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.

The numbers tell the story

BCTF: 2008 October 31

http://www.bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/issues/Education_Finance/TheNumbersTellTheStory.pdf

Drop Everything and Read!

BCTF School Staff Alert: 2008 October 14

The British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association is marking National School Library Day by urging everyone to participate in the Drop Everything and Read! challenge.

On Monday, October 27, between 11:00 a.m. and 11:20 a.m., people young and old across BC will stop to read for 20 minutes in celebration of the joy reading can bring.

Studies show that daily silent reading is a very effective way of improving reading comprehension, increasing vocabulary, improving spelling, and broadening understanding of others. “Let students choose what they want to read from a well-stocked school library or from home, and then give them the time and space in which to read—away from the threat of tests and questions,” says Karen Lindsay, vice-president of the BCTLA, who would like to see the DEAR challenge grow to include other provinces.

Groups and schools who decide to participate should contact their local media and highlight the importance of libraries, books, and adults as role models in encouraging children to read.

The BCTLA has created a Facebook page to allow people to make their reading count. Point your browser to http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=38741982688 or search for “Drop Everything and Read!” at www.facebook.com.

Join with children, parents, trustees, administrators, and politicians in highlighting the need to maintain and reinstate library services in schools.

The Canadian Coalition for School Libraries is unequivocal, “School library programs are being drastically reduced across the country as school boards confront funding shortfalls. But cuts are occurring when researchers abroad have determined that well-stocked, professionally staffed school libraries which remain open during the day are linked to student achievement, reading, information literacy skills, and success at the post-secondary level.”

BCTF Education Funding brief

BCTF: 2008 September 30

BCTF Education Funding brief is presented to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services

BCTF President Irene Lanzinger, in her presentation to the BC Selecting Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, urged the provincial government to focus on overcoming poverty, and improving services to children.

Five key priorities are addressed in the Education Funding brief:

1. Eliminate child poverty: set a target, create a plan, and take action.
2. Provide a universal childcare program and fully fund the early literacy programs initiated by government.
3. Restore the level of service to students with special needs.
4. Reduce class sizes so that all children get adequate attention to their learning.
5. Fully fund costs for services that the province has downloaded onto boards of education.

Members can access the complete submission by going to bctf.ca.
http://www.bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Publications/Briefs_Position_papers/EducationFunding2008.pdf

The Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services is a legislative committee that is touring the province to gather input before the next provincial budget. Members can also have their own individual say on budget priorities by going to www.leg.bc.ca/budgetconsultations. The deadline for submissions has been extended to Friday, October 24.

Learning Roundtable, June 11, 2008

BCTF Report on the meeting of the Learning Roundtable, June 11, 2008

BCTF: 2008 June 25
http://www.bctf.ca/IssuesInEducation.aspx?id=16102

2. Decline in specialist positions

The statistics provided by the ministry showed that the number of non-enrolling teachers had stayed about the same over the past four years. The BCTF handed out statistics that show dramatic declines in numbers of teacher-librarians, counselors, and special education and ESL teachers—going back to 2001–02 when formulas for these positions were in the collective agreement.

The Minister said that was not a useful comparison. Those were collective agreement provisions that the government had eliminated in order to give flexibility to school districts. She ignored the fact that it was budget cuts that made it impossible for districts to maintain the non-enrolling positions and the service they provide.

Specialist teachers: Who are we and what do we have to offer?

Teacher Magazine: 2008 March
By Paul Boscariol and Janice Neden

The term specialist teacher is often heard and used, but do we really know what it refers to? A specialist teacher can be defined as one who has training in a specific discipline taken as a major in undergrad studies or taken throughout the university education program. This training has prepared the teacher with the knowledge and skills necessary to most effectively teach that area.

What is the importance of a specialist teacher? The specialist teacher is extremely important to ensure that our students are receiving the best level of education in that particular discipline. In the case of technology education, a person trained in that discipline knows far more than what the tools and equipment are and how to use them. The training includes how to safely manage a class of students who are in constant motion, using the tools and equipment, performing tasks and operations that have inherent safety risks. This is achieved through both the course of study and supervised practicum in a shop. Another example is that of learning assistance and special education, where teachers have specific training that gives them the tools and skills necessary to identify learning challenges that students may have. The second part of this process is to develop and implement appropriate programs to assist the students to be successful. These are but two examples of many areas where a specialist teacher is required to ensure that grade and age level, subject area, safety, identification of special needs, and learning support of students are effectively met.

The BCTF Provincial Specialist Association Council (PSAC) has identified and supported the need to recognize the importance of specialist teachers in our schools. To that end, PSAC put forward the following recommendation to the Executive Committee in November 2007. This was developed from an ad hoc committee consisting of: Irene Lanzinger, BCTF president; Fran Robinson, past EC member; Pat Clarke, BCTF staff; Janice Neden, Learning Assistance Teachers’ Association president; and Paul Boscariol, BC Technology Education Association president.

PSAC Recommendation—Specialist teachers
That the AGM amend BCTF policy 47.D. 01 to read:

1. That all assignments to teaching positions should be appropriate in terms of the member’s specific qualifications and teaching experience, and appointments should be made in consideration of relevant qualification and experience factors pertaining to grade and age level, subject area, special needs, learning support, and student safety in any proposed teaching assignment.

2. That where teachers are assigned or choose to teach in areas where they may lack specific qualifications and/or relevant experience, a plan of professional support and development be provided through such programs or activities as district/local joint mentoring programs, post-certification training opportunities, and local union, PSA or LSA organized professional development.

While it is the hope of PSAC that specialist teachers be employed in these positions, it is also understood that this cannot always be achieved for a number of reasons. To accommodate this situation, the ad hoc committee developed a second part to the proposed amendment that would provide proper training opportunities for non-specialist teachers who find themselves in such a position.

The Executive Committee, after much debate, deleted part 1 of this recommendation. Part 2 was amended to read:

That professional support such as district and/or local mentoring programs post-certificate training opportunities and local union, PSA, LSA organized professional development be made available when teachers are assigned or choose to teach in areas outside of their relevant experience and the teacher requests such assistance.

It is difficult to understand how, on one hand the BCTF recognizes specialist teachers through the individual Provincial Specialist Associations and through our collective PSA Council, yet they do not want to recognize the same in policy. A precedent has been set with the recognition, in policy, of counsellors as specialists, yet there is a resistance to recognize the rest of the specialists. The intent here is to give due recognition to all, and not to have the counsellors’ recognition removed.

The focus should not be on preventing recognition of specialist teachers, but rather on recognizing specialists in policy and improving the training opportunities and support for those who, for whatever reason, have found themselves teaching in an area they have not been trained in. Within our membership, we have a wealth of expertise and experience that can be utilized to assist with post-certification training opportunities and mentoring programs. Let us not lose this opportunity to recognize specialist teachers.

Paul Boscariol teaches at LV Rogers Secondary School, Nelson and Janice Neden teaches at McGowan Park Elementary School, Kamloops.

Agree? Disagree? More to add? Send us your views (newsmag@bctf.ca) and we may print them in the next issue.