How I really feel.....part 2

It's been exactly 6 months since the 'announcement of an announcement' and on September 15, it will be 6 months since we were introduced to Bill 64, The Education Modernization Act.  While the K-12 review, with an estimated price tag of $1M, contained many recommendations reflective of the comprehensive province-wide consultation that took place, Bill 64 ignored all those recommendations rendering the review report obsolete the second it was released.  It proposed a wholesale overhaul of public education that would have effectively decimated the public education system in Manitoba as it now exists.  Here's my part two- I'm going with better late than never.😉

Six months later,  and we breathe.  With the bill on hold for now, the focus is on starting a new school year, albeit with the specter of COVID-19 still overhead.  With the announcement this past Friday of the provincial curriculum advisory panel as part of the BEST Strategy, we are right to keep our feet on the gas, to continue to pay attention, to engage, participate, and advocate for what WE know to be 'best' for students, families, and communities where public education is concerned. The BEST Strategy is still alive.

How do I feel?  

I'm grateful for those that took the time to engage. educate, and advocate.  It's been a profound learning experience for many, and an opportunity for students, parents, school staff, teachers and communities to share perspectives and have conversations.  

I'm tired of the thoughtless ill-informed commentary that continues to circulate about so many things related to public education. 

I'm even more committed to doing what I can to ensure a relevant public education system that meets the needs of all students.  Bill 64 showed us what the alternative looks like, and it's not good. 

I'm impatient to get going on a long-term plan informed by the expertise in the system and in stake-holder and partner groups.  

Mindful that one level of elected representation was actively working to eliminate another level of elected representation, I'm none the less eager to build the bridges and have the conversations that ensure a bright future for the young people of Manitoba as they learn and grow. 

I'm indebted to all of you who provided perspective and context on the aspects and implications of Bill 64 that I wasn't able to fully comprehend.

Finally, I really appreciated all who asked for that same perspective and insight into the role of school boards and what the loss of elected community voice would mean for schools and communities. 

Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much. 

Helen Keller 

My commitment to everyone in the LRSD community

 To the students I have met in person, in stories, and in the sharing of experiences, successes and achievement, who have afforded me profound, impressive and necessary perspective;

 To the parents, guardians and caregivers who have challenged me and taught me;

 To my community, who believed in me enough to allow me to serve you; 

 To the staff and school leaders who have always been welcoming and engaging, who have a depth of commitment to student engagement and success that shines brightly even on the darkest days, who model caring and kindness, and who demonstrate an unwavering belief in the power of community;

 To our senior leadership, who carry the weight of the world on their shoulders on a regular basis, who have demonstrable integrity, grit, and tenacity, and whose bold and creative thinking inspires me every day;

And, To our Superintendent, who meets challenges head on with intent and confidence, while demonstrating compassionate, moral, and visionary leadership, and a strength of purpose that is reassuring and inspiring;

Here is what I want you to know:

My role as a democratically elected trustee and member of the Louis Riel School Board continues and I commit to fulfilling my obligations and remaining accountable until the last second-  whether the decision to be a school trustee is mine or that of someone else.   

This is a journey we take together.

How I really feel....part 1

 

I wasn’t surprised to hear news today of a pending announcement by Manitoba Education Minister Cliff Cullen.  We’ve been waiting for the release of the recommendations of the K-12 review and I was not alone to think that on this sunny March Friday we might finally be able to relax the collective breath we’ve been holding and hear what the future would hold for public education in Manitoba.

Nope. 

Instead we heard an announcement. Of an announcement. To be held the afternoon of Monday March 15.

Afterward, social media exploded with comments, critique, and criticism of a few short minutes that exemplified the complete and utter lack of understanding and empathy of what public education in Manitoba has been like over the last year, never mind the last decade.

To hear that the recommendations were going to put students first made me gag.  What in the blazes do staff, teachers, school leaders, senior administration and school boards do if not consider students first and foremost in every conversation had and decision made? 

Every. Single. Day.

In a follow up interview on CJOB, available here, Manitoba School Boards Association President Alan Campbell referenced a lack of caring and understanding in Minister Cullen’s comments. I agree completely.   Alan then went on to liken today’s announcement of an announcement on Monday to be tantamount to pouring gasoline on the anxiety and stress being felt by students, families, parents, school division communities and the education system as a whole. I agree with this analogy as well.

I’ll save anything more for Monday when I anticipate I’ll be commenting on the removal of locally elected voice, centralized decision making, and the waste of taxpayer dollars in doing both.  Or d) all of the above.

Or, I may be scratching my head, yet again, trying to understand how a government so focused on student outcomes continues to demonstrate an inability to comprehend and then address the impact of poverty on student success.

Or maybe I’ll just tell you how I really feel.

Budgets, bills and Barack.

On Friday Feb 5, the Manitoba Department of  Education announced funding for Manitoba's public schools for the 2021-2022 school year.  On paper, Louis Riel School Division received a 1% increase; some divisions got more, some got less.  When you factor in the 'fine print', equalization and special funding grants, limits set on education property tax increases etc, it's a lot to wrap your head around.  Boards around the province, including the Louis Riel School Board, can finally start to make sense of what it all really mean in terms of the provision of programs, supports, and services for their respective communities as they develop budgets for the upcoming school year.   

If you want it short and sweet, Manitoba School Boards Association (MSBA) summed it up nicely in this tweet. 

For years education stakeholders and partners have been asking for a funding model reflective of public education in the here-and-now. A sustainable and predictable model would allow for planning and forecasting, not just for school divisions, but for rural municipalities and the City of Winnipeg.  There will be many who will be happy to see the promised time come when property tax bills arrive in the mail minus the education portion, but how will that money be replaced? 

As the saying goes, 'there is only one taxpayer'.  

In practically the same sentence in which he announced our funding allocations, Education Minister Cliff Cullen promised the date of release of the long awaited K-12 review report would be made soon.  Government hasn't hidden the fact that it's all about student outcomes. 'Modernizing' education in Manitoba, directed by a bill of the same name (introduced without releasing the contents by the way) appears to be the modus operandi. MSBA President Alan Campbell hit the nail on the head in this tweet. It's all about test scores for our current government, and how Manitoba compares to other provinces.  Here's another bit of perspective (partly copied below);

"When national test scores are adjusted to account for the devastating poverty that too many students experience— a factor that has only worsened as thousands of parents have been laid off or lost their jobs during this heartbreaking pandemic— Manitoba’s students truly stand near the top of the Canadian class. They are not among the “bottom”— if that is indeed an appropriate term to describe any child." Manitoba School Boards Association

If 'modernizing' education doesn't include a direct and sustainable poverty reduction strategy, then all will be for naught and test scores will stay right where they are. 

On several media interviews following the funding announcement,  Campbell reminded us that the K-12 review took place before  COVID-19 unleashed some relentless, unforeseen, and in come cases unmanageable pressures and influences.  Is it fair to release a report, that speculation suggests could realign or see the demise of school divisions in Manitoba, on a system currently stretched to the breaking point? If so, can we count on the report to 'modernize' our education system appropriately, taking into consideration where we are as communities, as we head into a post-pandemic time? 

Lots to think about.  I'm focused on opportunities and what is possible for students when true consultation and collaboration takes place.  The kind that invites expertise, experience and, oh yes, grassroots community voice and leadership. 

I was elected because I believed in what we call "grassroots politics," politics from the bottom up, not the top down.  Barack Obama