District takes on new assistant

Langley School District's assistant superintendent is retiring, and his replacement starts in January.

Langley Advance

Heather Colpitts

November 27, 2010

The Langley School District has announced a change of the guard at the senior administrative level.

Assistant superintendent Charlie Etchell is retiring, and Suzanne Hoffman has been named to fill the spot as of Jan. 1.

Hoffman is the district principal of professional and instructional services and has been with the school district since 1990.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/business/District+takes+assistant/3888149/story.html#ixzz16hvz6d9S

Charlie Etchell retires from school district

Langley Times

Natasha jones

November 25, 2010

One of the Langley School District’s senior administrators is retiring at the end of the year.

Charlie Etchell, a former principal, has been an assistant superintendent of schools for many years, following stints at a number of Langley schools.

Until recently, Etchell had been acting secretary-treasurer, after a series of departures by secretary-treasurers.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

BCTF Press Release - Teachers echo call for poverty reduction strategy for BC children

With the release today of the 2010 Child Poverty Report Card, the BC Teachers’ Federation adds its voice to the chorus of parents, health professionals, and community organizations demanding that our provincial government take urgent action to end child poverty.

“BC is one of the wealthiest provinces in Canada, yet it is one of the least willing to act on child poverty,” said Jim Iker, first vice-president of the BCTF.

In the past decade, BC teachers have seen cuts to school breakfast and lunch programs, even as more students are coming to class hungry. They’ve seen the closure of before- and after-school programs, even as more parents are working longer and harder than ever to make ends meet.

“Child poverty is one of the most harmful, yet most easily preventable barriers to learning. As teachers, we know how difficult it is for children growing up in poverty to learn,” said Iker. “BC needs a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy which targets all ministries, including the Ministry of Education.”

Iker noted that six provinces in Canada already have poverty reduction strategies with specific targets and timelines. For its part, the BCTF has been tackling this issue in the following ways:

Classroom support: The BCTF anti-poverty action group has developed teaching resources including lesson plans, videos, online resources, and a professional development workshop.

Research: BCTF researchers are working with classroom teachers in Vancouver, Port Alberni, Penticton, and Surrey to investigate child poverty in schools and share knowledge about its impacts on students’ social, emotional, physical, and academic success.

Conferences: In the last two years, the BCTF held conferences in Kelowna and Prince George, bringing together parents, students, educators, and community organizers to respond to child poverty.

School projects: The BCTF funds school-based social justice projects such as community gardens where students learn how to grow food and donate it to local food banks.

Advocacy: The BCTF works with First Call, the Poverty Reduction Coalition, and others in lobbying for solutions including:

• providing adequate funding for breakfast and lunch programs in schools
• creating more spaces in before- and after-school programs
• raising welfare rates
• creating affordable housing
• ending government-sanctioned child labour laws for 12- to 14-year olds
• raising the minimum wage to $10 per hour
• encouraging employers to pay their employees a living wage.

“Despite all our efforts, community coalitions cannot do this alone,” Iker said. “We urgently need government of whatever political party to commit to working with us to end child poverty. Children and families simply can’t afford to wait any longer.”

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For more information, contact Nancy Knickerbocker, BCTF media relations officer, at 604-871-1881 (office) or 604-340-1959 (cell).

BCTF Charter Challenge update 5

Charter challenge: Government defence continues

November 23, 2010

On November 22, counsel for the attorney general continued its defence of the contract-stripping legislation passed in 2002 and 2004. Observers for BCTF were surprised to hear the legislation described as a “balance” between the tabled positions of the BCPSEA and BCTF. In fact, the legislation went well beyond the concessionary agenda of BCPSEA.

There was a lengthy attempt to refute BCTF’s assertion that the conduct of BCPSEA and government in 2001–02 amounted to bargaining in bad faith. Other points raised by the attorney general’s lawyer included:

• Constrained funding for education means boards will need increased “flexibility.” Hence the legislation.
• The legislation is obviously working as intended because there now are many more classes enrolling more than 30 students than before it was passed. As well, there are now some 12,000 classes integrating four or more students with special needs. That would not have been permissible prior to the legislation.
• The legislation has had no appreciable impact on staffing/service levels.

The case continues.

BCTF Charter Challenge update 4

November 22, 2010

The attorney general is continuing its defence of the legislation that purged teachers’ workload provisions and forbade their inclusion in any future collective agreement. In broad terms, the government has argued that:

• local bargaining from 1987–1993 was dysfunctional due to an imbalance of power in favour of the BCTF and its member unions, which were better co-ordinated and resourced than school boards and were more motivated towards collective bargaining outcomes.
• local bargaining resulted in significant labour strife.
• class-size and composition provisions were overly restrictive and expensive.
• the move to put K–3 class-size maximums into the collective agreement was forced on BCPSEA and trustees by government.

(This assertion was made despite high praise from the chair of BCPSEA at the time concerning the successful negotiations and an 87% vote in favour of ratification by trustees.)

Three and one-half more days are scheduled for submissions by the attorney general, after which BCTF will make its reply.

2011 School Trustee By-election Township of Langley

The Township of Langley has posted the information on the School Trustee By-election:

NOTICE OF NOMINATION

Notice is hereby given to the electors of the Township of Langley that nominations for qualified candidates will be received by the Chief Election Officer at:

Location: Township of Langley Civic Facility
20338 – 65 Avenue, Langley, BC

From: 9:00am, Tuesday, November 30, 2010
To: 4:00pm, Friday, December 10, 2010

During that period, nomination documents will be received between 8:00am and 4:30pm Monday to Friday, except statutory holidays.

To view the rest of the information and the criteria to run in the by-election, click here.

BCTF - Charter Challenge Update 3

Evidence of bad-faith bargaining mounts, BCTF says

On November 18, the fourth day of the Charter challenge to Bills 27 and 28, BCTF legal counsel John Rogers continued to enter evidence to demonstrate that teachers’ rights to freedom of association were infringed. He argued that:

• The conduct of the BC Liberal government and the BC Public School Employers’ Association in 2001 and 2002 amounted to bargaining in bad faith, in that they allowed a pretence of collective bargaining to continue despite their mutual understanding that intended legislation would purge from the collective agreement workload provisions governing class size, class composition, and non-enrolling ratios.
• The resulting legislation, which required the elimination of hundreds of those same workload provisions from the collective agreement and prohibited their future inclusion in the collective agreement, amounted to “substantial interference” with the Charter-protected right to the process of collective bargaining.
• Section 4 of Bill 27 that eliminated 10 previous local agreements in amalgamated school districts, and Section 15 of Bill 28, potentially voiding hours of work provisions, are also clear violations of the Charter.

After Bills 27 and 28 were passed in January 2002, they were given legislative effect by an arbitrator who purged the collective agreement of class-size, class-composition, and non-enrolling provisions. Even though that arbitrator’s determination was subsequently quashed in a successful BCTF application to the Supreme Court, the government responded by simply legislating the contract stripping. This move also represents a further infringement of teachers’ Charter-protected rights to freedom of association, Rogers argued.

In the afternoon, the government began its defence of the legislation.

BCTF - Charter Challenge Update 2

BCTF alleges government and BCPSEA bargained in bad faith

November 18, 2010

In the third day of the charter challenge to Bills 27 and 28, BCTF legal counsel introduced further evidence that we say shows that in 2001–02 the BC government acted in concert with the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) in a process that amounted to bad faith bargaining.

BCTF lawyer John Rogers entered extensive documentation to show that:

• soon after its election in May 2001, government had determined that provisions governing class size and class composition as well as non-enrolling ratios would be removed from the collective agreement through legislation.
• BCPSEA was aware of the impending legislation.
• despite BCPSEA’s foreknowledge of the legislation, it continued to meet with BCTF at the bargaining table in what John Rogers characterized as “sham” or “surface” bargaining; in other words, bargaining in bad faith.

The argument for BCTF will conclude November 18, and counsel for the Attorney General will begin his argument on behalf of the Crown.

BCTF Charter Challenge Update

Charter challenge continues

November 17, 2010

On November 16, the second day of arguments in BC Supreme Court, legal counsel for the BCTF began introducing evidence to demonstrate that the BC Liberal government’s conduct in 2001 and 2002 amounted to bad faith bargaining.

John Rogers entered into evidence documents which the BCTF argues reveal that senior officials of the BC Public School Employers’ Association, various government ministries, and bureaucratic structures knew early in the course of bargaining between BCPSEA and the BCTF that the government intended to pass Bills 27 and 28. At the same time, they continued to maintain the pretence of collective bargaining with the BCTF.

Madam Justice Susan Griffin heard how the government used various stories about inflexible interpretation of class-size clauses to justify the legislation that stripped class size and composition and other hard-won language from the collective agreement. However, in BCTF submission, these stories were not supported by evidence.

eSIS "acquired" by Pearson

The company that built the software for BCeSIS—aal-- has been “acquired” by Pearson, one of the largest global education publishing companies.

The release from Pearson says:

“This program will ensure ongoing support for eSIS customers and provide opportunities to take advantage of the broader Pearson technology platform. “eSIS Customer Advantage” entitles current eSIS customers to free licenses and services to implement a Pearson flagship student information system over a multi-year period. Details regarding the program are being communicated to eSIS customers directly.”

The Press Release from BCeSIS

Dear School Systems Customer,

With great pleasure, Pearson announces today the acquisition of The Administrative Assistants, Ltd (aal)! This acquisition extends Pearson’s current student information system (SIS) market reach and leadership to over 15 million students, and will provide increased international market opportunity for Pearson’s K-12 technology platform.

In addition to the SIS business, Pearson provides solutions for K-12 school districts connecting student information, assessment, reporting, and content management. The alignment of these solutions helps schools, districts, and departments of education begin to realize the potential of personalizing learning through data-informed instruction for all students. aal customers will benefit from the depth and breadth of Pearson offerings and interoperability among Pearson solutions.

Pearson will continue to manage the SIS business through the School Systems group, operating under the leadership of Paul Fletcher.

In conjunction with the acquisition, Pearson is also announcing a new program, “eSIS Customer Advantage.” This program will ensure ongoing support for eSIS customers and provide opportunities to take advantage of the broader Pearson technology platform. “eSIS Customer Advantage” entitles current eSIS customers to free licenses and services to implement a Pearson flagship student information system over a multi-year period. Details regarding the program are being communicated to eSIS customers directly.

Teachers' union in court challenging laws passed in 2002

Vancouver Sun Blog - Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education system

Janet Steffenhagen

November 15, 2010

Lawyers for the B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF) were in court Monday to argue that a contract imposed on teachers in 2002 violated their Charter rights to freedom of expression.

That contract significantly reduced the union's bargaining power by stripping it of its hitherto right to negotiate class size, class composition, ratios for specialist teachers, the length of the school day and hours of instruction in the school year. The new laws - known as Bills 27 and 28 - also removed class-size limits in 10 post-secondary institutions

To view the rest of the blog posting, click here.

BCTF Press Release - Teachers challenge Liberal laws that stripped collective agreements

BCTF News Release

November 15, 2010

Beginning today, the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation will be in BC Supreme Court challenging three laws imposed by the BC Liberal government that teachers say violated their right to freedom of association under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The case goes back to January 2002, when Premier Gordon Campbell, then-Education Minister Christy Clark, and then-Labour Minister Graham Bruce rushed Bills 27 and 28 through the BC Legislature over the weekend. TheEducation Services Collective Agreement Act and the Public Education Flexibility and Choice Act sparked outrage amongst teachers, and indeed across the labour movement, because they gutted their collective agreements of important working and learning conditions. These included all clauses related to:

• class size
• class composition
• guarantees of service from teacher-librarians, counsellors, learning assistance and other specialist teachers
• support for integration of students with special needs
• length of the school day
• hours of instruction in a school year.

Bills 27 and 28 also prohibited the inclusion of such clauses in future contracts, and completely eliminated 10 local agreements with the stroke of a pen. An editorial in The Globe and Mail described the acts of the Campbell government as “legislative vandalism.” The International Labour Organization, a UN agency, found the BC government to be in contravention of international law, yet the Liberals did nothing to redress the breach.

“Teachers went on strike in 2005 to take a stand against the unjust stripping of our collective agreements and the devastating impact of these bills in classrooms across the province,” BCTF President Susan Lambert said. “Parents overwhelmingly supported us because they understood how important those contractual guarantees were to ensuring quality education.”

In the wake of the strike, the Liberal government enacted Bill 33, which placed limits on class size and composition in legislation rather than in collective agreements. However, in practice the limits are violated so often that they are virtually meaningless. As a consequence, teachers now must engage in lengthy and costly hearings in an effort to protect learning conditions. The continued existence of thousands of oversized classes provides ample evidence of the ineffectiveness of the legislation.

“We believe that the charter is on our side, that the stripping of our collective agreements was illegal,” said Lambert. “Almost nine years later, we are in BC Supreme Court to assert our rights and to demonstrate our ongoing determination to win for BC teachers and students the quality teaching and learning conditions they need and deserve. This is advocacy at its finest.”

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For more information, contact Nancy Knickerbocker, BCTF media relations officer, at 604-871-1881 (office) or 604-340-1959 (cell).

Location for new Willoughby school announced

Langley Times

Kerrie-Ann Schoenit

November 10, 2010

A new elementary school accommodating 510 students will be built in Willoughby over the next two years.

...the two-storey facility will be located at 21020 83 Ave., in the Yorkson Creek neighbourhood. Quadra Homes is putting in 1,400 condos at 208 Street and 83 Avenue and has provided 10 acres of land at a reduced price to the Township for the future school and park site. The goal is to have the school open by September 2012.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Canadians more educated than ever

Vancouver Province

Jennifer Saltman

November 9, 2010

"Basic education scores are still above the international average, but Canadian scores declined in math, literacy and science from 1999 to 2006.

The report, written by University of B.C. researchers and released by the Canadian Index of Well-Being, found that the student to educator ratio in public school is improving across the country -- except in B.C.

Canada's average improved from 15.9 to 14.7, while B.C.'s strongly fluctuated and didn't improve: 16.9 in 1997 and 16.6 in 2007.

B.C. already had one of the poorest student-educator ratios in the country.

As such, the gap between B.C. and other provinces widened over the past 15 years, increasing from a one-point difference to a two-point difference."

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Canadians+more+educated+than+ever/3798361/story.html#ixzz14p1vG0lN

Cutbacks prevent kids from learning English

Langley Times - Letter to the Editor

Charles Wei

November 2, 2010

Editor: The gross negligence of the Langley School District’s budget management has by now been fully publicized.

Now the bitter consequences are starting to surface.

Langley School District used to have a great English as a Second Language (ESL) program with lots of success stories, but now, due to budget cut, the level of ESL has become grossly insufficient in cases.

A nine-year-old new immigrant with no English is getting only one session of ESL per week due to budget cutbacks, leaving the cute kid wondering at the school for the rest of the week. I consider that gross negligence of education.

To view the rest of the letter to the editor, click here.

Langley residents head to the polls on Jan. 15

Langley Times

Natasha Jones

November 4, 2010

The Township of Langley will formally approve Saturday, Jan. 15 as polling day for the single seat on the Langley board of education, at its meeting on Monday.

The seat became vacant when Joan Bech, who was the chairman at the time, resigned abruptly on Sept. 16.

The confirmation of election day opens the door to candidates filing their papers at the Civic Facility from Tuesday, Nov. 30. until 4 p.m., on Friday, Dec. 10.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Standardized tests not working, forum told

The Windsor Star

Jeff Bolichowski

November 5, 2010

The shame of an outside-the-box failure was enough to convince one Windsor mom to give standardized tests a two-year detention.

About 60 people sat in on an open forum Thursday night as local public school teachers made the case against standardized Grade 3 and 6 testing. But for Windsor's Gail Eldracher, the case was made when her daughter Stephanie failed her Grade 10 standardized test for, she said, writing too long an answer to a question.

"She was devastated," she said of her daughter, whom she said regularly scored grades of 90 per cent. "She was embarrassed and humiliated and cried.... It took awhile for her to get motivated again.

"It's not fair. It's just a snapshot in time. It's not a fair determination or a fair testing of what the students really are doing."

Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Standardized+tests+working+forum+told/3780257/story.html#ixzz14RBsCyC8

Gordon Campbell resigns

Globe and Mail

Justine Hunter

November 3, 2010

Embattled B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell is stepping down, saying after “considerable soul-searching” he has concluded his personal unpopularity has overshadowed the needs of the province to foster the economy.

In a brief statement to the media in Vancouver on Wednesday morning, he said he has asked the B.C. Liberal party to call a leadership convention as quickly as possible “to return public attention to what is important in British Columbia."

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Premier resigns

The B.C. Liberals are suddenly looking for a new leader.

Langley Advance

Heather Colpitts and Troy Landreville

November 3, 2010

Premier Gordon Campbell has resigned.

“This decision is what I believe is in the best interest of British Columbia, our government, our party and the people of our province,” he said.

He made the surprise announcement this morning and has asked the B.C. Liberal Party to hold a leadership convention as soon as possible.

“It’s time for a new person to lead,” he said.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/news/Premier+resigns/3772181/story.html#ixzz14FeAK9Rb

Premier Gordon Campbell resigns

Langley Times

November 3, 2010

Premier Gordon Campbell is stepping down, as soon as a replacement leader of the BC Liberal Party can be named. He made the surprise announcement on Wednesday morning in Vancouver, following a cabinet meeting.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

No grade four student left behind?

Langley Times - BC Local News

Tom Fletcher

November 1, 2010

VICTORIA – The B.C. government's pledge to bring every grade four student's literacy and math skills up to grade level is ambitious, but it can be done, says Education Minister George Abbott.

Abbott says the government's latest education goal is already being accomplished in four school districts, South Kootenay, Arrow Lakes, Revelstoke and Fort Nelson. These districts are doing better than the provincial average mainly by encouraging old-fashioned family support such as reading to kids in the evening, he said.

To view the rest of the article, click here.