Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-10-23, Page 21Not only has Chuck Reid beenputting his mark on the AvonMaitland District School Board since being hired as director of education effective Aug. 1, but he makes it quite clear that the Avon Maitland District School Board has put its mark on him. “I’ve (worked) in two other districts (prior to being hired by the Avon Maitland board) and what I’ve really been impressed with is how the communities here show their support for their schools,” Reid said during an interview Tuesday, Oct. 14. “I think it speaks to the value that people in these communities place on a high quality public education, and it speaks to their desire to make schools an integral part of their communities.” Prior to the interview, during a regular board meeting, the new education director delivered the first of what he says will be monthly Director’s Updates to trustees. The first edition described observations gathered during initial visits to some of the board’s 54 schools. “Twenty-one visits have taken place to date,” explains a written version of his report. “The focus of these visits has been to increase thedirector’s exposure to the system andto allow for him to become familiarwith the staff and students.”And, according to Reid, people inthe schools are also eager to become familiar with him. “It’s not uncommon for staff to ask about my family, my background, where I’m coming from,” he said in the interview. Beyond that, he wasn’t prepared for the number of non-staff, non- student greetings he has received. He recalled meeting two women assisting with a reading program, who he described as “second- generation” classroom volunteers because they had helped with their children’s educations and now were helping with their grandchildren’s educations. “We do have strong community and parent support across the district,” Reid told trustees. He said he doesn’t want to diminish the involvement of parents and community members in the other districts in which he has worked. But the most impressive thing about Huron and Perth Counties has been the willingness of everyone to contribute to what he labeled “targeted projects.” These include things like playground equipment, extracurricular activities or classroom extras that aren’t providedfor through school board grants, andmust be paid for through fundraisingand/or implemented by volunteers.“Each school’s community is verystrong in terms of targeted projects .. . even to the point that a number ofour schools have their upkeep enhanced on a regular basis byvolunteers,” he said. “I think this issomething that we, as a district, needto be very proud of.”THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2008. PAGE 21. AMDSB has put its mark on new director A meeting of minds Grade 4 teachers from area schools met at Hullett Central Public School last week to go over the Avon Maitland District School Board curriculum to ensure that all schools were on the same page, teaching non-fiction writing this year. Clockwise, from left: Marie Webster, Laurie Long, curriculum co-ordinator, Joan Vandendool, Craig Caldwell, Erin Pennings, Drew McCaulay, Marnie Thomson and Heather Decker. (Shawn Loughlin photo) Like their elementary counterparts, negotiators for the union representing public secondary school teachers have begun meeting with the Avon Maitland District School Board to replace a four-year collective agreement that expired effective Aug. 31. And, like their elementary counterparts, they’re doing so without the benefit of a provincial “framework” upon which to base the new deal. But, unlike their elementary counterparts, representatives of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) are remaining quiet about the issues on the table. “Negotiations are underway,” was all Seaforth-based District 8 OSSTF president Judy Cairncross would say following a regular Avon Maitland meeting Tuesday, Oct. 14. Ontario’s education ministry has told school boards they must reach new collective agreements with all teacher unions by Nov. 30, or risk not being granted the full funding to fulfill the four-year deals. Instead, they’ll only be granted enough to pay salaries and benefits for two years. The provincial unions representing both public elementary and public secondary teachers, however, have walked out on attempts by the ministry and the Ontario Public School Boards Association to establish “framework” agreements to serve as templates for the local deals. Leaders of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) have been quite open about their disappointment with, among other issues, the province’s unwillingness to discuss bringing elementary teacher salaries into line with secondary salaries. Leaders of the OSSTF, meanwhile, have not been nearly as vocal. Indeed, the much smaller support staff section of the secondary union did agree to a framework. Yet the main union, like ETFO, has not been negotiating on a provincial level. “We’re hopeful that (OSSTF) will have a provincial agreement in place before the deadline,” said Avon Maitland human resources superintendent Jim Sheppard. Following the Oct. 14 meeting, Sheppard told reporters that representatives from the board and the District 8 local had already met “about five times.” He added that serious discussions had begun earlier that day with the support staff section about how the provincial framework should be interpreted with respect to local issues. “That’s progress. That’s a first step,” Sheppard explained. OSSTF remains quiet about issues OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25th 9:00 AM - 3 PM JUST NORTH OF SEAFORTH ON COUNTY ROAD 12 (519) 527-0120 By Stew SlaterSpecial to The Citizen By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen Writer reading Author Terry Boyle gave a reading of one of his works at the Brussels Library as part of the Haunted Huron Doors Open weekend. (Vicky Bremner photo)