School districts can now add their French contact to the Ministry’s BC K-12 School and District Contact Information web page. To add your French contact, visit the page and submit a request by selecting “Send an update of district information”. Only one French contact per district can be included. Please contact EDUC.French.Education@gov.bc.ca if you have any questions.
Friday December 2, 2022
Deputy Minister of Education and Child Care
Hi, everyone – For those in the Lower Mainland, I hope your experience with the snow wasn’t too challenging, and for those in parts of the province who are far more adept at the winter weather, enjoy some amusement! Today was a busy week with the First Nations Leadership Gathering, where ministry staff and Ministers Chen and Whiteside met with 32 different Nations. We heard from First Nations community leaders regarding local, community-based topics, including child care, Local Education Agreements, jurisdiction over education, governance, anti-racism, funding, and First Nations language teachers. It was a humbling and motivating experience. I managed also to see a few of you at the BCSTA Trustee Academy, which was great. This week you will find some information and action items including an update on the next steps by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction on the Accessibility Act, and a link to the Provincial and district data for 2021/2022 that has been added to the Completion Rate Dashboard.
Have a great weekend!
For Information
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Dec. 6 Half-Masting Protocols
At the direction of the Province, Canadian flags on all B.C. government buildings will be flown at half-mast on December 6, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women, from sunrise until sunset. Where a Canadian flag and a British Columbia flag fly near to one other, both flags should be lowered to half-mast. The direction of the Province on half-masting protocols is provided in case school districts wish to follow a similar approach.
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Updated Curriculum Elaborations and Resource Guides for Consent
As part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the Ministry of Education and Child Care, in partnership with BC educators, has released updated health guides for elementary and secondary students and expanded kindergarten-to-Grade 10 PHE curriculum elaborations. These resources are designed to provide educators with more tools to teach about consent with an age-appropriate and non-discriminatory approach.
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Completion Rate Dashboard
Provincial and district data for 2021/2022 has been added to the Completion Rate Dashboard and can be accessed through the BC K-12 Education Data Portal. Please contact EDUC.ReportingUnit@gov.bc.ca if you have any questions.
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Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP)
The 2023 administration of PCAP will take place in April/May 2023. 150 English-language schools and 21 Francophone schools have been selected to participate. Further details about this assessment will be sent to superintendents and principals of the selected schools during the week of December 5. Please email NatIntQuestions@gov.bc.ca if you have any questions.
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Federal Government Survey on a National School Food Policy
The Government of Canada is launching an online survey to inform a national school food policy. This policy will help guide the expansion of school food programs so that more children have access to nutritious food in school. Anyone who has experience with or an interest in school food programming is encouraged to participate in the survey by December 16.
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Accessibility Standards
As announced yesterday, the Province has appointed 30 people to help develop British Columbia’s first two standards for accessibility. These standards will help remove and prevent barriers that restrict people with disabilities from equal participation in their community. Please note the recently established Accessible British Columbia Regulation requires public sector organizations—including school districts—to have their own committee, plan, and feedback mechanism in place regarding accessibility by September 1, 2023.
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Recent Discipline Outcomes
Discipline outcomes are posted to enhance the transparency of the processes and decisions made with respect to complaints and reports about educators. Recently, outcomes were posted regarding Luke Lawson and Douglas Sergei David Ryga.
