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KPDSB Schools WILL Be Open On Monday Amid Job Action Talks

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The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is confirming that all of their schools will be open to students and staff on Monday October 7th.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees announced they would escalate job action to a full withdraw if a provincial settlement can’t be reached by Monday.

Families should be aware however that if the strike action commences, school closures could be announced later in the week.

The KPDSB also advises families that they may want to make alternate arrangements for their children in case strike action does happen.

Updates to the situation and what the school board is doing can be found by visiting their website by CLICKING HERE

The school board also says that student and staff safety remain a top priority and they will continue to monitor the situation and its impact.

 

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Local School Board Involved In Ontario Human Rights Commission Public Inquiry

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A regional school board will be looked at by the Ontario Human Rights Commission in a public inquiry.

It’s called “Right To Read” and will look at EQAO results from the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board.

The school boards that were selected we not selected based on their results, but rather through their geographical locations and other means since many different parts of Ontario are so different from others.

The next step will include asking the school boards for information to assess them to see if they meet their five benchmarks.

Chief commissioner Renu Mandhane says Ontario lags behind other countries when it comes to reading such as Russia, China and even the United States have higher results.

The final report will be released sometime next year, depending on information from the school boards, the Ontario College of Teachers and the Ministry of Education.

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KPDSB Develops Equity Action Plan

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An Equity Action Plan has been developed and adopted by the Keewatin Patricia District School Board.

It identifies eight focus areas for the board and individual schools to follow.

Equity and Inclusion Administrator Jennifer McMaster says the strategy is important since our area is very diverse as we have students with a variety of backgrounds from a variety of communities.

The plan outlines who they are as a board, their commitment to reconciliation, the equity work already underway and the work still needed.

The Eight focus areas are:
1. Board Policies, Procedures, Guidelines and Practices
2. Shared and Committed Leadership
3. School-Community Relationship
4. Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment Practices
5. Religious Accommodations
6. School Climate and Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment
7. Professional Learning
8. Accountability and Transparency

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Orange Shirt Day Recognized Today At Schools In KPDSB

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Schools across the region are observing Orange Shirt Day today.

September 30th is the day set aside every year to remember the history of residential schools but yesterday was a PD Day.

KPDSB Student Achievement Teacher Michelle Parrish says it gives both students and teachers an opportunity to learn and teach more about the topic as the teaching has also been happening last week at schools as well.

Schools are also taking part in various activities to recognize the day including land acknowledgements and visiting memorial sites for residential schools.

Students are also studying through a KAIROS Blanket Exercise which is a way of teaching the traditional history of how the indigenous people thrived with their traditions and ceremonies before the European settlers came over.

The orange shirt comes from the story of Phyllis Webstad, who upon arrival at a residential school in British Columbia in 1973 had her brand new orange shirt taken away and replaced by a school uniform.

Another activity is in preparation for Orange Shirt Day next year is designing orange shirts for next year, where the students’ designs will be sold.

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EQAO Results Released For Public School Board

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The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board continues to see improvement in Grade 6 provincial testing scores.

The latest results have been released and the public board saw mixed results:

The public board experienced a big increase in its success rate for a fourth year in a row in the latest testing.

72% met the standard in Reading, compared to 63% the year before.

71% achieved success in Writing, up from 59%

42% hit the standard in Math, an increase of 17% over 2017-2018 results.

In Grade 3, 59% met the standard in Reading, down 3% from the year prior.

53% achieved success in Writing, compared to 61%

45% hit the standard in Math, a drop of 4% from 2017-2018.

In Grade 9 Math, 38% hit the standard in the Applied stream, an increase of 3% compared to 2017-2018.

The provincial average was 44%

71% achieved success in the Academic stream, a drop of 5%.

The Ontario average was 84%.

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Smooth Transition Expected At Public School Board

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The trustees have appointed Caryl Hron as the acting Director of Education of the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board until a full-time replacement is found.

Sean Monteith is the current director and he is leaving the board in August to take over the same position in Belleville, Ontario.

Monteith says he has complete full confidence in Hron.

“The board can be re-assured and the staff and students and families of the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board can be re-assured that Carol knows what she is doing. We have been senior administrative colleagues for over a decade together and she has been right beside me when we’ve had to make some of the toughest decisions.”

Monteith adds “She is steady hands at the wheel. She will manage to bridge the gap between now and then. And she also has me on speed dial and if she needs me to help out, she knows where to get a hold of me.”

He notes this will be the first time ever that the board will hire an Executive Search Firm.

Monteith notes the move will bring a level of transparency and accountability to people.