COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
Committee Name: French-As-A-Second-Language Advisory Committee
Date: Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Time: 7:00 pm
Present: Lauralyn Johnston (Parent Co-Chair, W8), Sharon Beason (Parent Vice-Co Chair, W16), Christie Dunbar (Parent Vice-Co Chair, W16), Sarah Smith (Parent Vice-Co Chair, W15), Rosemary Sutherland (Parent Vice-Co Chair, W9), Lisa McAvoy (W2), Deloris Williamson-Braham (W5), Nadya Phelan (W8), Matt Forrest (W9), Polina Osmerkina (W10), Wilmar Kortleever (W13), Randy Samuel (W17), Pauline Palmer (W17), Gail Miller (W21), Zeynab Kazi (W22), Mary Cruden (Canadian Parents for French)
Teleconference: Maureen Burnett (W14), Alison MacAlpine (W14)
TDSB: Shelley Laskin (Trustee, W11) Beth Butcher (Executive Superintendent), Angela Caccamo (Central Assigned Principal), Kevin Hodgkinson (Student Transportation)
Regrets: Robin Pilkey (Trustee Co-Chair), Kirsten Johnston (Program Co-ordinator, FSL)
Guests: Keri Dang (Glenview Parent, W8), Lolita Pereira (Glenview Parent, W8), Jenny Luk (Glen Park/Lawrence Park Parent, W8)
Recorder: Kathy Wenger
ITEM / DISCUSSION / RECOMMENDATION/MOTION/ACTION1. Call to Order/Quorum
(Lauralyn Johnston) / Call to Order:
Meeting was called to order by Chair Johnston at 7:11 p.m.
Welcome and introductions followed.
Quorum: Quorum was achieved.
Membership Review:
No updates
2. Approval of Agenda
(Lauralyn Johnston) / ***Motion: Nadya, seconded by Lisa, moved to approve the agenda. Motion carried.
FSL Professional Learning Plan – deferred to November
Add: Equity Task Force, East York CI Update
3. Conflict of Interest
(Lauralyn Johnston) / None
4. Approval of Minutes
September 12, 2017
(Lauralyn Johnston) / ***Motion: Sarah, seconded by Randy, moved to approve the minutes. Motion carried.
5. Staff Report / Tumpane Update (Beth Butcher)
-Doorsteps, provider of before/ after school care, went bankrupt August, 2017. Volunteers worked with students on their French homework. Settlement worker had a French circle two mornings per week.
-Deloris exploring replacement options with Principal for after school program. Before school program still a missing piece.– Before/ after school programming is all run by third parties – not run by TDSB. School Parent Councils may get involved and provide guidance to the service providers.
Suggestions/Comments:
-where FI/Ext site is planning before/after school care, FSL department could also advise service providers.
CEFR Program Update (Angela Caccamo)
-TDSB participation in the DELF (French proficiency oral and written exam) confirmed for May 2018
-52 grade 12 core, extended, immersion students are being funded by the Ministry of Education to participate
-successful students receive certification indicating their proficiency level against the CEFR. FSL teachers will share the information with students in the coming months.
Communication Plan for the SK FI Information Nights (Angela Caccamo)
-Poster (blue and orange) should be in the elementary schools.
-JK information packages have been sent for printing and will then be distributed to schools, with instructions to the Office Administrator to provide the OEN
- Ads going in local newspapers, FI application information placed on main landing page of TDSB website and info night schedule and application info on FSL webpage, Facebook and Twitter soon
-first French Immersion parent info night is Nov 2, virtual session Nov 22
Suggestions/comments:
-consider sending a link or electronic version of the package to principals
-add map of SKFI info nights on FI info page on TDSB website
-add a location on the subway line to improve accessibility as locations are very far apart, more than an hour on transit
-recommendation to review results of this change from info nights at SKFI sites at future FSLAC meeting
East York CI Update (Angela Caccamo)
Long Term Program Accommodation Strategy (LTPAS) is posted on the TDSB website: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/About-Us/Strategy-Planning/Long-Term-Program-and-Accommodation-Strategy
-every area is reviewed with Trustees, this one with Story and Cary-Meagher
- Malvern CI is experiencing space issues due to high enrolment. PR.597 indicates a pathway can be determined and changed by staff at any time. East York CI (EYCI) is identified as a new FI site to relieve pressure at Malvern. No change to Extended pathway at this time. FI and Extended pathways do not merge at Grade 9.
-DA Morrison needs a secondary pathway for September 2018 when East York will be opening its program.
-Cosburn has FI and Ext and an intensive extended program, which is unique to that school. Will be consulting with Cosburn community, a big feeder to Leaside. Some families would rather go to EYCI as it is closer even if Leaside is the pathway.
- Parent input will be gathered via a survey
- EYCI needs a viable cohort to run a full FI program with course selection. Approximately 24 students at DA Morrison combined with 30 Clairlea students will be a good start for a viable program.
-Information meetings: October 17 at 7 pm at Cosburn; October 25, 7:30 pm at DA Morrison and October 18, 7 pm at Clairlea.
-recognize that Grade 8 students have options, may apply to many programs across TDSB. Limited optional attendance spots will be available at EYCI.
Comments:
-will viable programs at Cosburn, Leaside and Malvern be at risk with an additional pathway to EYCI?
-what are the longer term projections for the French programs in this area?
-consultations with parents are key
-EYCI may not be robust in the beginning years, it will need support to grow
-will kids have a good selection of choices for credits? Will alternate methods, like e-learning be available to increase selection if numbers are low?
Presentation and discussion of Transportation for French Immersion/Extended Students (Kevin Hodgkinson)
-Tried to improve service this year and maintain consistent routes.
-parents can log in to new portal to see the information pertinent to their child. If bus operator posts to the system when the bus is late, then the parent will get an email notification.
-sign in issues for the portal experienced in August have been resolved. Need student’s OEN number to sign in, to maintain privacy.
-a working group will solicit feedback from parents and schools on what works and what doesn’t work with transportation.
-expanded call centre this year. Number of calls has tripled this year.
-GPS is gradually being installed in all busses so dispatchers can see where every bus is at any time.
-Future plans: “Where’s My Bus?” app – probably a year and a half away.
Funding – transportation based on funding received in 1998, updated yearly by cost of living. For awhile, Toronto did receive more, but other Boards complained, now back to former funding process using cost of living.
-TDSB underfunded for transportation, receiving approximately $55M, spending over $60M. We have gone from almost a $5M surplus to approx. $10M deficit.
-transportation funding is not sweatered, can be used elsewhere throughout the Board.
Data and statistics – Transport just over 5,000 students. TTC tickets are given to 1492 students to attend Extended/Immersion French. 88% of FI students being transported are on large buses. Some lightly loaded sites use smaller buses. The annual report is available on the Transportation website www.TorontoSchoolBus.org (for both Toronto Public and Catholic).
Q & A:
Q: Is anyone from FSLAC on the work group?
A: No. We will get some reps to be part of the work group.
Q: Sometimes FI kids have to leave early at the end of the day to get on their bus and bus leaves when bell rings.
A: Schools give Transportation their bell times. At no time should bus pick up prior to bell time. Need to go to the Principal of the school to share concern re: school not following the required minutes of instructional time. Next step would be your Superintendent.
Q: Some bus routes arrive before an EA is available to take students off the bus and students sit on the bus (sometimes for up to 10 min) until an EA comes out. Is that how it is supposed to work?
A: Arrival time – supervision is provided for 30 minutes in the morning, 20 minutes at the end of the day.
Q: For safety, have bus monitors been considered? Could be one student left on the bus alone – possibly the last child dropped off. Some form of supervision is important. Younger children get influenced by older kids – bad behaviour, bad language on the bus. Very difficult job driving a school bus.
A: All drivers have criminal background checks. Bus monitors are not funded. Difficult enough to find drivers. Monitors don’t necessarily resolve all the issues either. Behaviour issues on the buses as well. Safety does come first and there are times when a staff member would be on the bus.
New contract – 2% now have cameras on board buses as pilot program. Will be monitor impact over the next few years.
Q: Once children get to grade 6 they do not get bussing. They can apply for an empty seat. Cannot go on the bus for the first month. Difficult for many parents to get their children to school until they have a seat on the bus. Could this be settled before school starts in Sept?
A: We have to ensure there are enough seats for the younger children. This year total number of students riding school buses went from 4,500 in June, to 5,000 in September (total number includes Public and Catholic and Special Ed.). We are already spending $10M more than we get, therefore cannot accommodate over grade 5.
Comment: The addition of SKFI sites has reduced bussing according to data provided by staff. If more students could walk to their home FI school it would continue to reduce bussing. Maintaining balance in a FI school results in FI students who could otherwise walk to be on a bus. This has been an issue for years.
-Bussing helps to ensure Equity of access to FI/Ext programs as some areas do not have FI/Ext schools.
Trustee Laskin: The policy of FI has never been school-based. Some schools cannot support their own catchment in FI, so those require bussing.
The following information was received from Kevin Hodgkinson following our meeting:
Website: www.torontoschoolbus.org
Parent Portal: https://www.torontoschoolbus.org/transportation-portal/
Annual Report: https://www.torontoschoolbus.org/governance/governance-annual-reports/ - copy attached 2016-17 will be available in February.
Breakdown of students transported by school for French Immersion (a few anomalies on the list, I suspect data entry errors)
/ Deloris to continue to explore with Principal.
Kirsten to update at next meeting.
Staff will bring maps to next meeting for further discussion on EYCI
Lauralyn to send name(s) of parents interested in transportation working group to Kevin
Chair’s Report
(Lauralyn Johnston) / CAC Co-Chairs Meeting
All Co-Chairs of CACs have an annual meeting. Lauralyn is unable to attend the October 26 meeting (6:00-8:00 pm in Committee Room C). Please email Lauralyn if you are interested in attending.
Board Consultations:
Code of Conduct – closes October 13. If anyone wants to read and give feedback to Lauralyn, she will submit it. A draft Code of Conduct is available on the TDSB website in the consultation section.
Professional Development for Trustees – feedback closes November 6.
Enhancing Equity Task Force Recommendations – feedback closes at end of October. Consultation invitation came from a 3rd party. An extension has been requested, given FSLAC meeting schedule. No response as yet.
-Strongly encourage you to read the recommendations and complete the consultation form.
-Cluster of Schools is undefined. FSL programs are across the city – are they in every cluster already? Recommendation to phase out optional attendance is not fully explained.
Ward Boundary Review – City is going to 47 wards to accommodate population distribution changes after a 3 year process. It is under appeal at the OMB.
-TDSB has to follow the municipal boundaries and has to remain at no more than 22 Trustees. Aligning with new City wards is complicated. Three Trustees will now represent three City wards instead of two. Some schools may change wards. FSLAC membership may change wards.
SKFI Information Nights Update:
– Members asked to attend one of the 11 meetings across the TDSB starting on Nov 2. / Mary to send out sign up sheet electronically for SKFI info nights.
Ward Reports / Ward 10 – new school being built in Ward 10. How can conversations be started re will the school be FI? In Block 31 – programming is already decided. Under FSL procedure, PR.597 new FI sites are opened when programs are oversubscribed in existing sites. Planning identifies possible sites in conversation with Trustees, Superintendents and the FSL department (Angela Caccamo).
Ward 13 – High rise building being built beside John Fisher. Many meetings and parent concerns during planning stage. School year has started quite well. New field, windows replaced. Have monthly meetings with City and developer.
Other Business / November meeting – revisit staffing conversation and FSL teacher recruitment efforts. Subsequent meeting: it has been two years since Andrew Gowdy from Planning came in to speak about space in schools.
Next Meeting Date / Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Adjournment / Adjourned at 9:30 pm.
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