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Agenda Anna DeBartolo REVISED Chair (Vaughan) Board Standing Committee Meeting Nancy Elgie Public Session Vice-Chair (Georgina) Tuesday, February 21, 2012 Loralea Carruthers Board Room – 7:00 p.m. (East Gwillimbury & Whitchurch-Stouffville) Pages Carol Chan 1. Approval of Agenda (Richmond Hill) 2. Declaration of Conflict of Interest Madeline Crystal (Student Trustee) 3. Special Announcements Susan Geller 4. Public Forum (Markham) 5. NEW BUSINESS Diane Giangrande (Richmond Hill) a) Delegation Regarding Policy #316.0, Elementary (Attached) Programs Joel Hertz - Jordan Allison (Vaughan) b) Presentation by Ipsos Reid regarding Review of 1 – 6 Juanita Nathan French Second Language Programming – Public (Markham) Telephone and Online Surveys - Martin Hrobsky, Associate Vice-President, Ipsos Allan Tam Reid Public Affairs (Markham) - Licinio Miguelo, Manager, Public Affairs and Communications Services John Tertan (Student Trustee) c) Elementary School Boundary Changes – Lincoln 7 – 11 Alexander Public School and Sir John A. Macdonald Martin Van Beek Public School (Newmarket) - Jane Ross, Senior Manager, Planning and Property Development Ada Yeung - Dawn Adams, Manager, Accommodation Planning (Markham) 60 Wellington Street West, Box 40, Aurora Ontario L4G 3H2 (905) 727-3141 (905) 895-7216 (905) 722-3201 (416) 969-8131 Fax: (905) 727-1931 www.yrdsb.edu.on.ca Agenda d) Elementary and Secondary School Boundary Changes – 12 – 23 Deer Park Public School, Greensborough Public Anna DeBartolo School, Holland Landing Public School, Keswick High Chair School, Lakeside Public School, Mount Joy Public School, (Vaughan) Park Avenue Public School, Sutton District High School - Jane Ross, Senior Manager, Planning and Property Nancy Elgie Development Vice-Chair - Dawn Adams, Manager, Accommodation Planning (Georgina) e) Naming of a New Elementary School, Town of East 24 – 25 Loralea Carruthers Gwillimbury (Phoebe Gilman Public School) (East Gwillimbury & - Denese Belchetz, Associate Director of Education, Whitchurch-Stouffville) Student Achievement and Well-Being - Allan Hoyle, Superintendent of Schools Carol Chan (Richmond Hill) f) Conference and Conventions – Trustees’ Expenses 26 – 34 for the Period December 1, 2010 to Madeline Crystal November 30, 2011 (Student Trustee) - Bruce Richardson, Associate Director of Education, Business and Finance Susan Geller - Wanda Muirhead-Toporek, Superintendent (Markham) of Business Diane Giangrande 6. Adjournment (Richmond Hill) Joel Hertz (Vaughan) Juanita Nathan (Markham) Allan Tam (Markham) John Tertan (Student Trustee) Martin Van Beek (Newmarket) Ada Yeung (Markham) 60 Wellington Street West, Box 40, Aurora Ontario L4G 3H2 (905) 727-3141 (905) 895-7216 (905) 722-3201 (416) 969-8131 Fax: (905) 727-1931 www.yrdsb.edu.on.ca YORK REGION DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD Review of French Second Language (FSL) Programming Background: To ensure a future of high-quality and sustainable programs, the Board has undertaken a comprehensive review of the French Second Language (FSL) programs, Core and Immersion. The review includes literature research, review of other jurisdictional practices and public and internal input to the Core and Immersion French programs. At the fall School Council Forums, the Board announced its intent to conduct the review as well as the timelines for the public input process. The public input process includes a telephone and online survey, followed by focus group sessions, which will be conducted during the spring School Council Forums by the Board’s selected vendor, Ipsos Reid. The online and telephone survey used similar questions, which were developed jointly by Ipsos Reid, the Board’s Parent Reference Group and staff committees (FSL Lead Team and FSL Advisory Committee). The telephone survey was conducted by Ipsos Reid in December 2011, and included 1000 respondents from across York Region. The online survey was available for completion between December 16, 2011 and January 16, 2012, and received 1,518 total responses (not all respondents answered every question). Rationale: This report is an update on the public input process of the FSL Review being conducted. The telephone and online survey results will be shared with the Board’s parent community through the spring School Council Forums and is presented with this report for information. As presented at the September 12, 2011 Board Standing Committee meeting, the focus group sessions to be held at the spring School Council Forums will be conducted by Ipsos Reid. The intent of the focus group sessions is to share and receive feedback on input already received from the public. Estimated Cost: Not applicable. Timeline: The Communications / Implementation Plan section includes current timelines. Recommendation: That the York Region District School Board receive the Review of French Second Language (FSL) Programming report for information. Communications / Implementation Plan: The following timelines were presented in September 2011, the project remains on schedule: School Council Forum Communication • Email to school council chairs and principals Announcement of FSL Review Process – mid-October 2011 • Announcement at fall school council forums including presentation of program pressures and timelines for review • School newsletters • Email to school councils Receive community input – November 2011-January 2012 • Telephone research (external agency) • Online survey Coordinating Council of Superintendents – February 15, 2012 Board Standing Committee – February 21, 2012 Spring Council Forums February/March 2012 • Announcement of quantitative data findings • Focus group discussion and feedback (facilitated by external agency) Announcement of FSL Advisory Committee Recommendations • Announcement in Fall 2012 • Communications plan to be developed FSL Strategy Implementation – Fall 2013 Appended Data Appendix 1 – French As A Second Language Topline Memo (Telephone Survey) Appendix 2 – French As A Second Language Topline Memo (Online Survey) Respectfully submitted, February 21, 2012 For further information, please contact Licinio Miguelo, Manager, Public Affairs and Communications, or the Director of Education, Ken Thurston. APPENDIX 1 To: Licinio Miguelo, York Region District School Board Date: January 24, 2012 From: Graham Loughton, Ipsos Reid Public Affairs Subject: French As A Second Language Topline Memo (Telephone Survey) Licinio, please find below a quick overview of the survey results from the residents’ telephone study. Pleased to address any questions. Overall Attitudes • There is strong support for learning a second language – 93% agreement (63% very important, 30% somewhat important). • There is also strong support for learning French in school – 87% agreement (51% very important, 36% somewhat important). • Mixed level of awareness of the French programs offered by the Region – 51% can’t recall/don’t know, 34% say French Immersion, 9% say Core French. Assessment of Current Programs Core French • 31% of residents say they don’t know enough about the Core French Program to comment on quality of the program. • Among those who do know enough, 79% rate the overall quality of the Core French Program as at least good (19% very good, 60% good). • Most respondents (41%) think a graduate from Core French should have an Intermediate Level of French Knowledge – can use French in a social context for example when travelling and in a familiar context (school, leisure). • 80% are supportive of starting Core French at grade 4 (45% very supportive, 35% somewhat supportive). North America Ipsos-Reid Corporation 610-160 Bloor Street East Europe Toronto, ON, Canada M4W 1B9 Latin America Tel: 416.324.2900 Asia Fax: 416.324.2865 Middle East www.ipsos-reid.com • 34% would support Core French starting at grade 1. Grade 4 is mentioned next most often at 24%. French Immersion • 41% of residents say they don’t know enough about the French Immersion Program to comment on the quality of the program. • Among those who do know enough, 91% rate the overall quality of French Immersion Program as at least good (31% very good,60% good). • Most respondents (47%) think a graduate of French Immersion should have a Proficient Knowledge of French – can use French in academic and work situations to present complex ideas. • Residents are mixed on their support for starting French Immersion at a grade other than grade 1. 49% are supportive, 47% are opposed. • 71% of residents are supportive of students having to travel a greater distance to school/travel outside current neighbourhood to participate in French Immersion (34% very supportive, 37% somewhat supportive). French Program In Addition to Core French and French Immersion • 73% of residents are supportive of offering a third French as a second language program for students in York Region (33% very supportive, 40% somewhat supportive). Benefit of enrolling in French Immersion • Benefit of French Immersion seen as enhanced job prospects (40%) and overall value in learning a second language (35%). Page 2 APPENDIX 2 To: Licinio Miguelo, York Region District School Board Date: February 7, 2012 From: Ipsos Reid Public Affairs Subject: French As A Second Language Topline Memo (Online Survey) Below is the data from the Survey Monkey survey for closed-ended questions. Overall Attitudes • There is strong support for learning a second language – 97% agreement (84% very important, 13% somewhat important). • There is also strong support for learning French in school – 95% agreement (77% very important, 18% somewhat important). • Awareness of