A Meeting of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board Was Held This

REPORT NO. 34, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE DATE: 3 November 2015 A meeting of the Committee of the Whole was held this evening in the Board Room, 133 Greenbank Road, Ottawa, Ontario, commencing at 7:02 p.m. with Trustee Christine Boothby in the chair and the following trustees also in attendance: Donna Blackburn, Erica Braunovan, Chris Ellis, Mark Fisher, Dr. Anita Olsen Harper, Theresa Kavanagh, Shawn Menard, Lynn Scott, Sandra Schwartz and Shirley Seward. STUDENT TRUSTEES: Kayvon Mihan and Ella Stewart. STAFF: Director of Education, Jennifer Adams; Associate Director of Education, Norah Marsh; Chief Financial Officer, Mike Carson; Superintendent of Curriculum, Pino Buffone; Superintendent of Learning Support Services, Olga Grigoriev; System Principal – School Effectiveness, Wendy Jewell; System Principal – Elementary, Denise Poirier; System Principal – Secondary, Steven Massey; System Principal – Student Success Lead, Renald Cousineau; Executive Officer, Corporate Services, Michèle Giroux; Manager of Planning, Karyn Carty Ostafichuk; Manager of Quality Assurance, Joan Oracheski; Manager of Board Services, Monica Ceschia; Manager, Communications and Information Services, Diane Pernari-Hergert; Communications Coordinator, Sharlene Hunter; Audio Visual Specialist, John MacKinnon; and Board/Committee Coordinator, Sue Baker. NON-VOTING REPRESENTATIVES: Heather Graham, Ottawa-Carleton Elementary Operations Committee (OCEOC); Dan Maxwell, Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) (Teachers/Occasional Teachers); Reg Lavergne, Ottawa-Carleton Secondary School Administrators Network (OCSSAN), and Alec Verch, Student Senate . 1. Call to Order Vice-Chair Boothby called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. 2. Approval of Agenda Moved by Trustee Schwartz, THAT the agenda be approved. - Carried - Report 34, Committee of the Whole - 1 - 3 November 2015 (Public) 3. Briefing from the Chair Chair Seward advised that the District is very pleased that the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (Teachers) has reached a tentative central agreement with the Province. Although the agreement still requires ratification, the union has agreed to suspend job actions immediately. She added that the District continues to remain hopeful that a resolution to the current central strike action by Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (education workers) will be reached in the near future. In the meantime, strike sanctions by that bargaining unit continue. Chair Seward noted that teachers, principals, vice-principals and non-union staff are doing their best to ensure OCDSB schools remain safe and positive learning centres for our students. 4. Briefing from the Director Director Adams advised that the next speaker series entitled “Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds” will take place on 26 November 2015. Dr. Rebecca Lloyd will provide a historical perspective on physical literacy and what it means for the reformation of physical education. The session will be held at 7:00 pm at Longfields-Davidson Heights Secondary School. The OCDSB is planning a conference for parents on Saturday, 16 January 2016 at Sir Robert Borden High School. The conference is an initiative of the Parent Involvement Committee and is a learning opportunity for parents. There will be a keynote speaker and a series of workshop presentations related to student learning and well-being. 5. Presentation: Education Foundation of Ottawa Chris McGarvey, Executive Director, provided an overview of the work of the Education Foundation of Ottawa (EFO). He noted that the mission of the EFO is to develop and foster community relationships to support the needs of students. EFO raises and distributes funds, creates partnerships and programs, provides fundraising guidance to schools and parent councils, and has a board governance function. He noted that, in 2014-2015, the EFO invested almost $400,000 to help more than 15,000 students in 126 of 147 OCDSB schools. Students’ needs are identified by parents, students, school officials and social workers. The EFO emergency fund provides food, clothing, medicine and school supplies for children in need. The OneSight vision program provides vision testing and corrective eyewear. The backpack program provides approximately 1,200 backpacks filled with basic school supplies. The Glenview Management healthy snack program provided more than 10,000 nutritional snacks in 55 schools for over 9,000 students who may not receive enough nourishment outside of school hours. The student activity fund provided more than $135,000 in funding for 8,000 students to participate in extracurricular activities in athletics, music, Report 34, Committee of the Whole - 2 - 3 November 2015 (Public) arts and academic enrichment. The autism water safety program provides funds for swimming and water safety lessons to 162 students with autism in the OCDSB. In response to a query from Trustee Schwartz with respect to opportunities for private businesses to give back, Mr. McGarvey advised that volunteers are welcome to attend Toonie Tuesday events in schools to encourage giving or to fill and distribute backpacks. Trustee Menard queried the nature of fundraising guidance that EFO provides. Mr. McGarvey noted that he assists school councils in developing fundraising campaigns for play structures or school yards, and provides guidance on how to network and approach prospects for giving. In response to a query from Trustee Kavanagh, Mr. McGarvey advised that the EFO delivers snacks to over 50 schools. He added that work is in progress, in partnership with other community organizations across the city, to start a lunch program. Chair Boothby and Director Adams thanked Mr. McGarvey for the help that the Education Foundation of Ottawa provides to OCDSB schools. 6. Delegations a. Dawn Fallis, School Council, Robert Bateman Public School re French Instruction in Kindergarten and Primary Early French Immersion Dawn Fallis, on behalf of the school council at Robert Bateman Public School, provided a written handout to support her delegation. Ms. Fallis expressed her concerns with the proposed changes to French instruction for kindergarten and primary Early French Immersion (EFI). She submitted that Report 15-108 to the Committee of the Whole on 21 September did not identify any major issues that would warrant changes to the program. She noted that approximately 70 percent of students choose the EFI program and that, by recommending a 50/50 model, students in the Regular English program would be denied access to the core program. Ms. Fallis suggested that EFI students who are experiencing difficulty in reading or math be provided with support rather than teaching these subjects in English. Ms. Fallis requested that trustees put the process on hold to allow parents more time to become informed and make their views known. In response to queries, Ms. Fallis noted that school councils did not find out about the proposed changes until after the first consultation meeting was held. She requested that parents have access to adequate information and study results to support the recommendation. Referring to the charts in her Report 34, Committee of the Whole - 3 - 3 November 2015 (Public) handout, Ms. Fallis submitted that students entering grade 1 would be most disadvantaged by not having 100 percent French instruction in kindergarten. b. Megan Leitch, Nicole Gibeau, Lesley Kiely, Parents from Agincourt Public School, W.E. Gowling Public School, and Alta Vista Public School re French Instruction in Kindergarten and Primary Early French Immersion Megan Leitch noted that the consultation period for the proposed changes commenced during the elementary teachers’ job action and communication from the school was minimal. As a result, many parents did not learn of the proposed changes to the EFI program until after the second consultation meeting was held. She expressed the opinion that full bilingualism in Ottawa is important for job prospects and that the changes would result in fewer hours of instruction than many other school boards across Canada. Ms. Leitch requested that trustees slow down the process and not compromise the ability of students to become bilingual. In response to a query from Trustee Ellis, Ms. Leitch suggested that at least a few months be scheduled for consultation to allow school councils sufficient time to consider the proposal and formulate a response. In response to a query from Trustee Menard, Ms. Leitch submitted that students in kindergarten would be most disadvantaged by not having 100 percent French instruction. In response to a query from Trustee Seward, Ms. Leitch expressed the view that math should be taught in French. 7. Matters for Action a. Report 15-135, Approval of Revisions to Policy P.127.TRA, Ottawa Student Transportation Authority Your Committee had before it Report 15-135, seeking approval for proposed revisions to Policy P.127.TRA, Ottawa Student Transportation Authority. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Carson advised that the Committee of the Whole discussed the draft policy at its meeting of 20 October 2015, and suggested some revisions that have been included in the revised draft policy. He noted that the most recent Efficiency & Effectiveness review of OSTA highlighted the Province’s expectation that the Board would delegate authority to the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) for the provision of school bus transportation services. Report 34, Committee of the Whole - 4 - 3 November 2015 (Public) Moved by Trustee Blackburn, A. THAT Policy P.127.TRA

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