LTA

Heroes? Who are the real heroes in the education system?

2012-02-12T15:31:00.000-08:00

That's No Lie blog
Kathy A. Couch
February 12, 2012

I was shocked and dismayed to read an article in the Province, written by Joy Ruffeski, retired administrator and past president of the BC Retired Principals and Vice Principals association?

She insists that principals are unsung heroes in the current teachers’ job action.

Giving the title of hero to a group who has kept silent about the cuts to the education system for over 10 years seems a bit of an overstatement.

We might not be in this situation if the principals, vice principals and superintendents had stood up to the government. We may still have our teachers of the special needs, our librarians and more reasonable class sizes and workable class compositions. We may not have health and safety issues in our labs and shops because of overcrowding. In fact we may have improved on what we had in 2001 if principals and other administrators had the courage to stand up and work as hard as teachers have to maintain and improve services within the education system. Their silence has NOT helped the students.

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

Economic Growth and BC Teachers

2012-02-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

Random Geekdom Musings
February 10, 2012

My mother teaches high-school Math and Calculus. My wife teaches High-School French. My father teaches Sports Management at University. I am not unbiased in writing this article.

Inspiration to write this came about while studying the Economics section of the Level 2 CFA. I will be drawing on that curriculum and from Milton Friedman’s “The Role of Government in Education” which can be found here.

My thoughts after the jump.

The goals of a democratic government are to:

Provide public goods
Enforce societal values, and
Increase the standard of living.

Education is a crucial factor for success in all three goals of government. It has positive externalities which are undervalued by individuals (thus requiring government to encourage it), it helps shape and analyze our values as a society, and it directly leads to a higher standard of living. Thus it is critical for any democratic society to ensure some baseline amount of education for its citizens in order to be functional.

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

Response to George Abbott's Editorial re Appointment of "neutral" fact-finder

2012-02-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

That's No Lie
Cathy A. Couch
February 11, 2012

On Feb. 10, Minister of Education, George Abbott, released an "opinion-editorial" regarding the recent appointment of government insider, Trevor Hughes, as a so-called "neutral" investigator into the progress of teacher/BCPSEA bargaining. Following are my comments, in italics and bolded and red, to many of the assertions made by Minister Abbott.
Opinion-Editorial
By George Abbott
Minister of Education
Feb 10, 2011
VICTORIA - Since being appointed Education Minister last March, I've had the pleasure of visiting 95 schools and half of the province's 60 school districts. I've met with hundreds of teachers, students, parents and administrators.

Every visit and every meeting has only reinforced in my mind that British Columbia has a great education system, filled with people who are passionate about what they do.
I've seen first-hand how important teachers are to student success.
So if you really mean this, why is your focus on fix the teacher? Why are you trying to control teacher Pro-D, implement an evaluation system that does not contain due process, etc.?

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

Rethinking French education in B.C. schools

2012-02-10T21:04:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun blog - Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC Education System
Janet Steffenhagen
February 10, 2012

A parent group is calling for a merger of French immersion programs and francophone schools in the B.C. public system.

Canadian Parents for French (CPF) made its pitch this week to federal politicians, saying a restructuring of French-language education is needed to ensure anglophone and allophone families have the same right as francophones to have their children taught in French.

As it now stands, only French-speaking parents in B.C. have the right to send their children to French schools. Parents who speak only English, or a language other than French or English, have no such Charter guarantee.

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

BC Child Care Advocates in Geneva to Complain to UN

2012-02-10T20:57:00.000-08:00

The Tyee.ca
Katie Hyslop
February 6, 2012

Frustrated with a lack of development on provincial and national childcare programs, advocates are taking their concerns above the British Columbian and Canadian governments and going straight to the United Nations.

In a confidential meeting today in Geneva, Susan Harney and Lynell Anderson of the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC (CCCABC) will join a number of Canadian children's advocates making presentations to the UN working group on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Canada signed in 1990. Other Canadian advocates presenting to the working group include Cindy Blackstock, head of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, representatives from UNICEF Canada, the Coalition on the Rights of Children and Youth, and Council of Provincial Child and Youth Advocates, and a delegation of Canadian youth.

Focusing mainly on childcare and child poverty, Harney and Anderson will speak specifically to the CCCABC's report "A Tale of Two Canadas," disputing the government's assertion it's meeting the convention's standards in this area.

"Canada in a number of United Nations reports in terms of childcare and early childhood has come out last among the most wealthy countries of the world. We spend less than even countries like Mexico, as part of our GDP, on programs for children," Susan Harney told The Tyee last week before she left for Geneva.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Negotiate, don't legislate

2012-02-10T20:50:00.000-08:00

Staffroom Confidential blog
Tara Ehrcke
GVTA President
February 2012

With the appointment of a so-called "fact finder", the BC government is apparently orchestrating its plan to legislate BC teachers and impose a contract.

I say "so-called" because the government has appointed one of their own...we cannot expect any serious, independent report from an appointed government bureaucrat. He is not independent. He is not an arbitrator, mediator, or from the Labour Board. Worse than that, in his previous life, Trevor Hughes worked for the employer's association in healthcare - the BC Health Employers Association. This is the health care equivalent of teachers' employers association, BC Public School Employers Association.

In my mind, the report is a foregone conclusion, and is simply a set up to give the government some PR when they use the legislative hammer. Teachers have not provided a reason to legislate, so the government will manufacture one.

Sadly, a few voices joined the call for a legislated end, including one Trustee in my school district, Michael McEvoy. McEvoy incensed teachers when he suggested on CBC that the job action is hurting children. He conveniently failed to mention the impact of Bills 27 and 28 which eliminated class size and class composition rules and has been devastating for student learning. How anyone could suggest a missed report card is equivalent to the elimination of $3 billion in funding over the last decade is just mind boggling.

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

View teachers as shareholders

2012-02-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

Summerland Review - Letter to the Editor
Carol Barton
February 8, 2012

Dear Editor:

This is a open letter to Minister of Education George Abbott:

Thank you for your visit today. We are pleased and honoured that you have chosen to visit Giant’s Head School.

We certainly believe Giant’s Head School is a very special place. It’s a people place! It is a place where we strive every day to make a difference in children’s lives.

We put our heart and soul into our work here. No doubt, that can be said for many public schools in our province. Teachers care about kids.

That is why we do what we do! We are here to share the “aha moments” and we are here to work hard “in the trenches” for those kids who need more time, more resources and more love.

We are the voice for those children. Today we want you to hear our message on their behalf and on our behalf.

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

Province appoints fact-finder to review teacher contract dispute

2012-02-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun
Janet Steffenhagen
February 9, 2011

The appointment of a fact-finder to review the contract feud between B.C. public school employers and the teachers' union is intended as a clear signal to everyone that the current situation is unacceptable, Education Minister George Abbott said today.

The months-long dispute is hurting students, depriving parents of report cards and causing additional work for principals, vice-principals and superintendents, but still there has been no movement at the bargaining table, the minister said.

"The parties are not just miles apart, they are an ocean apart," he told reporters after the government announced that Trevor Hughes has been instructed to talk to the B.C. Public School Employers' Association and the B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF) and submit a report by Feb. 23. Abbott said he was not confident an amicable resolution is possible.

Hughes' report will help government decide if it should impose a settlement, he told reporters, adding that such legislation has not yet been drafted but wouldn't take long to write. Governments have imposed contracts on B.C. teachers previously, he noted.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Province+appoints+fact+finder+review+teacher+contract+dispute/6127850/story.html#ixzz1m2oHAz7U

BC Premier Clark to replace throne speech with radio appearance

2012-02-10T20:22:00.000-08:00

The Tyee.ca
Andrew MacLeod
February 9, 2011

With no throne speech scheduled, British Columbia Premier Christy Clark will instead make a 90-minute appearance on the Vancouver radio station where she used to work.

"In place of a formal Throne Speech, the Premier will be appearing on CKNW’s Bill Good Show to outline the government’s agenda for the spring session," said an email to press gallery members from Clark's deputy press secretary and communications officer Rebecca Scott.

The premier will give a scrum to other media who are welcome to watch the interview at the CKNW studio, the message said. The appearance is scheduled for 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. on Feb. 13. The spring session of the legislature will open Feb. 14.

Reporters were quick to pan the decision on Twitter. The Victoria Times Colonist's Rob Shaw, wrote, "It is ridiculous the premier chooses one media outlet to deliver her entire spring agenda. How about a press conference? What a joke."

To view the rest of the article, click here.

LTA Press Release - Appointment of Deputy Minister, Industrial Relations, as fact finder in teacher negotiations

2012-02-10T12:44:00.000-08:00

BC Teachers negotiating with the Government - Who holds all the cards?

2012-02-09T20:40:00.000-08:00

Press Conference with BCTF President Susan Lambert - Part 2

2012-02-09T20:37:00.000-08:00

Press interview with BCTF President Susan Lambert - Part 1

2012-02-09T17:34:00.001-08:00

New schools are next priority

2012-02-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

Langley Advance
February 9, 2012

Now that the Routley land swap is off the table, the Langley School Board plans to push ahead with two new schools in Willoughby.

Last October the province announced funding to construct a new middle school and money for land and to build a new elementary school.

"The district aims to have the new elementary school open for September 2013 and the middle school for September 2014," according to a statement put out by the district Feb. 8.

The district will have to use land it already owns because the provincial approval did not include money to buy a site.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/news/schools+next+priority/6124942/story.html#ixzz1lumkaPvX

School board sticks with land swap deal: The Routley land swap will go ahead now that Langley school board has re-affirmed its position

2012-02-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

Langley Advance
Heather Colpitts, Matthew Claxton
February 9, 2012

Langley School Board trustees will stick with the original decision to swap a parcel of land in the Routley neighbourhood in a three-way deal with a developer and Langley Township.

The public school board held a special meeting Tuesday evening to decide one way or another what do to about the land around 200th Street and 70th Avenue.

The Township had set aside the land for possible school and park use, but the developer instead suggested a three-way land swap with the Township and school district.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/School+board+sticks+with+land+swap+deal/6124938/story.html#ixzz1lulYe8sk

New Westminster Foundations of Math 11 students receive scaled marks

2012-02-09T11:18:00.000-08:00

New Westminster - The Record
Alfie Lau
February 7, 2012

The New Westminster Teachers' Union president calls it "new territory" and something he's never heard being done before outside of provincial exams, but Grant Osborne told The Record on Monday that students in the Foundations of Math 11 course received scaled marks in the first semester.

According to Osborne, parents of students taking the class received a note from senior administration that all the marks in the math class were scaled, or adjusted, by district administrators.

According to an explanation from a teacher about what form mark scaling can take, it's a process by which student grades in a class or program are compared to each other and students are assigned grades depending on where each student falls on a relative scale. For example, if in one class, the top mark earned is 60 per cent, the teacher can give the top grade to that student and then scale other marks in relationship to that number.

Read more: http://www.royalcityrecord.com/news/Westminster+Foundations+Math+students+receive+scaled+marks/6110330/story.html#ixzz1luiYCV9k

Unpaid work by Langley teachers worth $1 million a month

2012-02-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

Langley Times
Dan Ferguson
February 8, 2012

Every month, according to their employers, Langley teachers work an average of $1 million in unpaid after-hours work.

That figure is based on a failed application in November by B.C. school districts to have teacher salaries rolled back 15 per cent by the British Columbia Labour Relations Board.

Lawyers for the association that bargains for all public school boards in B.C. argued teachers pay should be reduced during the current labour dispute because the union was refusing to fill out report cards and carry out other types of after-hours work.

In their submission to the board, the lawyers for the BC Public School Employers' Association said activities outside regular school hours "account for between 15 per cent and 20 per cent of the work normally performed by a teacher."

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Work on Willoughby middle school to be expedited

2012-02-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

Langley Times
February 8, 2012

Now that the land exchange involving the Routley school site has been agreed to by both Township council and the Board of Education, work will proceed quickly on establishing a middle school in Willoughby.

A press release from the board states that "the Langley School District is eager to begin moving forward with plans to construct a new middle school to serve the growing Willoughby area."

Funding for the construction of the middle school was allocated last October, when Premier Christy Clark announced funds for two new schools to serve the Willoughby area, a middle school and an elementary school. The latter includes site acquisition funding.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Teachers-on-call salaries not excellent

2012-02-09T09:58:00.000-08:00

Victoria Times Colonist - Letter to the Editor
Holly Mair
February 9, 2012

Re: "Teachers' pay looks pretty good," letter, Feb. 7.

I would like to question the assertion that "a teacher's salary and perks look quite excellent."

The letter fails to acknowledge that many beginning teachers do not get full-time work. While a full-time salary of $48,000 may look good to her, she should be aware that the average annual salary for teachers on call is a paltry $11,000, according to research conducted by the B. C. Teachers' Federation.

I am one of the fortunate teachers to have a full-time job; however, many of my teaching colleagues have been on the teacher-on-call list for several years, waiting for jobs that were sadly slashed by the provincial government. Even if they are lucky enough to sign a contract, it is often a small portion of a day which limits their ability to work elsewhere.

An excellent example of this is a Semester 2 English teaching position that was recently posted in my district. The "lucky" teacher who gets that position will have an annualized full-time equivalent of 0.125, which equates to a gross annual salary of $6,000.

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/Teachers+call+salaries+excellent/6125522/story.html#ixzz1luObXQdo

First nations schools in desperate need of funding and accountability, panel finds

2012-02-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

Globe and Mail
Tamara Baluja, Kate Hammer
February 8, 2012

A federally appointed panel says Canada is in desperate need for increased funding and accountability for first nations schools in order to combat soaring high-school drop-out rates among aboriginal youth.

It recommends new legislation, a First Nations Education Act, that would help accomplish these goals by replacing the current patchwork of programs and initiatives.

“There is no first nations education system that consistently supports and delivers positive outcomes for first nations students in Canada,” said the panel’s chair, Scott Haldane, after releasing the report Wednesday.

The panel made five recommendations for the federal government, including the creation of new legislation, a national first nations education commission, increased funding and improved tracking and reporting of learning outcomes.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

'Teach only' campaign has created more than $1 million in student opportunities

2012-02-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

Abbotsford News - Letter to the Editor
Jeff Dunton
President, ADTA
February 3, 2012

At the latest school board meeting, the district claimed that the teachers’ “teach only” campaign has cost approximately $180,000 because their managers are busy covering supervision. The presentation purposefully omitted the “opportunities gained” for our students as a result of teachers not attending staff meetings or performing supervision duties.

According to the Ministry of Education, in 2010/11 the average Abbotsford teacher salary was $70,278. We are paid for 200 days a year and the federal government credits teachers with 9.1 hours of work per day.

Based on this information, teachers in Abbotsford average $351.39 per day or $38.61 per hour.

According to the collective agreement, staff, meetings can last for one hour and 45 minutes, meaning every meeting costs, on average, $67.56 per teacher. Multiplied by 1,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in Abbotsford, that means every cycle of staff meetings costs about $67,560. Since September, each teacher has missed about 10 staff meetings for a total of $675,600 in “opportunities gained” for our students.

To view the rest of the Letter of the Editor, click here.

Burnaby teachers send a Valentine card to George Abbott

2012-02-08T22:25:00.000-08:00

Burnaby NewsLeader - Letter to the Editor
Trina Moulin
February 7, 2012

I am a teacher at Byrne Creek Secondary, as well as one of its staff representatives for our teacher union.

Instead of going directly home for the weekend, I dropped by the Burnaby Teachers’ Association office with a delivery. During a lunchtime teacher meeting this week, teachers on my staff wrote Valentine's cards to send to Victoria. Why? We know that our elected Members of the Legislative Assembly resume sitting on Feb. 14, and that there has not been any movement at the bargaining table, nor are we any closer to a resolution regarding the Supreme Court decision pertaining to Bills 27 and 28.

To view the rest of the Letter to the Editor, click here.

Teachers work much more than just 9-3

2012-02-08T22:13:00.000-08:00

Burnaby NewsLeader - Letter to the Editor
Teresa Tomsics
February 7, 2012

You obviously have no idea what goes on in a school.

Most teachers are working those hours! With all the planning, marking, meetings, after-school coaching and preparation that doesn't happen during the measly two, 45-minute prep periods we get, my colleagues and I are at school well after 3 p.m. and there before school begins. Combining several classes to play a soccer game (with the government's class size limits, two classes would be about 60 kids) while marking papers is laughable, unsafe and impossible.

To view the rest of the Letter to the Editor, click here.

BC's Learning Improvement Fund - 1 minute per student per day

2012-02-08T21:58:00.000-08:00

Staffroom Confidential blog
Tara Ehrcke
February 8, 2012

The BC Ministry of Education has announced it's "Learning Improvement Fund" via radio ads. Rather than put class sizes and class composition limits back into contract, and rather than reinstate teachers' ability to bargain working conditions, the government is setting up a fund to provide a paltry sum of additional money to supposedly address learning challenges. (And as an aside, it's not clear if it really is any additional money...the budget announcement for next year's funding is actually a 3% cut. It might just be re-purposing of money meaning cuts elsewhere.)

When class size and composition limits were removed in 2002, the government took $275 million per year from education budgets. How much is the Learning Improvement Fund? $30 million next year. $65 million the year after, and $75 million the year after that.

With 550,000 public school students in BC, what does this "improvement" look like?

27 cents per student per day, in year one.

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

Teachers urge province ‘to step up’ and negotiate

2012-02-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

BC Federationist
February 8, 2012

A net-zero offer will always be a nonstarter for teachers when it comes to their ongoing collective bargaining, says Delta Teachers’ Association president Paul Steer.

“Teachers who are on strike look forward to a renewal of the terms of their employment and look forward to a negotiated end to the strike but are unwilling to accept government’s net-zero mandate, which would really deliver a reduction in salaries and benefits for teachers in real terms, once inflation is factored in,” Steer said.

The B.C. Teachers’ Federation last week tabled a new bargaining position, calling for a 15 per cent pay hike in a three-year deal. The union has also modified some of its proposals for improved benefits.

Total cost of the union’s new proposals would be $300 million.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Board wants change to hasten agreement

2012-02-08T11:55:00.000-08:00

Canada.com
Lexi Bainas
February 8, 2012

Cowichan Valley school trustees are asking the BC Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA) to make more effort to reach a speedy agreement with the province's teachers and, if the group finds that an impossible task, that it toss the negotiations back in the lap of the provincial government.

The idea was pushed by new trustee Ellen Oxman, who said she felt the district had a responsibility to support their employees and students who are not benefiting from a prolonged work-to-rule regime by members of the BC Teachers' Federation, or from statements from BCPSEA that their hands were tied because the government had told them to hold to a net zero contract.

The teachers' action has been taken in support of the contract talks.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

No requirement for another blank report card

2012-02-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun blog - Report Card i An in-depth look at the BC education system
Janet Steffenhagen
February 7th, 2012

One blank report card was enough.

That seems to be the conclusion of the B.C. Education Ministry, which has decided not to issue another directive for schools to produce report cards with next-to-no information.

In a recent letter to superintendents, deputy minister James Gorman advised that they are excused from a legal obligation to provide parents with a written report on their children’s progress this spring, given the BCTF job action.

In October, he took a different approach, telling superintendents that schools must issue report cards, even if they were mostly blank due to teachers’ refusal to participate. As a result, thousands of report cards were sent home with little information apart from teachers’ names and attendance figures.

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

Teachers' commitment deserves our respect Forget the stereotypes - long hours, heavy workload can take their toll

2012-02-08T11:34:00.000-08:00

Victoria Times Colonist
Susan McCaslin
February 8, 2012

Due to the encouragement of my Grade 7 English teacher, I became a writer and educator. Many people have similar stories about the pivotal role a teacher has played in their lives.

My daughter has recently decided to pursue a degree in education, but is becoming discouraged by the general lack of respect paid to teachers by the public at large. The low pay does not seem to be a deterrent, though it reinforces this lack of respect to some extent.

Like me, she is ignoring these voices, primarily because of her passionate sense of calling after helping kids learn as a tutor and seeing the grins and selfesteem they enjoyed after finally "getting it" and joining their classmates in sharing knowledge.

Some of them clearly needed greater one-on-one help than the classroom allowed for, but were overjoyed when their grades improved.

Yet just the other day on a radio show, I heard reiterated that old cliché, "Those who can, do; those who can't teach," and thought how demoralizing such remarks must be to young adults going into the field. Ex-teacher and now-comedian Gerry Dee, the star of the television series Mr. D., doesn't exactly help with his portrayal of teachers as lazy and incompetent.

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/business/Teachers+commitment+deserves+respect/6119275/story.html#ixzz1low4G9cn

Garnett parents plead for help

2012-02-08T11:28:00.000-08:00

Langley Times
Natasha Jones
February 6, 2012

As a demonstration school, R.C. Garnett was hailed as a model where educators could implement and learn from teaching practices that enhance children’s education.

It was built so that educators could watch educators at work. They could observe, form strategies and confer with their peers.

It was the first of its kind in Langley when it opened in September, 2006. It also didn’t have enough children to fill the Grade 6 and 7 classrooms.

Today, R.C. Garnett has become a model of what has plagued schools on the Willoughby slope: planning gone awry.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Teachers not asking for a 'substantial boost'

2012-02-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun
Susan Lambert
February 8, 2012

Re: "Teachers waging disingenuous war; Pay level ranks fourth in country, while most Canadians can only dream of 12 weeks of paid vacation, pension" Feb. 4, 2012.

Jock Finlayson of the Business Council of BC doesn't think B.C. teachers should get a salary increase that would help them catch up, even a little, with teachers in other provinces. Finlayson characterizes the BCTF salary proposal as a "substantial boost." Can a proposal that calls for a cost of living increase, in effect a salary freeze, in the first year be characterized as a substantial boost? Government's net-zero policy means an equivalent cut in pay. Should we then characterize the net zero government policy as a substantial cut in pay for the province's teachers?

The BC Public School Employers' Association is at the bargaining table offering nothing while demanding deep contract concessions. Surely even Finlayson would concede that is no way to get a deal.

Statistics Canada reports that between 2000 to 2010, where teachers took two net-zero years, public sector salaries in B.C. rose by 16.9 per cent while inflation increased by 19 per cent. Teachers' salaries have declined not only in relationship to colleagues across the country but in terms of real purchasing power here at home.

Finlayson cites average salaries to assert that B.C. teachers rank fourth in pay among the 10 provinces, but actual salaries tell a different story.

Beginning teachers in Vancouver with five years of university start $5,000 behind their counterparts in Regina and Winnipeg, and $13,000 behind those in Calgary.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Teachers+asking+substantial+boost/6118719/story.html#ixzz1lotbcAc3

Think back over the past six years in school district

2012-02-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

Langley Times - Letter to the Editor
Wendy Minar
February 6, 2012

Editor: Seriously people, think back six years. Cheryle Beaumont was at the helm.

Remember all the spending that was going on toreconfigure H.D Stafford to a middle school, the buying of the Langley Christian elementary school for the Fundamental students to have their elementary school, the renovations which had to be done, and a whole science lab was put in to make a high school from the relatively new existing Langley Fundamental elementary school.

Then there was the $1 million donation to the new Langley Events Centre from the school district. Could we have really afforded that sum? I think not.

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

Teachers also work hard

2012-02-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

Langley Times - Letter to the Editor
Rick Friesen
February 6, 2012

Editor: As a high school teacher of 22 years, I often find it sad to hear ignorant people make blanket statements.

These statements can suggest that all police officers spend half their day eating donuts, all small business owners cheat on their taxes and teachers only work six hours per day. All show an ignorant bias. As you might have figured out, this last statement is the one bothering me.

Consider this. I teach 200 students and test these students once every two weeks. If I spend 10 minutes to mark one test, then 200 tests will take 2,000 minutes to mark. That translates to 33 hours of my time outside of the class.

To view the rest of the Letter to the Editor, click here.

Willoughby schools are close to crisis

2012-02-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

Langley Times
Frank Bucholtz
February 6, 2012

Langley Board of Education has its work cut out for it.

The situation in Willoughby schools is rapidly approaching a crisis, and at the same time the board is consumed with all the fallout from its decision to get rid of Superintendent Cheryle Beaumont.

As I have commented earlier, the board had every right to change superintendents. However, the challenge right now is that there are many urgent situations that require a firm hand on the tiller, and it is hard for any acting superintendent, no matter how capable, to provide all the help needed.

It’s also important to remember that the school district needs to pay about $10 million or so out of upcoming operating budgets back to the province, as a result of past fiscal mismanagement.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Saskatchewan essential services law struck down

2012-02-06T23:29:00.000-08:00

CBC News
February 6, 2012

A Saskatchewan law limiting the ability of public sector workers to go on strike has been ruled unconstitutional by a Queen's Bench judge, but the provincial government says it is still committed to having essential services legislation.

In a 132-page decision, released Monday, Regina Justice Dennis Ball said the Public Service Essential Services Act — also known as Bill 5 — infringes on workers' rights and is of "no force or effect."

However, a "declaration of invalidity" will be suspended for a year, Ball said.

"Obviously, we need to go through it several more times, but I can say to you we are pleased by the court's decision to protect working people's charter rights," Larry Hubich, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, told reporters after Ball's decision was released.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Opinion: Better to put your faith in the Easter Bunny than the Liberals’ budget numbers

2012-02-06T23:19:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun
Vaughn Palmer
February 6, 2012

VICTORIA - The B.C. Liberals are still intent on balancing the provincial budget on the eve of the next election, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon announced Monday, as if that were as bankable as this month’s paycheque or RRSP deposit.

The Liberal record going back to the last election suggests otherwise. A brief recap:

Jan. 1, 2009. The year dawns with the Liberals running for re-election, still committed in law and in principle to balancing the budget each and every year. Never mind the worst recession in modern times. “I’m not going to be one of the people that’s going to be advocating we go into deficit,” Premier Gordon Campbell has told reporters. “It’s like an addiction. Once you’re there, its very hard to get off of it.”

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Opinion+Better+your+faith+Easter+Bunny+than+Liberals+budget+numbers/6111025/story.html#ixzz1lg6IQJe1

Burnaby schools get least funding because they're least needy: Abbott

2012-02-06T23:05:00.000-08:00

Burnaby Newsleader
Wanda Chow
February 6, 2012

Burnaby school district may get the lowest per-student funding in the province, but that's because it's the least needy, according to Education Minister George Abbott.

Abbott was responding to a NewsLeader story in which the district stated that it receives the lowest provincial funding per student in B.C., a figure calculated by adding up all the funding a district receives and dividing it by the number of students.

While all districts receive the same basic amount per student, a number of factors influence the province's funding formula, said Abbott.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Go east, young teacher

2012-02-06T15:28:00.000-08:00

Staffroom Confidential blog
Tara Ehrcke
GVTA President
February 6, 2012

Ah BC, the greatest place on Earth. Let me count the ways:

1. Highest child poverty rate
2. Greatest inequality
3. Expensive housing

The mountains are beautiful, but is it really worth it?

Probably not, if you are a new teacher, starting your career.

Here are some facts to consider about cross Canada comparisons (Out of the 13 Provinces and Territories) for teaching salaries, education spending and working conditions:

Starting salaries with 5 years of university education: 11th
Starting salaries with a Masters degree: 12th
Student teacher ratio (number of students for each teacher): 2nd
Total spent on education per capita: 10th
Number of classes with 4 or more students with special needs: 12, 240

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

Arming teachers with breathalyzers?

2012-02-06T14:07:00.000-08:00

Kamloops This Week

Tim Petruk

February 6, 2012

A controversial amendment to the Kamloops-Thompson school district’s drug and alcohol policy, which would in effect give school staff the same power as police officers with breathalyzer machines, is slated to go before the board of education tonight (Feb. 6).

The proposed amendment would allow school staff who are trained to use breathalyzers to demand breath samples from students during normal school hours and extra-curricular activities.

Like the Criminal Code offence of failure to provide a sample, a student who refuses to blow into the machine would be presumed impaired.

“If a student refuses to take the breathalyzer test, school staff may rely on such refusal to conclude that a student has been using alcohol,” the proposed amendment reads, stating the student would then be “subject to the consequences.”

To view the rest of the article, click here.

B.C. education: Eroding standards, endless conflict

2012-02-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

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

Janet Steffenhagen

February 5, 2012

The following op-ed by Jerry Mussio was published Sunday in the Victoria Times-Colonist and is a must-read. Mussio was a senior manager with the B.C. Education Ministry and, later, an education specialist with Statistics Canada. Between 2000 and 2004, he was Canada’s representative in the development of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA):

This year is different for Grade 12 students heading for university. Except for English 12 or its equivalent, the Ministry of Education has abandoned provincial examinations in all senior academic courses.

Grade 12 exams are no longer offered in key courses such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, history, English literature, French and Mandarin.

Students aiming for university entrance typically are required to achieve at a high level in three or more of these courses.

The decision to drop Grade 12 exams in academic courses follows a stream of similar actions taken over the past 10 years that have weakened standards in the public school system.

In 2002, the ministry began to retreat from routinely updating the provincial curriculum, the prime vehicle used to define what is taught in classrooms.

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

Teachers Questioning BC Minister of Education on a visit to Kamloops

2012-02-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

A teacher notes to the BC Minister of Education that the standard of living for females who comprise the majority of the teaching profession is what has had an affect on the profession. Recent years have been the most difficult years for teachers. The Minister of Education continues to justify government policy

NDP seeks evidence of Liberal anti-bullying plan

2012-02-03T16:55:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun blog - Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education system
Janet Steffenhagen
February 3, 2012

I posted earlier about the four blank pages that were produced by the B.C. Education Ministry in response to a recent freedom of information request.

The request was for: “A copy of any and all records, briefing material or background reports prepared for the Minister including all correspondence between the Minister or the Deputy Minister and the Premier’s office or any school boards regarding policies on bullying or homophobia. Time frame is May 1, 2011 to Dec. 7, 2011.”

At the time of my post, I knew only that the request had been filed by a political party, but I’ve since learned that it was sent by NDP MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert.

I asked him Friday what he was attempting to uncover, and he said he was looking for evidence that the ministry was doing something to deliver on Premier Christy Clark’s promise of tough anti-bullying action. (Read about that here.)

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

Staff Rep memo #86 - Report from the Bargaining Table

2012-02-03T16:02:00.000-08:00

Wildrose vows to give school boards negotiating powers

2012-02-03T14:46:00.000-08:00

Calgary Herald
James Wood
February 3, 2012

A Wildrose Party government would return to local school boards the power to negotiate teachers' salaries, party leader Danielle Smith said Thursday.

Boards would also have greater authority to hire more teachers, said Smith as she unveiled Wildrose's "commitment to parents on education" in Airdrie.

"The problem we have seen in the last five years is that the province took over teacher negotiations and then they negotiated a contract they couldn't afford," she told reporters.

"We want to return that local bargaining power so that we can have local school boards make decisions on contracts with teachers that are reflective of their needs in the local community." However, Smith said Wildrose would not return school boards' powers to set and collect property taxes, which were taken away by the Progressive Conservative government in 1994.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Wildrose+vows+give+school+boards+negotiating+powers/6095376/story.html#ixzz1lMTsxGlk

Are high-tech classrooms better classrooms?

2012-02-03T14:32:00.000-08:00

Education - Salon.com
David Sirota
February 3, 2012

The release of Apple’s computer-based textbooks last month had the usual technology triumphalists buzzing. “Apple and the Coming Education Revolution,” blared the headline at Fast Company magazine. “Apple puts iPad at head of the class,” screamed Macworld. And Time magazine declared the announcement the “debut (of) the holy grail of textbooks.” It sounds exciting — a rise of the machines that promises educational utopia rather than “Terminator”-style cataclysm.

Or does it?

Though it may be too soon to definitively answer that question, it’s not too soon to ask it. Because despite the celebratory hype, there’s no guarantee that a hyper-technologized education system is synonymous with genuine progress.

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

Langley school trustee censured for confidentiality breach

2012-02-02T21:47:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun blog - Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education system
Janet Steffenhagen
February 2, 2012

The Langley board of education has censured trustee Alison McVeigh for revealing confidential information about the dismissal of superintendent Cheryle Beaumont.

Here is the one-sentence news release that landed in my inbox Thursday morning:

Langley, BC – The Board of Education of School District No. 35 has censured Trustee Alison McVeigh for releasing confidential information from an In-camera meeting of the Board.

McVeigh, a trustee for 12 years, breached confidentiality rules when she revealed that the board had voted in-camera to fire Beaumont, before it released a statement suggesting she left of her own accord. When I telephoned McVeigh the day after the release was issued to inquire about Beaumont’s departure, she said she felt compelled to speak the truth, even though she knew she would be in trouble for doing so.

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

Trustees chastise one of their own

2012-02-02T21:39:00.000-08:00

Langley Advance
Heather Colpitts
February 2, 2012

The Langley School Board has censured Trustee Alison McVeigh for speaking about in camera matters in public.

After Cheryle Beaumont left her position as superintendent, McVeigh publicly expressed anger at the process and spoke about what happened at an in camera (not open to the public) meeting where the board voted 5-2 to cancel Beaumont's contract.

Censure is a rebuking of the actions of a politician.

Chair Wendy Johnson said the board had an in camera meeting Tuesday after issuing notice of the intent to censure McVeigh and voted that night.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/Trustees+chastise+their/6091397/story.html#ixzz1lIJec83D

B.C. Teachers' Federation can't translate court victory into progress at the bargaining table

2012-02-02T21:37:00.000-08:00

Straight.com
Charlie Smith
February 2, 2012

On this day, most of the teachers chatting outside a conference room are wearing black. Black T-shirts, black shoes, black pants, or black skirts, and, in the case of B.C. Teachers’ Federation president Susan Lambert, a black scarf. That’s because these BCTF representatives are gathered at the Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel on January 27, the eve of what they call a “dark day in education”: the 10th anniversary of the Gordon Campbell government’s passage of bills 27 and 28, which cancelled provisions in their collective agreement without any consultation whatsoever.

Until January 28, 2002, the BCTF could negotiate restrictions on class size, as well as limits on the number of kids with special needs that each teacher would accept. In addition, the BCTF previously had a say on the length of the school calendar and on its members’ hours and days of work.

“All of us who have any kind of history in the B.C. Teachers’ Federation are acutely aware of that date,” Lambert tells the Georgia Straight in an interview near the hotel lobby. “Because on that date, Christy Clark, as minister of education, heralded this wonderful piece of legislation to give ‘flexibility and choice’ to parents and students. They brought in legislation to strip every shred of collective-agreement language associated with class size and composition—and to prohibit our rights to bargain class size and composition in the future.”

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Routley decision back on board table

2012-02-02T21:29:00.000-08:00

Langley Times
Monique Tamminga
February 1, 2012

It looks like Routley parents are going to get an answer sooner rather than later about whether they will get a school in their neighbourhood.

A special meeting of the Langley Board of Education has been called for Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. The only item currently on the agenda is for trustees to reconsider voting on the Routley land swap, confirmed Langley School District spokesperson Sandy Wakeling.

Township Council is also looking at voting on the land swap at its Feb. 6 meeting.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Graduates aplenty

2012-02-02T21:24:00.000-08:00

Langley Advance
Heather Colpitts
February 2, 2012

Langley School District graduates 84 per cent of its students, the highest rate in a decade and the third year in a row the local rate has exceeded the provincial average.

The news is part of the district achievement report which was released for Tuesday's school board meeting.

The Ministry of Education dictates that districts prepare the annual achievement report to give a state of the union overview of the local situation.

District research is finding that about three out of four students in Grades 1 and 2 are reading at grade level and according to Foundation Skills Assessment testing about 70 per cent of Grade 7 students are reading at grade level.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/Graduates+aplenty/6090269/story.html#ixzz1lIF77ENt

Routley back on the table

2012-02-02T21:19:00.000-08:00

Langley Advance
Heather Colpitts, Matthew Claxton
February 2, 2012

Langley School Board isn't waiting until its regular monthly meeting on Feb. 21 to deal with the Routley land-swap issue.
It will meet on Feb. 7.

On Wednesday, the district announced the meeting a 7 p.m. next Tuesday at the board office in Murrayville.

The only topic on the agenda is Routley, where residents feel they have lost a school site.
The meeting comes a day after the Township discusses the issue.

Mayor Jack Froese said he will ask for a reconsideration of the matter on Feb. 6, to help move the issue along.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/news/Routley+back+table/6088977/story.html#ixzz1lIEF4mzo

Langley school board censures McVeigh

2012-02-02T21:15:00.000-08:00

Langley Times
Natasha Jones
February 2, 2012

The Langley board of education has censured Trustee Alison McVeigh for releasing confidential information from an in-camera meeting of the board of trustees.

At an in-camera meeting on Tuesday (Jan .31), trustees voted to discipline McVeigh who spoke out after superintendent Cheryle Beaumont was fired in January.

In a terse press release issued on Jan. 17, the board announced that Beaumont was leaving the district " to pursue other ventures."

McVeigh's in-camera transgression was to reveal that in a 5-2 vote, Beaumont was actually sacked.

While she said that she respected the decision of the board because it showed democracy at work, McVeigh called it "terrible."

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Kevin Falcon speaks the Liberal truth - serve the rich

2012-02-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

Staffroom Confidential blog

Tara Ehrcke

GVTA President

February 1, 2012

I was gob-smacked this morning to read a quote from Kevin Falcon, the Finance Minister, reacting to the recent BC Statistics report on growing income inequality.

The report showed that BC has the biggest gap between the top and bottom twenty percent of workers of any province in Canada. Falcon responded:

But B.C. Finance Minister Kevin Falcon makes no apologies for the income gap in B.C., saying B.C.'s Liberal government has pursued a policy of encouraging high incomes through low taxes.

Falcon doesn't dispute the numbers in the study, but he takes issue with the analysis.

"I just have trouble with people saying, 'Oh, because there's a gap there that's must be a bad thing.' You know remember, as I mentioned earlier, and I'm not being flippant, but in Cuba they don't have any income inequality because they're all poor," he said.

(http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/01/30/bc-income-gap-widening.html)

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

A Dark Day for Public Education: A decade of resistance by BC Teachers

2012-01-31T20:45:00.000-08:00

Commentary insulting to dedicated teachers

2012-01-31T20:42:00.000-08:00

Nanaimo Daily News - Letter to the Editor
Kip Wood
Nanaimo District Teachers' Association
January 31, 2012

Re: 'School system in big trouble' (Daily News, Jan. 24)

Paul Walton makes several provocative statements about public education in B.C, Walton states that the "education system is failing," that it is "nothing more than a glorified babysitting service," and that "most (teachers) just stick to the watery curriculum and hope for the best."

Respected international assessments continually recognize that the B.C. public education system is among the best in the world. Walton's remarks are uninformed and insulting to the dedicated people who have developed, and sustain, a great institution.

To view the rest of the Letter of the Editor, click here.

B.C. income gap getting worse

2012-01-31T20:35:00.000-08:00

CBC News
January 31, 2012

A new report echoes what Occupy protestors across B.C. were saying last year — there's a growing gap in the province between rich and poor.

And the report does not come from a left-leaning organization, but from BC Stats, the agency that crunches numbers for the provincial government.

In its weekly Infoline report, dated Friday, the BC Stats report cites two measurements of inequality in 2009.

The first measurement looks at household income and found that B.C. is second only to Alberta as having the greatest inequality of any province.

In the second measurement, B.C. ranked dead last, having the biggest gap between the top and bottom 20 per cent of income earners.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

Teacher bargaining and the strength of seniority

2012-01-31T17:53:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun blog - Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education system
Janet Steffenhagen
January 31, 2012

Education Minister George Abbott touched a hot button recently with his explanation about why government wants changes to post-and-fill language. During an interview on CKNW, he suggested that the weight given seniority is such that a social studies teacher could win a math posting simply because of his/her years on the job. That needs to change, he said, adding: “It is so commonsensical I don’t understand the fervent objection to this as somehow contract stripping.”

His comment prompted Tara Ehrcke, president of the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association and a member of the BCTF bargaining team, to fire off the following letter:

Dear Mr. Abbott,

I was deeply upset and angered by your remarks on the Bill Good show this week. You need to know that every teacher I have spoken to who heard the show has had a similar reaction – outrage, frustration and sorrow.

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

How to reduce income inequality

2012-01-31T13:29:00.000-08:00

Staffroom Confidential blog
Tara Ehrcke
GVTA President
January 31, 2012

The last time there was such severe income inequality in Canada and the US was the 1920's. Political pundits of all stripes lament this fact, and point to the heady days of the post-war era as the high point in social and economic equality. But they fail to address a key question: How did that come about and how did we get there?

The most recent report from the OECD (Organization of Economic and Cooperative Development) says this about Canadian inequality:

Two factors explain Canada’s growing gap: a widening disparity in labour earnings between high- and low-paid workers, and less redistribution. 'Taxes and benefits reduce inequality less in Canada than in most OECD countries

What is the way forward to address these two issues?

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

School site swap controversy to wrap up sooner

2012-01-31T13:24:00.000-08:00

Langley Advance
Matthew Claxton
January 31, 2012

The vote on the controversial development of a former school site in the Routley neighbourhood has been moved - again.

Mayor Jack Froese said he will ask for a reconsideration of the matter on Feb. 6, to help move the issue along.

The vote, on the third reading of rezoning bylaws for the site, was originally scheduled for Jan. 23. Council voted to defer the vote to Feb. 13, to allow the school board to make up its mind about the future of the site.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/news/School+site+swap+controversy+wrap+sooner/6076618/story.html#ixzz1l4bo6Jau

Beaumont in charge of debt

2012-01-31T13:21:00.000-08:00

Langley Advance - Letter to the Editor
Wendy Minar
January 31, 2012

Dear Editor,

Think back six years. Cheryle Beaumont was at the helm as superintendent of schools during all the spending that was going on to reconfigure H.D. Stafford to a middle school.

There was purchase of the Christian elementary school for the fundamental population to have their elementary school, and the renovations that had to be done, not to mention a whole science lab put in to make a high school from their basically new existing elementary school.

There was the million-dollar donation to the new Langley Events Centre from the School District. Could we really afford that? I think not.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/business/Beaumont+charge+debt/6076631/story.html#ixzz1l4b5viZb

Captain justly removed from ship

2012-01-31T13:18:00.000-08:00

Langley Advance - Letter to the Editor
J. May
January 31, 2012

There is much being said about the current Langley Board of Education, former superintendent Cheryle Beaumont, and Trustee Alison McVeigh's indiscretion. [Beaumont firing sets off trustee sniping, Jan. 26, Langley Advance].

It makes me think of a cruise ship. When the captain of a cruise ship brings it safely into port, we thank the captain. When the guests get off the ship, we thank all the workers on the ship for making it a fabulous cruise.

Like the captain, it was on the superintendent's watch, in the top job, to ensure Langley School District was in safe harbour, not millions of dollars in debt.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/travel/Captain+justly+removed+from+ship/6076630/story.html#ixzz1l4aJiQVR

Past board faulted for costs

2012-01-31T13:15:00.000-08:00

Langley Advance - Letter to the Editor
L. Fletcher
January 31, 2012

Dear Editor,

The fact that superintendent Cheryle Beaumont's departure is going to cost us anything can be laid at the feet of the past school board majority, which voted to prematurely extend her contract by three years.

If they had just left her contract alone, it would have expired this summer and Beaumont would have been out the door at no cost.
In my opinion, the contract extension was a ploy by the old board majority (of which only Trustees Alison McVeigh and Rod Ross are now left) to try to manipulate the new board majority into keeping Beaumont, rather than letting them decide for themselves who they wanted to work with.

The "old gang" wanted to make it tough for the new board majority to get rid of Beaumont, thinking that they would be afraid of generating negative public opinion.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/Past+board+faulted+costs/6076632/story.html#ixzz1l4ZV5SAl

Superintendent Beaumont's departure means a fresh start for Langley

2012-01-31T13:11:00.000-08:00

Langley Times - Letter to the Editor
Mike McDonald
January 30, 2012

Editor: I’m looking forward to a fresh start in Langley — a period of moving forward with the families, partner groups and voters alike being heard.

Some tough choices were made in the last few terms, and for that I respect both the previous and current board. Tough choices are just that; very difficult decisions to make for the long term betterment of the school system.

A tough choice was just made; a choice to achieve a fresh start; we thank the board for listening.

Many people didn’t like Cheryle Beaumont’s results while some did; regardless, the community would never have healed until there was a fresh start.

To view the rest of the Letter to the Editor, click here.

FOI request produces four blank pages

2012-01-30T21:46:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun blog - Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education system
Janet Steffenhagen
January 30, 2012

A freedom-of-information request posted on the B.C. government’s “open information” website caught my attention today.

The request, from an unidentified political party, was for the Education Ministry to provide:

‘A copy of any and all records, briefing material or background reports prepared for the Minister including all correspondence between the Minister or the Deputy Minister and the Premier’s office or any school boards regarding policies on bullying or homophobia. Time frame is May 1, 2011 to Dec. 7, 2011.”

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

BC dead last on inequality: BC Stats

2012-01-30T21:42:00.000-08:00

CCPA Policy Note
Keith Reynolds
January 30, 2012

Last Friday BC Stats, the BC government’s statistical agency, weighed in on the topic of income inequality. The CCPA has talked about this subject for years and it is nice to see that BC Stats has not only acknowledged the problem but says that:

Compared to other provinces, BC ranked dead last in 2009, with the largest gap between the top 20% and the bottom 20% of income earners.

The report starts by looking at how Canada ranks in international comparisons (badly) and then goes on to look at British Columbia. It points out that BC does much worse at using its tax and social programs to mitigate inequality than other provinces. BC ranks 5^th on income inequality just looking at market income (excluding government transfers and before taxes) but last after transfers and taxes.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

LTA General Meeting

2012-01-30T21:35:00.000-08:00

Teachers met this evening for a General Meeting in Langley. BCTF 2nd Vice-President Glen Hansman represented the BCTF and discussed the current negotiations with the government and BCPSEA. LTA President Gail Chaddock-Costello presented on local issues.

LTA Inductees for 2011-12

2012-01-30T15:17:00.000-08:00

LTA President Gail Chaddock-Costello hosted the new teacher induction into the BCTF this afternoon. BCTF 2nd Vice-President Glen Hansman came out to speak to the teachers and give out their certificates.

Trustees elected by voters

2012-01-30T09:44:00.000-08:00

Langley Advance
Donna Mason
CUPE 1260
January 26, 2012

Dear Editor,

As President of CUPE Local 1260 (Langley School District Support Staff), I am surprised to learn that unions are now running the show in Langley [Beaumont loss will be costly, Jan. 24 Letters, Langley Advance].

What happened is that there was an election in November in which Langley voters chose trustees for the Board of Education.

If the unions were running the show, all of our students would have the support they need to be successful, facilities would be in tip-top shape, accountability would be very high at the board office, we could decide who is hired and fired, and we could give ourselves a much-deserved raise.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/news/Trustees+elected+voters/6053921/story.html#ixzz1kxrnfQ2V

BCTF Video Release: Our interests aren't corporate profits - they're kids

2012-01-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

BCTF Video Release: Problem/Solution

2012-01-30T09:26:00.000-08:00

LTA President Gail Chaddock-Costello being interviewed on the Bill Goode Show on CKNW

2012-01-30T09:24:00.000-08:00

On Friday, January 27th. 2012, LTA President Gail Chaddock-Costello was interviewed on the Bill Goode Show about the Dark Day for Education to remember 10 years of education cuts from the BC Liberals with Bills 27 and 28.

To listen to the interview, click here.

B.C. First Nations students to get equal funding

2012-01-29T21:30:00.000-08:00

Globe and mail
Kate Hammer
January 27, 2012

First nations students in B.C. will soon receive the same funding as their peers in provincially run schools, thanks to an agreement signed Friday morning near Ottawa.

The First Nations Education Steering Committee, which represents about 130 schools, has been in negotiations with the federal government for six years, shaping a strategy to improve education on reserves.

A gap in per-pupil funding – estimated to be as much as 20 per cent less on reserves – had been a sticking point. Negotiations seemed at a standstill in April, with FNESC reluctant to cede control of its schools to the province in exchange for more money.

To view the rest of the article, click here.

BC Schools: A decade of choice, a decade of decline

2012-01-29T20:56:00.000-08:00

Staffroom Confidential blog
Tara Ehrcke
GVTA President
January 29, 2012

Yesterday marked the tenth anniversary of Bills 27 and 28. These two pieces of legislation began a dramatic shift in the framework of BC schooling towards a policy of "choice" - market driven public schooling.

The most dramatic impact was on funding and class size and support for students with special needs. Over ten years, the government removed over $3 billion from District budgets leading to over 12,000 overcrowded classrooms annually. This was the "choice" to dramatically shrink education funding by eliminating 3500 teachers and 700 special education teachers.

But other aspects of education reform reinforced the market ideology - open catchments, per pupil funding (as opposed to targeted funding for students with special needs), school district "corporations", testing and ranking of schools with the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA).

Education Minister Abbott, and those before him in the BC Liberals, like to promote the words "flexibility" and "choice" for parents. They suggest that this what the majority of parents actually want for their children. But is this a mechanism so that only some parents and students will receive the highest quality education within the public system?

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

Dark Day for Education protest in Vancouver on the 10th anniversary of education cuts by the BC Liberals

2012-01-28T14:07:00.000-08:00

LTA President Gail Chaddock-Costello at the Black Day for Education protest in Vancouver. It is to remember the 10th Anniversary of cuts to Education by the BC Liberals.

Dark Day for Education protest in Vancouver on the 10th anniversary of education cuts by the BC Liberals

2012-01-28T14:04:00.000-08:00

LTA Representatives to the BCTF RA Gurpreet Mahil and Wendy Cook

Dark Day for Education protest in Vancouver on the 10th anniversary of education cuts by the BC Liberals

2012-01-28T14:00:00.000-08:00

Salaries for B.C. principals and vice-principals

2012-01-27T16:20:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun blog - Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education system
Janet Steffenhagen
January 27, 2012

I’ve been gathering information on salaries and benefits for school employees who are not union members. It’s a laborious process but eventually I will have a story.

Today I found out that the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) provided me with incorrect salary figures for principals and vice-principals last week and I included those in a story published Jan. 17.

The association had reported that the average pay was $74,777 for a vice-principal and $93,436 for a principal. Today, a spokeswoman told me those figures were wrong. The correct ones are $94,300 for a vice-principal and $103,000 for a principal. A correction will appear in the newspaper.

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

Legislative expectations for BC education

2012-01-27T16:14:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun blog - Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education system
Janet Steffenhagen
January 27, 2012

As I’ve reported before, the B.C. Education Ministry is seeking feedback on how schools should be reformed for the 21st century. Much of that conversation is occurring on a ministry website - www.bcedplan.ca - but Education Minister George Abbott said he plans more consultation before changes are introduced in the legislature, likely in fall 2012.

In an interview this week, the minister said there will also be “modest” changes to the B.C. School Act during the spring session to deal with “persistent” complaints about unnecessary limitations on the school calendar. I have no other details at the moment.

Simon Fraser University, meanwhile, is hosting a conference on education reform Feb. 9 called Targeting technology for maximum student benefit. Speakers includeChris Kennedy, West Vancouver superintendent, Brian Kuhn, Coquitlam district technology leader, Kris Magnusson, SFU education dean, Bruce Beairsto, SFU adjunct professor, Robin Brayne, SFU’s director of graduate studies in education and Dan Laitsch, SFU associate education professor. Despite a $100 registration fee, it’s already sold out with 180 registrations. Beairsto said the audience will include trustees, senior administrators, district consultants and coordinators and school administrators but not many teachers. “I don’t know if that is the result of job action or failure to hear about it or lack of access to funding,” he told me in an email.

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

Trustee Megan Dykeman on “drama” in Langley district

2012-01-27T16:10:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun blog - Report Card - An in-dept look at the BC education system
Janet Steffenhagen
January 27, 2012

In my last post, I mentioned comments from school trustee Megan Dykeman at a Langley board meeting Tuesday as an example of conflict in that district. (Rancour in two school districts).

Using quotes from the Langley Times, I said Dykeman had lashed out at community members who were challenging the board over the unexplained departure of superintendent Cheryle Beaumont. Dykeman emailed me to say that was wrong, she was misquoted in the Times and her criticism was definitely not of the community at large but rather of failed candidates in the November school board election, their supporters and one of her colleagues.

Here are the comments she delivered at the meeting, which she sent to me this morning:

“I have watched with some interest over the last week, the drama Langley episode aired in the local press by failed candidates, their ‘commiserate-ors’ and others who appear inadequately aware of the governance responsibilities of trustees.

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

BCTF Press Release: A dark day for public education in BC

2012-01-27T16:06:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 26, 2012

A dark day for public education in BC: Teachers mark the 10th anniversary of bills that illegally ripped up contracts

Friday, teachers across BC are wearing black to mark the 10th anniversary of the passage of Bills 27 and 28 which ripped up teachers’ collective agreements and eliminated provisions protecting class size, class composition, and services to students with special needs.

“Over a single weekend in January 2002, the BC Liberals wiped out decades of advocacy and sacrifice by teachers and launched a decade of cutbacks, school closures, and untold damage to teaching and learning conditions,” said BCTF President Susan Lambert. “In declaring today a ‘Dark Day for Public Education in BC’ teachers are sending a message to government that it’s time to respect bargaining rights and come to the table to reach a fair and reasonable agreement with teachers.”
The 2002 legislation enabled the BC Liberals to cut $336 million annually from public education and so severely curtailed free collective bargaining rights that it could not sustain a challenge under the Charter of Rights. In April 2011, the BC Supreme Court found the bills to be unconstitutional and invalid.

On Saturday, teachers in the Lower Mainland will take action to commemorate the massive rallies that took place the day after the passage of Bills 27 and 28.

Between 12:15 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. Saturday, January 28, 2012, look for teachers demonstrating and waving signs on the following bridges:

· Cambie Bridge
· Dinsmore Bridge
· Moray (Airport connector) Bridge
· No. 2 Road Bridge
· Oak Street Bridge

- 30 -

Nancy Knickerbocker
Media Relations Officer
BC Teachers' Federation

Teachers' union defends its actions

2012-01-27T16:04:00.000-08:00

Langley Advance
Gail Chaddock-Costello
LTA President
January 24, 2012

The Langley Teachers' Association is defending its actions as supporters of the ousted school superintendent criticize the teachers' union.

LTA president Gail Chaddock-Costello issued a statement Jan. 24 over some of the issues that are being debated in the community since Cheryle Beaumont left her position as superintendent.

The statement:

Much has been said about Ms. Beaumont's resignation and many comments have been made about the involvement of unions in this decision. My initial reaction was not to dignify the comments with a response, but as they continue, and I continue to be personally named, I am compelled to reply.

The Langley Teachers' Association did endorse candidates to their members in 2008 and 2011.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/Teachers+union+defends+actions/6045434/story.html#ixzz1khremDup

Advice to teachers re their “Black Friday” protest

2012-01-27T15:59:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun blog - Report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education system
Janet Steffenhagen
January 26, 2012

Teachers who wear black on Friday and sport buttons to mark the 10th anniversary of Bills 27 and 28 risk disciplinary action but may find safety in numbers, a union memo says.

The memo, from the Langley Teachers’ Association says all political action is risky and the employer may choose to respond. “However, there is no hope that they can send 30,000 teachers home to change. If 30,000 teachers across the province get a letter of reprimand then . . . what could the effect possibly be?”

“Teachers in Langley have professional autonomy and on Friday, Jan. 27, they will decide what to wear,” writes LTA president Gail Chaddock-Costello. Read her memo here.

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

Teachers in black: Marking a “dark” anniversary

2012-01-27T15:51:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Sun blog - report Card - An in-depth look at the BC education system
Janet Steffenhagen
January 25, 2012

The BCTF is asking its members to wear black on Friday to mark the 10th anniversary of the enactment of legislation that ended its ability to bargain class size, class composition and ratios for specialist teachers.

Bills 27 and 28, drafted while Premier Christy Clark was in charge of education, were backed by several of the key education partners but despised by teachers.

“The government, with one stroke of the pen, has decimated working and learning conditions for teachers and students in this province that have been hard-won over three decades,” Jinny Sims, then a BCTF vice-president, said at the time.

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

Teachers make their mark

2012-01-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

Langley Advance
Troy Landreville
January 24, 2012

Mike Wood, a Grade 6 teacher at Cloverdale's George Greenaway Elementary, marked math and social studies assignments while sitting in the Willowbrook Shopping Centre's food court Monday afternoon. Wood was among the teachers from the Langley and Surrey school districts involved in a "mark-in." The intent was to show the unpaid work teachers do in private, and that teaching is more than a profession that exists in the classroom.

Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/Teachers+make+their+mark/6043038/story.html#ixzz1kXWz4iE4

LTA holds ‘mark in’ at mall

2012-01-25T21:32:00.000-08:00

Langley Times
Natasha Jones
January 25, 2012

Teresa Furuya’s eyes dart from a textbook to the school work of her students. Sitting at the edge of Willowbrook Shopping Centre’s food court is an unlikely setting for marking tests and homework, but Furuya is here to make a very public point on behalf of Langley teachers: our work days are not your typical nine to five schedules.

Furuya was one of dozens of teachers in Langley and Surrey who took their school work to a shopping centre for two hours on Monday afternoon, giving the public a chance to meet a classroom teacher and find out what is happening in schools.

“Teachers have been waiting nearly 10 years for a resolution to the illegal contract stripping that removed class size composition and specialist teacher ratios from collective agreements,” said Gail Chaddock-Costello, president of the Langley Teachers’ Association.

To view the rest of the article, click here.