School Context (internal and external environments)
In this section, the institution analyzes the external and internal environments: the context in which it is evolving and its main challenges. (EA, 97.1)
- Overview of the education in the surrounding environment;
- Summary of promising actions in the community: the strengths;
- Overall picture of the results and areas of vulnerability;
- Student needs in the schools and centres;
- Main challenges related to the academic success of the community;
- Use of certain national indicators;
- Characteristics and expectations of the community, etc.
Mission
Families and school staff working together will provide children with a stimulating environment, a feeling of security and self-worth, the right to make choices, the freedom to be different, the opportunity to discover and accomplish, and the necessary guidance, so that each experience becomes a stepping stone in the path of learning.
Vision
At Buckingham Elementary School, we strive to be a diverse and inclusive community of learners who inspire each other to find success. We are committed to working together to bring out the best in each other; valuing a strong academic foundation and developing our full potential through creativity, healthy choices and personal growth.
Strong Relationships
Growing Healthy Minds
To Go Beyond
What does Outstanding Teaching look like at Buckingham?
The staff at Buckingham School has high expectations of all students, both academically and behaviourally. Quality teaching and learning are very important to us. We work as a cooperative team where we model positive habits for our students in and out of the classroom. We believe in supporting one another to be the best professionals we can be. We share resources and best practices and are actively involved in professional development opportunities. We foster a positive and caring school culture where we put students first. We are committed to extra-curricular activities and value our partnerships with parents and the community.
Values
At Buckingham Elementary School:
- We value each and every student, staff member, parent/guardian and community member.
- We value the unique abilities and qualities of each student.
- We honour and celebrate individual diversity.
- We value the support provided by families and community towards our students as they become lifelong learners.
- We are committed to nurturing a support system for students involving staff, family, and community.
- We believe that our school is safe, equitable, and flexible.
- We believe that all students can learn.
- We believe everyone should:
- Be yourself
- Better yourself
- Believe in yourself
Our Motto: Dream, Believe, Achieve!
School and its Community
Buckingham Elementary School is located in the Gatineau, Quebec region. More specifically, located in the town of Buckingham, Quebec. Our Kindergarten program starts at five years old and schooling continues until Cycle 3.2. Starting August, 2019 Buckingham will offer a fulltime four-year-old Kindergarten program. Buckingham’s community is surrounded by a rural community in which many families either work on or operate agricultural services. In addition, many families work for the public service of Canada (provincial or federal). We service the following municipalities: L’Ange Gardien, Lochaber, Thurso, Mayo, Mulgrave-et-Derry, Notre Dame de la Salette, Plaisance, Ripon, Sainte Sixte, Masson Angers and Val des Monts. We are an English school that services both anglophone and francophone families. Due to the level of French speaking families in the community, we recognized a need to provide an increase in French instruction. The minimum requirement for Cycle One French instruction from the ministry is 3.75 hours per week. Our school offers five hours per week, which is an hour per day. For Cycles Two and Three, the minimum requirement is five hours and the school offers five hours. Buckingham Elementary school is committed to fostering strong relationships, growing healthy minds, and supporting our students to go beyond.
The Ministry of Education uses a socio-economic environment index to categorize and identify both elementary and secondary schools within the province. Many factors are used to place a school on this index, however two of the main factors are the level of the mother’s education within the household and the household income. The index is on a scale from one to ten; ten being the most socioeconomically disadvantaged and one being the most affluent. Buckingham currently is identified on the scale at a level eight. Therefore, we are designated as a NANS (New Approaches New Solutions) school. Due to this ranking, the school receives additional support from the Ministry of Education. The additional support ranges from smaller class sizes, increased funding and increased staff to meet the needs of the student population. Buckingham is a developing area, in regards to accessible housing, and currently many subdivisions are being built. However, the school itself has seen a decline in student population over the past two years (2017-2018). This decline, while apparent, is minimal. A current projection, due to a recent number of registrations, is that the student population is steadily increasing.
Buckingham Elementary works with a variety of outside services that support our student’s educational and social/emotional needs. These include Speech and Language Pathologist (WQSB), CLSC, Pavillon Du Parc, Hôpital en santé mentale Pierre-Janet, Gatineau Police (Community Police Officer), La Ressource and Centres Jeunesse De L’Outaouais. Buckingham Elementary cooperates with the above mentioned community services on an at need basis depending on the school’s or individual’s needs.
Our school has a wide variety of family structures which range from single parent homes, traditional (nuclear) families, and blended families. Buckingham Elementary offers many opportunities for involvement that stem from academics to sports and cultural. Some of the ways to get involved are our community garage sale, school dances, school play, paint nights and community barbeques, to name a few. Although no formal homework is assigned, we encourage home participation through reading, game playing and extra-curricular activities. The level of support differs from family to family. On the one hand, we have very supportive and involved families, while on the other we have disengaged families with little involvement. However, Buckingham is working hard to bridge this gap through a variety of means: parent information sessions, community nights such as barbeques, family dances and theatre productions and support with curriculum at home.
Students
Buckingham Elementary offers a full-time five year old Kindergarten program to Cycle 3.2 (grade 6). We also offer a Passe Partout Program, which is a part-time four year old Kindergarten program that is funded by the Ministry of Education due to our soci-economic index. We currently have 149 students enrolled at Buckingham Elementary School. Buckingham Elementary was chosen to open a full-time K4 program and this will start in the Fall of 2019.
Current Numbers:
- K4 – 19
- K5 – 15
- Cycle 1.1 – 15
- Cycle 1.2 – 15
- Cycle 2.1 – 23
- Cycle 2.2 – 19
- Cycle 3.1 – 23
- Cycle 3.2 – 22
The nationality of the students at Buckingham Elementary is Canadian. The first language of students is either English or French.
About 60% of our student population enthusiastically participates in in-school extracurricular activities such as sports teams, or arts based programming (music, drama). We offer a broad range of programming such as a school play, Destination Imagination, Sports teams and clubs, Music Makers and an art club.
About 15% participate in outside school activities including hockey and dance. There are many factors that are barriers to our students participating in outside of school extra-curriculars. Many of our students are not bilingual and most extra-curriculars in the area are French only. Many activities are financially challenging or are challenging in terms of travel distance and time commitments.
The level of student motivation varies widely across students and grades. We have many students who see the value and importance of their education and are extremely motivated to succeed. However, we also have students who feel frustrated by a lack of academic success, or who face barriers to success as a result of learning disabilities or behavioural issues whose academic motivation at school is very low.
Classrooms
The majority of students transition from cycle 3.2 into secondary cycle 1. However, on the rare occasion that a student’s profile shows that they will not have a successful transition; they remain at Buckingham for another year.
The number of students with an individualized education plan is 40% or 59 of 149 students in the school; 100% of students with handicaps, social maladjustments or learning difficulties are integrated into regular classes.
We have not had any expulsions at Buckingham in the recent past and since the implementation of a Restorative Practices Program we have seen a significant decline in suspensions over a two year period. Restorative Practices is a program which focuses on building relationships between all stakeholders in a school community (students, teachers, support staff and parents). It encourages dialogue and inclusion rather than requiring students to be isolated when they have had an altercation or negative experience. As a result we have created a more supportive learning environment that promotes positive mental health and responsible behaviour.
At Buckingham, students have access to many forms of technology. We have some students who are entitled to technology based on their individualized education plan who are regularly using word processing technology or iPad apps. In a classroom setting students are using Microsoft educational apps, iPads, Spheros, B-bots, Chromebooks and other forms of technology.
We have many supports in place within the classroom setting based on students educational, behavioural and emotional needs. We are modifying and accommodating both curriculum as well as classroom environment to meet the needs of our students. This can include allowing alternative seating (Ex. exercise ball instead of chair) or changing academic expectations.
We employ a variety of evaluation practices in our classrooms. Examples of practices include assignments, projects, reports, oral presentations, tests/quizzes, learning and evaluation situations, in-class work, observation, and performances (to name a few).
School
The school is located at 615 rue Georges in Gatineau, Quebec. It features a renovated gym with a stage, a multi-purpose room, a library, cafeteria and several resource areas. The majority of our students are bussed in to the school from surrounding areas. Before and after school daycare programming is available, and also on Professional Development days. The daycare staff organize interesting, creative projects for the students and activities that encourage a healthy and physically active lifestyle. There is always outdoor and gym time, and some time for reading. About 15% of the students attend the daycare services regularly.
Our Parent Participation Organization has grown in size over the past year. More parents are organizing fundraisers and events to boost school spirit (dances). There has been an increase in parent participation on field trips, dances, and friendship breakfasts.
Staff
At Buckingham Elementary we have one Administrator, eleven full-time Teachers and one part-time Teacher, one Administrative Assistant, seven full and part- time Attendants to the Handicapped, one Special Education Technician and two full-time custodians. On a part time basis, depending on student needs, the school partners with: a Speech and Language Pathologist, Autism Specialist, Dental Workers, School Nurse, and Community Police Officer.
In general Buckingham Elementary has a fairly low turnover rate of staff members, however some positions are grant maintained (such as our Special Education Technician and Resource Teacher) and as a result someone new has to be hired each year to fill the position once funding has been established.
The teaching staff in particular is extremely involved in both school and community programming. Staff run in school extra-curricular activities most days at lunch and occasionally after school. These include both Sports and Cultural activities ranging from dance, music, theatre, soccer, volleyball, dodgeball, coding, sewing to much more! Teaching staff also run and participate in many committees such as Governing Board, Technology, School Success, Anti-violence and Anti-Bullying to name a few.
Families and Communities
Buckingham School benefits from an active Governing Board, as well as a Parent Participation Organization; both are involved in many aspects of school life, including policies, volunteering and fundraising. Our parents have raised funds for different school projects such as the playground expansion project, playground equipment, library books, iPads for classrooms, and to support the purchase of classroom materials such as books and math manipulatives. Their support is integral to the school’s success. A significant number of the parents commute to the National Capital region for employment. Many families have been members of the Buckingham community for several generations, however some of our newer families have moved to the area from urban centres.
Analysis of Situation
Challenges and Successes
One challenge is to continue to provide the high expectations to achieve these results or higher. As well, it is important to provide adapted programming for those students identified as “at risk” so that they can be successful. Our goal is to ensure that our students are prepared for the next steps in their education- secondary school- and to eventually find success in graduating from their program. Teachers meet regularly in data teams to analyze student data such as term marks, BAS, exam results to make sure that each student continues to move forward in their learning and also to identify those who may require additional support along the way. It is also important that teachers meet regularly in teams to discuss curriculum, instruction, progressions of learning, assessment and evaluation frameworks. This occurs in both cycle and staff meetings.
| At BES: | Strengths | Challenges |
| Healthy and Safe Schools | Good connections with the community (Ex. Manoir Buckingham, Table de Buckingham, local stores)Many extra-curricular activities (sports, choir, clubs, debating, DI, ME to WE)- student led clubs/teacher supportedCaring, respectful adultshealthy happy community – supportive, involved, similar values, parent volunteers Monthly virtues and assemblies, celebrations, daily announcementsBreakfast, lunch and snack programsAlternative spaces during recess and lunch | Participation from parent volunteers- bridging the gap Meetings about students- resource, social emotionalStaff meeting- time to share, problem solving/ challenge, following up after events (WWW/EBI),Bring back some of our Olweus strategies- staff resources binderMaking sure everyone on the same pageAnxiety- increase our understanding as a staff, resources- action planBook – video clubs for PDClose daycare on a PD day to attend staff PDChallenging bus behaviours |
| Student Achievement | Academic results in 3 cores are consistently on targetCollaboration amongst staff members (Ex. time for team meetings)Curriculum experts in the school in core subjects- lead teachersInvolvement at the board level in developing exams, validations | ELA/ French: reading and writing different genres (maps, instructions, technical reading, nonfiction, fiction, magazines, math)- related to independent reading Mentor texts- fiction and non, poetry- build classroom libraries with different genres – prompting guides with guiding questionsAlign /revisit curriculum mapping- work between cyclesMath: more consistency with math meetings- more focus, target, more math PDWhat do we do with weaker students in math? 55-65 rangeBuild logical reasoning skills? Math Reasoning strategies- increase the focus on concepts – what are best practices related to this and then share. Observe each other, consultant? Effective use of manipulatives French: oral /written expressionHaving spontaneous conversations, make French more a part of our every day (e.g. announcements, assemblies) Bilingual approach |
| Staff Development | There are a lot of opportunities to be involved in PD hard work, collaboration, high expectations, care, support, positive, fun environment Strong leaders Common Values: Caring, involved, approachable, positive, supportive, professional, empathetic, accepting, trusting communication, respectful, happy, dedicated, helpful, committed, collaboration, teamwork, high expectations, passionate, kind, curriculum expertsGrowth Mindset: Learn from each other, team teaching/ support, learning as professionals/participation, people teaching where they are happy, always trying to improve, willingness to share ideas and resources, willingness to help one another, constantly striving to be better teachers, openness to new ideas, continued growth in programmingPutting students first, students belong to everyone, always positive about student experience, student success is at the heart of our philosophy: happy kids, happy teachers | Time for people to share / improve communication, e.g. staff meetingMeetings need more focusBuy in for PD plan- Do the same process- strengths, challenges, priority, actions+ targets Align our practices and our knowledge in the three core subjects- curriculum maps updated? Book clubs as a strategy for tackling a local problem, open discussion Conversations between grade levels re: success rates e.g. grade 3 to grade 4 same cohort with inconsistent results, discrepancies from one year to the next. Strategy: Look at data more closely.Conversations around marking- consistency (aligning data) |
Achievement Data
The school has good and stable success rates in the three core subject areas of English, Math and French across target grade levels (see Appendix 1 & 2). *Exception 2018 Cycle 2.2 FSL
Student Needs
As stated, we have about 40% of our population with an Individual Education Plan (IEP). We always need to assess the amount of technology we have in the school (iPads, laptops, desktops) so that these students have access to what they require for learning. We have several students who are waiting for additional psycho-educational testing. We have a growing number of students who need support to remain integrated in the classroom throughout the day, as behavior can be challenging. We have increased numbers of students who require breaks, a quiet location or an accommodated schedule. We have a growing population and are not yet challenged for space at the school.
Use of Grants Received by the MEES
Below is a list of grants received from MEES to be used at the school level, many of which are being used to support our objectives in the three core subjects of English, French and Math this year and have an impact on student achievement.
| Grant Allotment – Buckingham | |
| Description of Grant | Use in School |
| *School Success (School Initiatives) | Salary – to provide support to our at risk students |
| *Additional Support – Gr 2-6 | Salary- to provide support to students (technician) |
| Supporting Parents in Primary | Workshop for parents |
| *Purchase class readers – K – C1 | Readers for K- Gr 1 classes |
| *Bon Pied/Good Start K5/Prim Yr 1 | Salary- support in K5/Cycle 1 classes (technician) |
| *Bon Pied/Good Start K5/Prim Yr 1 | Salary- support in Grade 1 (teacher) |
| IEP Teacher Release | Release for teachers for working on IEPs |
| NTIC | Technology for teachers and classrooms (computers, smartboards) |
| *Anti Violence/Bullying | To support anti-bullying programs: Inclusion Week materials |
| Healthy Life Style | To promote physical activity: extra-curricular activities |
| *Homework Assistance | Salary- to support 3 core subjects (teacher) |
| *Spiritual Animation | To support community, cultural programs: TBD |
| *Library Books | Purchase library books- cost sharing grant 45% school- 55% MEES |
| Inspirational Schools | Field trips/outings |
| Cultural Outings | Field trips/outings |
| *Service d’accueil | Salary- French resource support- new students to QC (teacher) |
| *Agent Transition | Professional services to support students’ transition to school |
| *Reading Corner – French Materials | To purchase French readers |
| Integration of Technology in classroom | Provide teacher release |
| Teacher training- Coding | Provide teacher release |
| Leadership pedagogique | Provide release for PD for ICT teacher leader |
| Ecole on Bouge | To promote physical activity: school outings/teacher release |
| Additional Special Needs | Salary – Attendant to the Handicapped |
| Support Mesure – EDAA/EHDAA | Salary – Attendant to the Handicapped |
| Sexuality Curriculum Teacher Training | Provide teacher release |
Consistency with the Commitment-to-Success Plan
In this section, the institution ensures consistency with the school board’s commitment-to-success plan. Depending on the analysis of its context and priorities, the educational institution may also include specific orientations, objectives and/or targets, as long as it is justified by the analysis of the context. (EA, Sections 37 et 97.1)
MEES Orientations
The Western Québec School Board is also responsible for addressing the following two orientations.
| Orientation | Board Actions | Board Actions | Board Actions |
| Contribute to the number of adults with high level literacy skills based on the 2022 PIACC assessment. In the last PIACC 47% of adults had high level literacy skills. | Recruitment campaign to reach hard to reach adults with low level literacy | Partnerships with community organizations and Friendship Centres | Develop and implement a project to promote and improve parent literacy levels in our socio-economically disadvantaged areas. |
| Ensure elementary students get 60 minutes a day of activity (including Physical education) | Schools participating in Ça bouge en cube measures | Outdoor education and environmental awareness program | Resource bank of organized recess activities that promote movement |
MEES Objectives
| 90% success rate on the writing component of Ministry Grade 4 language of instruction exam, public sector | At this time there is no MEES grade 4 exam in language of instruction. WQSB will set a target on the writing component of the Grade 6 exam | 85% of students will be successful on the writing component of the Grade 6 English language arts exam | Success rate on the writing component of the Grade 6 Ministry exam | Early literacy intervention Marking Centres to align practices Formative assessment |
Western Québec Objectives, Targets and Indicators
| WQSB Objective | Actual Situation | Target – 2022 | Indicator | Core Areas of Focus |
| Increase success rate in Cycle 2 Elementary English | Benchmark to be established June 2018 | 90% | Overall success and proficiency in subject | Early Literacy Support for students with special needs Quality of teaching and learning Quality professional development |
| Increase success rate in Cycle 2 Elementary Math | Benchmark to be established June 2018 | 90% | Overall success and proficiency in subject | Numeracy Support for students with special needs Quality of teaching and learning Quality professional development |
| Increase success rate in Cycle 2 Elementary French second Language | Benchmark to be established June 2018 | 90% | Overall success and proficiency in subject | Second language literacy Support for students with special needs Quality of teaching and learning Quality professional development |
| Increase success rate on Cycle 3 Elementary English exam | 88% | 90% | Overall success and proficiency in subject | Literacy support Support for students with special needs Quality of teaching and learning Quality professional development |
| Increase success rate in Cycle 3 Elementary Math exam | 66% | 85% | Overall success and proficiency in subject | Numeracy support Support for students with special needs Quality of teaching and learning Quality professional development |
| Increase success rate in Cycle 3 Elementary French second Language exam | 80% | 90% | Overall success and proficiency in subject | Second language literacy Support for students with special needs Quality of teaching and learning Quality professional development |
Challenges, Orientations, Objectives, Indicators and Targets Specific to the Institution
- Comply with the terms established by the Minister to govern the coordination of the entire process (EA, Section 459.3)
- Respect the freedom of conscience and religion of students, parents and school staff (EA, Section 37)
- Analyze if other objectives would be relevant while respecting the portrait of the environment.
| Objective | Target | Current situation | Strategy/Action |
| Increase success rate in Cycle 2 Elementary English | 75% | 68% | Use School Success team & Cycle Partners to target challenging areas in core subjects, identify strategies that will target different achievement levels, track progress and measure impact Focus on collaborative planning and aligning the curriculum. Follow through data process as a school team: 1-) Collect and chart data 2-) Analyze data and prioritize needs 3-) Set, review, and revise incremental SMART goals. 4-) Select common instructional strategies. 5-) Determine results indicators. 6-) Monitor and evaluate results. 7-) Measure impact Use research to focus on effective strategies that will have the greatest impact |
| Increase success rate in Cycle 2 Elementary Math | 85% | 79% | Common understanding of Math expectations at Cycle 2, increased achievement in Math. Cycle 2.2 NANS network of teachers focus on expectations, common planning and data. Problem solving for NANs situationsContinue teacher leader role – creation of math exam |
| Increase success rate in Cycle 2 Elementary French second Language | 65% | 22% | Differentiate a balanced French literacy program to meet the needs of the diverse levels in the classrooms Build and reinforce a balanced literacy program: ReadingComprehensionVocabulary developmentOral communicationWritten production Common planning with consultant and other teachers from the school board, (networks and external partnerships). |
| Increase success rate on Cycle 3 Elementary English exam | 95% | 91% | Use School Success team & Cycle Partners to target challenging areas in core subjects, identify strategies that will target different achievement levels, track progress and measure impact Focus on collaborative planning and aligning the curriculum. Follow through data process as a school team: 1-) Collect and chart data 2-) Analyze data and prioritize needs 3-) Set, review, and revise incremental SMART goals. 4-) Select common instructional strategies. 5-) Determine results indicators. 6-) Monitor and evaluate results. 7-) Measure impact Use research to focus on effective strategies that will have the greatest impact |
| Increase success rate in Cycle 3 Elementary Math exam | 80% | 74% | Use School Success team & Cycle Partners to target challenging areas in core subjects, identify strategies that will target different achievement levels, track progress and measure impact Focus on collaborative planning and aligning the curriculum. Follow through data process as a school team: 1-) Collect and chart data 2-) Analyze data and prioritize needs 3-) Set, review, and revise incremental SMART goals. 4-) Select common instructional strategies. 5-) Determine results indicators. 6-) Monitor and evaluate results. 7-) Measure impact Use research to focus on effective strategies that will have the greatest impact |
| Increase success rate in Cycle 3 Elementary French second Language exam | 94% | 88% | Use School Success team & Cycle Partners to target challenging areas in core subjects, identify strategies that will target different achievement levels, track progress and measure impact Focus on collaborative planning and aligning the curriculum. Follow through data process as a school team: 1-) Collect and chart data 2-) Analyze data and prioritize needs 3-) Set, review, and revise incremental SMART goals. 4-) Select common instructional strategies. 5-) Determine results indicators. 6-) Monitor and evaluate results. 7-) Measure impact Use research to focus on effective strategies that will have the greatest impact |
| Decrease the number of incidents of bullying and violence | 10% | 20% | To provide structures and supports to have individual students feel safe and secure at Buckingham Elementary Use our AB/AV Plan in partnership with TTFM, Olweus, VIP Partnership, Restorative Justice & Tribes PhilosophyParticipate and implement the Olweus Anti-Violence & Anti-Bullying philosophy Continue Inclusion WeekParticipate and implement the VIP Partnership Program in conjunction with the Gatineau PoliceUse the Restorative Cycle when dealing with behaviourRevitalization of the Tribes Philosophy Continue “Project Play” – beautification of outdoor space |
Note: After defining the context and choosing the orientations and objectives, the educational institution implements the commitments made in the educational project and monitors the outcome. It should be noted that these steps, while important, are not part of the educational project document. The school management will have to use management monitoring tools (monitoring charts, dashboard, action plan) and periodically review the progress and the results. These tools are a valuable source of information on the effectiveness of the measures put in place.
About the Educational Project
Purpose and Definition of the Educational Project
The educational project is a strategic tool through which an educational institution can define and communicate to the educational community the policy orientations, the action priorities, and the expected results to ensure the educational success for all students, in both the youth and adult sectors. It reflects the characteristics and needs of the students who attend the educational institution and the expectations expressed in the community in terms of education. Resulting from a consensus, the educational project is prepared and implemented through the collaborative efforts of various stakeholders concerned with the institution: students, parents, teachers and other staff members (daycare service, secretary, etc.), as well as the community and school board representatives.
Legal Framework
The Education Act (EA) states that an institution’s educational project must take into account the following requirements:
- consist of the following elements (EA, Sections 37 and 97.1):
- a description of the context in which the educational institution acts and the main challenges it faces, particularly with respect to academic success and, in the case of a vocational training centre, the relevance of the training to regional or national labour market needs;
- the specific policy orientations of the educational institution and the objectives selected for improving student success;
- the targets to be achieved by the end of the period covered by the educational project;
- the indicators to be used to measure achievement of these objectives and targets;
- the intervals at which the educational project is to be evaluated, determined in collaboration with the school board;
- respect the students’, parents’ and school staff’s freedom of conscience and of religion (EA, Section 37);
- cover a period that is harmonized with the period covered by the school board’s commitment-to-success plan and the period covered by the MEES strategic plan (EA, Sections 37.1, 97.2 and 209.1);
- where applicable, comply with the terms prescribed by the Minister to govern the coordination of the entire strategic planning process between the educational institutions, the school board and the MEES (EA, Section 459.3);
- be consistent with the school board’s commitment-to-success plan (EA, Sections 37 and 97.1).
When analyzing the context, including the results achieved by the educational institution with respect to the orientations and objectives set out in the school board’s commitment-to-success plan, the educational institution must consider the relevance of including the orientations and objectives of the commitment-to-success plan in the educational project. In this case, it is up to the educational institution to determine a target that may be different from that established by the school board. If, in addition, an educational institution deems it appropriate, given its situation and priorities, nothing prevents it from supplementing its educational project with other orientations or objectives different from those specified in the school board’s commitment-to-success plan.
Groups Involved in the Preparation of the Educational Project
In this section, the institution lists the groups that have contributed to the preparation of the educational project. (EA, Section 74)
Collaborative management is based on team work; putting fruitful collaboration into action concretely and striving for consensus.
Our team consists of four teachers: Hannah Patrick (Resource), Morgan Rose (Cycle 2.1), Marnie Brown (Cycle 3.1/3.2) and Andrea Scholar (Cycle 3.1/3.2). As well, our Governing Board is participating in the consultation process, which includes two teachers (Valerie Pinkham, FSL and Christina Howard (Cycle 2.1/2.2) and six parents (Andrew Cornforth, Tara Logue, Christine Dubé, Rebecca Genest, Jennifer Murrell and Julia Wiseman). The Educational Project will be also reviewed for feedback at School Council and staff meetings.
Consultations Held for the Preparation of the Educational Project
In this section, the institution lists all consultations held during the preparation of the educational project. (EA, Section 74)
The educational project is a product of the community, so the governing board encourages the participation of students, parents, teachers, other school staff and representatives of the community and the school board. (EA, Section 7)
Our in-school team met on two occasions to work on the plan as a team of five. This plan was presented to Governing Board at two meetings in May and June (2019), after an initial general introduction to the concept of the Educational Project in November. Staff was able to provide feedback on a few occasions in the spring once the draft was available.