School District 27’s board of education has approved a three-year plan to maintain and improve student success rates.
The District Plan for Learner Success 2024-2027, available to view online, uses data gathered from individual schools to identify strengths and weaknesses within the district and determine how student success rates can be improved and sustained.
“It's the first year that I’ve seen...some action, not just words,” said board of education trustee Linda Martens after Supt. Cheryl Lenardon presented the draft plan for approval at the board's monthly meeting on Nov. 25.
The plan uses data to determine the state of academic and social success within the district and lays out a strategy for change so weaker points can be improved and emphasis can be placed on what’s already working. It results from a provincial order for school districts to publish student learning reports annually and to create regular plans for improvement, with a focus on equitable outcomes.
“Our results are not yet on par with the provincial average,” notes the plan, adding that marginalized students are “not enjoying the same success as their peers.”
The plan reveals overall rates in literacy and numeracy in SD 27 are “well below” the provincial average and identifies ways in which these numbers can be improved by standardizing marking, making changes to instruction and assessments and introducing an ongoing learning series for teachers to improve instructional capacity.
It also looks at students’ sense of belonging and safety at school. In a 2022-2023 provincial survey, less than 50 per cent of students in grades 4, 7, 10 and 12 reported feeling a sense of belonging at their SD 27 school and 69 per cent of all students reported feeling safe at school. A spring 2024 survey administered by the district reported more optimistic results.
The district plan highlights one of its main goals which is to have all students attend at least 90 per cent of the school year, while in 2023-2024 only 36 per cent of students from kindergarten to grade 12 were meeting or exceeding this target. The plan notes, however, that this is an improvement from the previous year, when 70 per cent of students missed a month or more of school.
“The accumulated effect of prolonged disruption to learning is showing up in current results,” the plan notes while referring to the dip in attendance rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan is designed along the belief that improving attendance rates will enable the district to better focus on students’ academic and social successes within their schools.
The plan for student success identifies five key focus areas to work on which were developed by consulting over 1,500 people, including staff, students and families. One way it aims to improve the student experience is through collective responsibility, involving staff at every level to help implement plans and build environments which help students thrive.
The district has also improved its ability to manage data, modernizing its software so staff can easily access, interpret and act on the results demonstrated by data. The plan outlines how the data can be used by both the board of education and school staff, with a scheduled data review cycle enabling the district to make decisions based on results.
“We’re seeking to...level the bar at the same time as we’re raising it,” Lernardon said while noting the gap between different student demographics is being gradually closed.
Another area of focus in the plan is implementing Indigenous learning and culture across the district. Some examples of this include a “review of school libraries and resource collections and additional funding for Authentic First Peoples Resources.” The district is also conducting a school culture review with the help of Safer Schools Together, which provides training to help build safe environments for students and staff.
At the board of education meeting, trustees shared their praise for the plan’s layout, with accessible features and background information revealing the hard work put into its design.
Trustee Anne Kohut said the way the plan was set up for readers “really gave it a flavour,” and trustee Mary Forbes said the document’s interactive potential made it “very humane.”
Along with dropping targeted messages for staff, students, families and the community on how they can contribute to the district’s success, the plan also encourages the public to keep up to date with the district’s progress.
“People can be a part of the story,” Lenardon said while telling the board that weekly posts will be available on the district’s website for everyone to see how individual staff, schools and departments are progressing towards success.
