November 11th, 2013
Waterloo Region District School Board – Committee of the Whole Meeting
On November 11, 2013 at 7:00pm, the WRDSB held its Committee of the Whole Meeting. The agenda and reports for this meeting are available on the Board’s website by clicking here.
No delegations appeared at the meeting.
Policy & Governance
Review of Board Policy 2002 – Partnerships and Sponsorships
Trustees reviewed the policy, and agreed to wait until further direction from the Ministry on this particular topic.
Review of Board Policy 3004 – Holding of Public Meetings
Trustees reviewed the policy, and deferred discussion of this policy until the new year.
Review of Board Policy 4002 – Public Use of Schools
Review of Board Policy 4004 – Emergency Needs – Expenditures
Trustees reviewed the policy and removed sections referring to the reserve fund.
System Fiscal Review Update
Reports
Proposed Pilot Project – Enhancing Access to Sexual Health Services in Secondary Schools
The average teen pregnancy rate in Waterloo Region (2006-2010) is higher than in other regions and exceeds the provincial average. There has been no significant improvement in the teen pregnancy rate in Waterloo Region since the mid-late 1990’s/early 2000’s. In addition, incidence rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to rise within the Waterloo Region.
In 2009, Region of Waterloo Public Health decided to review its sexual health services for secondary school students. The findings from this review prompted the creation of a Sexual Health Youth Strategy Committee consisting of Public Health and a number of community partners with a direct mandate to provide sexual health education and services to youth. A Sexual Health Youth Strategy for Waterloo Region was developed and endorsed by all partners, including the Waterloo Region District School Board and the Region of Waterloo Board of Health, in June of 2012.
Currently, Public Health Sexual Health Nurses are available to interested students in all Board secondary schools for one half-day each week.
The primary reason that students access Public Health Nurses in schools is access to information and counselling on birth control and pregnancy. On average, 60 per cent of all visits to Public Health Nurses in schools are for these reasons. This number is significantly higher in some schools where pregnancy and birth control counselling accounts for over 80 per cent of all visits to a Public Health Nurse.
The current process requires students to pick up contraceptives from a Public Health location (in Waterloo and Cambridge). This is a barrier for some students, with 60 per cent of students counselled not picking up their prescription.
The Sexual Health Youth Strategy Working Group has identified the final step in the current process as a significant barrier for the majority of students who are in need of birth control, especially in the case of students for whom travel to a centralized public health clinic by public transit is lengthy, cost-prohibitive or unavailable.
The pilot project would allow Public Health Nurses to provide contraceptives directly to students in secondary schools following comprehensive counselling. This change would eliminate the need for students to travel to a Public Health clinic and would remove a barrier to health care access for these students.
The pilot project proposal will be implemented in two secondary schools beginning in January 2014, for one calendar year. The schools identified as part of the pilot project are Eastwood Collegiate Institute and Galt Collegiate Institute.
More information on the pilot project and the Sexual Health Youth Strategy is available in the report.
BIPSA Presentation – and Individual Student and their Learning Strategy Presentation
Trustees received a presentation from Superintendent of Education, Gregg Bereznick, on a particular student and their learning strategy, as it relates to the Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement.
Mental Health Strategy Update
The Ontario government’s Mental Health and Addictions Strategy for Children and Youth represents the collaboration of a number of Ontario government ministries aimed at preventing mental health problems, as well as ensuring that Ontario children and youth obtain fast access to high-quality mental health services when they are needed.
For the past two years, the WRDSB has partnered with two agencies sponsored by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, Lutherwood and kidsLINK, to provide Mental Health workers in schools. In the spring of 2013, the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care provided Mental Health and Addiction Nurses in schools. The Board’s Mental Health Lead will be an important liaison with these community partners, developing an effective interface between community mental health service providers and students, families and staff.
The Board’s Mental Health Strategy has two main goals for this year: 1) provide leadership and collaborate with all stakeholders to develop a WRDSB Mental Health Strategy, and 2) liaise with community-based service providers to facilitate timely access to mental health services for students and families.
Currently, a WRDSB scan and resource mapping is being completed for mental health resources provided by WRDSB staff as well as those provided by our community partners. To conduct this scan, web-based surveys have been completed, and focus groups of a variety of stakeholders from trustees to senior administration, staff groups, student representatives, and parent representatives have been scheduled or planned. This information will be used to identify priorities. An implementation plan will be developed based on identified strengths, needs, resources, and priorities. The draft Mental Health Strategy will be completed by March 2014, with the final strategy delivered by June, 2014.
Full-Day Kindergarten and Extended-Day Program Update
Following the Ministry’s phased implementation approach, 74% of our Kindergarten students are now enrolled in Full-Day Kindergarten classrooms. This September saw an additional 23 schools begin FDK as part of the Year 4 implementation. In total, there are now 65 FDK schools, operating 246 classrooms, educating a total of 6160 FDK students each day. Of the 246 classes, 234 pair a teacher and a Designated Early Childhood Educator to co-deliver the program, while the remaining 12 classrooms offer a “teacher-only” classroom with fewer than 16 children.
Before and After School Programs continue to grow as FDK expands. The number of students in school based child care has nearly tripled since the implementation of FDK began in 2010. Programs are currently operating in 52 of 65 FDK schools. This represents 80% of FDK schools. Previous to the implementation of FDK, less than 30% of schools offered Before and After School Programs for families.
More information on the implementation of FDK and Extended-Day Programs, as well as programs for students, are available in the report.
Motion – Term and Tenure of Office – Section 4.3.2: Board Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson
At the Board Meeting of September 30, 2013, Trustee K. Smith served notice that she wished to present a motion regarding the term and tenure of office for the Board Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, specifically as outlined in Section 4.3.2 of Board Bylaws.
The current term and tenure for Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson are as follows:
Length of term: 1 year
Maximum number of consecutive allowable Terms: 2 years
As this notice of motion involves a Bylaw Amendment, trustees will be required to approve by majority vote, the consideration of the proposed amendment at the Committee of the Whole Meeting of November 18, 2013.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:03pm
