The evolution of education is continuing at schools across School District 53.

As was made abundantly clear at a SD 53-sponsored Learning Forum last week in Oliver, the days of marching students into a classroom for endless hours of studying to improve reading, writing and arithmetic skills are over.

Principals, vice principals, teachers, educational assistants and counsellors from all eight elementary and secondary schools in the district, as well as the YouLearn continuing education program, gathered for another Learning Forum, this one focused on school learning plans.

The forum took place at the SD 53 board offices in Oliver.

Elementary and secondary schools in Oliver, Osoyoos, Okanagan Falls, Cawston and Keremeos talked about and promoted the innovative and groundbreaking techniques they are using to attempt to improve learning outcomes for each of the 2,500 students enrolled in School District 53.

It was announced at the beginning of the forum that “working teams” have been assembled within each school to develop learning plans that set out long-term goals and objectives to improve student outcomes both academically as well as socially.

These working teams will soon undergo three full days of training provided by the Ministry of Education, with sessions organized later in October as well as one in November and the third in January.

Mike Safek, principal at Osoyoos Secondary School, said formulating school plans is a continuation of work that has already been put in by senior administration and teachers at the school over the past couple of years.

“What we’re looking at today is a continuation of where we were last year,” he said.

All of the district’s schools have committed to developing programs where teachers and administration move forward with Response to Intervention (RTI) programs at their respective schools, said Safek.

There is no longer any doubt that traditional learning models used for many decades to teach young students aren’t the most effective way to ensure individual students are getting the best results, he said.

“Paper and pen don’t produce the best results,” he said.

The longstanding tradition of basing a large percentage of a students’ final mark on final exams is being eliminated at OSS and most other schools, said Safek.

“Different kids need different kinds of assessment,” he said.

The school has also introduced a transition program that allows students graduating from Grade 7 and 8 and from Grade 8 to 9 to feel more comfortable and make informed decisions about their academic future, he said.

The working group at OSS meets once a month to discuss RTI training and they are all looking forward to the upcoming training sessions being provided by the ministry, said Safek.

The school is also committed to improving technology and computer training for students and creating a “shift in climate and culture” that encourages all students to get involved in school activities to feel they are all part of the school community, he said.

“We’re expecting our numbers (of students) to go in the right direction and in most cases they are going in the right direction” in improving marks and increasing personal acceptance into the high school environment, he said.

At Osoyoos Elementary School, a focus remains on a commitment to improving “social and emotional learning (SEL)” as well as academic success for students, said teacher Cindy Simms.

The school is collecting a cross-section of books and other resources that will br available to all teachers in a professional library, she said.

The school will continue its “Seventeen Days of Kindness” campaign, where students are encouraged to engage in random acts of kindness to fellow students, teachers and staff at the school for 17 consecutive days early in the new year, said Simms.

Teacher Dean Rowland said another focus moving forward is to try and improve the average math scores for senior students by three per cent in the next couple of years.

Karen Sinclair, the principal at Oliver Elementary School, said her school’s learning plan moving forward will focus on comprehensive social and emotional learning, which will be directly related to attempting to improve academic achievement for the majority of students.

Shendah Benoit, principal at Tuc El Nuit Elementary School, said one of the projects she’s most proud of and one that will continue is the “E Portfolio”, which connects students and teachers with parents through a regular online update.

Parents are allowed and encouraged to access regular updates about how their children are doing academically and socially through regular online video updates provided by teachers.

The school is also using a program called the “360 classroom” where three teachers lead a class instead of one, said Benoit.

“The students are getting skills from three different teachers and we’ve found this very empowering for students,” she said.

There’s also a new commitment to teacher digital media to students, recognizing the crucial role technology plays in the daily lives of young students inside and outside the classroom, she said.

Marcus Toneatto, principal at Southern Okanagan Secondary School, discussed the school’s wonderful success with its new Experiential, Project-Based, Indigenous, Community (EPIC) program, an outdoor leadership program that focuses on academic success, experiential learning and community connections.

A total of 20 students in Grade 9 and 10 with a passion for the outdoors, have committed to learning outside of the traditional classroom.

“We are stepping right outside the box on this one,” he said. “We want it to be super successful.”

All 20 students will be spending the entire current semester learning with one teacher in a non-traditional setting with more focus spent on experiential learning outside the classroom.

Many aboriginal students at the school were not doing well in the traditional classroom setting and early results indicate the EPIC program is going to reap huge rewards in terms of improving academic achievement and a positive learning experience, said Toneatto.

The school is considering incorporating aspects of EPIC into other course curriculum, ranging from science to physical education classes, he said.

Teachers and administration with SD 53 will continue to hold Learning Forums in the future with the goal of introducing unique and innovative methods to try and improve academic success and inclusiveness for students at every school across the district.

The next Learning Forum will take place early in the new year.

KEITH LACEY

Osoyoos Times