Record number of board submissions to Report on Budget 2010 Consultations

Reviewing the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services' newly released Report on the Budget 2010 Consultations, BCSTA President Connie Denesiuk noted "the record number of submissions by boards of education. Never before have we seen this many! Boards across BC have truly joined forces to advocate strongly for public education."

As related in BCSTA's November 13 Advocacy News, the Committee in its Report made the following five recommendations for Kindergarten to Grade 12 education:

• work with boards of education to conduct a comprehensive review of the education funding formula
• work cooperatively with boards of education on a review of the administrative and reporting requirements for each school district and within the Ministry of Education
• treat the Annual Facilities Grant as a high priority for funding in the 2010-11 budget
• ensure the implementation of all-day Kindergarten is fully funded and
• enhance capacity within ministries and at the community level so that the planning and funding of adult literacy services are effective and well coordinated.

Connie thanks the many trustees and boards who provided valuable input to the Committee.

Back to top ^

BC Representative for Children and Youth will be just one of Academy's highlights

BCSTA's Ability Academy, December 3-5 at Vancouver's Westin Bayshore, offers a dynamic, topical program of speakers and sessions. A highlight will be the plenary presentation by BC Representative for Children and Youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, who just last month released the much-awaited report Honouring Christian Lee – No Private Matter: Protecting Children Living with Domestic Violence. As for the many and varied Academy sessions, these range from "Conflict of Interest" to "Local Education Agreements" to "Facilitating Community Consultations," and many more.

Note the latest update to the Academy program: both the BC Teachers' Federation and the Canadian Union of Public Employees are kindly holding receptions for our members. Keep checking the program for more updates!

Back to top ^

Let's learn more about Canada, eh?

For enterprising teachers in Chilliwack, Canada Day is year-round. Realizing that students at Greendale Elementary didn't know a whole lot about their country, the teachers founded Club Canada, Eh!, a series of monthly K-12 activities to increase understanding. The approach is cross-curricular, fitting into many areas of BC’s Learning Outcomes, especially in Language Arts and Social Studies. Let your schools know about this valuable resource! For more information, contact Greendale Principal Deneen Scott.

Meanwhile, this is the season to read Canadian, as well!

Back to top ^

Your weekly Legislative Monitoring

In this week's edition of Legislative Monitoring, here are your latest transcripts from education-related debates in the BC Legislature.

Back to top ^