Lea ership starts at the top

School principal Grant Hol-
kestad will be off the job for
the coming year, a vacancy |

| Principals get

shuffled, vice-

principals get
added

WITH A primary ‘school

‘Uplands Elementary.
- ~His post will be’ filled by
Todd Hollett, now the prin-

cipal at Cassie Hall Elemen-

' principal here taking a year | tary.
- leave of absence, the school And that vacancy. will be
district is shuffling existing occupied by Darlene Bragg-

principals and hiring another’
for the 2006-07 school year.
Kiti . K’Shan Primary

Houndsell, who is now prin-
‘cipal at George M. Dawson .
Secondary and a previous

CURT. Tuininga, ‘rincipa of Centennial Christian
School. :

Indie school —

tops rankings

LOCAL SECONDARY schools follow the provincial trend

of independent schools outperforming public ones in the
recently released annual Fraser Institute rankings. —
Listed for the first time in the Vancouver-based think

tank’s Report Card on B.C. and Yukon Secondary Schools, °

Centennial Christian School came out on top of all oth-
er public high schools within the boundaries of the Coast
Mountains School District.

The top of the rankings featured independent schools”

ranked one through four with a public school in ‘Surrey
_ rounding out the top five.
The Terrace independent school made the ‘rankings for

the first time in quite a while, said principal Curt Tuininga,

placing 170th out of 281.

Public school administrators have long refused to take |

“much stock in the annual rankings and’ ‘Tuininga i isn’t much
different. |
“We do look at it a bit. to gauge where we are,’  Tuininga
said. “I’m reasonably happy but I don’ t feel it helps much in
terms of measuring where we’re at.”
That’s especially true without: previous year’s statistics
’ for comparison, adds Tuininga.
“It’s hard to evaluate the significance,” said Tuininga,
adding the school probably won’t have enough students writ-
ing provincial exams to be included in next year’s report.

Tuininga said while his school did top the rankings in the

_ district, the range isn’t statistically significant.

. Both the public and private school systems are doing the |

best they can, said Tuininga.

Centennial Christian placed just ahead of Caledonia Se-

nior Secondary, ranked 176th.
Despite improving its overall. rating, Caledonia. main-

tained the same ranking as one year ago.

The overall improvement came in all the key stats, with

- minor slips i in two categories.

Caledonia upped its average exam mark (67.2 from 65.9), -

trimmed its percentage of exams failed (9.7 from 11) and
improved its graduation rate (from 92.5 to 93.8). .
The school dropped slightly in two areas: the gap between
school marks and exam marks, which the study’s authors say
reflects accuracy of learning, edged up from 5.9 to 6.1. Also,

the number of exams completed per scudent fell by a tenth

of a per cent to 2.1
Of.note, for the third straight year, “females at the school

edged out their male counterparts in English 12 and math
12. .
The local school district’s other two high schools placed

in the bottom third of the rankings. Secondary slipped one.

spot from 234 to 235, while Mount Elizabeth Secondary in
Kitimat moved down the list from 223 to 254.
The data used is from the 2004-05 school year.

that will be filled by Joe Vi-.
dal, the current principal ‘at.

vice-principal and principal
at Tahayghen Elementary
(both in Masset) for the Hai-
da Gwaii/Queen Charlotte
School District 50.°

Within the local: district’ Ss,

boundaries, a ‘number ” of

internal’ changes will take

place, creating vice-princi-
“pal positions as part of a suc-
cession planning model for
principals, says the director
of human resources.
“The school district has
Tong” recognized the need

HIGH SCHOOL completion
rates in 2004-05
aboriginal ‘Students saw a
modest increase province-
wide . but local . numbers
jumped 14 per cent.’

‘While the: provincial av- .

erage rose from 47 to 48 per.
cent, 55 per cent of aborigi-

snal’ students in the Coast *
Mountains district complet- -
.ed high school compared to |

41 per cent the year before.
The last six years of data

show a fluctuation between ~

a low completion rate of 39

“per cent in 2001-02 to last

year’s high.and the district’s _

_ director of instruction says

that’s natural.
“It’s not a simple picture

—we have different kids each.
year,” said Christine Foster. —

“But.we know we're making
gains with kids each year.”
And those gains have

helped to make a change in’

the district's accountability,

_contract, which Foster .is in
: charge of drawing up.

Foster.says in past years -

. there have been achievement

goals specific to aboriginal
students.

“This year, there isn’t
a Separate accountabil-
ity contract (for aborigi-

nal ‘students),” Foster said. ©

“Schools are really targeting |
all at-risk students.”

’ administrators,”

for,

‘for in-district training for
said Frank
Rowe. “The succession pro-
gram is for mentorship.”
Locally,

will move. from: Thorn-

hill Primary School to be a
teacher and vice-principal at -

Uplands Elementary, while

Maxine _ Champion «adds
vice-principal to her teach-°
ing role at Kiti K’Shan Pri-
mary.

Some of the new ‘posi-

- tions fit within the sticces-.

First Nations students _
“exceed provincial peers

Foster says ‘the planning

process has changed. In the
past, schools submitted year-
_end reports. Now a growth

plan is drawn up among a:
“group comprising -a. school
~ administrator, a teacher rep-

resentative and three parents

. from the school planning

council...

Christine Foster _

-. The instruction ‘director -

says this group overseas the -
growth plan and gathers data
to better focus on goals.
Students .are tested with
the ‘Foundation Skills As-
sessment in Grades 4 and «:

7-and data is now collected

Karen Scales.

sion program, others were

made necessary by adminis-

trators retiring or: leaving the
district. .

This year and the last few
, years, the district has adver-

_ ised for administrator posi--
. tions Canada-wide but have .

found the best candidates

- were within the district in al-

most every case, said Rowe..

‘ Bragg-Houndsell is one’

of only two hires from out-

“side the district in the last .

- two years.

GRADE. 9-10 students studying Spanish language at Skeena Junior Secondary
- School represent the next wave of. soon-to- be graduates i in Terrace.

throughout the year...
“When we set a goal, for

instance aboriginal success |
at School X, we can take data

for certain groups and make

cumulative assessments that.
show - growth : over’ time,’ mo

Foster said. .

‘If -needed,. interventions’ .
can‘ then be put in: place, :

Foster adds.. “°

Those ‘interventions ‘in-
_ clude new: teacher strategies, .
S|. like adopting new, ways to»:
teach language . and read-

ing, and’ structural change

that. varies from school to
«school. ©".
‘> An. exainple. of « ‘struc: .
_, tural change, . ‘Says Foster, is:
connections rooms in high’
'» schools that allow students
needing additional support as
_ Space and a block of time.
. And: Foster. says . ‘Sup- -
port outside the school sys--
- tem— programs like Success
“by” Six, Children. First.and -
_ Ready, Set, Learn — are also |
focused on learning and that

collaboration | has improved.

While aboriginal students

are no longer singled out in

the district’s. accountabil-
ity contract, they still have.
‘their own in-school support :

workers: _ .
- Of the 5,712 students en-

rolled in the district, 36 per:

cent of them are aboriginal.

Jk

Coast Mountains versus provincial averages. °

S| Coast Mountains
#249 Province ©

Percentages rep-
resent the propor-
‘tion of students who:
.graduate with a Dog-
wood diploma within
six years of starting
Grade 8 for the first
_time.

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 17, 2006 - AS
a
CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

‘The Mail Bag

Open up your eyes .

‘Dear Sir: ©

“I ‘don’t know more about these missing women and
-their families than what I’ve leaned from media reports,”
columnist Claudette Sandecki wrote recently. But if you:

_ would like to write anything meaningful, you need to re-
search sides. You must not write from someone else’s view _
' then try to turn blend it with.your microscopic view.

Is not what I’m hearing really gossip?

'“Missing women might have been driven by internal
"turmoil .. - having low self-esteem, to feeling unloved and ,
—unlovable,” Claudette continues. In saying this, are you’
telling me that only the missing women are driven by in- «
ternal turmoil? Only the missing women. have low self-
esteem? Are you telling me that they hitchhike because.
. they feel: unloved?

‘Tell my Claudette what makes them unlovable? Are.
you ‘also telling me that your:analysis on hitchhiking is;
‘easily transferable to those hitchhikers who are not First
Nations women? Are you then telling us that non-native
hitchhikers hitchhike as a last. resort to find a solution | to
their problems? — a

A statement like this tells me e you a are blaming the vice
‘tims. You are also telling me that the perpetrator « or perpe- ”
trator is not at fault.

. Our legal system has documented a long and’ tiring
history of unrecognized abuse and murders of our First
_ Nations women. Helen Betty Osbourne ( 16 years, lapsed —
” between crime and conviction). In 1971 i in Stoney Creek;

"crime ‘and conviction. :

" The Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Wom.
_en honoured Saskatchewan journalist and author Warren
‘Goulding. Goulding ' wrote; a'book about a serial killer,

. who targeted prostitutes, in Saskatchewan..
o -Goulding believes ‘society's. indifference has: contin- -
ued, despite the recent’ high-profile cases'of murdered ab-. &
_original women in-Edmonton and Vancouver... -. “
“TE don’t really think things have’ changed that: much,” ”
‘Goulding said while in: ‘Edmonton to receive an’ award. bs
don’t get the sense the general public’ cares: much about |
missing or murdered aboriginal women, said Goulding.
_- Claudette, I would expect a person with a position such.
as yours to grab hold of the opportunity to make a differ-
- ence in thé thoughts and lives of others. Write with pas-
sion and write with information from all ‘sides of the story.
Throw away your microscope and get a window. a
-Mary-Ann- Spears, Thornhill, B c.

And open letter.to: .
’ Charlynn Toews:

Dear Charlynn: ; i ”

I just read ‘your. April. 12 column: and had to Jet you
know that ’ma Toews as well but not from “that” Toews.
My family lives in Southeastern Manitoba and is a small
family so I don’t think my family, and your family are Te
. Jated.

However, we night find’ ot ' soniething typically nteat
~-nonite about each:other’s families:conhecting ; some how,
you know. the “my mom went,to school with your dad's
aunt’s stepmother” or something like that. : wed

and laugh along with your ¢ comments about faspa, which~
I can never get anyone in Terrace to fully understand, and

if J am related to Vic Toews, Miriam Toews and’ yes, even”
you Charlynn! So, thank you, Charlynn, for, stirring’ up
emotions in me that remind me how. proud Tam’ to: be’ a
Mennonite. ,

_ Jaime Toews Spyksma, Terrace, B Ce

“Tax hike? | For what? © .
Dear Sir:

Is the tax hike. approved by. the city council to assist in |
- covering the’ taisés they voted-in for themselves? - “

- three years on my assessment totaling : about, $15, 000: s
__ And how about: that operating’ ‘sawmill?, A. $300, 000' .
tax increase — that’s a 158 per cent increase. : ee

racé try to dig out of the depression (if you, will) that it’s.

each a smack for believing in Terrace and trying to help.

Does city council actually think they were thrilled with.
"the increase. Have the councillors not seen the lack of logs
"and the piles of unmoving jumber? ° !

I was very surprised moving here from the lower! main-
land at the cost of the land taxes to begin with. We. pay
‘twice as much here as in Langley or Chilliwack, : ‘and I.
“might add that we get less. My son didn’t know what a pot.
- hole was. We had sidewalks too, and. street lights every-:

it’s not cast in stone: ... -
Some thought also should’ g01 to the sportsplex. A lot of
_ people have donated hard earned ‘Money,’ and: all. they've.
gotten-in return is to be put off. | ‘
Just under $450,000 has been spent (aot including the *
last one) on architectural fees for.the: sportsplex. Yes, sir, ,
let’s just keep going until we’ ve. wasted’ the whole $I mil-_ ;

lion grant from the province. ..

“tual facility. Instead city council is brainstorming a: “Tittle:
’ bit” and checking things out “here and there”. Maybe. they
-need to get it in gear so that the people’ of Terrace don’t”
feel like they’re getting even less for the no doubt higher
taxes that most of us will end up paying. ;

_ Darlene Reid, Terrace, B. Cc.

\

Remembering Vesta

_Dear Sir: | °
How about renaming the Mountainview school on the’.
bench to the Vesta Douglas School... *
That way she. would always be remembered and. hon-
oured for her. dedication to teaching and giving. all- her
heart and soul i in to it.

Cheryl Scheper, Terrace, BC. :

_ About the Mail Bag

is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2. You: can°
fae us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail us at newsroom@ -
terracestandard.com. No attachments, : - please. : Name,’
address and phone number required for verification,

‘It’s not just. the. property value increases from “2005:
2006 that affect what we pay. I’ve hiad increases for. the past | -

The Terrace Standard welcomes letters.’ ‘Our address.

«Coreen Thomas’ death also. saw a great lapse. between a

ao

Toews triumph | os ce

‘It was refreshing to read something so closé to my heart oo

‘the whole “Toews connection.” I have had people ask me — _—

_Give us a break; The men that. bought that. mill d did so. ; 7
"not only to make money ‘but also to help. the. city of Ter-

“been in. Maybe | everyone. should go. over. and give them: *. a

‘where, Maybe city council. should think ; again.. After: all

* That money. would have been better spent ¢ on 1 the ac: . *