INTRODUCTION

The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils has continued its efforts this year to strengthen the Federation by emphasizing:

• representation at various levels of governance
• a communication network
• provision of resources and requested information

A focus this year has been the consultations and report of The Ministerial Panel on the Delivery of Education in the Classroom. The Federation executive met with the Ministerial Panel, sat on the Advisory Committee, was represented at the Provincial Forum and submitted a brief to the Panel. There are also ongoing issues related to the operation of school councils which include liability coverage, conflict of interest, the relationship with school boards and areas of council influence. We are working to strengthen communication between the Department of Education, school boards, our Federation and councils to attempt to resolve and/or clarify issues such as these.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

1999-2000 has been an extremely exciting year for the Federation of School Councils. We have gained a profile on the Provincial level which has ensured our recognition and participation in various Committees and Advisory groups; namely the Ministerial Panel on the Delivery of Education in the Classroom and the Student Support Services Advisory Committee. We have also participated on a National Level as a Board Member on the Canadian Home and School Federation. In addition we were represented at the NLSBA AGM last May 7-8 and the S.A.I.P. Conference (see page 4).

We started out last year with an overwhelming outcry regarding the Teacher Allocation Formula and what that meant to Program Delivery in the Classroom. Much of our energy at that time went towards a lobby to have that Formula reexamined. The Government then appointed Drs. Len Williams and Ron Sparkes as the Ministerial Panel to examine the Delivery of Education in the Classroom. This was the first time that a ministerial study looked solely at this issue and it was encouraging that the Minister released the full Ministerial Panel's report publicly and in such a timely manner. The Federation participated in an advisory role as the Panel did its preparatory research and planning.

If the recommendations of the Ministerial Panel are implemented, in the spirit in which I believe they are intended, these recommendations may actually address the majority of recommendations from our own Federation. It is a great step forward that many of our concerns have been recognized in this study.

I look forward to the challenges of the next year, a major one being our participation in the implementation of the Panel's recommendations. Only in the implementation will we truly see the benefits to our classrooms. There is also the ongoing challenge of building relationships with all the stakeholders in our Education system. As well, as Councils we need to gain a better understanding of our role in the system and the part we play in it. On that note I'd have to say that one of our biggest challenges for the next year is trying to ensure that Councils receive the training and leadership they need to be effective.

It has been an honour and a pleasure to represent the Federation of School Councils. It has certainly fed my own desire for an ongoing education! I owe a great debt to our Executive Director, Eva Whitmore, and to the other members of our Executive; without them the extent of what we have accomplished would not be possible.

Submitted by Joan Combdon

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT

The office is run by the executive director and one part-time employee, Maureen Dickson. In addition to ongoing advocacy, newsletters and communication with members, supervision and coordination of the SchoolNet STELLAR Support Parents Program has been a focus this year. As well, I represented the Federation at various public events: the August 19, 1999 launch of the Ministerial Panel on the Delivery of Education in the Classroom; the November 18, 1999 launch of the ACCESS Program in Avalon West School District; the February 3, 2000 breakfast to celebrate the St. Theresa's Literacy Program; the February 21, 2000 Community Services Council Press Conference to celebrate the VolNet program and the March 27 Globalstudent.com launch. I also sit as the Federation representative on the Educational Alliance Against Poverty, the Hook, Line and Net Planning Committee and the SchoolNet STELLAR Support Parents Advisory Committee.

The Federation is the sum of its members -- issues can be pursued only on a groundswell of council interest and participation. If councils wish to enjoy the benefits of representation and support on a provincial level, we need committed and enthusiastic volunteers on the board and on committees both regionally and provincially. Don't let location deter you, if you are interested in participating, we will make every effort to find ways to involve you.

Submitted by Eva Whitmore

MEMBERSHIP AND COMMUNICATION

The Federation has 200 members for 1999-2000 (170 of whom have renewed to date), out of 343 schools in the province.

To date this year we have sent members a September, November, January and March newsletter (The Cuffer), and an October and April Bulletin. We have a toll-free telephone line for the convenience of members as well as a member listserv to facilitate quicker information exchange. Our President was a panelist on a May 6, 1999 CBC Radio Crosstalk show about the Ministerial Panel. NLFSC initiated the School Matters column in the Evening Telegram and the Western Star to allow members the opportunity to showcase their schools.

REPRESENTATION

The Executive and the Board of Directors

Two meetings of the Board of Directors were held -- one at last year's AGM on April 25, 1999 and one by telephone conference call on April 9, 2000. Business was conducted by email during the rest of the year. The executive met with the Ministerial Panel on the Delivery of Education in the Classroom on September 22, 1999. Members of the executive met with the Minister of Education on May 19, 1999 and October 19, 1999. The President and Executive Director met with the Assistant Deputy Minister Primary, Elementary and Secondary in August ,and with NLTA presidents Brendan Doyle on May 19, 1999 and Fred Andrews on October 5, 1999.

Ministerial Panel on the Delivery of Education in the Classroom

The Executive met with Mr. Len Williams of the Ministerial Panel on September 22, 1999. The President represented NLFSC at the Advisory Committee meeting on October 6, 1999 and the Federation was represented at the Provincial Education Forum on December 17, 1999 by the 2nd Vice-President and the Executive Director. The Federation submitted a brief to the Panel in October,1999.

Advisory Committee on Student Support Services

Denise Pike, NLFSC 2nd Vice President, represented the Federation at the first meeting on February 25, 2000. This committee brings together representatives of various advocacy and support groups for special needs such as learning disabilities, gifted, physical, challenging needs and hard-of-hearing. At the introductory meeting, participants discussed the possible focus of the committee. The Department of Education expressed the desire to get reaction to current and proposed policies related to special needs from the committee on a regular basis. The next meeting is scheduled for early May.

Educational Alliance Against Poverty

The executive director represents NLFSC on this committee. The committee is composed of representatives of groups concerned with the effects of poverty on children's ability to learn, including the NLSBA, NLTA, Avalon East School District, School Children's Food Foundation, Food Security Network and others. Modelled on a project by the MacMorrin Community Centre in St. John's, the group is planning focus groups of parents at community centres to discuss barriers to learning faced by children of low-income families, with the hope of working towards overcoming those barriers.

Canadian Home and School Federation Annual General Meeting

The executive director attended the CHSF AGM July 6-9, 1999 in Victoria, BC. The agenda was full with provincial sharing as well as discussion of policies and resolutions. It is informative and interesting to hear viewpoints from across the country, and to participate in formulating national policy. The Federation's current contribution to CHSF is in the redesign and upkeep of its web site at http://cnet.unb.ca/cap/partners/chsptf/

Canadian Education Association Conference

The executive director represented the Federation at the CEA Conference July 9-11, 1999 in Victoria, BC. and brought back information on several programs and initiatives across Canada.

S.A.I.P. Meeting

The School Achievement Indicators Program (S.A.I.P.) Expectation Setting for Science took place October 7 and 8th, 1999 in Charlottetown, P.E.I. and the 2nd Vice President of NLFSC represented the Federation. To fully explain its importance, it is necessary to provide some background information.

S.A.I.P. is a national assessment program which was developed in 1989 by the Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CEC). Its purpose is to assess the performance of 13 and 16 year old Canadian students in the areas of math, science, reading and writing, and to relay this information to the public.

These assessments (tests) are administered in a 3 year cycle, one subject per year, to a sample of approximately 40,000 students. A first round of tests began in April 1993 with the administration of a math assessment. This was followed by a reading and writing assessment in April 1994 and a science assessment in April 1996. A second round began in 1997 with another math assessment, reading and writing in April 1998, and science in 1999.

Once the assessment has been completed, the results are tabulated and a public report is prepared. Part of the reporting procedure consists of asking different sectors of the public for input on how they think students should be performing on the individual assessments.

To do this, a panel of participants representing the education field, the business community and other interest groups meet to discuss the nature and content of the assessment and to determine what it is that students should be expected to achieve on that particular assessment. These meetings are called Expectation Setting Sessions.

There were about 32 participants for Eastern Canada in Charlottetown at the Expectation Setting Session I attended. The meetings began with an orientation process which provided an opportunity for the participants to examine and discuss examples of actual questions from the science assessment (made up of two components - written and practical). Information on the procedure for scoring the questions and assigning the level of performance expected from the students was also explained. (Performance was described over 5 levels with level 1 describing the early stages of science literacy and level 5 describing the high functional literacy.)

Participants were asked to answer a clear question about the expected performance of students at each of the 5 levels. "What percentage of 13 and 16 year old students should achieve at or above level x as illustrated by these answers and criteria?" To answer this question a series of ballots were cast and the results presented.

These results will be used as a measuring tool to determine the areas of strengths and weakness in science. This information will influence government policy and decision makers as they prepare for the future and take steps to improve our childrens' education.

Although the meetings were very intense, they were extremely beneficial. It was encouraging to realize that Newfoundland compares favourably with other provinces in the area of science. This is no doubt a reflection on our students and the quality of teaching they are receiving in the classroom.

Elizabeth Oliver and I represented NLFSC at this conference on special needs education November 11-13, 1999.

The concerns of NLFSC and parents were much the same concerns expressed by educators at the conference. These include funding, the difficulty in categorizing children, and the amount of paperwork required.

As NLFSC has also stated, educators feel that if all recommendations in Dr. Canning's report Special Matters had been implemented, we would not be in the current crisis situation.

The 1999 Canadian Home and School Federation mid-term meeting was held from Nov. 18 - 21 in Ottawa, Ontario. As 2nd Vice President of NLFSC, I was pleased to be among the fifteen representatives from across Canada who came together to address the educational concerns which are affecting our students, teachers, and schools throughout the country.

The agenda for the conference was very full and a wide range of workshop topics was covered. Strategic planning and direction, provincial mid-term reports, and the statement of policies, were just a few areas of Board business attended to.

A number of representatives from various national organizations gave presentations on subjects affecting the well-being of our children. Among these were CAHPERD (the importance of quality daily physical education and comprehensive school health), Media Awareness Network, Canada Savings Grant, gun control for children, and SchoolNet Support Parents Program.

The provincial sharing sessions were a highlight for me. Each province was given the opportunity to report on the 'educational happenings' within their areas. As the positives and negatives were emphasized, it was both amazing and disappointing to hear the similar challenges in education which are currently facing Canadian parents. Through networking in this way, much information was gained and many valuable ideas were exchanged.

The resolution process was also a key part of the conference. Several resolutions

were passed which will be presented to Government. The recognition from Government that the Home and School Federation is receiving on a provincial and national level is very encouraging. Recently the CHSF president, Joyce Eynon, attended a Youth Justice Conference in Ottawa to give input and guidance towards future changes on the Youth Offenders Act.

Overall the mid-term meeting was very informative and allowed each province to see

the educational scope from a Federal view.

Hook, Line and Net 2000 Committee

The executive director represents the Federation on StemNet's Hook, Line and Net 2000 Planning Committee. Plans for this year's conference in Clarenville in late June are well underway.

SCHOOLNET STELLAR SUPPORT PARENTS PROGRAM (SSSP)

SSSP is a 'train the trainer' program to teach computer and Internet skills to parents and community members, who can then use those skills to help students and teachers at their school. Parents, teachers and students all benefit.

SSSP was initiated by NLFSC in the fall of 1998. Province-wide implementation of the program began in September 1999 with partners and supporters including NLFSC; Avalon West School District; StemNet; Technology Education Centre, Corner Brook; Cable Atlantic; Avalon East School District and VolNet. Human Resources Development, through OnSite, provided a coordinator for 6 months. Industry Canada supplied 4 youth employment positions (average 14 weeks each) to help coordinate and deliver the program.

Over 50 workshops have been held at over 30 schools to date. Funding is being sought to continue the program in 2000-2001. For more information, call 1-877-739-4845 or visit http://www.stellar.nf.ca/sssp/

VOLUNTEER HOURS SURVEY

A survey on volunteer hours contributed to the education system in our province was circulated to members in the fall of 1999. We received 33 replies to date and expect more. In those 34 schools, 29 volunteer hours per month, on average, were contributed by school councils. On average, 177 hours per month were contributed by other parents and

volunteers in the school. This is a total of over 200 volunteer hours, on average, per school, per month.

If we assume only half (170) the schools in the province are recipients of volunteer time, we can extrapolate to 34,000 volunteer hours contributed monthly to the education system. At minimum wage, that means a contribution of $183,600 monthly, or $1,836,000 in each school year! Note that these are conservative estimates, and in many cases account for only parent, not teacher, volunteer time.

TEACHER/STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK

For the thirteenth year, School Councils and Home and School Associations across Canada celebrated National Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week from February 14-20, 2000. The provincial Federation, through the Canadian Home and School Federation, had materials available for purchase by those groups who organized activities to recognize the contributions made by teachers and school staff to the education of our children.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - 1999

The twenty first Annual General Meeting of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils was held in St. John's on April 23-25, 1999. The theme for the 1999 AGM was Celebrating Excellence. On Saturday, delegates attended the business meeting as well as presentations and discussions on four sub-themes: meeting the challenges of technology; successful school councils; increasing parental involvement; and defining and =achieving "minimum" course offerings. On Sunday morning delegates chose two sessions from a variety of topics: proactive approaches to discipline, strategies for navigating your learning disabled child through school, benefits and challenges of distance education, more than business partnerships, how to measure school success, the challenges of poverty, homework havens, and school-wide enrichment. Several resolutions were passed relating to teacher allocations, bus safety, special needs, professional development, funding for school councils, technology and uni-track French.

FUNDING

In addition to our $15,000 sustaining grant, the Federation was pleased to receive a grant of $15,000 for the 1999-2000 fiscal year. However, this extra funding was a one time commitment. It is difficult for the Federation to maintain an office on a sustaining grant of $15,000/year. The Executive feels it would be difficult to increase membership fees since school councils themselves have no source of income. The Minister is considering a request for an increased sustaining grant. We are awaiting a decision.

The provision of printing by the NLTA and office space by the Avalon East School Board were again a welcome help.

PARTNERSHIPS

The Federation is pleased by the collaboration and support of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Federation. As well as being open to discussions of educational issues and sitting on the SSSP Advisory Committee, the NLTA provided financial support through complimentary printing of our newsletter and other resources, as well as a donation to our AGM.

We thank the Avalon East School Board for providing us with office space free of charge. This contribution is greatly appreciated.

Our new partnership with Industry Canada, StemNet, District #9 and others to offer the SchoolNet Support Parent Program (SSSP) in our province is very successful (see page 3).

We have just entered a partnership with Globalstudent.com, a company that intend to provide a world-class educational resource to students here and elsewhere. In return for providing advice and feedback, our members will have the opportunity for first access to leading-edge technology. More details will follow as this partnership develops.

We are actively seeking other community and business partnerships. If any of you are involved in a community organization or business that you feel would consider partnership with NLFSC, please let us know! In return for their support, either financial or in-kind, an organization or business would receive a favourable profile with school councils across the province.