The board of the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board received an update on the Student Achievement Plan at their meeting this week.
Superintendent of Education for Curriculum Services Tina Elliott said the board conducted a survey of school council chairs and parents and guardians this spring, receiving 241 responses.
The survey asks if parents and guardians are aware of actions the board is taking to improve student achievement, and if priorities align with those outlined in the plan.
The board can then use the survey feedback to revise aspects of the plan if needed before submitting it to the Ministry of Education by June 30.
Elliott said some of the plan’s priorities, which aligned with survey feedback, include continuing to close achievement gaps in math and literacy, experiential learning and credit accumulation.
“About 200 of our families identified experiential learning and expanded pathway access as being either really important or extremely important as system priorities for us,” she said.
Elliott said this aligns with programs like the Specialist High Skills Majors, which allow secondary students to focus their learning on a particular career pathway, and the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, which introduces students to careers in the skilled trades.
She added the board was surprised by the amount of families whose response to the survey indicated that Indigenous education coaches were not as important as other education supports in the classroom.
“What we have taken away from that is a need to ensure that our families understand what that support is, the value of that support and what that looks like, to ensure that when they’re responding to the question, they have a clear sense of what it is to be able to give a really reliable response,” she said.
She added Indigenous education is one of the board’s priorities in their multi-year strategic plan and they remain committed to supporting their Indigenous families.
The survey indicates there was less value placed on regular school attendance and ensuring students are ready to learn at school, which the board will need to take some time to unpack.
The board’s Student Achievement Plan will be submitted to the Ministry of Education for review, with implementation starting in the fall.
