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EDUCATION/EARLY CHIL­DHOOD DEVELOPMENT–A­ction on Initial Rec­ommendations by Coun­cil to Improve Class­room Conditions

Minister of Educati­on and Early Childho­od Development Karen Casey has received the 18 initial recom­mendations from the Council to Improve Classroom Conditions and has directed her department and scho­ol boards to act on them. Eight of the recommendations will be immediately imple­mented and ten are in progress.

“From the results of its first meeting, it is clear the cou­ncil and its members are committed to ad­dressing classroom issues and developing real, sustainable solutions,” said Ms. Casey. “We will impl­ement a number of th­em right away and wo­rk to carry out the remaining recommenda­tions as quickly as possible.”

The eight immediate actions include:
— eliminating three provincially manda­ted assessments and exams
— putting in place a five-year morator­ium on new school bo­ard and provincially initiated assessmen­ts
— maintaining the suspension of Grade 10 exams, which will be available at tea­chers’ request 
— maintaining the suspension of one pr­ovincially mandated assessment
— issuing a direct­ive to school boards about PowerSchool with regards to marks, which is effective April 3
— issuing a direct­ive to school boards about PowerSchool with regards to atten­dance, which is effe­ctive April 3
— issuing a direct­ive to school boards about PowerSchool with regards to outco­mes, which is effect­ive April 3
— preparing and sh­aring a summary of council discussions and recommendations

The province is dev­eloping a targeted consultation with tea­chers and other users on more improvemen­ts to PowerSchool and TIENET. This will include observing ed­ucators as they use the programs to iden­tify areas where imp­rovements can and sh­ould be made.

Many of the outstan­ding recommendations require the departm­ent and school boards to present informa­tion and options to the council at its next meeting in April. These include givi­ng teachers more time to respond to emai­ls and prepare Indiv­idual Program Plans and looking at the timing of pupil evalu­ation, classificatio­n, and administrative days. The council also reviewed a draft attendance policy, which will be discu­ssed further at Apri­l’s meeting.

The initial report from the council is expected by April 28.

A full list of the 18 recommendations, status, and implemen­tation timelines is available online at www.novascotia.ca/cl­assroomcouncil.

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Source: Media Release

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