I believe that the Pacific Coast School is a very important piece of the puzzle here for youth as well the instructors. It is made up of youth who have some trouble fitting into the usual classroom setting but they have the brains to excel. I worked in an Alternate school setting years ago and to this day I have ex students who experienced that form of education for a while but to this day they give thanks for the time and effort which they recieved from the teacher. I know one individual who was in the school and then once he felt comfortable about himself went back into the regular school where he did so well he became a teacher and now is a school principal.The teachers and staff at the Pacific Coast School are a commited bunch and they show it with their students everyday. These kids enjoy the one on one and learning everyday life as it should be.
CFTK report:
it wasnt upgraded because the cost of it is rediculous compared to building new or joining the schools
In case no one has noticed the school district is still following the plan developed by the previous administration.
Wasn’t there a promise of a new vision?
What I see here is a lot of bitching and whining over procedure and politics and not a lot of suggestions as to what should be done. I probably shouldn’t expect much from forum goers but don’t you people get tired of complaining?
I didn’t like it when they closed my kid’s school, but considering the dwindling school enrollment I couldn’t see any other option. Having a middle school isn’t perfect either, but again I can’t see another option that will work.
You may be right. But what about the promised new vision? A bigger new second string bunch of administrators was brought in to develop a new vision.
whats your vision ? dwindling enrollment makes sense to close schools . lot of schools have closed in major cities as well.
The school district hired professional consultants to tell them that fewer students means fewer teachers, fewer schools, even more administrators and apparently 3 or 4 superintendents and several expensive consultants.
Ah it was a real stretch to call that one line, onelineguy. You’re off your game today.
I hear that SD52 has hired the former superintendent as a consultant. How much are they paying him? How many administrators work at the board office now? Is that number greater now than it was when there were nearly twice as many students?
Following a stakeholder consultation the previous and much smaller administration presented a downsizing plan. The Board rejected the plan and announced a new vision. Several hundred of thousand of dollars later and a new much larger administration has formulated the exact plan (vision) that appears to be now endorsed by the board.
Reads like Alice in Wonderland, curiouser and curiouser.
again how would you solve it whats your vision? my vision is annunciation opening a high school so i dont have to worry about a closure lol
The original plan is logical. And it seems to be the plan the new administrators have locked onto.
A good number of the buildings are perhaps beyond retrofitting to acceptable health and safety standards.
A good number of the buildings are or will soon be under-utilized.
A good number of the staff are nearing retirement.
The Saskatchewan economy has gone into recession with potash leading the downfall so expansion of facilities here is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Students leaving our elementary schools are experiencing marginal success within the high school environment.
A good number of buses could be purchased for a fraction of the retro-fitting costs of even one building. The longest bus ride would be about 15 minutes at best.
Reduction in staff could occur through attrition. Still a hardship however but not as drastic as termination.
Two high schools are a luxury given the total student numbers and the current cost of repair (to both buildings).
A middle school could address the lower success rate of students during the transition to the high school credit system.
So the old (new) plan is logical given all the known parameters.
Big question remains. What is the district doing about the new vision? Why were so many dollars spent to develop this new vision when there doesn’t appear to be a new vision? And why does it now take so many more senior administrators to bring forth the new (old) plan?
Why does it seem that the board chair is against the Pacific Coast school?
She gave such a negative comment to the press when they announced that they were keeping the name.
What people don’t realize is, returning trustees fail to inform their new counter parts of past plans/ideas/studies etc. PRSS has been studied for at least 9 years, configuration options the same if not significantly more… If there was follow through, consistency and transparency in the board …things would certainly be different.
We have 3 year vision, then another election. First year is a learning year, second year the studies happen and the third, meetings are held and maybe before the election something is done. Our system is not setup for continuity, and information for the public is not readily available. Our system caters to politicians and consultants. Who has time to pay attention to these issues when they’re attending to kids, volunteering in the community, working, spending time with a hobby or just destressing. The school system caters to those employed by it, not to those that it is supposed to be serving.
Media consultants view the Town Hall meeting format as the least desirable when it comes to addressing important issues. This allows for special interest groups to hijack the agenda and lead others away from independent thought or analysis of all the issues at hand.
It also creates a “camp” mentality, or quite simply a “Us” vs “Them” situation. A more productive problem or critical issue solving atmosphere should be promoted.
A common failing of many organizations.
The Northern View has a good summary of last night’s meeting.
My perceptions:
The two high schools will be amalgamated. There doesn’t appear to be much debate that both schools can offer adequate programs to grade 11 and 12 students with current numbers. Future numbers are bleaker.
The middle school is an interesting option. For some, a middle school option allows the argument for a new school to replace PRSS. Others would be advocating for middles schools regardless. I have no opinion on middle schools because I haven’t studied it enough but while there has been much made of the positives, there has to be, at least for discussion purposes, a devil’s advocate for keeping the status quo.
My biggest concern is the consequences of whatever decision is made on the above two. It is pretty clear that a middle school will lead to the closing of at least one elementary school. That may be inevitable anyway. I think that discussion (with the specific school on the table) should be part of this whole decision. I’ve been told that this will happen.
The meeting went very well. It followed nearly to a word the plan of 2008-2009.
More importantly, did they make any decisions about the basketball team?
so when are they gonna decide about this?