Westlock North Task Force Report
STRESSED?
Look at the following picture of two dolphins jumping out of the water in tandem. The research has shown that the more differences you notice in the two dolphins, the more stressed you are. This is attributed to the concentration and recognition influences intensifying when stressed.
The two are VERY similar, so if you can tell the difference without looking hard, you should monitor your stress.
Overview of the Presentation
Summary of Task Force Report
Questions and Comments
Next Steps Task Force Report
Task Force established by a May 9, 2012 Board of Trustees motion as a “next step” in the Westlock North community consultation process.
5737/05/12 - Moved by Trustee Watson that the Board establish a Task Force for the purpose of providing advice to the Board regarding a long range plan (3-5 year) for educating students in the communities served by Dapp, Jarvie and W.R. Frose Schools. Carried7-0
Decision Filters
Will the recommendation maximize educational opportunities for our children? Will it be sustainable? Does it utilize our limited resources in the best possible way for our children? Is it realistic?
Parent Engagement
The establishment of such a Task Force is a unique circumstance in Alberta. Few, if any, Alberta school boards have gone to this length to engage parents and community members in planning for the future education of their children. Opportunity and Responsibility
Task Force Composition
The Westlock North Task Force was established in June 2012 and included the following members: Lisa Gehring/ Darcie Eamor, principal(s) of W.R. Frose Sue Chapotelle –Flatbush Community Member Martin Cairns – Principal, Jarvie School Pat von Loewenstein – Principal, Dapp School Jeremy Seatter – Dapp/Jarvie Community Member Joanne Kaliel – Fawcett Community Member Cristy Paly – Chair, W.R. Frose School Council Cheryl Houle- Vice Chair - Dapp/Jarvie School Council Valerie Montgomery – Chair, Dapp/Jarvie School Council Sig Schmold –Non Decision Making facilitator jointly chosen by the members of the Task Force and the Board – “gopher”
Decision Making
All 9 Task Force Members have an equal voice – non voting facilitator
Ideal – Consensus minus one
Fallback - majority Task Force Work Plan
Phase 1 – Seek first to understand – June/Sept Phase 2 – Develop and discuss alternatives- Oct/Nov. Phase 3 – Decision making –Choosing the preferred alternative – Dec. Communication
As a way of balancing competing concerns, the Task Force decided: That its meetings would be for Task Force members only That the three school councils (Dapp, Jarvie and Fawcett) would reserve a spot on their meeting agendas to share and discuss the Task Force meeting notes. This would also provide an ongoing opportunity for school councils to offer any advice or suggestions to the Task Force. That Task Force Discussion Notes of each meeting would be posted on the Pembina Hills website Meeting dates
June 11 - Jarvie June 26 – WR Frose August 27 – Dapp September 11 – Flatbush September 25 – Jarvie October 9 – WR Frose October 23 – Jarvie November 13 – Flatbush November 27 – Dapp December 4 – WR Frose
Key Observations of the Task Force Student Enrollment
Funding to school jurisdictions for: • instruction, • operations and maintenance of facilities • student transportation Based on the number of students enrolled
Enrollments Declining
Since Regionalization in 1994/95:
• Dapp School enrollment has dropped by 26% • W.R. Frose and Jarvie schools have dropped by more than 50% Enrollment Decline
School current 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17
Dapp 111 (3) 102 99 90 80 K=14 K=15 K= 10 K=8 K=6
Jarvie 35 41 40 45 48
W.R. Frose 70 (7) 68 (6) 62 (5) 62 (5) 58 (3) ( ) = early entry
Total - K-6 216 211 201 197 186 • W.R. Frose and Jarvie currently meet the Pembina Hills school closure criteria
• Dapp will meet it within the next five years. Census 2011
Westlock Town and Westlock North communities are not growing as fast as the rest of Alberta or Canada is growing. Westlock Town, for example, has declined by 3.7%. Barrhead, on the other hand, has grown by 5% and Athabasca by almost 16%. Key trends identified by census 2011 include:
• The number of farms are decreasing because of larger farms
• Farm operators are getting older (average 54 years)
• Families are smaller
Allocation to Schools
Barrhead Composite 6,010.52 6,899.92 BES 7,755.77 Busby 7,615.36 Dapp 8,847.54 Dunstable 7,133.37 Eleanor Hall 8,859.78 Fort Assiniboine 8,927.76 Jarvie 7,012.44 Neerlandia 6,015.62 R.F. Staples 7,009.08 Swan Hills 8,813.51 W.R. Frose 6,919.32 Westlock Elementary Allocation to Function
School System Instruction Transportation Board and System 2010-2011 K-12 Administration
Pembina Hills 75.2% 9.3% 3.8%
Aspen View 74.1% 8.9% 4.8%
Evergreen 78.7% 10% 4.8%
Edmonton Public 75% 3.5% 3.6%
Northern Gateway 71.9% 8.1% 4.3%
Sturgeon 73.5% 9.2% 4.4% Operations and Maintenance
Utilization Rates of PHRD schools range from 100% (Neerlandia ) to 35% with an average of 68%. Dapp School = 51% Jarvie School = 38% Fawcett School = 35% Westlock North Schools Combined is 42% Task Force Recommendation = 84%
The net annual operations and maintenance deficit for all 3 Westlock North schools is $ 98,087.00 (or approximately $100,000.00) per year
Based on the three recent infrastructure audits and translating maintenance and repair costs over 30 years –W.R. Frose works out to $39,092.00 (3,010,101/77) per student, Jarvie works out to $48,067.00 (1,682,358/35) per student, and Dapp works out to $24,526.00 (2,795,996.00/114) per student.
Provincial Capital Priorities
include health and safety, providing new schools to growing communities and providing suitable program space for students. 700 requests that totalled 400 million dollars. Thirty five (35) out of 700 were approved. All of the approvals were because of student enrollment growth- providing schools to communities that do not have a school.
In order to qualify for a new school, a geographic sector of Pembina Hills (e.g. – Westlock North Schools) would need to have a utilization rate of 85% and have enrolment projections that demonstrate student growth. Neither of these two conditions exists at present.
Excess School Space
Pembina Hills would entertain leasing excess school space to a compatible community group or possibly an individual. It was noted, for example, that a community Library or seniors centre would qualify as compatible while a gambling casino would not. The organization leasing the space would need to demonstrate a sustainable ability to fund and operate the leased space.
Points Put Forward During the Westlock North Community Consultations
Transportation – Transportation and related issues had approximately 110 comments made in community meetings Open/closed boundaries or transportation areas was raised about 30 times. Many of the suggestions were about enforcing attendance areas or making parent choice more difficult 20+comments centred on the notion of creating a “specialized” school in the north. Suggestions included Outdoor Education, French, Music, Sports and Religious Education.
Reverse Transportation. A number of comments suggested sending students from Westlock to Westlock North schools (15+). Better Financial Support. A number of community comments related to providing more financial support to the Westlock North Schools by adjusting the current allocation formula (6+ comments) New School Act
Affirms: Parent choice Public funding for Catholic and Francophone education Flexibility and personalization in program delivery School Board ability to operate an alternative program The Nine Alternatives Considered by the Task Force
One School Scenarios
1. Dapp becomes a K-9 school. No schools in Jarvie or Fawcett.
2. New school in Jarvie. No schools in Dapp or Fawcett
Two School Scenarios
1.Fawcett K – 8 and “right size” / Dapp K – 9 2.Jarvie 7 – 9 / Dapp K – 6 3.Jarvie K – 3 /Dapp 4 – 9 4.Dapp K – 6 /Fawcett K – 9 5.Flatbush K – 3 (housed in community complex) / Dapp K -9
Three School Scenarios
1. Status Quo
2. Fawcett K-6 and “right size” Dapp K-6 Jarvie 7-9 (Fawcett junior high students bussed to Jarvie) The Three Task Force “Short listed” Alternatives Rationale
The Task Force does not see the status quo as a viable long term option.
The other three school option simply shifts existing students around and does not deal with the fundamental issue of enrollment decline The two (2) school options deal with enrollment decline in the short term by housing all students in two (2) schools rather than three (3) - the long term probability is that one would meet school closure criteria in the foreseeable future.
The Task Force supported the idea of one regional school in Westlock North as providing the best educational opportunities and long term educational stability The Task Force discussed a possible new school in Jarvie for Westlock North students but felt that this was not a realistic alternative Alberta Education would fund. Three (3) scenarios were proposed as a possible solution.
Two of these scenarios involved a phased in transition from three (3) schools to two (2) schools to one (1) school at Dapp over a five (5) year period.
The third scenario involved moving from three schools to one school in Dapp within the next three (3) years. Scenario A - Amalgamating Dapp and Jarvie in stage one and W.R. Frose with Dapp/Jarvie students in stage two.
Scenario B - amalgamating Dapp and W.R. Frose in stage one (elementary students would go to Dapp and junior high students would go to Jarvie) and Jarvie in stage two (all students would go to a K-9 school in Dapp) and;
Scenario C - amalgamating W.R. Frose and Jarvie with Dapp and creating a “revisioned” regional K-9 school within the next three (3) years; After considerable discussion, the Task Force reached a consensus minus one position (8 for, one against) for scenario C.
The recommendation that the Task Force presents to the Board is that within three (3) years, all K-9 students in Westlock North be educated and housed in a “revisioned” regional Dapp School.
Benefits Supporting the Recommendation For Pembina Hills
The recommendation gives Pembina Hills and the Westlock North community time to plan for facilities, school programs, staffing and budget – simply - time to plan and build a model lighthouse school as well as time to plan for community use of excess school space.
A long term cost effective solution For Parents
Common school year and day Long Term Stability of educational services in Westlock North Will reduce the need to combine grades because of low student numbers but leaves the option open of combining for educational benefit.
For Students
Enhanced Educational Opportunities Long Term Sustainability Improved Transportation ride times for most More resources directed to the classroom Potential to create a light house school by specializing in areas like Fine Arts/Sports/Religious Education etc. Consideration of “Necessary Conditions” Bring administration, communities and school councils together to shape the vision for the new regional school in Dapp
Pembina Hills consider double busing (transporting K-9 and High School students separately) in the afternoons for area students.
Facility modifications/renovations/additions to Dapp School will be needed to turn a K-6 school into a K-9 school able to accommodate a new and expanded school program.
The plan needs School Board and Community/Parent support.
If numbers warrant, the Board should consider bussing students to Dapp from south of the current attendance line to the new regional school.
Next Steps
Alberta Education has recently gone on record as supporting the Task Force recommendation as an educationally sound and cost effective solution to the challenges currently faced by Westlock North schools. The quick response by Alberta Education is heartening and bodes well for the needed funding approvals.
School Board and community consideration of the plan
If the Plan is approved – The Task Force would encourage the Board to continue to involve parents and community members in the detailed planning for the regional school. For example, the Board might want to consider creating a “Transition Team” composed of representatives from staff, parents and communities. Conclusion
The Task Force believes that the time has come for the communities of Westlock North to work together, to look beyond the interests of each separate community and to think about what is in the best long term educational interest of all students in the Westlock North region. While this may be painful and difficult, our students deserve nothing less.
Come now – let us reason together – Isaiah 1:18