A6 Friday, April 20, 2012, Tri-City News
www.tricitynews.com
Money targets kids who are skipping school By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
A million dollars of extra Community Link funding will be used to work with disengaged elementary and middle school students who are at risk of quitting school. At a board of education meeting this week, School District 43 assistant superintendent Julie Pearce laid out a plan to hire learning support teachers, youth workers and program co-ordinators to work with youth and their families and start afterschool programs for kids. Starting in September, the new staff — the equivalent of 10.5 full-time positions — will start programs at Maillard, Sir Frederick Banting and Minnekhada middle schools and their elementary feeder schools. The new Community Link money is on top of $1.4 million already received from the province and spent on youth workers, literacy and after-school programs at Glen, Seaview and Miller Park elementary schools, Pitt River middle and Terry Fox secondary, as well as subsidized lunches and other programming. Pearce explained that the new schools covered by Community Link funding were chosen because they have school populations with families on social assistance and don’t have a youth worker or a community school co-ordinator. The goal is to build relationships with students and their families, and offer programs
Amazing PoCo Trivia Fact #92
Did You Know? The Àrst school in the area was Junction School. Opened in 1890, the Àrst teacher was Miss Dixon.
SARAH PAYNE/THE TRICITYNEWS
Janet Winship and Bonny Niven prepare lunches to be distributed to 26 schools in the district, including 15 schools where lunches are fully subsidized as part of Community Link programming to support vulnerable students. that will keep them in school, Pearce said. “We are looking at middle schools as a place where we could capture these kids,� she said. As well, the district plans to hire a counsellor specifically to work with disengaged
youth and a vice-principal to work at CABE (Coquitlam Alternate Basic Education), which has one of the largest populations of vulnerable students in the district. Judy Robb, principal of Scott Creek middle school and the presi-
dent of the Coquitlam Principals’ and VicePrincipals’ Association, lauded the efforts to focus on middle-school students and their younger cohorts who are at risk of quitting school. Last year, Robb sounded the alarm that more than two dozen
middle school students were regularly not attending school based on anecdotal reports from other middle school principals. A new program called Success for All was started to work with these students but Robb said the extra money for after-school programs, youth workers and learning support teachers will also help. Still, it won’t be easy to convince non-attenders, many of them suffering from anxiety and fear of failure, to go back to school. “It takes a lifetime to get where they are and it will take more than a minute to get it finished,� Robb said. Programs that are flexible and geared toward student interest could lower the barriers to attending school while after-school programs could keep them in the building longer, she said. “They might come back for one class at the beginning, then they have somewhere to go.� One concern is that the Community Link top-up is only for a year but SD43 board chair Melissa Hyndes said she expects the funding will continue because the district has worked hard
to convince the Ministry of Education there are pockets of need in the district. “My expectation is that the commitment will continue,� Hyndes said, noting that the district can’t simply
leave these students behind. “Somebody who is 12 years old to be in a situation like that, it’s extraordinary. How did that happen? We have to do something to help these kids.� dstrandberg@tricitynews.com
Agenda Highlights Monday, April 23, 2012
7:00 pm – COUNCIL CHAMBERS 2580 Shaughnessy Street, Port Coquitlam PROCLAMATION
Day of mourning – April 28, 2012
PUBLIC CONSULTATION OPPORTUNITY
2012 - 2016 Financial Plan See Also: Report from Finance &Intergovernmental Committee
BYLAWS
Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 3791 for 1971 Broadway Street
DRAFT RESOLUTION
Municipal Insurance Association Appointment
REPORTS
Smart Growth Committee Rezoning Application for 1991 Lougheed Highway Director of Development Services Amendment to Food Primary License - #300 - 2325 Ottawa Street Standing Committee Verbal Updates • Smart Growth Committee . • Environmental Enhancement Committee • Community Safety Committee
www.portcoquitlam.ca/council
PUBLIC NOTICE WATERMAIN FLUSHING
Bear Essentials Seminar
The City will be ushing watermains in the areas illustrated on the map below beginning the week of March 5, 2012. Flushing may cause pressure uctuations, some discoloration and sediment in the water reaching your home or business. These conditions should be temporary. If your water appears discoloured, run a cold water tap until the water clears. Please direct inquiries to the Engineering and Operations Division at 604-927-5488.
When: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 Where: Inlet Theatre, 100 Newport Drive, Port Moody Time: 7pm Admission: Free!
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Sponsored by
TRI-CITY NEWS
READING Final
City Hall/Library/Theatre P.O. Box 36, 100 Newport Drive, Port Moody
t www.portmoody.ca
www.portcoquitlam.ca