From the York Region Chinese Parent Involvement Initiative

I am pleased to post this message from the York Region Chinese Parent Involvement Initiative, whose event I attended on Saturday, October 16, 2010 at Market Village, in Milliken. Thank you for reading it.

Marlene Mogado

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Parent Involved Education Forum Report 華人家長參與-教育政策論壇報告

By Alick Siu
York Region Chinese Parent Involvement Initiative
Email : alicksiu@yahoo.com
Cellular (647) 298-6667

With the Municipal election days away, majority voters are clueless with trustee candidate. Thousands parents giving up their dream, career, business to migrate to GTA for their kid’s dream or brighter future. Education issues from lack of innovation at school, widening gap between normal student verse special need, declining standard, to school violence, early sex education, parent involvement continues to be key priorities and concerns to Chinese parent in particular to new young immigrant parent.

With these parameters as backdrop, a group of parent “York Region Chinese Parent Initiative” has hosted the “Parent Involved Education Forum/Townhall” on October 16, 2010 (Saturday) at Market Village shopping mall. Guest speakers included York Region Public School Board Community Education Centre North Superintendent Margaret Roberts, York Catholic District School Board Parent Involvement Steering Committee member David Cheung 張 國 強 and popular Public Issues Commentator Man Sai Cheong 文 世 昌 and MC Adam Poon 潘 海 昌

Events started with a brief report of York Region District School Board and York Catholic District School Board achievement with keypoints as follows:

York Region District School Board achievements:

1. New director Ken Thurston with new multi-year plan with key priority to improve student achievement, effective use of resource of delivery education program and parent engagement
2. Full day kindergarten launched September with 25 schools this years, 12 school next year
3. EQAO test result continued to perform above Ontario average 75% with
1. Grade 3 – 70% reading, 80% writing, 81% math
2. Grade 6 – 79% reading, 80% writing, 73% math
3. Grade 9 – 90% academic 44% applied
4. Grade 10 – Literacy test 89%
4. Over 100 schools achieved Eco-school certification with energy conservation, school ground greening
5. 3 new schools 3 replacement school and 3 additions to school
6. Board improvement Plan on Student achievement and well being on Literacy, Numeracy, Program and Pathway, community, culture and caring

York Catholic District School Board achievements:

1. EQAO tested result showed York Catholic students continue to be among the top performers in the province with result well above provincial average 75%
1. Grade 6 – 77% reading
2. Grade 10 – 88% literacy
2. EQAO 10 years of Grade 3 and 6 demonstrate a significant upward trend in reading, writing and Mathematics
3. Uses data assessments to identify student group who continue to struggle
4. Full day kindergarten launched in September 2010 with 14 schools 600 JK student, 500 SK student, 42 early childhood educators to assist classroom
5. The Honourable David C. Onley Lieutenant Governor of Ontario visited a York Catholic District School on January 2009 and addressed to school principal on polio and post-polio syndrome and how some of his favourite teachers helped to guide him to success

Despite it was not a candidate meeting, there were 10 trustee candidates of Markham and Richmond Hill attended the event including Ada Yeung, Allan Tam, Angela Chang, Carol Chan, Greg Care, Jane Milrose, Marlene Mogado, Peter Cushman, Peter Luchowski, Sam Tomer. Nine questions were provided to trustee candidates prior to the events with 3 candidates submitting the answers including Greg Care, Marlene Mogado and Allan Tam with original answers in the attached [We will try to post the PowerPoint presentation prepared by Marlene Mogado].

Event covered various education issued such as semester school or all year school, reduce funding on gifted program, 3 different school lunch sessions, senior should not pay for property tax for school. Diversity at school did come out as a major discussion with the following points covered:

1. More cultural programs are required so that kid can be proud of their own culture and know about other kids' cultures
2. Cultural program will need to support by school board in terms of policy and be implement at school in particular post-school extra-curriculum
3. Parent Involvement can be a good bridge to provide 3 ways school, board and parent communication to ensure diversity is promoted and respected in school program as well as curriculum

Parents can be involved in their child’s school by maintaining contact with the school teacher, principal, going to school council, or any school board advisory committee meeting. School board has resources to provide parent seminars. Should there be any language issue, please by all means get a friend to help with translation or look for school or school council or school board which has staff to help translation.

The Parent and Community Engagement Advisory Committee was established since 2005 but primarily emphasizes Parent Involvement. Ministry of Education issued a policy entitled, “Parent in Partnership : A parent Engagement Policy for Ontario school” in September 2010 and to shift focus to parent engagement. School board has all intent to get parent involved and in fact currently the York Region District School Board is recruiting parent to participate in Parent Engagement and Advisory committee as follows:

1. Central (Richmond Hill) - 2 elementary parents
2. East (Markham) – 1 elementary parent
3. West (Thornhill / Vaughan) - 2 elementary parents 1 secondary parent
4. North (King City / Newmarket / Stouffville) – 2 elementary parents 1 secondary parent

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The York Region Chinese Parent Involvement Initiative is actively seeking to explore the possibility of establishing a York Region Parent Involvement Association. The main objective is to provide a bridge for the Chinese Parent to the school board, trustee, ministry of education in order to improve ethnics diversity and the well being of student schooling and to represent the voice on education issue to the school board and Ministry of Education. With the help of some trustee candidates, York Region Chinese Parent Initiative has got 20+ parents who are interested in Parent Involvement. For further information, please refer to the York_Region_Parent_Involvement_Initiative.pdf [we will try to post this] or contact Alick Siu with email alicksiu@yahoo.com or (c)647-298-6667