Although they will likely miss their children, it’s still that time of the year many parents eagerly await.
Kids in Squamish returned to school earlier this week after summer break.
It’s a much different education system than many reading this newspaper remember.
Most of us are used to receiving letter grades, beginning in elementary school. We brought home report cards with a list of grades, accompanied by a few short remarks. This one piece of paper is how our parents judged our work, but the Sea to Sky School District’s no-grade pilot project is beginning to change this.
Last school term, instead of giving out traditional letter grades, 25 teachers provided continuous feedback on students’ progress – their contributions during class, interactions with peers and a breakdown of their strengths and weaknesses, among other criteria. The project has been renewed for this year.
Although drugs have been around in schools for decades, the provincial health officer is recommending that schools in B.C. – including those in Squamish – obtain tools to deal with opioid overdoses. This is an issue us adults didn’t have to deal with while attending school. Training is recommended on how to use naloxone kits, which help aid overdoses of fentanyl – a synthetic opiate that is between 50 and 100 times more potent than morphine and caused the death of 780 people in B.C. from January to June this year.
Although the risk to children at school appears to be slim, the school board is deciding if the kits will be put in place.
This year, the election of U.S. President Donald Trump hit home in Squamish. It’s a much different – and often shocking – political climate than many of us grew up around. Trump’s travel ban against people from Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Libya, Syria and Iran went into effect in March and the school board initially voted to stop all field trips to the U.S. after numerous media reports documented people being turned away at the border, presumably because of their ethnic background or religion. However, this month, the board lifted the ban and plans to now have students go through a preclearance before they set off on field trips.
On a positive note, students will be getting more help in the classroom. In addition to growing student enrolment, more teachers are being hired for the school year after a Supreme Court ruling, which found that teachers had been wrongfully stripped of their ability to bargain for class size and composition. The school district has put up more than 180 postings, which are the equivalent to about 45 to 50 full-time teaching positions.
Squamish children today face a much different education experience than their parents – for better and worse – and The Chief staff wish them the best of luck in the new school year.
