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

REPORT NO. 1, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

DATE: 08 December 2015

A meeting of the Committee of the Whole was held this evening in the Board Room, 133 Greenbank Road, Ottawa, Ontario, commencing at 7:31 p.m. with Trustee Christine Boothby in the chair and the following trustees also in attendance: Donna Blackburn, Erica Braunovan, Chris Ellis, Theresa Kavanagh, Dr. Anita Olsen Harper, Keith Penny, Sandra Schwartz, Lynn Scott, 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 Instruction, Peter Gamwell; System Principal – Elementary, Denise Poirier; System Principal – Secondary, Steven Massey; Principal, Glebe Collegiate, France Thibault; Executive Officer, Corporate Services, Michèle Giroux; Manager of Quality Assurance, Joan Oracheski; Manager of Board Services, Monica Ceschia; Assistant Manager of Planning, Ian Baxter; Planner, Lisa Gowans; Strategic Business Analyst, Andrea Rahim; Communications Coordinator, Sharlene Hunter; Audio Visual Specialist, John MacKinnon; and Board/Committee Coordinator, Stephanie Thompson.

NON-VOTING REPRESENTATIVES: Reg Lavergne, Ottawa-Carleton Secondary School Administrators Network (OCSSAN).

1. Call to Order

Vice-Chair Boothby called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m.

2. Approval of Agenda

Moved by Trustee Blackburn, THAT the agenda be approved.

- Carried -

Trustee Ellis advised that he would be recording the meeting.

Report 1, Committee of the Whole - 1 - 08 December 2015 (Public) 3. Briefing from the Chair

Chair Seward advised that Bill 149, Rowan's Law Advisory Committee Act was introduced in the provincial legislature on 26 November 2015 by local MPPs Lisa MacLeod, John Fraser and Catherine Fife. Rowan Stringer was an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) student who died from head injuries while playing rugby in 2013. Last Spring, an inquest was conducted and the jury released 46 recommendations. The Bill asks for an advisory committee to review the recommendations, and the First Reading debate is to begin on 10 December 2015.

The provincial Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs will hold public pre-budget consultation hearings in Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Toronto, and Windsor during the weeks of 18 January 2016 and 1 February 2016. The OCDSB is registered to make a presentation.

The Advocacy Ad Hoc Committee is planning to hold its first meeting in early January 2016 to provide input into the submission to the Standing Committee.

Chair Seward reminded trustees that the 2016 Public Education Symposium (PES) will be held in Toronto from 28-30 January 2016. Keynote speakers, plenary sessions and workshops will offer participants a variety of topics on student learning, leadership, reducing poverty and the role of the audit committee, among others. The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) meetings will also be held during the symposium, and there will be roundtable discussion on the collective bargaining process on 28 January 2016 prior to PES.

4. Briefing from the Director

Director Adams advised that last week staff and elementary parents were provided with additional information regarding the extended consultation period for proposed changes to French instruction in kindergarten and primary early French immersion (EFI). The information is also posted on the District’s website, along with a link to the public and staff consultation surveys; the deadline to complete the survey is 11 January 2016. The Committee of the Whole will continue discussions regarding French instruction in kindergarten and primary EFI at its meeting on 2 February 2016.

Director Adams noted that the OCDSB is missing a high number of immunization records from students. The District has begun the process of communicating with parents, and Ottawa Public Health will be sending letters to parents if their child’s records are not up to date. A suspension from school may be issued if a student’s immunization record remains incomplete.

5. Delegations

There were no delegations.

Report 1, Committee of the Whole - 2 - 08 December 2015 (Public) 6. Matters for Action

a. Report 15-158, Half Moon Bay Elementary School – Approval of Grade, Program Offering and Attendance Boundary

Your Committee had before it Report 15-158, seeking approval of a grade structure, program offering, and attendance boundary for the new Half Moon Bay Elementary School and other associated changes.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Carson advised that the identification of the need for this new school dates back to a 2011 study which accompanied the opening of Chapman Mills Public School. CFO Carson noted that there was consensus support expressed at the public consultation meeting held in October 2015 for the proposed program and attendance boundary for the new school, as well as the grade structure, options for students who are redirected from Mary Honeywell Elementary School, and the harmonization of elementary school grade structures to JK to grade 6.

Moved by Trustee Blackburn, A. THAT effective September 2016, grade structures, program offerings, and attendance boundaries for South Nepean area schools be approved according to Appendix D of Report No. 15-158, including the new Half Moon Bay elementary school offering a junior kindergarten to grade 5 structure for September 2016, and adding grade 6 for September 2017;

B. THAT students enrolled at Mary Honeywell Elementary School in 2015-2016 and residing in redirected areas for September 2016 be permitted to remain at Mary Honeywell Elementary School;

C. THAT younger siblings, born in 2015 or earlier, of students enrolled at Mary Honeywell Elementary School in 2015-2016 and residing in redirected areas for September 2016, be given a one-time option to attend Mary Honeywell Elementary School; and

D. THAT the grade 5/6 Gifted English program class at Cedarview Middle School be relocated to Jockvale Elementary School beginning with grade 5 students in September 2016 and adding grade 6 students for September 2017.

Trustee Blackburn noted that she was very pleased that the working group was comprised of school council representatives, principals from potentially impacted schools, staff, and representatives from various local community

Report 1, Committee of the Whole - 3 - 08 December 2015 (Public) associations. She also noted that those who attended the public consultation meeting held in October 2015 were unanimously supportive of the proposed changes.

In response to a question from Trustee Scott, CFO Carson advised that the kindergarten enrolment for Half Moon Bay Elementary School may decline if the proposed changes to French instruction in kindergarten and primary EFI are approved; however, the decline would not be worrisome given the significant population of South Nepean.

Trustee Blackburn noted that, based on some concerns expressed during the working group sessions, staff agreed to recommend that siblings of current Mary Honeywell Elementary School students residing in impacted areas, born in 2015 or earlier, be allowed to attend the school with their older siblings. Trustee Blackburn encouraged trustees to support this motion.

B. THAT students enrolled at Mary Honeywell Elementary School in 2015-2016 and residing in redirected areas for September 2016 be permitted to remain at Mary Honeywell Elementary School;

Report 1, Committee of the Whole - 4 - 08 December 2015 (Public) 7. Reports from Statutory Committees:

a. Report 10, Special Education Advisory Committee, 18 November 2015

Moved by Trustee Ellis, THAT the Special Education Advisory Committee Report 10, dated 18 November 2015, be received.

- Carried -

In response to trustees’ queries, staff agreed to provide information regarding the stages of tiered intervention and eligible funding assistance from other agencies for Tier 3 students.

In response to a query from Trustee Seward on whether it is practice for the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) to take a position on a topic before bringing it before the Board, Executive Officer Giroux confirmed that the SEAC is an advisory committee of the Board and would presumably bring forward recommendations, such as a position statement on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, to the Committee of the Whole and the Board for approval.

b. Report 8, Parent Involvement Committee, 11 November 2015

Moved by Trustee Braunovan, THAT the Parent Involvement Committee Report 8, dated 11 November 2015, be received.

- Carried -

In response to a query from Trustee Scott, Executive Officer Giroux advised that the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) is planning the content and speakers for the parent conference scheduled for 16 January 2016, and sought feedback at the school council training day. The themes of sessions are Physical Health and Well-Being at Home and at School, Learning at Home and at School, Character Development at Home and at School, and Special Education at Home and at School. Registration materials for the conference will be circulated to parents this week, and parents will be asked to identify the workshops they would like to attend.

8. Matters for Discussion:

a. Unfinished Business from Committee of the Whole, 17 November 2015, Report 15-150, District Needs Analysis – Secondary Panel

Your Committee had before it Report 15-150, providing information on the District Needs Analysis for the secondary panel.

Report 1, Committee of the Whole - 5 - 08 December 2015 (Public) CFO Carson advised that Policy P.134.PLG, Capital Project Planning, calls for the OCDSB to undertake a needs analysis of the District’s facilities on a four year cycle, in the second year of a Board’s tenure and flowing from the updated strategic plan. The district needs analysis must examine growth pressures, trends in enrolment, gaps in programming accessibility, new program initiatives, facility conditions, and suitability as teaching and learning space. CFO Carson advised that the policy will be amended to reflect trustees’ feedback.

During discussion, and in response to questions, the following points were noted:  Staff would prefer to address the challenges regarding enrolment in secondary schools by area, rather than as a whole;  Trustee Scott suggested it may be helpful to consider the total student population in the age bracket relative to the space available;  Some schools, even when under capacity, may not have adequate facilities (i.e., gym space) because of their physical structure;  Greater specificity regarding the number of facilities (i.e. gyms, cafeterias, performance space, specialized learning space) will be brought forward after reviews are completed;  There is a petition from parents regarding the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) programs, and this item is on the long range agenda as part of the secondary school review;  A working group is addressing the secondary gifted program and the Canterbury High School situation, and reports will be provided to the Committee of the Whole in February 2016 seeking approval of a consultation plan;  Trustee Kavanagh noted that the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) has IB programs, and suggested that it would be helpful to know if other boards are offering the IB and AP programs;  The utilization rate is based on the number of registered students;  The McHugh program serves the OCDSB and the OCSB. Although there is no formal compensation for rented space, funds are put towards surplus spaces and may be applied to the program itself;  The occupancy rate is determined by the Ministry and is based on the number of pupil places divided by the number of enrolled students;  Secondary principals are being consulted on the analysis and will be involved in trustee professional development sessions moving forward;  Only permanent spaces, not portables, are included in school capacity numbers;  The District is working with schools to ensure that portables are only used, if required; and  Funding is not withheld from a school on the basis that it may be a participant in the secondary school review.

Report 1, Committee of the Whole - 6 - 08 December 2015 (Public) b. Report 15-133, Indices for Measuring Progress on the 2015-2019 Strategic Plan

Your Committee had before it Report 15-133 outlining the processes and proposed measures which will be used to examine progress on the 2015-2019 strategic plan objectives.

Executive Officer Giroux advised that an initial review of the strategic plan objectives has been undertaken and strategies have been identified regarding how data will be collected to measure progress. Consideration has also been given to how future reporting can be optimized through alignment between the objectives and existing reports. In addition to the reports on each of the individual objectives, an annual report on overall progress will also be produced.

During discussion, and in response to questions, the following points were noted:  Trustee Seward suggested that discussions on differential supports could be included as key work under the equity objective and that the revenues indicated under the stewardship objective could include reserves. She also recommended that strategies to support First Nation, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) parents should be included under the engagement objective;  The dollar value of funds raised for charitable causes could indicate progress under the stewardship objective, however, there are some limitations as the District and OCDSB schools are not in the fundraising business;  Online parent portals would provide an opportunity for parents to access information online, enhance communication between parents and teachers, increase efficiencies and promote parental engagement;  When measuring progress on the engagement objective, school council events are not included in participation in school and District events;  Trustee Schwartz noted that it is important to model environmental awareness through initiatives such as stewardship days and the walking school bus program, and suggested that the District explore opportunities for schools to become more involved;  Trustee Ellis expressed the opinion that the equity objectives should be more ambitious, and noted that he is very interested in seeing how the District will measure progress particularly related to students of low socio-economic status in special education programs;  Trustees Penny and Olsen Harper noted that the strategic plan objectives are general statements, and questioned whether sub- objectives might be developed to make the objectives concrete and easier to understand;

Report 1, Committee of the Whole - 7 - 08 December 2015 (Public)  An employee engagement survey was identified for this year to provide baseline data that would be used to measure growth participation rates and improvements;  Trustee Blackburn submitted that students with engaged parents tend to do better in school and queried how the District could support the families who are not as engaged;  Trustee Kavanagh noted that some schools have significant parental engagement that extends beyond school councils. She suggested that healthy eating workshops/programs and the walking school bus program could be used as measurements for the well-being objective;  Student achievement data is a measure of parental engagement, including formal (i.e., school councils) and informal (i.e., at home) structures;  Identifying key measures requires significant resources and measures must be selected to provide meaningful input, rather than for the sake of measuring;  The District has developed gender equity guidelines based on the work of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) and these guidelines are important to the work of the equity objective;  The OCDSB has a Board improvement plan on achievement and well- being and schools have an annual school learning plan. The school learning plan replaced the School Improvement Plan for Student Achievement;  School councils are encouraged to align their priorities with the school learning priorities;  The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) tests and school surveys are mechanisms to measure student engagement based on student input;  Trustee Scott queried whether the District could also measure student engagement with information from student success teachers, credit recovery, retention, and Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSMs). She also questioned whether October may be too late in the school year to report on the engagement objective and that the individual needs of learners could be included under the learning objective;  In response to a query from Trustee Olsen Harper, Executive Officer Giroux advised that the implementation of the FNMI strategy under the equity objective refers to expanding resources available to schools for FNMI students and teachers, continuing the partnership with the Truth and Reconciliation Centre, enhancing programming, and increasing self-identification rates;  In response to a query from Trustee Ellis, staff agreed to provide a memo in response to feedback about the measurement report; and  There would be many limitations if extracurricular activities were to be measured for progress.

Report 1, Committee of the Whole - 8 - 08 December 2015 (Public) * * * Following a break at 9:12 p.m. the meeting was called to order at 9:23 p.m. * * *

c. Report 15-142, Secondary School Review: French as a Second Language Working Group Deliverables

Your Committee had before it Report 15-142 presenting the results of the French as a Second Language (FSL) Working Group, including the implementation plan for the Grade 12 French Proficiency Test and proposed changes to the delivery of the FSL program.

Superintendent Buffone advised that committees and consultative groups established to guide the decision-making process met over a four-year period. The FSL working group was tasked with developing a District-wide implementation plan for the Grade 12 French proficiency test, the Diplôme d'études en langue française (DELF), which defines language proficiency along six global levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2) and measures four competencies (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). Since Spring 2010, OCDSB students enrolled in grade 12 FSL courses have participated in DELF testing that is fully funded through the Ministry’s FSL Renewal Grant.

Superintendent Buffone noted that during the 2014-2015 school year, 75% of grade 12 FSL students participated in the DELF and 97% were successful. For the past few years, students have completed the written portion of the test at their home school and the oral interviews took place at either 440 Albert Street or the Confederation Education Centre. This model is working well, and no changes to the current process are recommended at this time. However, with increasing numbers of students participating in the DELF each year, it may be necessary to reconsider a school-based model for both the written and oral components of the DELF in the future. It is expected that with the continued growth in student participation, a single administration of the DELF would cost approximately $100,000. Two administrations of the DELF talk place each school year.

The FSL working group was also tasked with ensuring equity of access to high quality FSL programs across the District. Under the Ministry’s new policy document, Student Learning-Accommodation Planning – Secondary School Review: French as a Second Language, there are three FSL program pathways defined at the secondary level (core, extended, and immersion).

Superintendent Buffone explained that a secondary school student who earns ten credits in French shall be awarded a French immersion certificate, and a student who earns seven credits in French shall be awarded an extended French certificate. He advised that, under the Ministry’s new policy document, it

Report 1, Committee of the Whole - 9 - 08 December 2015 (Public) is unnecessary for the OCDSB to continue to code extended French language courses (FEF) as being different from French immersion courses (FIF) at the secondary level. He also noted that of the 23 OCDSB secondary schools with regular day school programs, all 23 sites offer core French and 20 offer French immersion.

Superintendent Buffone advised that the District may recommend that core and immersion FSL programs be offered at all secondary schools thereby making all three pathways available to all OCDSB students. As such, the extended French course code in secondary levels would be eliminated. These changes may have some minimal staffing implications.

It was noted that Lisgar Collegiate Institute and Canterbury High School do not have French immersion or extended French programs, and that some schools have a coded extended French program. A timeline would be developed to ensure that there is sound implementation of the recommendations.

During discussion, and in response to questions, the following points were noted:  Some out-of-district students enrol at Lisgar Collegiate Institute specifically to attend its extended French program, and Glebe Collegiate Institute currently offers a French immersion program. The proposed changes would not negatively impact either of these schools;  Hillcrest High School would experience a decline in enrolment if Canterbury High School offered a French immersion program. These challenges would be dealt with under the pupil accommodation review process;  The OCDSB is the leading district in the province for FSL in secondary schools, and has one of the highest success rates for the DELF test. The District has made excellent progress, such as offering French language labs at secondary schools, democratizing the FSL programs and minimizing attrition rates to support FSL students;  The number of OCDSB secondary school students enrolled in FSL programs is increasing over time;  The extended French program may have been more popular in the past because it catered to late French immersion (LFI) students, which has since been phased out;  The Ministry has asked the District to prepare a three, five, and ten year action plan for FSL;  The administration costs of the DELF will continue to increase as participation grows. The costs would continue to be covered through the FSL Renewal Grant received from the Ministry of Education;  In the unlikely event that funding is withdrawn, recommendations regarding the implementation of student fees may be considered. Information gathered from a student survey suggested that a cost

Report 1, Committee of the Whole - 10 - 08 December 2015 (Public) recovery fee for the DELF test of up to $50 per student might be reasonable;  There is currently no data on the number of OCDSB students with low socio-economic status who participate in the DELF;  The Committee of the Whole will receive information in the future with respect to the implementation of FSL pathways in secondary schools;  Many secondary schools have already combined the French immersion and extended French programs;  There are no cost savings associated with eliminating the extended French course code, however, there may be some additional FSL revenue if there is an increase in students continuing with French immersion courses; and  Staff agreed to update trustees on the working group with the Public Service Alliance of Canada regarding the Diplôme d'études en langue française (DELF) once further information is available.

9. Information Items:

a. New Ministry Initiatives Update

There was no update from the Ministry.

b. OSTA Update

There was no update from OSTA.

10. New Business - Information and Inquiries

There was no new business.

11. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 9:57 p.m.

Christine Boothby, Chair, Committee of the Whole

Report 1, Committee of the Whole - 11 - 08 December 2015 (Public)