Educational Equity

Educational Equity takes place when educators provide ALL students with the individual support they need to reach and exceed a common standard. 

Within equitable schools 4 common characteristics can be observed:
Expectations set the bar for high achievement
Rigor provides the skills and learning the student needs to succeed
Relevancy connects the learner with the instruction and the curriculum- it's meaningful
Relationships help the student believe in the teacher's high expectations, engage with the rigorous curriculum, and respond to the relevancy of the learning

If any of these is missing the student is likely not to succeed

Essentially it's like gardening.

The leaders are the gardeners
building equity
having a strong vision and direction
being accountable
sustaining innovation in the buildings

Educators- plant the seeds
engaging curriculum
best practices in teaching students
valid assessments
interventions for those needing it

( one of the largest barriers to student achievement is their teacher's low estimates of their achievement- Hattie List of  Factors influencing student achievement) 

Culture is the soil
professional attitudes at all times
clearly a focus on students first
environment is inclusive
collaboration takes place

( CRM is listed as a highly influential factor of student success- Hattie)

This is a piece that pulled together what we are doing in our schools. We are average in some spots and above average in others. 

I am going to set up a shared document that we can all add to for areas of action from our conference. Let's get it down while it is fresh. 



Huge thanks

Thanks to Eva, Holly and Bonnie who kept schools open while we were out. I know students appreciated being able to come to the school on those days. 

A thank you to Bonnie for making the arrangements for this conference. The plans were flawless, everyone was looked after. We appreciate the time you spent on that Bonnie. 

Thanks to Chad who presented to the board last week. The board now has a clear picture of the direction we are moving in. Northern Home has 275 students an increase of over half. Families are seeking the local provider. 



Scheduling this week

Anne

Monday- High Level
Tuesday- Teaching drivers am. Garden PM
Wednesday- Rainbow AM- High Level pm
Thursday- High Level AM- CRM PM Fort
Friday- High Level

Chad 

High Level-Monday
High Level- Friday

Alex

High Level Monday- to assist with course weightings

Crystal McAteer is in for four days this week covering for Allan. She has to flex her schedule as she is the Mayor of High Level. In four days one week and two the other. 

Allan is doing well, although, he needs to rest more. He's doing too much! Enjoy the calm Allan. Students and staff are wishing you a speedy recovery. 



What's Up

Zombie Bootcamp

Ask your students if they are wanting to participate in Zombie boot camp.This is a full day workshop on Friday, October 25th. 
It's an all day session covering Zombie Basics, Zombie Film studies, Zombie survival skills, Zombie character development, make-up and costumes. Finally, Zombie movement training. The cost of the program is covered by North Peace Tribal. Students will earn a media credit but must first do Com 1005? can't recall the name of that course. I can teach it using Alex's materials. If your students require transport let us know we will put in a bus request. This is engaging!!! Teenage fun!! 

Iron Chef


Equally as intense, our students have an opportunity to compete in an Iron Chef challenge on Saturday, October 26th. Last year Fort students went and came in second. The girls loved it! We need to know by Wednesday if teams are participating. All food is included, we will arrange transport. 

• Rainbow Lake CRM on Wednesday
• PGP's are due now
• Budget will come out soon. We did have a carry over of $1800 and have $13,000 in reserve. I believe that money allotted in the year needs to be spent on those kids that year so we will be watching our budget. We had $30,000 in FNMI money rerouted last year ( we paid for Leah's position with those funds)putting those reserves back into the budget will help tremendously this year. We are expecting an increase of approximately $15,000 in FNMI funds. We will need to plan to spend that on FNMI initiatives/ items/programs???? 
• Locally developed courses- we will be asking for access to Social literacy 25-3 and 35-3. They are excellent courses which cover the mental wellness information we will provide in each school. Leah has more info on this. If you know of a course you'd like me to add to the list of locally developed requests please let me know. 
• Junior High Students- Please have someone designated to look after your Junior Highs. That person will be their go to person. These kids can easily fall through the cracks. 
• Lockdowns are being discussed at a division level- Do we inflict a trauma when we do a lockdown? So, no practicing with students instead, letting staff know best practice. 99% of lockdowns are environmental. Meaning we are keeping people in the building because there is an ambulance outside or a water leak next door. In that situation we state the truth there is an ambulance outside we need you to stay put while they clear the way.  Tactical lockdowns are more serious: Like the time a dad of Spirit thought I had called to CFS to take his kids away and threatened to come to the school and kill me. ( true story) We locked the front door and called RCMP. Each incident will be different and common sense will prevail. I will give more info after the leadership decides how to proceed in our next LTM. For now, please decide where your muster point is when we evacuate the building. In High Level we muster at High level Public School. In Fort you can meet at the Library. I'll chat with the rest of you about where you decide your meeting place is. when we leave buildings, we check all washrooms and are sure all students have left with us. More info to come Corey Wright is building our evacuation posters. 
• Nov 12th- PD day for everyone. We will all attend the morning sessions. I am seeking permission to gather our staff for the afternoon. on this day there is a poverty simulation which you should not miss. It is powerful. 
• Copyright- Every school board is being sued for copyright violation at the moment, there will be a settlement. Just a reminder, If we can order something let's order it.
• Report cards/interviews- we will touch base with every parent we do not see in person through phone calls. 
• Connection Survey- the division is requiring our students to fill out a connection survey. I will forward more info in the month ahead. i want to see this survey first as it may not be learning Store suitable. It amy have questions that only pertain to students attending full time. 

Enjoy the  snow! Seriously now!