HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1999-11-03, Page 44
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In the News
Wednesday, November 3, 1999
ESL.
students.
speak
variety of
languages
By Stew Slater
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -
ADVOCATE
Although English as a
Second Language (ESL)
coordinator Coralee
Mathews suggests the
province's new
educational funding
formula favours newly -
arrived ESL students,
her recent report to the
Avon Maitland District
School Board suggests
approximately 50 per
cent of the board's ESL
students were born in
Canada.
However, Mathews
noted Huron and Perth
counties are unlikely to
be home to second and
third -generation
Canadians ' who need
ESL training.
According to
statistics contained in
the report, Canadian -
born ESL students are
most likely to be either
recent immigrant
farming families from
Germany, Holland or
Switzerland, or are
Mennonites. These may
be either local
Mennonites or
members of a large
group of Mexican
Mennonites, who travel
into and out of the area
as seasonal or migrant
workers.
The largest groups
born outside Canada
are, once again, the
farmers from Europe.
There are also a
significant number of
immigrants from Laos.
And at the beginning of
the 1999-2000 school
year, the board tackled
the challenge of
providing for a large
Listowel -based cluster
of refugees from the
war-torn East
European region of
Kosovo.
"Some of (the
Kosovars) had some
basic English ability,
but many of them had
fid English,"
reported.
primary
most often
by Avon
Maitland's ESL
students is German but
varied dialects of
German are spoken by
both local and Mexican
Mennonites, as well as
by some people from
Switzerland. Because of
that, the most -
represented nationality
in Avon Maitland's ESL
program is Dutch,
followed closely by
Laotian.
virtually
Mathews
The
language
spoken
Change in grants helps Avon Maitland's
English as a Second Language program
By Stew Slater
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE
The Avon Maitland District School
Board delivered some good news about its
English as a Second Language program at
its Oct. 26 meeting.
"We are one of the few fortunate boards
whom this change in the grant system
vas a positive thing," announced Coralee
Mathews, coordinator of Avon Maitland's
English as a Second Language program.
Mathews told trustees the ESL com-
ponents of the province's new funding
model are based partly on the number_ of
years ESL students have been in Canada.
This favours rural boards like Avon Mait-
land as opposed to many urban boards.
"Other boards have large populations of
second and third generation students for
whom the funding is not readily avail-
able," she explained.
"We didn't hurt the way others did, who
were used to having more (ESL) fund-
ing."
Mathews delivered a report to the
board, detailing the work of the program
since she was hired for the position in Au-
gust 1998 and began delivering services
in December 1998.
"This year we were able to start earlier
and have had a little more time to assess
the needs of each student and develop a
program for them," Mathews said.
According to her report, "ESL was of-
fered at some schools in both (the former
Perth and Huron) boards in different de-
livery models."
This year, a total of 255 students, at-
tending 30 different schools and repre-
senting 13 different mother tongues, are
involved in the program.
The program employs five Education
Assistants who spend several weeks at a
time working with students in specific
schools before moving on to the next
school.
"It's been shown over and over that
someone who comes to visit once a week
can't give you nearly as much help as
someone who is there each day for an ex-
tended period of time," Mathews told trus-
tees.
At the meeting, Mathews received praise
from senior staff.
"I'm quite proud of the work Coralee has
done," said director of education Lorne
Rachlis.
He noted the program not only brings to-
gether students from vastly different lin-
guistic and cultural backgrounds, it also
serves a wide variety of intellectual back-
grounds.
"Some students may be illiterate or al-
most illiterate in their own language,
while others may be quite learned in their
own language but just aren't able to
speak English."
There was also praise in terms of fi-
nances. "We're bringing in more than
we're spending (on the program)," an-
nounced senior principal Marie Parsons.
"There are no funds being brought in
from other areas; the board is not sub-
sidizing this program."
Catholic school board talks of school
construction projects in the works
By Stew Slater
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -
ADVOCATE
A good portion of the
recent October meeting
of the Huron -Perth
Catholic District School
Board dealt with new
construction, as trustees
were updated on
additions at elementary
schools in St. Marys
(Holy Name of Mary) and
Exeter (Precious Blood),
as well as secondary
schools in Stratford (St.
Michaels) and Clinton
(St. Armes).
Work at Holy Name is
expected to begin
immediately; Precious
Blood will see a
commencement of
construction this year;
and completion dates of
September, 2001 have
been set for projects at
St. Mikes and St. Annes,
which will also include
updated technology
teaching facilities.
For students and
parents in the Avon
Maitland board, this may
come as unwelcome and
disconcerting news,
since Huron -Perth's
corresponding public.
school board is currently
struggling with the
question of closing
schools.
As senior staff at Avon
Maitland offer dire
predictions about
declining enrollment
over the next five years,
the new construction
provides the perception
the Catholic board Is
growing, perhaps at the
expense of the public
board.
But at the Catholic
board's meeting Oct_ _. 25
in Dublin, directoir of
education Gaetan
Blanchette disputed that
perception.
"In our elementary
enrollment, we've hit a
peak ... There's been a
slight dip." Secondary
enrollment has • been
rising slightly, he added,
mainly because both
secondary schools in the
board -- especially the
five-year-old St. Annes --
are still fairly new and
still attracting new
families from across both
Huron and Perth
counties.
Gerry Thuss,
superintendent
of business for
the board, said
the board is
running at 113
per cent
capacity , not
including
portable space.
Some schools in
the board are
running under
capacity, though.
According to
BIanchette, the
perceived rush of new
construction from the
Catholic board comes as
a result of years of doing
without, coupled with a
mush to eliminate
portable classrooms in
the province's new
funding formula for
school boards.
"Under the formula, in
one column you have the
number of student
spaces," Blanchette
explained. "And
portables don't count (as
student spaces)."
There are portables at
all four schools receiving
new construction,
including nine at St.
Mikes. At Precious
Blood, several portables
are attached • t@-- the
original school building
but, technically, there
are only two
"permanent teaching
spaces." Portables have
been a way of life at
various schools in the
Catholic board for years,
Blanchette suggests,
because the board
hasn't been able to find
the money to create
permanent classrooms.
"On the other side (of
the funding formula
calculation), you have
the number of students.
If you don't
have the
same
number of
(non-
portable)
spaces as
you have
students,
there's
money
available to
create those
spaces."
So, while the Huron -
Perth Catholic board has
shared in much of the
recent hardship
experienced by the Avon
Maitland board,
including shrinking
dollars for senior staff
and trustees, problems
with special education
funding, and even
pressures to amalgamate
with the neighbouring
board in Grey and Bruce
counties, it is taking
advantage of the
province's push to
eliminate portable
classrooms.
"That's what you do
you take that opportunity
to make those changes,"
offered St. Marys -area
trustee Bernard Murray.
"In a sense, we've not
had these facilities in the
past. Now, we're being
given the opportunity to
"We don't want
to be in the
position where
we've overbuilt"
- Gaetan
Blanchette
Director of
Education
provide them,"
Blanchette added.
Though Blanchette
didn't mention the
troubles of the Avon
Maitland board when he
talked about expansion
at the four schools, his
words to trustees at
Mondays meeting
suggested he has been
watching the situation
closely.
"I think it's probably
better to be
conservative," he said,
addressing plans for the
addition at St. Mikes
secondary school.
An information
package provided at the
meeting suggested this
year's phase-out of the
five-year high school
curriculum had caused
officials to re-examine
their thoughts on the
scale of the addition and
that "a more
conservative approach
has been used based on
a four-year secondary
school program."
In short, officials at
the Catholic board are
wary of creating too
much space, then facing
Avon Maitland -like
problems in the future.
"It's a lot easier to
add (new space) than to
take away," Blanchette
said. "We don't want to
be in the position where
we've overbuilt."
We can hip you got
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professional -looking resume
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