|
November 24, 2011
Reporting to Parents - Formal Written Report Cards
In British Columbia, provincial legislation requires that parents/guardians are provided with a minimum of three formal written report cards and two informal reports each school year. During the current job action, the BC Teachers’ Federation has directed teachers not to produce formal written report cards. On October 26, 2011, the BC Public School Employers’ Association filed an application to request that the Labour Relations Board vary the Essential Services Order to require teachers to prepare and distribute report cards.
To remain in compliance with provincial legislation and the School Act, formal written report cards are currently being prepared and issued to parents/guardians of all students enrolled in North Vancouver School District. Your child’s first-term formal written report card will be prepared by the school administrators.
All report cards will contain basic information regarding the student’s enrolment and attendance. Students who attend classes taught by principals or vice-principals will receive a report card that provides marks for those classes. For most report cards, information on student progress will vary and be dependent on what information is provided by the student’s teacher. Some report cards may include the evaluation teachers routinely supply, while others will not. As a result, you may see blanks where commentary would normally have been provided.
If you have not been given the information you need to understand your child’s progress, I encourage you to contact your child’s teacher, or teachers. Teachers are assessing and evaluating their students on a regular basis and can provide you with your child’s progress through a meeting, e-mail, or telephone conversation. To provide you with contact information, all schools in North Vancouver are listing staff e-mail addresses on their website. If you are unable to access the website, please contact the school and request assistance.
If any concern arises regarding communications between you and your child’s teacher(s) during this phase of job action, you may wish to contact the North Vancouver Teachers’ Association at 604.988.3224, or the school principal or vice-principal.
I appreciate your understanding and support as we continue to work through job action.
John Lewis
Superintendent of Schools
North Vancouver School District
Click here for a print copy
October 25, 2011
Student Assessment - Reporting Student Progress
As we near the time of the year where parent-teacher interviews typically occur and report cards go home, I’d like to advise parents/guardians as to how the current job action will impact reporting of student progress.
As you may already know, the Labour Relations Board essential services order currently provides that teachers need not:
-
Participate in meetings or interviews with parents/guardians outside of instructional time, or
-
Participate in meet the teacher activities outside of instructional time, or
-
Prepare or distribute report cards, or
-
Provide any student assessment data to principals or school office staff, except Grade 12 marks required for graduation, post-secondary applications and scholarship purposes.
The North Vancouver Teachers’ Association (NVTA) has indicated that teachers will continue to focus on instruction and will continue to assess student progress. They have also confirmed that teachers may continue to communicate with parents in informal meetings, phone calls, and emails to discuss student progress.
If you wish to arrange a meeting or have questions regarding your child’s progress, please contact the appropriate teacher directly. A number of our schools have posted the staff directory to their school websites to help facilitate contact with teachers.
Although at this time teachers need not prepare or distribute report cards during Phase 1 job action, they are assessing and evaluating your son/daughter on a regular basis and can provide you with your child’s status in their areas of instruction.
We understand students and parents traditionally rely on the valuable information contained in report cards. If any concern arises regarding communications between teachers and parents during the phase of job action, parents may wish to contact the NVTA office (604.988.3224) or the school principal or vice principal.
Regular updates are provided on the North Vancouver School District’s website [http://www.nvsd44.bc.ca], through your principal, and your school’s e-mail system.
We will provide a separate update addressing Report Cards in the following weeks.
Thank you for your understanding and patience as we continue to work through job action.
Sincerely,
John Lewis
Superintendent of Schools
North Vancouver School District
|