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I hope that March Break helped to lift your spirits and that you're ready for a beautiful spring. I am... what's with the snow?!! I've divided this eNEWSLETTER into four parts. Parents & Students, What's new @ TDSB, Special Education and Meetings. Each section will focus on information most relevant to the heading. Let me know if there is anything I miss that you feel is relevant: I may include it. I've added a section devoted to Special Education issues since these students are some of our most vulnerable and represent about one fifth (1/5) of our student population. Parents and gaurdians have also expressed concerns about navigating the system, understanding the process, and not knowing where to turn for help or advocate within their rights. I hope this becomes a useful resource for many parents. There is a WARD FORUM this month - APRIL 28th @ Drewry Secondary School. The topic is The IEP - Do You Really Know What It Is?. It's an important topic that many parents with children in Special Education programs and those without have serious questions and concerns about. For more information about the WARD FORUM see the notice under Meetings. Regards,
Alexander Brown
Join me in celebrating the heritages of our Sikh and Latin/Hispanic Communities in the TDSB. Also Celebrate WORLD AUTISM DAY - April 4th
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April 4th Celebrate World Autism Awareness Day
On April 4, 2016, we join together with Autism Ontario to Raise the Flag in recognition of World Autism Awareness Day. We celebrate with over 355 municipalities and 300 schools across Ontario as they Raise the Flag. At our three central offices, 5050 Yonge Street, 140 Borough Drive and 1 Civic Centre, and many of our schools, we will raise the Autism Ontario flag along with the rest of the world to raise Autism awareness.
This is an opportunity to support the over 3,000 TDSB students who have an Autism Spectrum Disorder and to provide opportunities for conversations promoting inclusion and understanding
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TDSB Parent Conference 2016: Parents as Partners - April 16, 2016 The Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC), Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC), Mental Health and Well-Being Parent Partnership Committee and Model Schools for Inner Cities’ Parent Academies are partnering to bring one INCLUSIVE conference on Saturday, April 16, 2016. EVERYONE IS WELCOME Please click http://www.parentsaspartners.ca/.
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| Clean Toronto Together - Let's Register for April 22!
In 2015, the TDSB had 383 of our school sites participate in the Clean Toronto Together Campaign. This year, we want to increase the number of participating schools. On Friday, April 22nd at 2 pm (Earth Day), students from across Toronto are encouraged to help rejuvenate our city’s green spaces by picking up litter in their schoolyard or neighbourhood park. To increase participation at the TDSB, we’re challenging each Family of Schools (FOS) to have as many school sites register and participate as possible. - 1st - 3 water bottle refill stations to the first SOE that gets 100% of their school sites registered
- 2nd - 2 water bottle refill stations to the second SOE that gets 100% of their school sites registered
- 3rd - 1 water bottle refill station to the third SOE that gets 100% of their school sites registered
The Superintendents of Education will select the schools that will receive the stations. To register, please fill out the School Clean-Up Day form by April 5th. All participating schools will receive a school certificate.
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| Applications for Parents Reaching Out Grants 2016-17
Now Open - Grant applications for the 2016-17 school year are now open and will be accepted until May 29, 2016. In the 2015-16 school year, the province funded more than 2,200 projects that helped identify barriers to parent engagement and found local solutions to help more parents be engaged in their children's learning. For more information, click on http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents/reaching.html
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Parent Involvement Advisory Committee PIAC - Willowdale Representative:Haniya Sheikh
Has been a lawyer in the public service for over 15 years. She has served on the school advisory council at Lester B Pearson since 2010 and as the Chair from 2013 to 2015. Haniya is actively involved in supporting educational initiatives with multiple organizations and volunteers with non-partisan organizations to encourage active participation in our Canadian democratic process. She loves toronto but her heart is also in cottage country.
PIAC’s purpose is to support, encourage and enhance parent engagement at the Board level in order to improve student achievement and well being. In working towards this purpose, members of PIAC shall foster open, positive, inclusive and effective communication at all levels of parent involvement, and shall respect the Committee’s accountability to its constituent groups and its responsibility to the Board.
If you'd like to speak to Haniya or invite her to a school council event, she can be reached at haniyasheikh@yahoo.com.
Our Willowdale Alternate for PIAC is Eva Rosenstock who has been involved with PIAC for many years and is a valuable scource of knowledge and experience. I would like to thank Eva for her ongoing involvement and dedication to students and parents.
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If you're wondering how you can get more involved @ the TDSB...
Everything from joining your school council to helping develop education policy at the Board level, I'm providing a link to the TDSB website outlining Community Involvement. As a member of the Policy Review Committee, I am trying to ensure community involvement is clearly spelled out in revised and new policies at the TDSB. Accountability and transparency for policy development is a high prioirty for me as a trustee: It can't really be achieved without greater community involvement. If you have any specific questions about getting involved let me know at alexander.brown@tdsb.on.ca or CALL at 647-391-8410 anytime. I can help.
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NEWTONBROOK SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT COMES OUT ON TOP AT SPEAKERS IDOL 2016!!
Congratulations Rebekah Hwang!!!
I had the pleasure of attending the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Speakers Idol Contest last Thursday at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Twelve finalists - 6 for elementary and six for secondary - from around Ontario wowed the audience with their speeches on the theme of...The history of man is the history of crimes, and history can repeat. So information is a defence. Through this we can build, we must build, a defence against repetition. Simon Wiesenthal
Not only were all of the contestants very professional in style and delivery but they also had very powerful messages that touched a cord with everyone who turned out to watch and listen. The venue was packed. Of the six secondary school finalists Rebekah Hwang from Newtonbrook Secondary School was honoured with the top award for the best speech and performance in the secondary panel. I really want to congratulate Rebekah for an excellent speech and for caring about the topic so much. Good stuff Rebekah!
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The Ministry of Education announced the 2016-2017 Grants for Student Needs (GSNs) on 24 March 2016. The GSN release provides school boards with updates/changes to provincial funding formula as well as information on projected individual school board funding based on estimates prepared by the Ministry. Staff are preparing a briefing note for Trustees following the announcement, outlining significant changes in funding policy.
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This year, the Board approved a set of guiding principles and system directions presented by the Director that have informed the 2016-2017 proposed budget. In particular, the proposed budget assumes the creation of collaborative learning teams that will strengthen coherence within the system. There will be a smaller number of central leadership positions to serve our schools more effectively. Human and material resources such as special education, teaching and learning, and central service functions will be closer to schools to minimize bureaucracy and strengthen responsiveness to students. Appropriate intervention strategies will be developed for students that are not meeting the system expectation of reading by the end of Grade 1, and there will be a renewed focus on mathematics to improve outcomes (see more below).
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Toronto School Board Dividing into "Learning Centres"
Here is a more comprehensive UPDATE regarding the TDSB move toward Learning Centres. Read the Star Article above for a basic overview of the plan. I will provide future updates once the plan and implementation near completion.
Learning Centres- The emerging plan calls for four learning centres with approximately seven Superintendents in each centre, led by an Executive Superintendent. This will allow 32 members of our senior team to work directly with schools. At present, we have 20 members of senior team working directly with schools, while the rest of senior team supports schools from the Board level.
- When we speak about a learning centre, we are not necessarily speaking about a geographic building. Decisions regarding where people will work have not yet been finalized. But the general idea is to get them closer to the schools and in greater touch with people who are learning and teaching.
Coaches- Each centre will have access to coaches that will support effective instruction in classrooms. In my meetings and interactions with Principals, Vice-Principals and senior team, it was made abundantly clear by all that schools needed a different kind of support (learning coaches) to support teaching and learning. This view is supported by research which shows that learning coaches can positively impact teaching and learning and improve student achievement. Though the primary responsibility of these coaches will be to support effective instruction, we will ensure each centre has coaches with different specialties so that they can also assist with areas such as the arts or digital literacy to name a few.
- One of our key commitments is for every student to be able to read at grade level by the end of Grade 1. The 20 early reading coaches will work directly with students and teachers to accomplish this goal. In addition to the above, we will also assign a minimum of 60 learning coaches (Kindergarten to Grade 12) to work alongside teachers to improve learning and achievement. In addition, there will be a dedicated team of 8-10 co-curricular lead teachers who will support system-wide activities and events such as co-curricular Arts, Athletics, etc.
- Posting and hiring process for these coaches will occur in the month of April. At that time, coaches will be assigned to learning centres which will allow the Superintendents to have additional supports for their schools.
Superintendents and Learning Centres- Each Superintendent in the learning centre will also have a coordinating function. The purpose of this coordinating function is to ensure coherence across the entire system, and is not meant to distract the Superintendent from the important work of supporting schools. These coordinating functions may include teaching and learning, special education, early years, leadership, global competencies and digital literacy, equitable, safe, and accepting schools, and employee services. The responsibilities of the Associate Directors and the Director will be worked out after we organize the learning centres.
- We will continue to support our Model Schools and our high schools that are involved in the Student Success School Support Initiative through the centres. A major difference from our present model will be that a larger number of Superintendents will be assigned to schools in these programs so that the Principals in the schools have only one Superintendent and are not asked to be a part of a different learning process separate from their Family of Schools. It is our intention that by assigning a larger number of Superintendents to these schools, the Superintendents can be a learning team supporting each other as well as the staff and administration in schools.
Superintendent Connectivity to Trustees- A shift in terms of this model is that Trustees will be working with an Executive Superintendent and a team of Superintendents as opposed to one or two Superintendents as it exists right now. At this time, planning work is underway to determine which wards will be attached to each centre. It is important that we have a balance in the number of schools in each learning centre.
Central Work- Some Executive Superintendents will continue to work at the Board level so that the work of our learning centres is coordinated and coherent. For example, Executive Superintendents/Officers working at the Board level may lead the following departments:
- Employee ServicesTeaching and Learning
- Special Education
- Information Technology Service
- Equitable, Safe and Accepting Schools
- Research and Information Services
- Communications
- Board Services
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Ministry of Education Facility Condition Review
The Ministry of Education (EDU) does a facility condition review of all publicly funded schools in Ontario. Each school is reviewed every 5 years. The information provided through this review is updated on a periodic basis. The latest information for the TDSB is that the total backlog of infrastructure repairs (Renewal Backlog) required at our schools is estimated to be as follows:
In 2016: $3,491,650,950
In 2017: $4,170,047,411
In 2018: $4,735,472,121
These numbers are clearly unacceptable. Trying to diminish the impact of a 3-4 billion dollar backlog by closing schools down or selling surplus properties for revenue is fruitless. The problem has grown too large for a short-sighted approach. There are many different solutions that can work in harmony but we have to employ them: - The TDSB must be allowed to collect Education Development Charges (EDC) from developers in the city. The Catholic School Board was given that right but the TDSB has been locked out - even with a seriously growing backlog! The TDSB could have access to about $300 million for facilities maintenance.
- The provincial government has to ensure that the TDSB receives a suitable portion of the funding available for facilities maintenance each year. The TDSB has about 12% of Ontario's students but we generally only receive about 5% of the funding. Last year we received slightly more in recognition of this issue.
- Community hub models and vertical schools. In areas where schools are under-utilized we have the opportunity to develop community hubs with the intention of bringing services to kids and community at the school.
In areas where schools are bursting due to enrolment we need to explore a new school model - vertical schools. Built into condominiums, community centres, and other innovative approaches, vertical schools offer a very different but no less safe or nurturing environment in an urban setting. Willowdale is a prime example of this kind of high need area. The TDSB is studying this approach now.
For More Information about Infrastructure needs and school condition follow the campaign for change at the parent-lead organization FIX-OUR-SCHOOLS at this website: fixourschools.ca
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Special Education - Gifted Students
As I mentioned in the last eNEWSLETTER the TDSB is introducing a district wide universal screening process, at the grade 3 level, to identify students with a gifted exceptionality to ensure equitable opportunity for each child to be considered for the gifted program, rather than relying on referrals from parents and teachers. "Our current process is outdated, inequitable and does not effectively identify all the students in the board who could benefit from gifted programming. Very few experts presently define giftedness solely as high Intelligence Quotient (IQ)"
The TDSB is introducing a new screening process for all grade three students in the 2016/17 school year - starting this fall. I have provided a link o the Power Point presetnation about the Gifted Screening process. Please feel free to look at it and send me any questions that you may have about it.
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The Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) at TDSB has worked hard in a collaborative effort to ensure that the TDSB is focusing it's resources on all students who have been identified with exceptionalities and those who need extra support in the classroom.
We have identifed three priority areas to focus on. Find SEAC Priorities attached here. We have also started work on a parent-focused survey that will help us identify trends in special education programs and services being provided at the TDSB. We are interested in what's working, what's not working and what needs to be done to make it better for everyone. I will provide an online link to this anonymous survey once it has been finalized and is ready for use. Translated versions in a few langauges will be available as will the option of paper - hard copy - versions for those who are not comfortable with computers. The survey will be fully accessible to those visual impairments.
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Upcoming Meetings & Events
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| THURSDAY, APRIL 28th @ Drewry Secondary School Special Education WARD FORUM The IEP - Do you really know what it is? Join Alexander Brown and guests on April 28th. We will talk about Individual Education Plans (IEP). What are they? What are they used for? How and when does a child get one? Where can you go for help or to appeal? Are IEP necessary? You will also be able to share your experiences with Special Education services at the TDSB with others and help me as a trustee better understand the challenges from a parent's perspective and how we can be done better. Will include a Panel Discussion, and table talk session where we share ideas. Date: April 28th - Thursday
Location: Drewry Secondary School Time: 7pm to 9pm - registration is from 6:45pm Space is limited. Please arrive early and RSVP if possible. Child care is available if we know in advance. Contact Rob Little rob.little@tdsb.on.ca to RSVP. **IEP- Individual Education Plan
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Thursday, April 7
TDSB 65th Annual Sounds of Toronto Concert – Join us for the 65th Annual Sounds of Toronto Concert, presented by the Toronto Secondary School Music Teachers’ Association. With 22 secondary schools and over 800 secondary music students from across the TDSB performing, the concert will feature performances of solo and massed works by choirs, bands, steelpan, a drumline and orchestras that represent the diverse music programs offered in TDSB secondary schools and run by secondary school music teachers.
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Massey Hall (178 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON M5B 1T7)
Contact: Janet Bambrick, Program Coordinator – Music, TDSB
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| NORTH YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY / April - May 2016 Programs
Location: North York Central Library
Wednesday April 20, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
Speakers: Richard Yeardye, Chair, Ontario Genealogical Society (Toronto Branch)
Les Kelman – President, JGS
ONTARIO GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (Toronto Chapter)
Overview of OGS, Example of Genealogical Research and future of OGS Collection at the Toronto Reference Library
JEWISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
Overview of Toronto Jewish Families History, Cemeteries and Memorial Projects
Also book of members’ stories and future of JGS Collection at the Toronto Reference Library
Wednesday May 18, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
Speaker: Lori Oschefski
Genealogical Researcher of British Home Children
Description: Breaking the Silence
From the late 19th century to 1948, 118-120 thousand children of all ages were brought to Canada in migrant schemes and used as indentured servants for our farms and our households.
An estimated 4 million Canadians are descended from British Home Children, who grew up to find steady jobs, marry, raise families and serve our country in both World Wars.
It is a part of our history which remains relatively unknown in Canada. Join History Award Nominated Author Lori Oschefski to learn about this forgotten part of our Canadian History.
The North York Historical Society
PO Box 45045, 5845 Yonge Street
North York ON M2M 4K3
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Toronto City Councillor John Filion - eNEWSLETTER Update. Find out more about community and city events in Willowdale here.
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