Thank you very much for the amazing letter Alan! It's time to make some changes and we are very honoured to have your support!
Name: Alan Forseth
E-Mail: xxxxx@gmail.com
Subject: Keep up the work you are doing!
Message:
Alan Forseth
Kamloops, BC
May 29th, 2013
Hello Melanie ...
As you know I am very active politically as a member of the BC Conservative party, and so I
read and follow a number of areas of interest.
Having been through the education system in the mid-60s to mid-70s ... having my own
children go through it ... and now my grand-children ... I know and value the importance of
ensuring that current and future generations MUST be able to receive the best education
possible.
It seems the past two decades have seen an on-going civil war between government and
teachers, and I truly hope that news and more productive ways of creating a healthier
environment can be found.
Let me say, that is one reason I was pleased to see the formation of your group (Partners in
Education) as it appears your Mission statement -- and the end goal of your group -- can
possibly be one of the ways to help in bringing that about:
Mission: Develop the highest level in standards of education, through inclusion and
collaboration.
Please keep me in the loop, as I wish to stay informed on your work.
Sincerely
Alan Forseth
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Wednesday, 22 May 2013
What's the Answer to a Healthy Collective Bargaining Process?
How do you feel about the collective bargaining process between teachers and governments? It's pretty clear that the current process is not working for BC. Everybody in the Province feels the impact of a poorly run education system. Some feel it's the time process is made more public with all of us having a large stake.
The Premier has submitted a 10 year plan for education as part of the BC Liberal response to some of the challenges. The BCTF has their own "plan" for a better system.
I'm not sure what the exact answer is, but I know we need stability. We need better services for our special needs kids. We need curriculum choices to fit personalized interests and needs. We need excellence in our teachers and staff. And last but not least, we need engaged communities.
I'd like all partners in education to have more input into the policies in education that affect us all.
We'd love your support!
http://bluecrowd.ca/projects/bc-partners-in-education1/204
The Premier has submitted a 10 year plan for education as part of the BC Liberal response to some of the challenges. The BCTF has their own "plan" for a better system.
I'm not sure what the exact answer is, but I know we need stability. We need better services for our special needs kids. We need curriculum choices to fit personalized interests and needs. We need excellence in our teachers and staff. And last but not least, we need engaged communities.
I'd like all partners in education to have more input into the policies in education that affect us all.
We'd love your support!
http://bluecrowd.ca/projects/bc-partners-in-education1/204
Monday, 20 May 2013
Origins of BC Partners in Education
Letter from the Founder
May 20, 2013
Hello Friends,
I am a married, stay at home mom in the Lower Mainland. I have an 8yr old son with autism and a 9 year old daughter.
I first became interested in politics a few years ago after my husband introduced me to Twitter. We were in the middle of a major teacher’s strike and our children were just beginning in the public system, I wanted to be informed.
Initially, I was very judgemental of the way government was handling the negotiations. Most of the active Twitter users were education activists and gave me a skewed view of reality. After being invited by BC Education Plan staff to attend a focus group, I became aware that perhaps the situation is a little different than is being presented online. I asked a lot of questions of teachers, administrative staff, parents, community members and our government.
I have been a BC Liberal Party member for a couple of years and am very excited about the possibility of a 10 Year Contract with the BCTF. There are many changes I’d like to see to our education system to keep it strong and moving forward. Stability is a key component. I am also hopeful the new BC Liberal team will be able to form a cooperative relationship with the BCTF. I am also hoping for a major review of public education. With a child on the autism spectrum, special needs services are a huge concern to me.
I’d like to see some of the funding challenges tackled by creating partnerships with other Ministries and businesses in our communities. The Ministry of Children and Families, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education all need to collaborate and come up with practical ways of making sure our children are well prepared for a bright future.
It’s my desire, and that of BC Partners in Education, to help all partners in education acquire the tools they need to effectively and collaboratively solve some of our challenges in education.
I hope you’ll join me in supporting equal representation of all education partners in BCs education system. It takes a village to raise a child and it takes strong communities to maintain healthy schools.
In partnership,
Melanie Anderson
BC Partners in Education
We'd love your support!
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
School Boards Budget Crisis..
It's becoming common for education news to be reporting a new school board is struggling with a looming budget crisis. Funding shortfalls are common place. Unexpected costs downloaded to Boards are also a problem. And I will be the first to admit that the schools need some solutions to the lack of services affecting our kids.
I think we really need to look at budget management also. I am not confident the Ministry of Education has the oversight ability they need. It is not uncommon for local schools who find themselves tight towards the end of the year to "borrow" from the next year's budget. I'm trying to find out more about how this works, but obviously am having some difficulties. I've heard of a school that was operating a full year behind due to this very type of spending. Unfortunately, haven't been able to get any information on the record yet. Just talk from admin staff/teachers off the record.
When a principal starts at a new school, some are unaware of the budget issues they are walking into. You assume that you are walking in with a clean slate. But not always the case.
I'd like to see more information reported about these issues as we see more and more districts in the news for funding shortfalls. Is the balanced budget requirement being observed and monitored responsibly?
Parents are asked what services we'd like to cut to compensate for funding shortfalls. Give parents the full story then. Not just the story you want us to hear.
We'd love your support!
http://bluecrowd.ca/projects/bc-partners-in-education1/204
I think we really need to look at budget management also. I am not confident the Ministry of Education has the oversight ability they need. It is not uncommon for local schools who find themselves tight towards the end of the year to "borrow" from the next year's budget. I'm trying to find out more about how this works, but obviously am having some difficulties. I've heard of a school that was operating a full year behind due to this very type of spending. Unfortunately, haven't been able to get any information on the record yet. Just talk from admin staff/teachers off the record.
When a principal starts at a new school, some are unaware of the budget issues they are walking into. You assume that you are walking in with a clean slate. But not always the case.
I'd like to see more information reported about these issues as we see more and more districts in the news for funding shortfalls. Is the balanced budget requirement being observed and monitored responsibly?
Parents are asked what services we'd like to cut to compensate for funding shortfalls. Give parents the full story then. Not just the story you want us to hear.
We'd love your support!
http://bluecrowd.ca/projects/bc-partners-in-education1/204
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Let Me Introduce You to Jasmine. Being Denied an Equitable Education
Please meet Jasmine. She's a wonderful little girl who is being denied an equitable education. Yes, she has some major challenges, but shouldn't we be taking care of her just as any other child in our school system?
https://www.facebook.com/SupportJasminesRightForAProperEducationInBcCanada
There are some situations where special kids can not be mainstreamed. But this does not dissolve our government from giving her an equitable education.
When our kids are told they must stay home from school for whatever reason, that should not absolve the Ministry of Education from their responsibility to educate. When any child is required to stay home from school, there needs to be an adequate plan in place to ensure their educational needs are being met.
Jasmine and other kids like her are being denied an education because of their challenges. Who is going to advocate for these kids?
Update: Jasmine's parents have taken the Facebook page down for personal reasons.
https://www.facebook.com/SupportJasminesRightForAProperEducationInBcCanada
There are some situations where special kids can not be mainstreamed. But this does not dissolve our government from giving her an equitable education.
When our kids are told they must stay home from school for whatever reason, that should not absolve the Ministry of Education from their responsibility to educate. When any child is required to stay home from school, there needs to be an adequate plan in place to ensure their educational needs are being met.
Jasmine and other kids like her are being denied an education because of their challenges. Who is going to advocate for these kids?
Update: Jasmine's parents have taken the Facebook page down for personal reasons.
Friday, 5 April 2013
What Exactly ARE Your Parental Rights in Education?
Are you interested in learning more about your parental rights in education? We are having small gatherings across the Lower Mainland talking about parental rights and community involvement in education. Topics vary based on what's going on in your district.
Personally, I would like to see a more open work history of our teachers. A teacher can be disciplined at one school and transferred to another without parental notification. Sorry, but that's not acceptable. These teachers spend so much time and have major influence on our children, this history needs to be disclosed to parents directly.
What topics in particular interest you? Any questions about what you can do when you have an issue with school?
If you're interested in joining a discussion, or hosting one of your own, please give us a shout. We'll be happy to help out with any materials we can.
In partnership,
Melanie
Personally, I would like to see a more open work history of our teachers. A teacher can be disciplined at one school and transferred to another without parental notification. Sorry, but that's not acceptable. These teachers spend so much time and have major influence on our children, this history needs to be disclosed to parents directly.
What topics in particular interest you? Any questions about what you can do when you have an issue with school?
If you're interested in joining a discussion, or hosting one of your own, please give us a shout. We'll be happy to help out with any materials we can.
In partnership,
Melanie
Thursday, 4 April 2013
Anybody Care About Their Education? - Special Needs Students Being Told to Stay Home
Spoke to a couple principals and a school board member regarding this issue and received some great feedback.
Kids are sent home when the school doesn't have the ability to properly take care of them or they are a major disruption to classes. This is NOT done lightly and only after consultation with the parents. My concern would be this consultation process. There is no set standard. I have heard of no formal District best practices either. It is up to each school to handle as they see is appropriate. I'm not sure I trust this method. I'd like to see a set of provincial Best Practices. Parents come in a variety of forms and not all with the same social abilities as others. This can be very problematic to fairness.
The parents I've spoken to, with 1 exception, were unaware they had any choices or input into how it's handled. They thought they really had no choice so simply accepted what was being offered. This is not totally the fault of the teacher or the administrative staff. Parents need to step up and ask questions. Complaining to a 3rd or 4th party isn't productive. Parents need to be educated.
The other challenge I'm finding is the impact on families when kids need to stay home all or part of a day. It can be a great financial hardship to arrange for this care. A parent or caregiver, who is not a teacher, is now required to pick up the slack. I wonder if this extra cost is fair to the parents. And more important, are these kids being denied a proper education because of a disability? That's the big question really here. Budgets are not there to adequately educate these kids. And families are not given extra money to help educate the kids. So, who is advocating for their education?
Serious question here folks.. who is advocating for their education?
Kids are sent home when the school doesn't have the ability to properly take care of them or they are a major disruption to classes. This is NOT done lightly and only after consultation with the parents. My concern would be this consultation process. There is no set standard. I have heard of no formal District best practices either. It is up to each school to handle as they see is appropriate. I'm not sure I trust this method. I'd like to see a set of provincial Best Practices. Parents come in a variety of forms and not all with the same social abilities as others. This can be very problematic to fairness.
The parents I've spoken to, with 1 exception, were unaware they had any choices or input into how it's handled. They thought they really had no choice so simply accepted what was being offered. This is not totally the fault of the teacher or the administrative staff. Parents need to step up and ask questions. Complaining to a 3rd or 4th party isn't productive. Parents need to be educated.
The other challenge I'm finding is the impact on families when kids need to stay home all or part of a day. It can be a great financial hardship to arrange for this care. A parent or caregiver, who is not a teacher, is now required to pick up the slack. I wonder if this extra cost is fair to the parents. And more important, are these kids being denied a proper education because of a disability? That's the big question really here. Budgets are not there to adequately educate these kids. And families are not given extra money to help educate the kids. So, who is advocating for their education?
Serious question here folks.. who is advocating for their education?
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