Superintendent's Update to the Board on activities happening in the Vancouver School District.

1. Report to Board [Jan. 16, 2012]
We still have an on-going bargaining impasse and job action – hoping
for a mutually agreed upon settlement soon. Currently working through
FSA and some provincial exams.
Schools/sites visited lately
• Prince of Wales Secondary
• Point Grey Secondary
• Southlands Elementary
Also have upcoming visits to Jules Quesnel, Queen Mary and University
Hill Secondary
We have started the Resource Allocation Review that is intended to
identify a strategic budget approach and possible budget proposals that
could be considered as part of the 2012/2013 budget process. The
review will examine services we offer and identify opportunities for
increased cost effectiveness, cost efficiency and opportunities for
additional revenue to help offset future budget shortfalls. Essentially,
this would be another set of eyes to review our financial and budget
practices in order to assist the district in meeting our budget
requirements.
The Aboriginal-focussed school steering committee will be meeting
later this week. We are looking forward to continuing planning for a
potential school to be initiated in September.
The Secoral Review website was introduced this last week. It has been
received very favourably – thanks to Jordan, Field Services and the team
of web-designers who put this together. The next steps will be to get
the word out and to plan for some face-to-face opportunities.
DMT is currently examining the District Strategic Plan and the action
items and timelines emerging from the plan. This will be reported at an
upcoming meeting – likely Committee I. DMT will be seeking priorities
and support for the action items.

2. We have a District Calendar Committee meeting coming up soon to
begin the process of considering a calendar for next year. One
suggestion that may emerge is to adopt a multi-year calendar so that
parents and community are aware of the calendar well ahead of time.
We are looking at how to receive feedback from our partner groups
with regard to a new school calendar.
We are also developing a process for schools to undertake if they are
considering a move towards a balanced calendar
In light of the teacher job action, members of district staff have been
preparing for the administration and marking of the FSA without
teacher involvement. The assessment process begins this week and
concludes at the end of March.
The second of a four-part series for Vice Principals took place last week.
This is a great opportunity for those new to their positions and those
more experienced individuals to come together, network and grow
professionally. Many thanks to Jordan and the Field Services team for
organizing the event.
Through Kabir Bhagaria in HR, we have been holding a series of
preliminary meetings to talk about an employee attendance support
system. This is intended to provide a supportive model to help reduce
absenteeism and help employees in need find appropriate support
services. It is also intended to be an aspect of building greater employee
engagement in the system.
We continue to meet and learn more about potential vendors for a
replacement BCeSIS. In the next few weeks, a few of us will meet with
Pearson representatives (now own the current BCeSIS software) and
with a Canadian company that provides most of the service in Alberta.
I am looking forward to meeting with the Co-Chairs for DPAC next week
as we have arranged to meet on a regular basis through the course of
this year to assist with good communications.