In this issue:

• A new poll for students, parents, teachers
• Problems in French Immersion
• Graduates in 2030
• Growing and selling food in schools
• Measuring what matters
• Child poverty on the decline

Student trustees want to hear from you!

The Ontario Student Trustees' Association (OSTA-AECO) has re-launched its annual survey.The survey—which takes less than 5 minutes to complete and is for students, parents and educators in grades 4-12—asks about everything from mental health, to student activity fees, to whether high school students should be able to vote for school trustees.

Please click on the appropriate survey link below:

Popularity causes problems for French Immersion programs

Some boards are struggling with the popularity of their French Immersion programs. More parents want in, but when boards respond to the demand by creating single-track French Immersion schools, parents of English-track students feel their children are being excluded.

In Halton, the board is trying to develop a better model for French Immersion, but it may mean moving English-track students to different schools. 

In Peel, the board capped French Immersion enrolment at 25% of Grade 1 students, and students are admitted through a lottery.

The Avon Maitland board decided to limit the number of schools with French Immersion because they were worried that they would draw students from under-enroled rural schools.

Is this an issue in your board? What do you think the best policies are for French Immersion?

Join the discussion in our online community.

What will graduates in 2030 need to know?

Around the world, 134 million children will be born this year. And in 2030, many of them will graduate from high school.

At a recent meeting - co-sponsored by the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, the Waterloo Global Science Initiative and TVO - scientists, educators, policymakers and students worked to come up with the attributes these graduates will need to "reach their full potential in life."

Among other things, they agreed graduates would need to be:

• literate, numerate, and articulate
• creative, critical thinkers
• able to collaborate effectively 
• open to failure as an essential part of progress
• adaptable and resilient in the face of adversity
• aware of the society they live in and able to understand the different perspectives of others
• self-aware and cognizant of their own strengths and limitations
• entrepreneurial, self-motivated, and eager to tackle the challenges and opportunities of their world

A Delicious Idea!

FoodShare Toronto is a community organization whose vision is Good Healthy Food for All.

One of the many innovative programs they offer is "School Grown".

The School Grown program engages high school students in growing and selling fruits and vegetables through hands-on learning opportunities during the school year and paid employment in the summer. Students work with the School Grown farm manager to run the market gardens, sell the produce at farmers’ markets, and deliver produce to local restaurants.

Two Toronto schools have established incredible on-site market gardens for students to work and learn in, including a 1/4 acre garden at Bendale BTI and an amazing 16,000 square foot rooftop garden at Eastdale CI.

Click here for more information.

Measuring what matters

Currently school success is evaluated using assessments of literacy and numeracy. But have those narrow measures resulted in a narrowing of the definition of education?

Skills in reading, writing and math are critical, but the evidence is clear that to prosper in the 21^st century, students need much more than achievement in the three Rs.

At our annual conference, People for Education began a dialogue about how we can broaden the Canadian definition of school success by expanding the indicators we use to measure progress. Participants agreed that what is measured influences policy, funding and public expectations for our schools.

They also agreed that we need to do more to recognize health (physical, mental, social, emotional), creativity, citizenship and positive school climate as essential components of a strong education.

How do you think we should measure success in schools and education systems? 

Click here to join the discussion
Click here to find out what the participants said

Reducing poverty for Ontario's children

Campaign 2000 has released a new report on child poverty. According to the report, in 2011 (the most recent data available), approximately one in seven Ontario children lived in poverty. That translates to over 371,000 children. Children of new immigrants, those living with single mothers, racialized children and those with disabilities are far more likely to live in poverty.

While the report card credits Ontario's poverty reduction strategy for a 9.2% decline in the rate of child poverty between 2008 and 2011, it says that delays in the child tax benefit, cuts to some supports for low income families and a frozen minimum wage will make it less likely that the government will achieve its goal of a 25% reduction in child poverty by 2013.

To read the full report, click here.