What would schools in BC be like if the mandate letter for the next Minister of Education included all 21 recommendations for Healthy and Resilient Schools? Why not ensure we are more prepared when the next pandemic arrives? #bced#bcpoli#MandateTheRecommendations 1/21
2/21
Recommendation 1
That the Ministry of Education provide stable, predictable, and adequate funding to enable school districts to fulfill their responsibility to deliver quality public education to all students in British Columbia. #bced#bcpoli#HealthyAndResilientSchools
3/21
Recommendation 2
That the Ministry of Education terminate the consideration of a prevalence-based model for special education funding and align special education funding with special education needs. #bced#bcpoli#HealthyAndResilientSchools
4/21
Recommendation 3
That the MoE move ahead with significant enhancements to operational funding ... beyond funding increases associated with enrolment growth, to enable increased health & safety measures & to support schools as hubs of community. #HealthyAndResilientSchools
5/21
Rec 4
That all new provincial initiatives or costs, in particular those arising from measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, be reflected in provincial funding grants, eliminating the practice of downloading costs onto school districts. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced
6/21
Rec 5
That the M o E fund any ... shortfalls in intern'l student tuition revenue relative to 2019–20 & commit to reforming the international student program for an equitable distribution of students & tuition revenues among districts... #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced
7/21
Recommendation 6
That the Ministry of Education ensure sufficient and targeted funding to enable districts to expand teaching and support staff to accommodate smaller class sizes necessary for physical distancing as needed. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced
8/21
Rec 7
That the M o Ed ensure sufficient & targeted funding for increased use of sick leave & other accommodations by teachers, additional...staff to maintain... higher levels of cleanliness ... #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced
9/21
Recommendation 8
That the M of Edu reform the school building standards to ensure that new schools are better suited to handle physical distancing measures & other restrictions on physical space necessitated by future pandemics. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced#bcpoli
10/21
Rec 9
That M of Ed provide targeted funding to support a trauma-informed approach to mental health for students, staff, & district administration, including more counsellors &professional learning for teachers on trauma-informed practice. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced
11/21
Recommendation 10
That the Ministry of Education provide targeted funding to support the early identification and designation of students with special needs, particularly in Kindergarten and Grade 1. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced
12/21
Recommendation 11
That the Ministry of Education introduce per-student funding amounts for high incidence designations, including children with learning disabilities and those requiring moderate behaviour support, into the funding formula. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced
13/21
Rec 12
That M of Ed provide ... new funding for classroom resources in line with the updated provincial curriculum as well as infrastructure & support for new technology, resources, & in-service to enable teaching under pandemic conditions. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced
14/21
Recommendation 13
That the Ministry of Education provide dedicated funding for teacher recruitment and retention initiatives across all school districts. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced#bcpoli
16/21
Recommendation 15
That the Ministry of Education provide grants to school districts for creating or expanding school gardens and other community spaces. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced#bcpoli
17/21
Rec 16
That Min of Ed increase ... funded courses in adult education to reflect a broad range of ed needs & interests that help create an educationally enriched society as well as improved employment opportunities for individuals. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced#bcpoli
19/21
Recommendation 18
That the Ministry of Education accelerate capital funding for seismic upgrades to meet its target of having all upgrades complete by 2025. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced#bcpoli
20/21
Recommendation 19
That BC gov't accelerate its planned investment in a universal, $10-a-day childcare system in BC, which should include a build-out of public childcare facilities and the provision of before- & after-school care. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced#bcpoli
21/21
Recommendation 20
That the provincial government move rapidly towards a universal, public, $10 per month broadband service. #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced#bcpoli
Because Twitter needs an edit function:
22/21
Rec 21
That BC gov't lobby the fed government for increased transfers to provinces & continued support for provincial borrowing by both the federal government and the Bank of Canada ... #HealthyAndResilientSchools#bced#bcpoli
We're repeatedly told that schools have to stay open because that's important for students' mental health but whose mental health is being prioritized by Minister Whiteside? 🧵 1/? #bcpoli#bced
2/?
Certainly not the student who's terrified that their maskless peers are sitting right next to them in a windowless classroom in a school with inadequate ventilation.
3/?
Nor is it the Grade 6 student who texts their mom in the middle of the day to fetch them from school because they're worried about all the maskless students sitting around them in class. They are terrified of taking the variant home to their 40 year old parents.
🧵 Teachers in #bced, in the absence of adequate protections from the @bcndp gov't, let's crowdsource best ideas to keep safe when there's no mask mandate.
1. Wear an N95 mask or equivalent that fits tightly around your face or if you don't have these, double mask.
2. Follow the advice of Dr. Fauci and the mandatory rule of the Peel School District: wear goggles or a face shield. The virus is airborne. You need to keep it out of your eyes. #bcpoli
3. If you are lucky enough to have windows that open, keep them wide open. The virus is airborne. Don't give it opportunities to accumulate in your classroom.
If you're not, for the sake of survival, get a HEPA filter air purifier for your classroom. #bcpoli
Being calm & kind will support mental health but it's truth that will keep us safe.
To that end, a few question suggestions for @richardzussman:
What data, exactly, shows that there is low/no transmission in #bced schools & that students don't transmit the virus? 1/? #bcpoli
2/?
Why did the Minister of Public Safety, and not the Public Health Officer, mandate masks in all indoor public spaces?
" As such, a vaccine alone, no matter how effective, will not tip the balance toward health because COVID-19 is not a disease; it is a symptom of an exhausted planet. " theglobeandmail.com/opinion/articl…
Schools are being kept open not because of the need for educating students, their primary function, but because #bced performs a social safety net function in the provision of food, & the support of mental health in children. 1/?
2/? Schools perform these functions despite the fact that there is a Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, a Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, and a Ministry of Child and Family Development in BC.
3/? The ‘downsides’ that Dr Henry talks about to closing schools is not related to a loss of learning but to the loss of food and mental health support for children in one of the richest provinces in Canada. A province where 1 in 5 children lives in poverty.