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THCITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2002. PAGE 7.
AMDSB tries to dispel Tech 21 myths
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
Following presentations from
several supporters of the Grade 7 and
8-level Tech 21 program, some
members of the Avon Maitland
District School Board worked it an
April 23 regular meeting to dispel
what they felt were some myths.
But there were no assurances that
the board's widely-respected method
of delivering career-centred
curriculum would be spared during
upcoming budget deliberations, and
even the program's most staunch
trustee supporter agreed funding
cutbacks might be necessary.
"Maybe they could survive with
four teachers in there instead of
five," offered North Perth
representative Don Brillinger,
addressing a staff report delivered to
trustees at the meeting.
Brillinger has repeatedly stated he
won't support any decision to
eliminate Tech 21, which features
three specialized high school-based
sites visited eight times by all Avon
Maitland students during their
Grades 7 and 8 years.
But at the April 23 meeting, he
agreed the number of specialized
teachers might be reduced, with
teachers from the home schools
delivering a portion of the
curriculum after receiving instruction
from their specialized counterparts.
Seven different people made
public delegations at the meeting in
support of Tech 21, including a Tech
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
School board administrators
charged with implementing the final
year of the Ontario government's
new four-year high school
curriculum breathed a sigh of relief
in the wake of an announcement of
one-time funding geared largely
towards the purchase of Grade 12
textbooks.
"This is good news and it's
definitely money that the Avon
Maitland District School Board can
put to good use," said director of
education Lorne Rachlis following
the announcement, which came from
the office of new Education Minister
Elizabeth Witmer on April 18.
According to a memorandum sent
to boards, and made available to
trustees of the Huron-Perth Catholic
District School Board at a regular
meeting Monday, April 22, the
money is to be spent in three areas:
"textbooks and learning resources to
support implementation of the new
Grade 12 curriculum; learning
resources to support students with
special needs . . . (and) textbooks
and learning resources for other
grades."
Education Director Gaetan
Blanchette noted that about $28,000
of the approximately $160,000
promised to the Huron-Perth board
had already been included in an
earlier government pledge to help
boards purchase new curriculum
textbooks. At the time, however,
Blanchette complained that it was
only half the amount needed, so he
told trustees an additional $30,000
will also be put towards the Grade 12
books,.
Thee rest will likely go towards
textbooks for other grades.
Avon Maitland Superintendent of
business Janet Baird-Jackson agreed
that the province's original allocation
for this year's and next year's new
curriculum textbooks was very
insufficient. "The money for the
21 teacher, and representatives from
a Listowel-area manufacturer, from
two Listowel-area elementary
schools, and from the Elementary
Teachers' Federation of Ontario
union.
The delegations got off to a rather
inauspicious start when Ron Vines of
Benshaw Advanced Controls had
difficulty convincing his computer-
based "Power Point" presentation to
work.
Wallace public school council
chair Vicki Keil was effective,
however, stating "these programs
must he expanded upon, not
eliminated.
"Are you telling us that the
decision to introduce Tech 21 was
wrong? Can you afford to make
high-cost decisions like this and then
just turn around and change your
mind? These are high stakes you're
playing with," Keil said.
Representatives of the Elma
Township school council distributed
letters from 160 parents, and said an
evaluation from the Listowel site
showed 96 per cent of students feel
the program is valuable and over 94
per cent enjoy the experience. Then
13-year-old student Meg an
Cunningham read her own letter
describing the merits of Tech
21.
It was the suggestion that Avon
Maitland staff plans to use money
from eliminating Tech 21 to hire
literacy consultants (repeated by
several members of the public then
strongly reiterated by Tech 21
Grade ,J1 and 12 textbooks was half,
basically, from what we got for the
Grade 9 and 10 new curriculum
texts," she said.
For the Avon Maitland board,
other money from its share of just
over $625,000 may go towards early
literacy materials, Baird-Jackson
said.
Boards were allocated portions of
a $65 million total based on their
student population. Both Baird-
Jackson and Blanchette, however,
expressed hopes that the
announcement was just the
beginning.
"The challenge always is getting
one-time funding and thinking that
it's going to allow us to continue
funding ongoing programs," Baird-
Jackson said, when asked if the
money might help the board rework
its budget to prevent difficulties in
other areas, such as the threatened
Tech 21 program. She predicted that
it will take continued and strong
grass-roots lobbying for the
government to turn announcements
like this into ongoing funding.
And Blanchette hopes the
announcement marks a trend towards
an understanding at the provincial
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teacher Merlin Leis) that inspired
reaction from the board.
Leis said any consideration of Tech
21's future isn't about money. "It is
about the re-allocation of money" to
hire primary literacy consultants or
for other programming.
Director of Education Lorne
Rachlis, during a time supposedly
reserved for "questions of
clarification" of the delegations by
trustees, stated he wished to step out
of regular protocol to address Leis's
claim.
"It's not playing one thing against
alTother. It is all about money,"
Rachlis said.
"We're certainly in support of
technical education and it must be
delivered under the Ontario
curriculum," he explained. But he
called Tech 21 a "cadillac" method of
delivering technical curriculum,
which might not be affordable to the
board.
East Perth representative Wendy
Anderson also had a strong rebuttal
to' comments made by Keil about
trustees' knowledge of the program.
"Almost half the board, I suspect,
as parents, have actually had students
go through the program," Anderson
said. "Certainly, we heard comments
earlier that none of us had ever
darkened the door of a Tech 21 site.
And I didn't appreciate that."
The staff report broke down the
cost of the program under its current
format, as well as with the
elimination of either one or two of
the specialized teachers per site.
level of the difficulties faced by
school boards.
"It's a good sign that they've
looked at (funding for Grade 12
textbooks). But there are some other
major issues in education and let's
hope they look at those too," the
Huron-Perth director said.
Each scenario would see the teachers
replaced by educational assistants.
There were also analysis of
scenarios under which the Stratford-
based Tech 21 site would be
eliminated and the number of visits
to the other sites decreased.
"Close examination of the
curriculum expectations . . . revealed
that over 75 per cent of the
expectations could be completed
within the classroom setting with
relative ease," the report states.
The possibility of complete
elimination was also assessed.
And that possibility remains under
consideration, at least according to
comments by East/Central Huron
trustee Charles Smith. As an
engineer and employer of skilled
technicians, Smith said he sees value
in Tech 21: But he left the door open
to cutting the program, as long as
there is commitment from the board
to reintroduce it as soon as additional
money is made available through the
province's much-maligned
educational funding formula.
Funding brings relief for bd.
1
Brussels, Morris & Grey
SWIMMING LESSON
REGISTRATION
Thursday, May 2
7 - 9 p.m.
Upstairs at BMG Community Centre, Brussels
No phone registrations
- Aqua Tots (for children who can't touch the bottom will be
offered in June as well due to the high interest last year).
There will be swim team sign up as well.
Pool passes will be available.
First come - first served for June lessons - remember the water
is going to be warm.
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