Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board

Statutory Committee reports

Supervised Alternative Learning Committee: February 28 and March 20, 2024

Highlights from this report included the following:

• 22 students were approved in February and 21 were approved in March to participate in Supervised Alternative Learning.

Advisory Committee reports

Accessibility Advisory Committee: March 21, 2024

Highlights from this report included the following:

• Presentation about the ways in which HPEDSB serves students who are blind or have low vision.
• A review of the Multi-year Annual Accessibility Plan. 

Student Voice Plan 2024

Highlights from this report included the following:

• The student trustees' report on vaping is completed and will be going to a work group. 
• April 26, 2024 is the date of the upcoming student conference where student trustee elections will take place, along with a keynote speaker and school break-out sessions; 5-8 students from each school. Promotions will include a video highlighting the role of student trustees along with personal anecdotes.
• The next Student Voice meeting is Thursday, April 4 online.

Chair's report/trustee sharing

Highlights from this report included the following:

• Last week York River PS hosted a registration fair with local non-profit recreation groups; families were able to access financial support from some groups.
• York River students visited a local fish hatchery to learn about sustainable fish management and the local waterways. The hatchery donated a fish tank to the JK class.
• A Dual Credit course for Carpentry and Construction started last week at North Hastings HS. 
• North Hastings HS is taking students to Loyalist College on April 25 for A Taste of Trades Day.
• A trustee attended a recent screening of the film Uncharitable, hosted by The Learning Foundation.

Director's report 

• Welcome to Bryce Wilson, new superintendent of Business Services. Bryce’s unique blend of experiences in finance administration and infrastructure project management are assets to HPEDSB. In his short time with Bryce has already proven himself as an insightful, supportive leader. Bryce we’re happy to have you with HPEDSB!
•  Update for trustees regarding the solar eclipse. This is a remarkable event scheduled to take place between 2:00 and 4:00 PM April 8, 2024. Through emergency planning with municipalities and local services, it is anticipated that there will be a significant influx of visitors due to parts of our region being in the direct path of a full solar eclipse. Planning for potential traffic congestion and emergency service access are all part of local preparations. The local municipalities have asked organizations to reduce traffic, where possible. For HPEDSB, that means staff will have a choice to participate in the April 8 PA Day at their worksite or online. All learning sessions will be accessible to all. We know through our experience during and following the pandemic, and through student e-learning, that learning is valid through these methods. In addition, we have shifted the Physical Property, Finance and Budget Committee meeting on April 8 to 9:00 AM to ensure that trustees are free and available to participate in this phenomenal event, if desired.
•  Our intermediate students have been invited to participate in the Grade 7 and 8 STEM Challenge in partnership with Loyalist College. Students will be able to see post-secondary programs in our own backyard. The date is still to be determined.
• Visited the breakfast program at Marmora Public School today with MPP Kramp. 
  
• I will be visiting John Harpell’s classroom at Centennial Secondary School this week. John is a Transportation Technology teacher and has been working on a vehicle simulator project for two years with many classes and pathways of students. Through this project, students in workplace, applied and academic courses built a vehicle gaming simulator. This project is being featured an article published by Automation Direct, which sponsored the project. This is not the first time John has been published. In 2014, he built a CO2 race track with his Technology classes and Automation Direct sponsored the electronics.
•  I’m looking forward to visiting Eastside Secondary School tomorrow for a trustee tour. This will be an excellent opportunity for trustees to hear from students and staff, and view programming, some of which is unique to Eastside and most exemplary of programming and opportunities for students throughout HPEDSB.
  

Staff reports

Early reading screening update

2023-2024 funding from the Ministry of Education allocates specific funds to purchase licenses and resources associated with the adoption of a new early reading screening tool. Vendors and approved screening tools were announced in October 2023 through the Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace (OECM).

Based on information gathered during meetings with selected vendors and exploration of the screening tools, the selection for HPEDSB was narrowed to two choices:

• Acadience Reading K-6 (Acadience Learning Inc.); and

• easyCBM (Nelson Education Ltd.).

Stakeholders including school administrators, classroom teaching staff, learning support teachers, centrally-assigned staff, and an ETFO released officer, met in early February and late March to review the two tools, and provide feedback. 

Find out more starting on page 20 of the March 25, 2024 agenda.

Math Achievement Action Plan progress

This report provided an update about the progress of actions to support targeted strategies at the central, school and classroom levels in compliance with the Ministry of Education-mandated Math Achievement Action Plan (MAAP).

On March 28, 2024, HPEDSB will submit to the MoE progress measures for each targeted strategy in the MAAP. Data for these measures has been collected through various sources, such as surveys, feedback forms, student assessments, observations and digital tool implementation.

Find out more starting on page 21 of the March 25, 2024 agenda.