CAIS in Point

Everyone loves a simple answer. At our office, each year we receive hundreds of telephone calls, e-mails, and visits from parents asking one question: "What is the best school for my child?"  They usually don't want the real answer, "it depends", they want a short list, a "top ten" to save them the time and trouble of really researching their choices. And why not? We live in an era of rankings. Universities, books, restaurants, motion pictures, NCAA basketball teams, draft choices, cars, places to live, tax rates, the list goes on… if something demands that we make a choice, you can be almost certain that someone else has ranked it for us.   So, if we depend upon rankings to determine what movie to go to or what book to read, why should our choice of schools be any different? Why shouldn't we take one of the most important decisions that we make in our lives and look for an easy shortcut to make up our minds? The fact is, that school rankings usually give us little more than a shopping list of locations where the nature of the student population, and the organization of the programme, offer the best statistical chance of success. Does that indicate a “good” school? Sometimes it does, but the opposite result definitely doesn’t indicate a “bad” one! How does a school get a high ranking? In Canada, usually the statistics cited are student results on high stakes testing. As school leaders in British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec have long experienced, simplistic school rankings based solely on narrowly defined student achievement data can often do more harm than good. The Fraser Institute issues a regional "Report Card" on independent and public schools each year. Their rankings are based on publicly available information with regard to standardized test results, graduation rates, and dropout statistics. Using this framework, they attempt to hold schools “accountable” for their results and to rank the most successful. Needless to say, such an approach is fraught with difficulties. The attempt a few years ago to apply the model to Ontario schools is an excellent example of this. Ontario has no formal standardized examinations. Schools were held accountable for their performance using incomplete and often inaccurate data, the researchers passed judgment on schools that they had never seen, students whom they had never talked to, and teachers whom they had never witnessed in action. In the process, considerable damage was done to the reputation of many fine schools, and the self-esteem of the thousands of students who attend them. MacLachlin College in Oakville challenged the Fraser Institute's findings. Using an independent outside research firm, they asked for an analysis of the actual student data that formed the basis of their "Report Card" ranking. The result was a "score" that was double that inaccurately reported by the Fraser Institute, and a ranking that was hundreds of places higher on the list. Faced with a lawsuit alleging that the innaccuracy of the rankings had damaged both the reputation and the financial viability of the school, the ranking agency made a very public retraction and apology. They no longer attempt to rank Ontario schools. Such actions underscore the weakness of an arbitrary statistical snapshot. But the real issue goes even deeper. By looking for a common denominator for comparison, organizations such as the Fraser Institute devalue the one thing that characterizes the best schools in Canada, namely their ability and dedication to providing the most appropriate educational experience for the students in their care. There are many excellent schools on the list. Parents, students, teachers, administrators and Boards can rightly be proud of the wonderful programmes and supportive learning environments being provided in those buildings. Unfortunately, the ranking system does not actually give you that information, or tell you where those excellent schools are! What do school rankings show? They claim to show schools that educate students effectively, and, in many cases they do. However, in many other cases this form of accountability merely showed evidence of a careful and rigorous admissions policy by an individual school. Admit only the best and the brightest and even average schools will often produce outstanding results. In all cases these types of rankings are simply a record of academic credits earned, per student, on an incredibly uneven playing field. What do such ranking systems miss? They miss the broad range of extra-curricular and co-curricular experiences being offered to students. They miss the opportunities for leadership, for team building, for mentoring, and for collegial and cooperative learning which characterize so many of our schools. They miss the innovative and leading edge integration of technology into the curriculum. They miss the broad range of non-Ministry courses being provided for students such as Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes. They miss the provision of preparation for post-secondary education. In short, it missed the "value added" component that marks the distinct nature of independent education across Canada. Next month…Accountability and Student Performance: Taking Charge of the Process Jim Dr. James Christopher Executive Director, CAIS

Canadian Kids Fitness – a New Tax Break

What would a January newsletter be without some type of reference to the age old New Years resolution “I’m going to lose weight and get fit!” It’s that time of year; we look ahead to what we want to achieve before watching the ball drop again to signal the arrival of 2008. Our goals vary. Some people want to run a marathon, some want to take a weekly stroll with a friend, others just want to drop the 5 pounds they gained enjoying endless holiday offerings. Some people include their children in their renewed commitment to health and well being.

Parents and educators have the sometimes onerous responsibility of getting today’s kids off the couch or computer, and up and at’em. With this also comes the opportunity to shape the values of our youth. A healthy outlook, physically and mentally, depends on many factors with fitness being one of them.

The government has long collected statistics to confirm what has, for years, been a growing trend. Children are becoming more sedentary and heavier in weight.  In 2004 it was revealed that 24% of Canadian children were overweight, and 8% were obese. The fastest growing groups of overweight children were between the ages of 12 and 17. The adolescents of the Atlantic Provinces seem to be at greater risk of weight gain.  Surprisingly, socio-economic status did not make a measured difference in most of the results. A much quoted article by Margot Shields reviews the detailed findings of the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey: Nutrition (CCHS). http://www.statcan.ca/english/research/82-620-MIE/2005001/articles/child/cobesity.htm

This is not new news. We have long been reading that our youth is overweight and under active, but little has been done at a government level to assist with the financial aspect of fitness programs run outside of the school system. For some families the cost of extra curricular programs prevents them from enrolling their child. Just recently a small step was made to enable and encourage parents to enroll their children in fitness activity programs. As of January 1, 2007, the Federal Government implemented the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit to assist families in supporting their kids to be active, and subsequently maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The newly established tax break allows $500 per child (16 years old and under) per family for an eligible program of physical activity. To read more visit: http://www.fin.gc.ca/activty/pubs/ctc_1e.html#Getting.

But, getting back to that resolution mentioned earlier, while we are signing our kids up for a fitness class or two, it may be prudent to evaluate our own routine. To lead by example makes a great deal of sense.

Canadian Teachers' Federation School Health Magazine

In December, 2006 the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) released the first issue of its Health and Learning Magazine. This magazine will be published three times per year and will feature evidence-based health education and promotion practices, practical information and helpful resources. It is being written
specifically for teachers and school administrators though it may be of interest to parent representatives, community leaders and others.

This initiative is being undertaken in partnership with the Canadian Association for School Health and the Canadian Public Health Association and is funded by the Canadian Council for Learning www.healthandlearning.ca.

As you may know, this CTF initiative is only one of many exciting activities underway in school health across Canada. Governments are funding initiatives, the research supporting comprehensive approaches is being followed and many schools are incorporating health into their plans for school improvement.

The amount of information and initiatives can become overwhelming so several organizations are trying to pull the information together through the formation of the Canadian School Health Knowledge Network. This network will offer the following free services for School Health Contacts in local agencies through its funded start-up activities:

•  Publishing a bi-weekly School Health Report will include news updates, links to research and reports and a featured topic. See the first issue at:
http://www.safehealthyschools.org/shreport_nov06.pdf

•  Access to a comprehensive web site on school health: www.safehealthyschools.org

•  Organizing several telephone/web briefing sessions on specific topics wherein experts and practitioners will inform participants in 60-90 minute sessions accessible by telephone conference calls while viewing presentations on their computers.

•   Organizing national conferences on school health each year. The next conference is in Vancouver, June 8-10, 2007 and will focus on interagency collaboration in social development issues such as bullying, substance abuse, crime prevention and mental health.

•   Access to a national School Health Documentation Centre that is digitizing a collection of hundreds of documents and links to published works in school health promotion. (These will be available to KN members starting in the spring of 2007).

In addition to these services for local school districts, health authorities and other agencies, the CSH Knowledge Network will be facilitating communications and cooperation at the national level through:

•  Support for the School Health Research Network, an informal linking of researchers, research centres and research funds.

•  Facilitation of the CSH NGO Network, a partnership of over 45 national organizations that have published a Consensus Statement and that will be advocating for appropriate federal and provincial/territorial policies and programs.

•  Organizing periodic round table discussions with federal officials, provincial/territorial officials, experts, national NGO’s and others on topics such as youth development, school shootings, environmental health and more.

The Canadian Association for School Health, an informal group of provincial/territorial coalitions, is pleased to play a role in the distribution of the CTF magazine and in the development of a Canadian School Health Knowledge Network. They have asked The Ontario Association of Independent Schools and CAIS to assist them with magazine distribution so we have agreed to forward copies to our schools. We should be receiving the magazines at our office within the next few weeks.

For more information about CASH and the Canadian School Health Knowledge Network please visit www.cash-aces.ca and www.safehealthyschools.org or contact them at info@cash-aces.ca or by telephone at 250-483-6988.

Team Building

We’ve all heard the expression “two heads are better than one”, well what about three or four heads, maybe more? There is a lot to be said for teams. So often we get laden with work and isolate ourselves to find the quiet time to complete our tasks. While this can be productive, it neglects the benefits of collective brainstorming. Working towards a mutual goal breeds creativity and fosters multi-dimensional thinking. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut! Sometimes all we need is another perspective (or two) to get the ideas rolling.

Working together to achieve a common goal generates a sense of accountability to the other members of the team. This is motivating and often inspiring. It’s not in our nature to be “the weak link”. It’s interesting to watch the domino effect in a team meeting as one idea leads to another and people share their expertise to better resolve the task at hand.

In a school setting the idea of holding team meetings can be daunting. Who has time? What team is everyone on? A school in Michigan decided that team meetings were crucial in maintaining a current and effective learning environment, and to do so they rearranged the school week to adopt a weekly team Common Planning meeting. Read more at: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/go/94-4gras.htm

While some may view this approach as drastic, it might also be regarded as inspiring. The school took action as a team and made a change. It was accepted by parents, students and staff members. That speaks volumes to the power of collective effort.

The 2007 J.D. Y. Hickman Award

Rothesay Netherwood School is pleased again to assist CAIS by requesting nominations for the J.D.Y. Hickman Award for Volunteerism.

This award is presented annually to the most deserving CAIS student for service rendered unselfishly to the community outside the school.

The award guidelines and application form may be viewed on the CAIS website at: http://www.cais.ca/community_service_award. The application submission deadline is April 5, 2007.

Coaching for Educational Change - Free Conference in Toronto on January 31, 2007

CAIS is pleased to share the conference information below that was recently sent to us.

To all educators, social workers, guidance counselors and parents:

The International Coach Federation invites you to come and learn how the "coach approach" can access and engage all levels of your school community in the current culture of educational change and enable you to make an even bigger positive difference in children's lives.

In honour of International Coaching Awareness Week, the Federation is proud to offer a complimentary Educators Event, designed to showcase the power of coaching for educational change.

This is your opportunity to join a team of professional life and business coaches and learn how coaching in the school system can help educators to create a positive learning culture. Hear from Steve Beatty, a school administrator who has applied coaching practices in his school and learn about the significant impact it has had on the school's culture and effectiveness. Then choose to participate in one of three one-hour workshops listed on the website below.

Be sure to register early as space is limited!

When: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 from 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Where: Northlea Elementary and Middle School, 305 Rumsey Road, Toronto, Ontario.

Light refreshments will be provided.

Registration:

If you are able to attend this event please pre-register as soon as possible to enable effective event planning. To reserve your spot today, use the secure link below. You will be asked to provide your name and address information, role, number of people who will be attending and your preferred workshop. However, since this is a free event please do not enter your credit card information. An automated "receipt" will be e-mailed to you immediately, and a reminder will be sent a few days before the event.

To find out more and register for this free Educational Leadership Event please visit: http://coachingawareness.com/educators-event.asp

"If we are to reach real peace in this world, we shall have to begin with the children." Mahatma Gandhi