Literacy and learning go hand in hand
Three leading edge partnerships between the public school board and private organizations are having a positive impact on the learning/instruction of students in the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board (HPEDSB).

The ongoing success of the tri-board transportation consortium, plus a new initiative with the Limestone District School Board to purchase custodial supplies in bulk, and a Better Schools Partnership™ with Ameresco Canada Inc. are all leading edge partnerships championed by the Hastings and Prince Edward trustees.

“School improvement planning is a major focus of this Board. By partnering with Tri-Board Transportation Services and Ameresco, and sourcing a new supplier for bulk custodial supplies, we are fulfilling the Board’s overall goal of supporting learning and instruction, and offering our students excellent educational opportunities by ensuring that the Board operates in the most fiscally effective manner as possible,” says Judy Edgar, Chair of the Board.

1. Tri-Board Transportation Services
In January, 2001, the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board, Limestone District School Board, and Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board formed Tri-Board Transportation Services. This consortium, the only one of its kind in Ontario, provides student transportation services to all three boards within the counties of Frontenac, Hastings, Lennox and Addington, and Prince Edward. Each day, approximately 38,000 students are transported to 169 schools, on 708 buses travelling 97,000 kilometres, within a 16,000 square kilometre area.

In June, the Ministry of Education announced that the new funding model for student transportation is planned for implementation for the 2004–05 school year. To be eligible for funding under the new model, the government has stipulated that boards will have to be part of a transportation consortium. At the September public Board meeting, trustees noted that this Board not only meets that requirement, but also has been recognized as a leader in the development of a transportation consortium.

Within HPEDSB, much of the tri-board consortium’s success is a direct result of supportive trustees who allow administration to undertake innovative initiatives.

2. Custodial supplies
In another unique arrangement, HPEDSB is partnering with the Limestone Board to source a new supplier for bulk custodial supplies. The goal is to significantly decrease the costs to each board for such supplies.

Some of the key elements of the arrangement with a new supplier include the ability for online ordering, control/usage reporting, the availability of environmentally friendly products, and safety/usage training. An evaluation process is taking place now with committee representation from both boards, with an expected launch of the program by the end of this year.

3. Ameresco Better Schools Partnership™
In early 2002, HPEDSB partnered with Ameresco Canada Inc. under the Better Schools Partnership™. The program ensures that schools continue to be healthy, safe places that inspire young people. By shifting focus to school renewal projects, HPEDSB was able to upgrade facilities and, at the same time, provide employees and students with better learning environments.

The Ameresco partnership has helped the Board divert more than $1 million from savings in energy costs to areas that would have otherwise gone untouched, such as to construct new computer labs in secondary schools, install innovative low-wattage lighting and energy-efficient boilers.

The Board has also undertaken to further promote being energy wise in classrooms by asking students and staff to:

• Ensure all windows are closed when the heat or air conditioning is on
• Keep blinds or curtains open in the winter to let the sun in and close them in the summer keep the sun out
• Turn off lights when leaving a room
• Only turn on as many lights as are needed for the task
• Turn off monitors, PCs, photocopiers and other office equipment at the end of the day
• Avoid running water unnecessarily by turning taps on long enough to wash hands, fill up a glass, etc.
• Make sure water fountains shut off after each use
• Flush toilets only once after each use and put garbage in garbage cans, not in toilets

“Innovative projects like these are exciting,” remarks Judy Edgar. “They establish a partnership between public and private organizations that really works. They also illustrate how our Board is entrepreneurial in its approach to the main job which is the education of our students,” she adds.

The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has 54 schools serving 18,900 students and employing 1,083 teachers. The Board covers a wide geographical area of 7,221 square kilometres bordered by Maynooth to the north, Deseronto to the east, Prince Edward County to the south, and Quinte West to the west.

For information, contact:
• Judy Edgar, Chair of the Board, (613) 921-3203