PSAs say YES

BCTF School Staff Alert
2008-09 #8
November 27, 2008

Our Provincial Specialists’ Associations provide a source of support and a vehicle for communication for a wide variety of subject and service areas to teachers throughout the K–12 public education system.

Following their recent meeting, the presidents of all 33 PSAs issued a statement on the Foundation Skills Assessment urging a strong YES vote.

We, the presidents of the Provincial Specialists’ Associations, met and after much discussion and reflection on the Foundation Skills Assessment issue, agreed that a YES vote is important and appropriate.

Following their statement, they gave the following reasons:

• The Foundation Skills Assessment tests do not help teachers teach or students learn.
• They take valuable time and resources away from teaching and learning.
• The FSA results are misused to rank schools based on a very narrow measure and set up a false impression of public schools, teachers, and students.
• The FSA and overuse of standardized testing narrow the curriculum and reduce the opportunities for students to engage in meaningful learning experiences.

DID YOU DROP EVERYTHING AND READ?

BCTF E-News
Vol. 8, No.3, November 12, 2008

On Monday, October 27, at 11:00 a.m., the BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association was urging everyone to spend at least 20 minutes reading. Fifty reports are in from schools around the province giving numbers of students and staff who participated. At Carson Graham Secondary School in North Vancouver, students and staff were joined by Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Steven Point in celebration of First Nations literacy. MLA Claude Richmond, Mayor Terry Lake, school trustees, and councillors along with members of the Kamloops Blazers WHL Hockey team joined Sahali Secondary School in Kamloops and were featured on the local TV evening news.

You can read more at http://bctladear.blogspot.com/2008/10/send-us-your-numbers.html.