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HEALTH
Wednesday, Wednesday May 6, 6 2015 EDUCATION: FRASER INSTITUTE REPORT
Locals spread word about mental illness Principal Gio Selva checks in on students busily working in Mrs. Wendy Arnett’s Grade 5 class at Wood Elementary on Tuesday. These students scored highest in the school district for academic performance. [MARTIN WISSMATH, TIMES]
Most schools ranked low, Wood earns best scores MARTIN WISSMATH ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
Luke Parkin, left, Juanita Currie, centre, and Stephanie Selva will be out today spreading awareness of child and youth mental health disorders. [KRISTI DOBSON, TIMES]
12% of children suffer from conditions, says SFU research KRISTI DOBSON ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
J
uanita Currie has been feeling the impact as barriers are raised for families affected by child and youth mental health disorders. She is currently pushing for more awareness of the issue in hopes of increasing support and services for those seeking help. That is why you will be seeing her wearing green today and tomorrow. Studies released last year from Simon Fraser University estimate that over 12 per cent of children and youth aged 4 to 17 in B.C. are experiencing some form of mental illness at any given time. As a caregiver for two teen grandsons with behavioural challenges, Currie is faced daily with reductions in services and wait lists for help. “It is a lack of coordination between agencies,” Currie said. “I know from experience it is difficult to get to the right person at the right time.” She said that is critical when it comes to suicide prevention. “We need the information readily available,” Currie said. As an umbrella term, mental health disorders are one of the most common problems that pediatricians have been seeing in recent years.
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“It is one of the key things we deal with as pediatricians,” said Dr. Chris McCollister, local pediatrician. “In my close to twenty years, we have shifted the things we do as pediatricians greatly from medical conditions to behaviour, mood, sleep, developmental and school issues.” Currently with two other colleagues, McCollister said they are all seeing patients with similar issues each day. “That is both in a patient-type way and an acute emergency type, including overdoses, suicide attempts and admittance because of mental health issues,” he said. McCollister said the most prevalent disorders he treats are anxiety and mood disorders and the best treatment is through a team approach. “The medical side is part of the package, but it also includes parents, teachers and counsellors, family physicians, counsellors outside of school and if things lead to drug and alcohol, there is help available.” He said patients who are under medication for their conditions are monitored closely and said the side effects are not as detrimental as the environment in which the children and teen reside. See MENTAL HEALTH, Page 3
A public think tank based in Vancouver has critically ranked Alberni elementary schools’ academic performance with some scores among the lowest in the province. But the school district superintendent says the rankings are not a fair assessment of students. The Fraser Institute published its elementary school report card rankings for schools across B.C. on Monday. Alberni’s five elementary schools were ranked according to Grade 4 and Grade 7 performance on the Ministry of Education’s Foundation Skills Assessment tests. This year’s report is based on tests taken in 2014. The FSA exams are administered every year in January or February to students in Grade 4 and 7, testing for ability in reading, writing and math. The Fraser Institute, a non-profit public policy research organization, compiles the FSA results every year and publishes a report card to rank schools’ performance. The institute also indicates the five-year trend for schools and notes variables such as the per cent of French Immersion students, English as a second language students, and students with special needs. Schools receive an academic performance mark from one to 10, indicating students’ proficiency at the FSA exams. The provincial average was 6.0, according to Peter Cowley, co-author of the Fraser Institute’s Report Card. Wood Elementary scored 6.5, the only elementary school to score above average in the Alberni district for 2014. Over a five-year trend Wood has ranked better than other Alberni Valley schools. Wood was the first school in SD70 to introduce a reading program several years ago, and conducts an intensive program for Grade 1 and 2 students
Black Sheep fall to Seattle rugby squad
New business blooms on Argyle Street
Alberni’s boys faced a tough opponent from south of the border Sunday in a B.C. Rugby Union semi-final match. » Sports, 6
Azalea Flowers and Gifts is the latest florist shop in the Valley and is aimed at providing needs for all occasions. » Enterprise, 10
“You have a school that is well below average and is showing no improvement.” Peter Cowley, co-author of the Fraser Instituute report, on Alberni Elementary
struggling with literacy. Alberni Elementary’s 3.1 score was the lowest in the district. That’s down from 5.0 in 2012. Out of all elementary schools in the province with a French Immersion rate between 50 and 75 per cent, Alberni Elementary was ranked second to last. “You have a school that is well below average and is showing no improvement,” said Cowley. “The question that should be asked by the community…is, ‘Can and should our kids do better?’” It would be worth comparing Alberni schools with communities of a similar-size and economic background, Cowley noted. SD70 Supt. Greg Smyth said the Fraser Institute’s report is not a concern for the district. “Assessing student performance in literacy and numeracy is important,” Smyth said. “It’s the ranking and the methodology in the ranking that we dismiss.” He added that this is why the district looks at other assessments, such as report cards and other standards that measure student performance over time. Smyth also pointed out that elementary schools in Alberni did not have Grade 7 students last year. The Fraser Institute denotes these schools as “Type 2”; FSA scores for middle school students in Grade 7 are tracked back to the elementary school they attended in Grade 4 and included in their rankings.
Inside today What’s On 2 Alberni Region 3
Opinion 4 Sports 6
ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES VOLUME 66, NUMBER 87
Scores 7 Comics 8
Classifieds 9 Enterprise 10
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