TDSB TDSB

A Vision of Hope!

A Vision of Hope!

Every decision made by the TDSB must

support a school system where the No. 1

priority is supporting Learning for All.

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Learning for All

The quality of curriculum

The quality of instruction

The effectivenessof schools

The unique characteristicsand background of the student

“What we teach”

“How we teach”

“Where we teach”

“Who we teach”

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Social Justice

The path to social justice begins with gaining passion for the plight of disadvantaged students.

We need to ask ourselves:

– Who tends to be privileged?

– What does it mean to be privileged in this way?

– Who tends to be marginalized?

– What does it mean to be marginalized in this way?

– Ways we tend to deny that privilege is occurring?

– What happens in the classroom?

– How can we take action in the classroom/system to interrupt these cycles of oppression?

Richard A. McCormick, S.J. (1999).1999).

Blueprint for Social Justice LII(11), 1.] LII(11), 1.]

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Achievement Gap

• Exists when specific groups of students do not achieve in school at the same level. Achievement gaps may correlate with race, ethnicity, family income level, language background, ability/disability status, gender etc.

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The “achievement gap” is not as much an “achievement gap” as it is an “opportunity gap!

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Imagine a TDSB where…

All schools share a common core set of characteristics: they are all academically rigorous, equity oriented, community-driven and focused on teaching and learning.

A wider variety of schools of choice in the district appeals to different learning styles and interests to allow student/parent choice.

There is a critical mass of students in every school to drive program.

There is a comprehensive, system-wide, continuum of streamlined processes, integrated supports and alternative programming to enhance students’ capacity to achieve success.

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Imagine a TDSB where…

We actively contribute to all aspects of a child’s life – health, well-being, safety, and development of the wider experiences and skills that characterize holistic development.

Every student is engaged, has a voice, has access to a caring adult and the opportunity to develop to their full potential.

Every employee, irrespective of job category, will have the opportunity to develop their full potential and their contributions to the mission of the TDSB are recognized and valued.

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Imagine a TDSB where…

We provide a vital community resource by opening our facilities and offering wider opportunities for young people and their families.

We work in partnership with other services and as an active partner in planning and program delivery.

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• Director’s Entry Plan

• Listen, Learn and Lead

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Key Questions:

• Where are we now?

• Where do we want to go?

• How are we going to get there?

• How will we know our work has made a difference?

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Guiding QuestionsFrom Listening to Leading

• Who are our learners?

• What are their needs?

• What skills, values, and knowledge will they need to be successful, productive members of society?

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Who are today’s youth?

Average school-aged child spends (per week):

– ½ hour with Dad

– 2.5 hours with Mom

– 2.2 hours doing homework

– ½ hour reading for pleasure

– More than 25 hours exposed to electronics

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Some have never …

• Lived without a computer

• Received a busy signal

• Used a phone booth

• Lived in a house withoutmultiple TVs and remotecontrols

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64% of today’s kids come home to no one!

• What has taken the place of human interaction with Mom or Dad?

• The virtual relationships and electronic interactions have taken the place of real, face-to-face relationships.

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Reach and Teach

• Our job is to teach the kids we have;

• not the kids we used to have,

• not the kids we wish we had,

• not the kids who exist only in our dreams.

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In the 21st century students will be:

• Selling to the world - Buying from the world

• Working for international companies

• Managing employees from other countries & cultures

• Competing with people on the other side of the world for jobs and markets

• Working with people all over the world in joint ventures and global work teams

• Solving global problems such as AIDS, environmental problems, and resolving conflicts

Are we ready?

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“In the global economy & society of the 21st century, all children will be left behind if

their education is not organized with a global context in mind.”

GOLDMAN SACHS

FOUNDATION

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A Laser Like Focus

FocusedIntervention

Community Engagement

Capacity Building

Communication

Equity of Outcome

Improved Student Achievement!

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3 Priorities - Less Is More

• Student Achievement

• Parent and CommunityEngagement

• Financial Stability

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Student Achievement

• Every School an Effective Full-Service School

• Boys’ Education Strategy

• Technology

• Caring and Safe Schools

• Re-creating Our Schools

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Characteristics of Improved School Districts - Conceptual Framework

Imp

rov

eme

nt

Time

Coordinated & Embedded Professional Development

Coordinated and Aligned Curriculum and Assessment

High Expectations and Accountability

Quality Teaching and Learning

Clear, Collaborative Relationships

Professional Culture, Collaborative Relationships

Clear Understanding of School & District Roles & Responsibilities

Interpreting & Managing the External Environment

Support for System-wide Improvement

Effective use of data

Strategic Allocationof Resources

Policy and ProgramCoherence

Effective Leadership

Focus on All Students Learning

Dynamic & Distributed Leadership

Sustained Improvement Efforts

Over Time

Quality Classroom Instruction

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High School Strategy

• Expanding program options

• Building sense of belonging

• Building engagement

• Building community partnerships

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Student Success

More Choices/Pathways for Students

• Specialist High Skills Major

• Dual Credits

• Differentiated Instruction

• Credit Recovery/Credit Rescue

• Experiential Learning

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K-8Elementary Schools

Fewer transitions, a sense of community and greater access to quality programming through specialty teachers:

• Drama/Dance

• Guidance and Career Education

• Health and Physical Education

• Technology

• Library and Learning Resources

• Music

• Science and Technology

• Visual Arts

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Boys’ Education Strategy

The objective of this strategy is to cast a critical eye on how we reach, teach and develop our boys.

By bridging the gap between research and educators; and by providing tangible strategies for teachers/staff/ parents and others by focusing on the changing demands of teaching boys.

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Fatherless World

• One of the most reliable predictors of whether a boy will succeed or fail in high school rests on a single question: does he have a man in his life to look up to?

• “A boy without a father figure is like an explorer without a map”

Michael Gurian

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What we know about boys

• Boys underachieve in comparison to girls - across age groups, socioeconomic classes, and ethnic groups.

• Boys are over-represented in learning support programs.

• There is increasing evidence of boys’ disengagement from school involvement in an anti-learning culture.

• Disruptive, aggressive and violent behaviors by boys are demonstrated in school district discipline data.

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Single Gender Classrooms/Programs/Schools?

• Most of the time, coeducational classes are going to be the right answer for a child’s learning needs. But studies conclude that in some instances students do better in a single sex setting.

• Male Leadership Academy Sept 2010

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Equipping Every Learner for the Digital Age - The Vision (2015)

• Access• All TDSB sites will be wireless-

enabled

• Every teacher will have access to a computer in their classroom

• Every student will have access to an electronic learning environment (both inside and outside of the classroom)

• Parents will have electronic access to teachers and information about their child and the school environment

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First Steps

• Develop a strategic plan for how technology will be engaged in the teaching process– Conduct a broad consultation and planning process which

includes:• Wide academic representation• ITS technical representation• Board & community representation• External research from vendors and other jurisdictions

– Develop specific strategies and an implementation plan

• Address challenges around in-school technology– Strategies for providing wireless capability in schools– Evaluate alternative device strategies– Explore partnership strategies with government and the

private sector

• Fast-track rollout of technical and support infrastructure– Wide Area Network– Academic Workspace

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Safe and Caring SchoolsA Safe School Is a Shared Responsibility

• Reduce the number of violent incidents in the TDSB by 10%

• Reduce the number of Non-Discretionary Transfers by 15%

• Reduce the number of suspensionsby 20% and increase the number of suspended students participating in supportive programs by 20%

• Reduce the number of “all schools” expulsions by 10% and reduce the number of “school only” expulsions by 20%

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Re-Creating Our SchoolsEffective/Full Service Schools

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Re-Creating Our Schools

• Launch eight ARCs in November 2009 impacting 35 schools

• These eight ARCs will recreate some of our schools and result in improved learning environments including: additions, program upgrades, building renewal (roofs, windows, boilers), green sustainable measures, information technology and full-service schools.

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• Launch four new Local Feasibility Studies to prepare for four potential new ARCs in January 2010

Re-Creating Our Schools

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Parent & Community Engagement -Together We’re Better!

When schools work together with families to support learning, children tend to succeed not just in school but throughout life.

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Recognize and Address Barriers

• Past experiences

• Time

• Transportation

• Location

• Translation

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Benefits of Parent Involvement

The Triple A’s

1. Student Achievement

2. Student Attendance

3. Student Attachment

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Parent and Community Engagement

• Satisfaction Survey

• Establishment of a Parent Academy

• Full-Service Schools

• Establishment of a Community Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability

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Financial Stability - Essential Question?

How will the expenditure of our resources (people and money) impact student achievement over a sustained and measurable period of time?

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Financial Stability

• International Students: new initiatives to increase the number of students and to encourage schools to receive more students.

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Financial Stability

• Generate Capital Through Redevelopment

• Launch five significant redevelopment projects

• The projected revenue from the five redevelopment projects will be used to clear the capital deficit and fund new school construction as required

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Director of Marketing

• Student enrolment is vital to our funding.

• Enrolment Promotion and Awareness Campaign.

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GO GreenClimate Change Action Plan

An ambitious undertaking:

Approve policy and develop a School Energy Plan to align TDSB with Federal Green House (GHG) Emission targets of 20% by 2020 & 80% by 2050.

Nurture and grow our Eco Schools family.44444444

Go Green

Design and install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on up to 20 schools per year.

Apply for Ministry funding for renewable energy projects by applying to install a broad range of technologies including solar PV solar thermal for schools with pools and geothermal retrofits.

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Go Green

Work collaboratively with the City of Toronto to develop a Community Energy Plan that links the Mayor’s Tower Renewal Initiative with local schools

Develop School grounds as the host sites for community energy hubs and gardens

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Go Green

Require all schools to switch to once-a-week garbage pick up

Use Operations savings to plant trees and set up a school based environmental fund Publish an Annual TDSB Goes Green Report - Be environmentally accountable

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A culture of success includes

1. belief in the possibility

2. commitment to priorities & results

3. awareness of urgency

4. visibility of the focus

5. culture of collaboration

6. Accountability

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Sustaining Improvement

• Creating together

• Learning together

• Embedding growth and risk takingin the culture

• Being flexible, patient, and persistent

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