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This is a presentation made at the BC Virtual School Society's conference in April, 2009. It addresses the work and programs of BC's Rural Education Strategy.
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Rural Education in British Columbia
Agenda
Rural Strategy Provincial
Structure Rural
Experience Strategies
Rural Resources
The Rural Strategy
Rural Task Force
Steering Committee
Leadership embedded in rural district
Rural Assets New legislation - First Nations
Jurisdiction over Education Rural schools and classrooms tend to be
smaller Lots of opportunity for action research
and innovation Close working relationships Opportunities for professional growth Ability to represent local culture in the
regular curriculum
Rural Challenges Overall declining enrolment Growing diversity in classrooms –
social/economic pressures Retention of specialist teachers Opportunities for professional
development Equitable and accessible
secondary course options
Purpose of the Rural Strategy To address the long standing
achievement gap that exists To connect rural students to wide
variety of completion options in order to build a sense of optimism for their future
To provide a culturally relevant school experience to promote a sense of well being in our youth.
Work of the Rural Strategy Create structures and strategies that
enhance the work in Rural Districts Support professional development in
small districts so they continue to focus on Learning
Build teams at all levels Break down the isolation mentality by
building connections Personalize our approach in Rural Use Inquiry as our approach to
improvement
Critical Challenges for Educators Remodel classroom instruction to
keep pace with the knowledge based society we live in
Develop new approaches to learning Encourage students to co-construct
content Deal with the digital gap that exists
between rural and urban communities.
Rural Strategy’s Action Plan
Student Achievement
District Leadership
School Leadership
Classroom instruction
Rural Strategy Steering Committee Initiatives
Conference New Teacher Support Professional Online Series Classroom Connections Online Community District Based Train the Trainer session
Rural Initiative:October 2008 Conference Keynote Speaker:
Calvin Helin, Author
Plenary Speakers: Russell Bishop,
Power Relationships in Classrooms
Faye Brownlie & Leyton Schnellert – Literacy and Universal Design
October 2008 Conference cont’d
Themes: Teaching and Learning in Multi-Age
Classrooms Successful Strategies for Engaging
Aboriginal Learners Supporting Special Needs Students e-Learning Creating Community Boards and parents working together to
support learning communities
Rural Initiative:New Educator Training Rural Educators with less than two
years experience One face-to-face training experience Three facilitated learning opportunities
supported through technology On-going cohort discussions with master
teacher/facilitators
Rural Initiative:New Educator Training Instructional Themes:
Formative Assessment and Performance Standards
Managing Curriculum and Resources - Secondary and Elementary
Parents and Community
Rural Initiative: Professional Online Series Weekly Online S
eries Sample sessions
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4auERaPl2c)
Technical Support Archiving Professional
Learning Modules
Rural Initiative:Connected Classrooms Classroom Connections
Archives Music
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF3WWF_-kIM)
Rural Initiative:Connected Classrooms Classroom Connections
Archives Music Artist Trading Cards
(http://ruralteachers.wikispaces.com/Artist+Trading+Cards)
Rural Initiative:Connected Classrooms Classroom Connections
Archives Music Art Poetry Rocks
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXAwJoqP8SI)
Rural Initiative:Connected Classrooms Classroom Connections
Archives Music Art Science World Aboriginal Literature
Circles Aboriginal Authors (http://
aboriginalliteraturecircle.wikispaces.com/)
Rural Initiative:Online Community Online Community
Rural Blog (http://bcrural.blogspot.com/) Rural Wiki
(http://ruralteachers.wikispaces.com/) Newsletter
(https://ruralteachers.wikispaces.com/newsletters)
Other Rural Strategies
Leadership Capacity Building Community/School Based Leadership Teams
Small Secondary Schools Forum Teams from Secondary Schools with less
than 200 students Teams from Secondary Schools with more
than 50% aboriginal populations Teams from Band Operated Secondary
Schools
Resources:
Learn Now BC Students Parents Educators