After a brief but very educational campaign, I have been given the voters' permission to represent them on the Board of Education. I am grateful for this opportunity and will do my best for students, staff and the community. Although I won't be there in my new official capacity, I will be at this week's September 22nd Board meeting. I hope to see more of you there as well. There is urgency to address the issues facing North Vancouver schools, and I hope this election has inspired others to stay more involved. We all can make a difference.
Thank you again. Now there is work to do.
Warmly,
Sheila Bouman
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Questions and Answers
Based on the last two weeks of campaigning for School Board Trustee, I have been asked some great questions. I believe you will be interested in my responses.
1. When is advanced voting? September 9 and 14th from 8 am – 8 pm at the District Hall at 355 West Queens Road.
2. Can I vote if I don’t have kids? Yes, and you should if you live in the District. The engagement, productivity and achievement of our youth affect all of us.
3. Are school boards still important? Yes. As elected members, Boards consult with their communities and ensure that local values and priorities are reflected in public school programs, policies and operations.
4. What is your response to the funding cuts? I am disappointed and struggling to understand timing. How will schools will be able to respond with no notice? But I am not surprised as I see huge cutbacks across all sectors with hundreds of people losing their jobs. Of course I would like to see educational funding protected. Until it is, we need to:
5. Do you support school closures? Declining enrolment is real and some schools are under-utilized. If we can’t work with municipality and community to find ways to optimize the use of the school and share costs of maintaining a specific community asset, then we cannot afford to keep it open. And, if the number of students is too low, programs suffer. A critical mass of students is required to offer a variety of electives, run a vibrant extra-curricular program, and have on-site support resources.
6. Do you support school district amalgamation? We need to pursue partnerships and increased efficiency regardless of Ministry direction. Working more closely with West Vancouver will help reduce long-term administrative costs, expand program offerings to students, eliminate duplication of efforts to develop new programs and curriculum, provide teachers and staff access to a larger pool of resources and strengthen our voice with government.
7. Do you support FSA testing of all students in Grade 4 and Grade 7? I don’t believe the FSA is currently adding sufficient value to teachers or the overall school system. Even if the data collected was considered valid and meaningful by our educators, there is no process (or resources) in place to respond to the findings. When assessments are well developed and inform planning and programs, they can be very powerful.
8. Should NVSD expand its programs of choice and excellence? Excellence must be a priority, but increased choice may not be the best way to achieve this. Expanded choice may dilute resources, quality and effectiveness of core programs. We need to remain responsive and creative, and at the same time be prudent in the implementation of any new programs. Will that new program further educational excellence for kids, can it be successfully implemented with the staff and facilities available to us, and can it be sustained over the long-term?
9. What are your views on full-day Kindergarten for all North Vancouver students and its impact on the North Vancouver School District? Before we increase the amount of time students are in our school system, we need to ensure that we doing our best for students right now. We need to more tenaciously assess learning needs and respond to them more quickly. As an example, the TOPA kindergarten literacy assessment provides good information, but the benchmark is too low (only students below 25th percentile are considered at risk), and it is not clear what actions are taken based on the results. I want to see us improve current primary education, educate parents about early learning (i.e. Smart Start Program) and partner more closely with specially trained professionals who already providing great early childhood education.
10. Really, why you? In the last 10 years, I have successfully helped many large organizations navigate complex changes. This experience, combined with my seven years as an educator on the North Shore, will help the Board work strategically with key stakeholders to develop solutions that serve us now, and for the long term. I am not running for Trustee because I have one issue to champion or because I think it would be interesting. I am putting my name forward because I plan to make a difference, for every student.
1. When is advanced voting? September 9 and 14th from 8 am – 8 pm at the District Hall at 355 West Queens Road.
2. Can I vote if I don’t have kids? Yes, and you should if you live in the District. The engagement, productivity and achievement of our youth affect all of us.
3. Are school boards still important? Yes. As elected members, Boards consult with their communities and ensure that local values and priorities are reflected in public school programs, policies and operations.
4. What is your response to the funding cuts? I am disappointed and struggling to understand timing. How will schools will be able to respond with no notice? But I am not surprised as I see huge cutbacks across all sectors with hundreds of people losing their jobs. Of course I would like to see educational funding protected. Until it is, we need to:
- Involve all the intelligent and creative people in our District to think of new ways of reducing costs, increasing revenue, and delivering quality education.
- Continue to educate the Ministry and the Public about the true costs of education - the financial costs of today and also the longer-term social cost of kids who do not thrive.
5. Do you support school closures? Declining enrolment is real and some schools are under-utilized. If we can’t work with municipality and community to find ways to optimize the use of the school and share costs of maintaining a specific community asset, then we cannot afford to keep it open. And, if the number of students is too low, programs suffer. A critical mass of students is required to offer a variety of electives, run a vibrant extra-curricular program, and have on-site support resources.
6. Do you support school district amalgamation? We need to pursue partnerships and increased efficiency regardless of Ministry direction. Working more closely with West Vancouver will help reduce long-term administrative costs, expand program offerings to students, eliminate duplication of efforts to develop new programs and curriculum, provide teachers and staff access to a larger pool of resources and strengthen our voice with government.
7. Do you support FSA testing of all students in Grade 4 and Grade 7? I don’t believe the FSA is currently adding sufficient value to teachers or the overall school system. Even if the data collected was considered valid and meaningful by our educators, there is no process (or resources) in place to respond to the findings. When assessments are well developed and inform planning and programs, they can be very powerful.
8. Should NVSD expand its programs of choice and excellence? Excellence must be a priority, but increased choice may not be the best way to achieve this. Expanded choice may dilute resources, quality and effectiveness of core programs. We need to remain responsive and creative, and at the same time be prudent in the implementation of any new programs. Will that new program further educational excellence for kids, can it be successfully implemented with the staff and facilities available to us, and can it be sustained over the long-term?
9. What are your views on full-day Kindergarten for all North Vancouver students and its impact on the North Vancouver School District? Before we increase the amount of time students are in our school system, we need to ensure that we doing our best for students right now. We need to more tenaciously assess learning needs and respond to them more quickly. As an example, the TOPA kindergarten literacy assessment provides good information, but the benchmark is too low (only students below 25th percentile are considered at risk), and it is not clear what actions are taken based on the results. I want to see us improve current primary education, educate parents about early learning (i.e. Smart Start Program) and partner more closely with specially trained professionals who already providing great early childhood education.
10. Really, why you? In the last 10 years, I have successfully helped many large organizations navigate complex changes. This experience, combined with my seven years as an educator on the North Shore, will help the Board work strategically with key stakeholders to develop solutions that serve us now, and for the long term. I am not running for Trustee because I have one issue to champion or because I think it would be interesting. I am putting my name forward because I plan to make a difference, for every student.
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