06 pm]
Education socioeconomic analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
This is very new, to invite broader community to participate in planning within the Sooke School District 62 (SD62).
Until now, decisions have been made by the board and committees with input from staff and various stakeholders from within the school district (e.g. principals and vice-principals, teachers, CUPE and the district parent council).
“We encourage everyone to participate and help shape the future of education in the Sooke School District,” says SD62 in their survey introduction.
“Using the themes and feedback from students, staff, parents/guardians, and partner groups, we have developed a survey to ensure everyone in our school communities and broader communities has the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas,” says SD62.
This is a significant advancement under SD62 Superintendent Paul Block who started in that role in January 2024 with an emphasis on building partnerships.
Arriving at this point:
For our readers who follow education as part of the larger ecosystem of society and economy, for years Island Social Trends has asked school officials as to broadening the community’s input to school district work.
This is not just because every west shore and Sooke resident is a taxpayer into the school system but because of course every resident, family and business and community is impacted by the delivery of public education.
Island Social Trends has also asked, over many years, who the school district feels that they serve. Starting around 2017 that was a puzzling question for executive staff and board chair. Some thought it was teaching staff, others the school facility management itself; rarely students would be directly or immediately mentioned, and never were parents mentioned.
Eventually the recognition was about students, and now that has finally extended to including families and communities. This is a positive evolution on the part of the school district that serves a fast-growing population of young families in the west shore of Greater Victoria.
Families expect their children to get a useful and effective education, businesses expect to have workers who are well-educated and informed, and communities always hope for active citizenry from their residents.
Third plan steers in new direction:
SD62 has had two strategic plans, and this one is the third. It will be the first plan under Superintendent Paul Block; the previous plan was produced while Scott Stinson was superintendent, and before than when Jim Cambridge was nearly outgoing as superintendent in 2018.
In the past two iterations of the SD strategic plan, there was an equal emphasis placed on Learning, Engagement and Growth. While that may have seemed ‘equal’ it actually raised the priority of facilities development (primary land purchase and school construction) above what it normally would be.
But the west shore and Sooke have been faced with population growth pressures in a way that SD62 embraced within its work the dynamics and mechanics of building schools. Perhaps this was initiated (as far back as 2014) because the local school district and board realized that the Ministry would not be providing additional funds or staffing for the work of adding about 400 students per year to the SD62 student population.
Learning on the top rung:
Now that changes under Paul Block (who became superintendent in January 2024 after many years as an Associate Superintendent and then Deputy Superintendent) who unabashedly declares a need to emphasize learning. Having to resurrect learning to the top of the heap is an astonishing thing; parents would have hoped for years that learning would have never fallen below the top rung of a public education system.
Schools are where parents expect their children to learn. Nowadays that’s the so-called ‘three Rs’ (reading, writing and math) but also the arts, science and technology. All the other aspects of education delivery as mandated by the Ministry of Education and Child Care (such as inclusion) will of course be addressed, but now academic learning comes in at the top, as told to Island Social Trends by Superintendent Block last week.
Falling behind in literacy and numeracy:
“Our kids are not doing as well in literacy and numeracy as they have in the past, they have actually regressed”, says Block, referring to results found through FSA scores and early development index, the middle years developmental index and the McClury study.
“That”s not just us that is a post-pandemic reality. But I don’t think the school district has responded to that post-pandemic reality. So this strat plan is going to be a response to the reality that our kids’ core skills in literacy and numeracy are not where they need to be, and that’s not okay,” said Block.
“We need to redirect the resources that we have. There’s a lot of issues that schools are being asked to take care of. And a lot of them are very important social issues that we’re being asked to do. But we cannot lose sight of the academic learning goals that we have.
“That’s what the strat plan is primarily about, putting front and centre — that’s what we’re going to focus on in the next four years — is getting our kids up to par with the rest of the province and addressing the gaps that we saw,” says Block.
Grades 1 to 4 — the formative years of the children that were affected by the pandemic –are the ones that are having the hardest time. Kids that were in Grade 4 during the pandemic now who are in Grade 7 have recovered. And now back at par. But it took three years to get there. But we can’t wait that long for any of our kids. We need to respond sooner and be focused in that response and our resources in terms of if there are any discretionary funding that we have left — of which have not a lot. Whatever discretionary there is (which is about 5% of the budget after salaries, supplies and services) needs to be focused on learning — literacy, numeracy and career development.
Not only with the 5% be spent wisely for learning objectives, but Block says that where there is room for revision within the committed expenses that will be done — funds will be reallocated, he told Island Social Trends. “The strat plan sets out the major goals and then the objectives that we’re going to strive for underneath those goals,” says Block.
Student enrollment growth:
“Facility growth was overtaking the learning goals,” Block outlined.
But it’s been a necessary challenge to find enough classroom space for students has been a continual challenge for at least 10 years.
The school district’s three high schools — each and combined — clearly have the most students — 1430, 1326 and 1409 in Grades 10, 11 and 12 respectively.
SD62 this year announced a land purchase for a new middle school (August 19, 2024) and the business plan for a new high school across the street from one another in Langford (May 21, 2024).
Over the next 10 years about 2,200 more students are expected to have been added to the enrollment roster in SD62.
The population growth is driven by families relocating to the west shore region in search of housing in Langford, Colwood and Sooke. This is not an unforeseen challenge; the Capital Regional District (CRD) Strategic Growth Strategy has targeted the west shore for population growth beyond the core region (Victoria, Saanich, Oak Bay and Esquimalt).
Budget approach for 2025-2026:
With the learning objective now elevated, Block says he wants to try and get 10% of SD62 resources toward learning (literacy, numeracy and career development), up from 5% during the next round of budget talks. Those discussions start with the Resources Committee and then move to the board level.
“I feel very very strongly about that, that we’re being asked to do a lot of things — and we’ll continue to do them — but I feel like we’ve lost sight at little bit, of our core mandate,” said Block. Though he emphasized that supports for social-emotional learning are not being abandonned. “One can’t happen without the other,” he said, referring to academic and social-emotional learning.
But we need to make sure these kids recover from the deficits that occurred during the pandemic. And the other piece that we cannot have any longer if we have kids beyond Grade 4 who cannot read. “In my mind that is no longer acceptable.” says Block. “We need to have plans and screens and assessments in place, and then interventions in place in order to make sure those students are getting support.”
“What we do know from statistics and our own data is that students who cannot read by Grade 4 they’re really at about a 95% risk of not graduating,” said Superintendent Block.
This work will be done through the budget process that the board of education undertakes. The board chair is Amanda Dowhy, and trustees are Cendra Beaton (Vice-Chair), Russ Chipps, Christine Lervold, Ebony Logins, Trudy Spiller, and Allison Watson.
Lervold — the newest trustee on the board — currently chairs the Resources Committee.
Creating next-generation leaders:
Society needs leaders, champions and achievers; hopefully now, more students will be encouraged to excel, not just to fit in. Recently SD62 acknowledged three of their top academic achievers who received the Governor General’s Academic Medal.
The Sooke School District is currently developing its new Strategic Plan (2025-2029). As stated by SD62, their Strategic Plan for 2025-2029 will serve as a roadmap, outlining the Board of Education’s vision, mission, and values while identifying priorities for the District. “It will guide how we develop and support the education system to fulfill our mandate effectively”.
Guiding principles:
Guiding principles of the 2025-2029 Strategic Plan include producing critical thinkers who communicate informaition from a broad knowledge base. Students are creative, flexible and self-motivated with a positive self-mage
Students will learn to be productive, feeling satisfaction through achievement and striving for physical and emotional well-being. They are cooperative and principled and are aware of the rights of an individual within the family, the community, Canada and the world.
Engagement work done to date:
November 2023: Conducted an Environmental Scan (E-Scan) through a district-wide community survey to assess the relevance and effectiveness of the goals and objectives outlined in the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan. This survey extended to 2,500 people but did not include the general public community.
October 2024: About 45 student representatives from every middle and secondary school met on October 15 with Trustees, the Executive team and Principals and Vice Principals for a full day to share their thoughts and ideas.
- That included a review of data of how students are doing in school.
- How prepared did students feel they were for post-secondary, was one of the aspects discussed as well as sense of belonging, sense of safety, and sense of relevance that school had for them.
- Later that evening, the data was shared with the board; there was a 75-slide presentation (of which 35 slides were date).
- “Everything we do should be based on data. We all have a good sense of where our heart lies and we all have opinions about school, but I really wanted to shift the narrative away from that (though include that he added) and base our decisions on what we know is happening for kids.”
November 2024: In-person consultation sessions with:
- Nov 6 – afternoon and evening with 99 people from the District Leadership Team, including Principals, Vice Principals, District Principals, District Vice-Principals, Directors, and Managers. Data was presented, suggested goals (with learning at the top), and responses were listened to.
- Nov 13 – Sooke Parents’ Education Advisory Council (SPEAC) with PAC executives from each school; 26 parents attended at the Royal Bay Learning Commons.
- Nov 25 – District Partner Groups: CUPE 459, Sooke Teachers’ Association, Sooke Principals and Vice Principals Association, SPEAC was there again (their executive member), Indigenous Education Council, and Exempt Staff (not represented by a union).
“The slide deck shifted slowly over time as we learned more,” said Block.
The final survey is informed by what was learned in the four sessions.
How to participate in the survey:
Using the themes and feedback from students, staff, parents/guardians, and partner groups, SD62 has developed a survey to ensure everyone in their school communities and broader communities has the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas.
On the survey participation page, review the slide deck, which presents provincial and local data on student learning and achievement, as well as insights into students’ perspectives on safety, sense of belonging, and career and post-secondary readiness.
This factual information reflects how our students are performing and has informed the development of the proposed Goals and Objectives. [2025-2029 Strategic Plan slide deck – PDF]
The survey is open from December 3 to December 17, 2024. Feedback gathered will be combined with input from consultation sessions to inform the final Strategic Plan.
Links:
A few notes about the survey:
There are 21 questions in the survey. Questions are asked with options for one or multiple answers. Each section of questions has room for comments or further input.
The survey starts with a strong emphasis on the key goal of academic learning. There is no mention of hybrid learning but outdoor classroom space is mentioned.
Survey sections include:
- Objectives (numeracy and literacy development) and social-emotional learning and mental health; preparing students for future success;
- Equity in Resources and Infrastructure; Managing Growth and Infrastructure Challenges;
- Community Engagement and Partnerships; Student Voice in Decision-Making;
- Teacher/Support Staff Development and Training.
===== RELATED:
- Island FanCon partners with SD62 for a unique student pop culture experience (December 8, 2024)
- Governor General’s Academic Medal awarded to three SD62 grads (November 28, 2024)
- SD62 student enrollment up 4.3% in 2024-25 (October 8, 2024)
- Achieving reliable SD62 student enrollment numbers (September 3, 2024)
- SD62 gets land for new middle school in North Langford (August 19, 2024)
- New SD62 superintendent Paul Block is building partnerships (May 22, 2024)
- NEWS SECTIONS: K-12 EDUCATION | SD62