NOTICE OF MEETING Vancouver School Board Secretary-Treasurer's Office Committee III: May 6, 2016 Joy Alexander Penny Noble Patti Bacchus Fraser Ballantyne Janet Fraser Mike Lombardi Christopher Richardson Stacy Robertson Allan Wong Scott Robinson, Superintendent of Schools Russell Horswill, Secretary-Treasurer Notice of Meeting A Meeting of the Education and Student Services Committee (Committee III) will be held in Committee Room # 120 of the Education Centre, 1580 West Broadway, Vancouver, British Columbia, on Wednesday May 11, 2016 at 5:00 pm Student Trustee Timme Zhao Senior Nancy Brennan David Nelson Staff: Catherine Jamieson Julie Pearce Magdalena Kassis Ellen Roberts Brian Kuhn Rob Schindel Lisa Landry Janet Stewart Jim Meschino Ian Wind Reps: Sylvia Metzner, VSTA Alt: Phoebe Macmillan, VSTA Heather Allison, VESTA Jody Polukoshko, VESTA Jim Rutley, VASSA Annette Vey-Chilton, VASSA John Cortens, VEPVPA Claudette Alain, VEPVA William Wong, PASA Audrey Van Alstyne, PASA Farah Shroff, DPAC Morgane Orger, DPAC Rene Joiner, CUPE Loc 15 Lois Holmlund, CUPE 15 Tim Chester, IUOE Tim DeVivo, IUOE Ken Chohanik, Trades Raymond Szczecinski, Trades Brent Boyd, CUPE 407 Haidee Pangilinan, VDSC Others: Secretary-Treasurer's Office Ed. Centre Engineers District Parents Rentals Elaine McKay Cafeteria Chris Allen Maisie Louie Lynda Bonvillain leg VANCOUVER SCHOOL BOARD COMMITTEE MEETING COMMITTEE III — EDUCATION AND STUDENT SERVICES Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 5:00 pm Room 120, VSB Education Centre AGENDA The meeting is being held on the traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Coast Salish peoples. Presentation by Delegation Presenter 1. Early Mandarin Bilingual (EMB) Barbara Lee and Tim Bray (5:00 — 5:10 pm) (Parents from Norquay) 2. Home Learners Program Shane Richardson (5:10 — 5:20 pm) Reports for Trustees' Information Presenter 3. District Response to Sanctuary Schools Julie Pearce, Associate Superintendent Policy Proposal 4. Feasibility of User-Pay Band and Strings Nancy Brennan, Associate Superintendent Program (Report to be provided) New Business/Enquiries pate and Time of Next Meeting Wednesday, June 8th at 5:00 pm in Room 120 Early Mandarin Bilingual Program: Global Leadership EMB Parents of Norquay Elementary Committee 111 Presentation - May 11, 2016 Brief EMB Program Overview • John Norquay Elementary School (East side between East 29th Avenue & Kingsway • Program intake began in 2011 e 156 students, K-5 in 2015-2016; Low attrition!!! • 80% of students live outside catchment O English proficiency required (90% of families non- Mandarin speaking) • Goal: 50% Mandarin language instruction • Curriculum is home-made: VSB/teacher developed High Parent Engagement • 90%+ response to parent survey from VSB • 70% response to our own survey. Highlights: 20% of families said they'd go outside the VSB system if not for EMB 75%+ said they'd go anywhere in Vancouver for high school • Packed house at May 3rd Norquay meeting High Demand • Wait-list is formally 55 families • Parents say: It's much higher than that, people know about the demand and are discouraged • Langara has over 1,000 registrants for K-12 Mandarin classes Parent Feedback • Long Range Facility planning needs to house EMB high school program • Teachers need support in continuing to develop a home-made EMB curriculum • Deep concern with proficiency standards and goals Benefits of EMB to VSB • Program has reversed declining enrolment at Norquay • Program is a magnet for kids who would go elsewhere • Brings in a group of well-organized, supportive parents Benefits of EMB to Students • Cognitive benefits to children well- supported by research • Economic benefits in a Pacific-Rim nation and an Asian-flavored city • An excellent fit for VSB Strategic Plan and Vision 2021 ap = 4 r •_ ) . 441 minternational ,1 i )Vilf AIL • The Top Languages to Learn in 2015 • July 29, 2015/11 Comments/in Language Blo_g /by Alison Kroulek • Fancy learning a new language this year? Whether you're still a student or you're just looking for a way to improve your career outlook, we've selected the top languages to learn in 2015. • 1. Mandarin • The official language of China, Mandarin is already the most widely spoken language in the world. Per Wikipedia 955 million people, 14.4% of the world's population, claim it as their native tongue. The demand for Mandarin speakers will only grow in the years to come, as China nudges the United States out of the top spot as the nation with the world's largest GDP. Mandarin is also the second most popular language online. In a 2013 report, the British Council ranked it as one of the top 10 most important languages for the future of the UK. • Difficulty level: High • Mandarin is considered a difficult language for English speakers to learn. According the United States Foreign Service Institute, it takes an average of 2,200 classroom hours for English speakers to master. Are you up for the challenge'? How many hours? Per the United States Foreign Service Institute, it takes an average of 2,200 classroom hours for English speakers to master Mandarin • 13 years — 3 hours per week for 52 weeks • 10 years — 4 hours per week for 52 weeks • 5 years 8 hours per week for 52 weeks Mandarin Around the World • What do former Australian Prime minister, Kevin Rudd; the successful entrepreneur, Mark Zuckerberg and the U.S. President Obama's daughter, Malia Obama have in common? They all study Chinese as their second language. • Dual-Language Classes for Kids Grow in Popularity (Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2016): "In increasingly global economy, more parents seek leg up for their children through early immersion programs" • The rise and rise of Mandarin — but how many will end up speaking it? (The Telegraph UK, 20 Sep 2011): "China's growing importance in the world has convinced millions to start learning Mandarin, but how many will end u_p able to speak one of the world's most difficult languages?" • Mandarin Chinese becoming first choice as second language (The Denver Post, 10/22/2012) Next Steps • Continued support and funding of the program — Consider a temporary part-time Mandarin language consultant at least for the transition of EMB from elementary to secondary (2017-2018) • Develop and Implement a voluntary Mandarin Proficiency assessment in Gr. 4, 7, 10 and 12 - Assessment and evaluation is necessary to ensure consistency and teaching standards across classrooms and important for evaluating students entering at later grades to strengthen enrollment numbers - Additional intake at Gr. 4/5/6 or 8 to strengthen numbers - Second elementary site as per original plan • The EMB Parents are passionately committed to this program and ready to help Final Thought: We recognize that it is a difficult time for Public Education, and while Trustees and Staff are struggling with what to lose, we ask that you also keep in mind what can be gained and grown with a little funding and attention. We think Early Mandarin is one such program that can be grown to reap a tremendous amount of educational, cultural, social and funding benefits. Thank You! *IV 64 Total Responses Families were asked only to complete survey once, but included number of children in EMB program. Total EMB Students: 14 Grade 5 Families 27 Grade 4 Families 19 Grade 3 Families 14 Grade 2 Families 18 Grade 1 Families 14 Kindergarten Families 1 Unspecified 107 Students out of 156 = 68.6% Response Rate Date Created: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 Complete Responses: 64 Powered by 4 SurveyMonkey- Qi: Family Name Q2: What Grade(s) are your child(ren) in? Q3: When you first started at Norquay's EMB Program, was it your understanding that the program would continue onto Gr. 8 - 12? Answered: 64 Skipped: 0 *VSB Welcome letter signed by Valerie Overgaard, Yes Associate Superintendent at the time and dated October 20, 2011 stated a commitment to parents that the EMB program will Flo continue onto high school. See copy in Appendix. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Answer Choices Responses Yes 93.75% 60 ltle 4 Total 64 Powered by 4'1* SurveyMonkey' Q4: if you were told EMB did not continue onto high school, would you have enrolled your child into the EMB program? Answered: 64 Skipped: 0 *Most EMB Parents would Answer Choices Responses have chosen another Yes 39.06% 25 program or gone to private 39.06% 25 school if they were told EMB No high school would not be Other (please sperifV) 21.88% 14 available for their children. Total 64 *5 of the "Other" said they would have considered Christian school or other programs Powered by eN SurveyMonkey' Q5: If your child did not get into the EMB program, where would your child have been enrolled? Choose only one. Answered: 62 Skipped: 2 Private School ***3 of the 'Other' responses French stated that parents were Immersion considering or were already in private schools or would consider another school Other district. Therefore, the EMB program attracted Regular VS13 approximately 20% of program respondent's students to remain in the district's public Jamieson Late school. Mandarin Other school district... 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Powered by ^ SurveyMonkey' Q6: Which of these options would you prefer for an EMB High School site. Rank them in order if more than one. (#1 being highest, #4 lowest. Do not need to rank all, can just choose one as #1) Answered: 63 Skipped: 1 *74.6% of Respondents plan to 2 3 4 Total Score attend EMB high school regardless of A High School site close to Norquay 53.48% 25.58% 16.28% 4.65% 23 11 7 2 43 3.28 location