Archive: June, 2010

Notes from the Campaign Trail

June 21st, 2010 No comments - Tags: , , ,

Hello everyone!

I thought it was about time that I gave you all some updates from the campaign trail.

Edmonton Public Schools Budget Reviews and Board Meetings

I have been spending June following the Edmonton Public Schools budget review process. This has included both the central administration budgets and reviews of the schools by trustees.

I’m a big believer that if you want to know the priorities of your organization, you have to follow the money. Unfortunately they were timed to be during the mornings and afternoons, making them hard to attend for parents and members of the public. Luckily, I was able to attend two of these meetings in person. Also, there is very limited information available online at this time.

I also went to the last two school board meetings, and I am still baffled that they are not video-streamed online or minuted in MP3. City Council does it. Even the University of Alberta’s Students’ Union has audio minutes available and sometimes audio/videostreams their meetings. I suggested the idea to someone on Edmonton Public Schools’ communcations staff, and they told me that it is something they are looking into. It’s not always easy for parents and the public to spend their entire Tuesday evening (sometimes until 11pm) at the Edmonton Public Schools building. Audiovisual streaming is a great solution to this problem, and we have the technology so let’s use it!

Special Education Public Update Session for Parents and Community Members

Last Thursday evening I attended a consultation session with Alberta Education and Edmonton Public School Board. The topic was upcoming changes to special education in the province. Dianne McConnell and Anne Davidson from the Special Education Branch presented and answered audience questions about a new provincial report called “Setting the Direction for Special Education“. What these changes will mean in practice is yet to be determined. I have been in touch with the Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta, and I have been reviewing the comments on their website and in their Facebook group.

Door knocking

I have started going from door to door to talk with Edmontonians about their public school system. I am meeting a lot of passionate people, and the response has been fantastic! Already, people have told me that they want one of my signs on their lawn this fall. If you would like one of your very own, please contact me here and I will set one aside.

A lot of people are concerned that the last round of school closures in April were shortsighted and conducted unfairly. People are also concerned about the 70 schools that are still up for review in the core of our city and the school board’s decision to lay off teachers.

The comments haven’t all been about education however. People have offered me their thoughts on other issues, like a downtown hockey arena, and even speculation about Mayor Mandel’s competition! Luckily, the weather has been fantastic, and If you would like to come along for the walk, I would be happy to have the company. You can contact me here.

The Future of Libraries

As one of the trustees for the Edmonton Public Library and as Edmonton’s representative on the Alberta Library Trustees Association Board of Directors, I have had some amazing opportunities this past month to engage in discussions regarding the future of libraries and their role in the communities of tomorrow.

If you have a second, take a look at this very thought-provoking blog of links and presentations from Stephen Abram, a digital guru and Library futurist. Stephen was the dinner speaker at EPL’s strategic planning session. Collaboration between public libraries, public schools and digital resources need to become a priority as our communities race towards a major digital revolution.

Inspiring Action

The provincial government has just released their Inspiring Action blueprint for a new Education Act. This builds off the recommendations made by the Inspiring Education report. There are a lot of good suggestions in both of these documents, and I’ve talked with a lot of Edmontonians that share my optimism about them. Some popular suggestions include:

  • Community integration and support for community schools
  • Preparing a system for greater emphasis on learner-focused schooling

At the same time, I’m anxious to see what the actual Education Act looks like. The reports are very vague when it comes to detail about who will make decisions for our students, our schools, and our communities. And neither report indicates the current funding model will be improved upon. It will be interesting to see how the provincial government proceeds over the summer, and I encourage you to read these reports for yourself.

Edmonton Community Challenge

June is bike month in Edmonton, and it is also a great opportunity to get out and engage our neighbourhoods in friendly competition. This is what the Edmonton Community Challenge is all about. I have been attending some of the events to support my employer, the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, and the city’s NextGen Committee. It’s great to see so many young adults developing a sense of ownership for our city – after all, we are inheriting it so we’d better get involved!

Michael

The Big Picture: Fighting crime with public schools

June 7th, 2010 No comments - Tags: ,

The REACH report on reducing crime and building safe communities in Edmonton has me very excited.

Take a look at the first recommendation:

A New Model of Family and Community Safety Focusing on Schools as Hubs.

  • Build on and nurture an integrated community-wide partnership that positions schools as key access points, or hubs, for high-needs families, children and youth.
  • Develop and implement a coordinated drop-in program during the critical after school hours for at-risk school aged children and youth in Edmonton.

(Page 10, Reach Report 2009)

It’s great to see a report that draws the line between schools and what goes on in the community. Everything is interconnected. Crime isn’t only an issue for City Hall – it happens in the hallways, playgrounds, and classrooms of our schools. And these are the best places to stamp it out.

When crime comes into our schools, it has a negative effect on education. How can we expect our teachers and students to focus on learning when their schools become dangerous, fearful, and unhealthy places? But this is not the only way crime and schools are interconnected.

Schools are a good place to start when it comes to crime prevention. The attitudes children learn at school stick with them through their adult years. If they live the values of respect, tolerance, and friendship at school, they will become good citizens and great neighbours.

This make the things kids learn from each other outside the classroom just as important as the things they learn in class. That’s why our schools need to host fun, constructive activities after-hours so children have a meaningful way to engage in their communities once their studies are done for the day. Active, happy children that care about their communities will keep our neighbourhoods friendly and safe.

Healthy, vibrant communities are a great crime preventative. Our school system needs to build partnerships and host those important community services that children, youth, and adults of all ages need. By becoming hubs and access points for the services residents need, schools will improve the quality of life in our neighbourhoods for everyone. And happy communities are not fertile grounds for crime.

To make this work, our school board trustees must work hard and exercise their powers of imagination, innovation, and collaboration. Trustees have to imagine the vast interconnections between our schools and our communities. Crime is but one of these. Trustees also have to innovate ways that our schools can become solutions to community challenges. In the case of crime, looking at schools as public hubs for community services is an important innovation. Finally, trustees have to collaborate with their communities to turn these innovations into real programs that do real work. They should be civic leaders in processes like REACH.

Trustees must always be looking for ways that our schools can do more our kids and more for our communities. I know I would be a trustee that’s up to the challenge!

My Kickoff BBQ!

June 4th, 2010 No comments - Tags:

On Sunday, we launched the campaign with a BBQ at the McKernan Community Hall. A blizzard the night before had me very anxious about the turnout. But dozens of wonderful supporters came out, along with over 100 guests from all over the city and Ward F. We even had to do a second, emergency run to the grocery store for more burgers!

The launch was a great opportunity to meet with community members, thank some hard working volunteers, and build more enthusiasm for the campaign heading into the summer. The South Central Sector Planning Review meeting was held Saturday, the day before the BBQ, so many guests wanted to share their frustrations with me about potential school closures. The BBQ also gave me a chance to share my thoughts with the CBC. You can listen to the interview here:

CBC Interview – May 31, 2010

At the end of the day, I was very happy with how the BBQ went. I want to thank everyone that came, and I would especially like to thank everyone for their generosity. Many people volunteered their time and money at the BBQ. Of course, we could always use more help. You can learn how to volunteer and donate by clicking here. Whether big or small, your contributions go a long way to making the campaign a success!

If you were unable to attend the BBQ, I would still love to meet with you and hear your thoughts about public education in Edmonton. You can find my contact information by clicking here. I look forward to hearing from everyone over the summer!

My thoughts on the South Central Sector Planning meeting

June 1st, 2010 4 comments - Tags: ,

This Saturday morning, I attended the South Central Sector Planning meeting at Scona High School. I spoke with many people as they left the session, and many of them told me they were leaving more frustrated than when they arrived.

A group called the Community Schools Coalition was handing out pamphlets saying these meetings were about school closures. I know this is the issue that drew participants to the meeting, but the “Dialogue Partners” workbook we all received had only the most vague and obscure references to the issue everyone knew was at hand:

“Sector Planning: making the best possible use of available resources so that all students have access to vibrant schools and a range of quality programs in their sectors”

This really underscores the problems I have with the Sector Planning consultation process. The dedicated parents, business representatives, community leaders, and passionate citizens I spoke with shared my concerns. Let me touch on a few of them.

Sector Planning Review

This whole process is either being very poorly communicated, or very carefully communicated. Whether by chance or by design, the material is terribly confusing. What is a ‘sector planning review’? What does that phrase mean? The material is written in a high level of academic jargon that is hard for participants to understand – and I’m lucky enough to have English as my first language!

A Lack of Context

Many participants were confused why their schools are under review. The consultation meeting gave us little information to answer these questions. It seems that school administrators have made too many assumptions they are not sharing with the public. The participants I spoke with want to make positive contributions and have their comments count. But they feel unable to do this without information about assumptions and context.

Where’s the budget? What are the metrics?

Edmontonians have been told that Sector Planning is necessary because Edmonton Public Schools doesn’t have enough money to pay for under-used schools. These kinds of number-crunching issues are hard to consider when vital information isn’t made clear. How much money does closing a school save? How do savings compare to increases in busing costs? How do you decide when a school is under-used? What activities count as use? Is use determined only by the provincial government’s “bums in seats” formula? None of these questions were answered.

To me, this whole process lacks imagination, innovation, and collaboration. As a trustee, I would fix that. I can imagine the ways school closures impact whole communities, not just students, their parents, and teachers. I know that Edmontonians have innovative ideas that can transform under-used schools into the hubs of healthy, vibrant communities. As a trustee, I would ensure that consultation processes focus on collaboration with Edmontonians so our good ideas can become reality, improve education for our students, and make our neighbourhoods better places for everyone.