Thank you to all who participated in our first Thought Exchange. The results have been compiled in the report below.
The Question:
What areas do we need to focus on to ensure the success of every student?
Stakeholder Groups Consulted:
Staff, parents/guardians, students and community members.
Breakdown of Participation:
What we heard – Top thoughts:
- No math programs to help with kids struggling, there is a reading pull-out but no math. Math is just as important.
- Math interventions in addition to the Language Arts supports. Students are performing well in Language Arts, but are behind in Math.
- School needs to be a place where students with a variety of goals and talents can thrive, not just academic stars or top athletes. Every student needs school to be a place where they have something to look forward to in the day, some class or activity that engages them.
- Industrial Arts, Outdoor Ed and Home Economics. These courses are life skills that high school students should be exposed to.
- High quality and varied learning. To meet all ranges of academic abilities and keep students engaged.
- Focus on basic academic skill building. Reading, writing, numeracy skills are essential skills that will help our students build strong futures.
- I think it’s important that we encourage the parent community that student learning is not only the responsibility of teachers. Parents need to engage as well as there isn’t enough time to teach “everything”.
- More support for our teachers. They are tired and overwhelmed.
- Teacher support. Giving teachers the support they need to meet the needs of all the children. This may look like Education Assistants or outside support, such as OT/PT.
- Mental Health. Right now, students who are usually "okay" are not. A lot of students are struggling with the effects of the pandemic.
- Teacher mental health. A balanced teacher in front of students is step 1.
- Ensure the school is safe for all students. Every student needs to feel safe and secure inside the school walls. Students should be made to follow the rules and bullying should not be tolerated.
- Keep class size down. Teachers and aides can have more one-on-one time with the children.
Next Steps:
Thank you for your input. Your valuable feedback will assist us in developing PWPSD’s Strategic Plan which we will share later this spring.