Consultation, Planning, Execution and Evaluation is how a strong Board supports Students, Staff and Schools

Plans change but the act of creating a plan matters. An agile School Board must consider:

1. What could we do? - That is to say, “What’s possible?”

2. What should we do? - Which possibilities align best with our goals?

3. What will we do? - Selecting from the best options and knowing the trade offs of those choices.

4. Evaluate! This is where it can fall apart. This is where we have to be straight with ourselves. This is the part where we can celebrate successes and find ways to improve. This is the mindset I will bring to Parkland School Board.

   Priorities: What the Next School Board Must Accomplish

1. Meaningful Advocacy Helps Capital Projects Move forward Faster

If you are concerned about overcrowding and class sizes being too big, one of the best ways our community can mitigate this is to have our the funding for our Capital Projects approved faster.

I believe our community can create a stronger communication strategy around our priorities for new schools and significant renovations to existing schools. We cannot be passive. We need an approach that cultivates support from across Spruce Grove and beyond to give as many reasons and voices as possible to highlight these priorities. The most urgent Capital priorities identified by the current School Board is a new school in Tonewood and an expansion of Brookwood. We need to be successful in elevating these priorities as Spruce Grove continues to grow.

New and modern schools can be a feature of our community and we need robust advocacy to make that happen. The right school builds where they are needed will improve student outcomes, create a better workplace for staff and improve our neighbourhoods.

A new school is not the same as more teachers, however with new and upgraded school spaces and a growing population, more teachers will follow.

What Success Looks Like: Smaller class sizes, better amenities, a school closer to your neighbourhood.

Actions:

1. Ensure that approved projects stay on track and are completed on time and consider what capital projects should come next for Spruce Grove and Parkland School Division.

2. Measure class sizes across the division to compare to previously identified provincial class size standards and let’s talk about where we can improve.

3. Collaborate with community leaders to highlight the needs of Parkland School Division and raise the profile of the issues that we can improve.

2. More Partnerships = More Student Opportunities

Our school division can plan through administration to seek broader and deeper partnerships in our region to help find innovative opportunities for students to connect with new learning experiences. These opportunities help build enthusiasm for the future and enthusiastic students finish school as they rightfully see it as a building block toward their goals as adults.

My work with Community Futures Capital Region is a strong example: We have worked with Spruce Grove Composite High and Stony Plain Memorial High over many years to provide entrepreneurial learning and experience via the Young Entrepreneur Training Initiative (YETI) and has helped to recognize and create opportunities for new businesses in our community lead by high school aged students.

Another Opportunity: Alberta Computers for Schools. A local not for profit that provides quality refurbished laptops, at a cost of $12 per unit, that PSD currently is not working with, which would help make sure we have more hardware assets and would help alleviate the need for computers to be hauled to and from school every day.

What Success Looks Like: More diverse learning opportunities. More real world experience and meaningful connection to our community. Being better prepared for life once students complete high school. More students wanting to build their life in our community when they are adults.

Actions:

1. Complete a scan of meaningful potential partners in the community that PSD can collaborate with to help students.

2. Communicate to students about local not for profits and the value they can bring to helping students with school and life.

3. Create consistent connection of students to local business to understand career options and understand the opportunities right here in Spruce Grove.

3. Youth Unemployment is sky high: We need to make sure more students are finishing high school

The Alberta Youth Unemployment Rate is currently higher than any other time, excluding during the pandemic. According to the Government of Alberta, the current unemployment rate is 17.2% for people aged 15-24.

It is always important to have the right skills for the work students wish to pursue, but what we must encourage as a community is to have students complete their high school program, and make sure that they finish high school with as many available avenues as possible be it university, college or a trade program.

According to Parkland School Division, the percentage of students not completing secondary school in the most recent year is almost 1 our of every 4 students. This measure has decreased the last four years and is below the completion rate measured across Alberta. This is where there is opportunity to improve.

As a School Division, I think we need to set a collective goal that we are going to reverse this trend, increase the percentage of graduates to the provincial average and then above that mark and make sure that everyone in our community has the chance to understand the long term impact of leaving school high school without finishing.

What Success Looks Like: The PSD Graduation rate that exceeds the Provincial Average. More students finishing in 3 years. Students finishing high school in 4 years if required, and fewer needing 5 years.

Actions:

1. Create a communication plan that explains the consequences of students dropping out of school and the benefits of finishing.

2. Scan for best practices from other communities with better graduation rates and implement those practices.

3. Promote our improvement and highlight the best success stories from this initiative.

4. Understanding PSD Staff from the Ground Up:A more Cohesive Division

The challenges in front of school staff are evolving and it is difficult to understand these matters the further one is away from the classroom. I have experienced this in our work with Connections for Learning and through our engagement at various high schools where we deliver the Young Entrepreneur Training Initative.

The reality is, too many classrooms do not have the right complement of staff resources given the composition of the students needs. The asks of the Educational Assistants has changed, other learning professionals are spread too thin and I have not met anyone that thinks this is a desirable outcome.

We have seen work stoppage in the past year in Parkland School Division and possible further work stoppage this fall. These stresses do not create a healthy school environment and over a period of time, will hurt everyone involved.

As a School Board Trustee, I will work to make sure that as many staff as possible view Parkland School Division as a healthy place to work.

What Success Looks Like: Better retention rates of educational staff. Training opportunities for emerging issues. Good faith engagement toward applicable collective bargaining agreements.

Actions:

1. Seek a Board opportunity to shadow Educational Assistants for a day to better understand their work environment.

2. Proactively address issues within Collective Bargaining Agreements to ensure that we are meeting our commitment to staff and our school community.

3. Task PSD leadership to develop a division wide volunteer recruitment initiative to bring more willing community members into schools for longer term commitments such as coaches for school sports teams, crossing guard duty and other priorities identified to help ease stress on staff.

5. Ideas to Explore: Improving PSD as we go!

There are more opportunities across the division that need to be reconsidered as we grow and evolve. Parkland School Division is not just our own community, we are part of a larger community too. Parents, neighbours, local businesses and not for profits all have impact on PSD and likewise PSD impacts them.

Have you every left your house 2 minutes too late in the morning and got caught in more traffic than you thought possible in Spruce Grove? Have you ever tried to attend a cross country meet at High Park School and felt like you were 1 of 2000 other parents trying to find a parking spot? Have you ever wondered where to find the extra funds for school supplies or Chromebooks?

I imagine you have ideas that could improve Parkland School Division. If so, send me a note via my Contact page.

From my experience as Chair of the Spruce Grove Public Library Board, I know that there are only so many dollars to work with and many priorities to satisfy. And as a parent, it is my experience that sometimes we can improve an experience without more dollars but with more care.

I think in the long run, we can consider how to support our students, schools and our community today and prepare for the students that are still to come.

What success looks like: More dollars in schools where they matter. More students using active transportation. Less congestion around schools.

Actions:

1. Explore division wide opportunities for active transportation. Less cars trying to jam into school zones, more exercise for students.

2. Annual communication to parents about the school bus costs. Costs have fallen; more parents may consider the option of the school bus.

3. Develop a new partnership with the City of Spruce Grove to make use the newer public transportation services to our students advantage.

4. Create a study on the possibility of solar panels for school sites. This is done at many schools in Edmonton and can significantly reduce utility costs.

5. Pilot using more school busses as an option to get more kids to after school sports. More options open up opportunities for students and takes some of the transportation burden off parents.