General Gordon bricks
Those sad to see the more than a century-old school at West Sixth Avenue and Bayswater Street in Kitsilano crumble earlier this year can now buy a piece of history.
The General Gordon Parent Advisory Committee is selling a limited number of commemorative bricks from the 1912 school for $19.12. The bricks, which come with certificates of authenticity signed by the chair of the Vancouver School Board and the school principal, can be reserved through the school’s website. All proceeds will go to the school’s playground fund.
The PAC not only strives to raise money, but also to retain the connection of the school to the neighbourhood. The PAC plans to host a groundbreaking ceremony for the new school in the spring and distribute the reserved bricks then, along with a build-it-yourself paper model of the old school that’s designed to hold a brick. The PAC wants retired teachers and staff, neighbours then and now, and former students to get in touch and attend the groundbreaking and the dedication of the new seismically safer school that’s expected in 2017.
Details at gordonelementary.ca/bricks.
Bill 11
Education Minister Peter Fassbender announced a bill, Bill 11, to amend the School Act, the Independent School Act and the Teachers Act Thursday morning shortly before the Courier’s press deadline.
The changes concern professional development, the sharing of services among school districts to save money, improving accountability for student learning and aligning the disclosure of student data with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Vancouver School Board chairperson Christopher Richardson said Thursday morning staff was seeking further clarification on the proposed amendments to sort out short- and long-term implications.
School calendar
Spring holiday time will stretch even longer next year. Monday night, the Vancouver School Board approved school closure days that fall between spring break and Easter weekend in 2016. Students will be out of school from March 14 to 28.
Trustees approved five closure days in total, as they have done for the three previous years. The fifth is May 20, making the Victoria Day weekend longer.
“It started in the underlying foundation that it was a cost-saving measure, given budget shortfalls that have existed in Vancouver for a number of years now,” said David Nelson, VSB director of instruction. “We are one of the majority of districts, if not all districts in the province who have moved to a two-week spring break.
I’m not sure what their rationales are.”
He believes spring break and school closure days will coincide in districts across Metro Vancouver in 2016.
The board estimates $125,000 is saved for each school closure day, largely as a result of not requiring teachers on call.
The VSB approved 10 school closure days in 2011-2012 and saved a million dollars. But trustee Mike Lombardi, who previously chaired the VSB committee that considers the school calendar, said that created “tremendous hardship” for parents and teachers on call. It’s also troubled teachers.
The Vancouver Teachers’ Federation approved the 2015-2016 calendar.
“It’s not jump for joy agreement but there was agreement, given the realities of our district financially, that this is the lesser of two evils, I guess, in the cost savings it brings,” Nelson said.
“The research that I’ve seen, and the superintendent shared with us before, it’s pretty clear that it does impact vulnerable students,” Lombardi said. “Vulnerable students are impacted any time you have fewer days of school and more gap time between learning and time off. For the rest of the students, it’s not that significant. Finland’s got the best education outcomes in the world and their school year is much shorter than ours.”
The VSB has spoken to UBC about the possibility of researching the effects of school closure days on students.twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi
