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Ms. Doreen George, Coordinator of Community
Services, Burnaby School Board and Mr. Erick Bientjes, Manager
- Recreation Services, City of Burnaby appeared before the Committee providing
information regarding Community Schools and their focus on school success,
child and youth development and family support leading to improved student
learning, and creating stronger families for a more vibrant healthy community.
The speaker outlined the six (6)
goals of the Community Schools (seven (7) elementary and one (1)
secondary) in Burnaby as follows:
1. To use the school and
other neighborhood facilities more effectively for desired community
programs.
2. To strengthen the
existing school curriculum through greater involvement and use of available
human, physical and financial resources.
3. To develop a variety of
educational, recreational, cultural and social opportunities for children,
youth and adults in response to needs defined by the community.
4. To encourage community
residents to become involved in community activities, services and issues.
5. To strengthen
communications within the community.
6. To facilitate
coordination and cooperation among agencies and organizations in the delivery
of community services.
The speaker advised over the past
two years, the District Community School Advisory Coordinating Committee
(DCSACC) and the Community School Management Team (CSMT) have been reviewing
the current model and examined its effectiveness to meet the needs of Burnaby’s
changing demographics. Data collection was carried out through surveys, focus
groups, school based data regarding programming and neighbourhood data to best
determine how to meet these changes.
The speaker noted that a Working
Committee of 13 members was struck in the fall of 2014 which included:
·
DCSACC
·
City
of Burnaby
·
School
District including Community School
·
Two
non-community school members
This Working Committee examined
current Burnaby demographics, current School District information and a
variety of different Community School models to reach the following five
recommendations and next steps under each category:
1. Increase competencies of
staff and community members through education and development
§
Focus
on the Community Schools
§
Upgrading
website
§
Updating
Burnaby Community School video
§
Professional
development sessions for district staff
2. Enhance the Family of
School Model
§
Formalize
the Cariboo, Armstrong and Second Street model
§
Look
at possibility for creating a second family of schools in the Burnaby
Mountain, Cameron and Stoney Creek area.
3. Enhance youth leadership
both in our schools and in the community
§
Increase
the opportunities for youth to receive training e.g. High Five
§
Provide
opportunities for youth who might not otherwise be given leadership roles
§
Encourage
youth to volunteer both in our elementary schools and in the community
4. Expand Community School
goals and elements into other schools
§
Professional
development opportunities being planned between SFU Department of Education
and Burnaby Schools/teachers
§
Opportunities
for current Community Schools to expand beyond their borders
5. Maximize available
resources
§
Creating
a more centralized process for vetting out of school time programs
§
City
Coordinators and Community School Coordinators attended School District zone
meetings
§
Coordinators
to support non-Community Schools with the implementation of Out of School
Time (OST) programs
Ms. George noted these
recommendations were presented and approved by the School District, Parks,
Recreation and Culture Commission and City of Burnaby. In addition, results
from phase one acknowledges the great work being down by staff, students,
parents and various partners to meet the needs of their communities.
Mr. Bientjes conveyed that an
overwhelming number of schools are interested in becoming a Community School.
With an annual shared budget of $450,000 for Community Schools provided by
the City, increased funding is not an option. Although some conventional
schools are receiving support from staff, community, parents, PAC and
volunteers, they are not considered a Community School. In addition, if afternoon
school programming has been acknowledged, Parks and Recreation will conduct a
needs assessment to consider development of that service.
In closing, Mr. Bientjes expressed
appreciation for all the support and assistance they have received throughout
this project.
The Committee noted these
initiatives alter the definition of the school model, to that of an amazing vibrant
blending of stakeholders fostering a healthier and more vibrant community.
The Chair thanked the
delegation for their informative presentation and the work being done to
widen the Community School model.
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