Grande Prairie Public School District #2357 Three Year Education Plan and Annual
Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Grande Prairie Public School District #2357 Three Year Education Plan and Annual Education Results Report 2013 - 2016 Page 1 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Table of Contents Message from Board Chair and Superintendent 3 Accountability Statement 4 GPPSD Mission Statement and Guiding Principles 5 District Celebrations 7 District Trends and Issues 9 Student Services 12 GPPSD Accountability Pillar Summary 15 GPPSD First Nations, Métis and Inuit Accountability 16 Goals and Planning Section Goal One: An Excellent Start to Learning 17 Goal Two: Success for Every Student 18 Goal Three: Quality Teaching and School Leadership 23 Goal Four: Engaged and Effective Governance 24 Summary of Financial Results 25 Budget Reports 28 Education Facilities Highlights and Capital Plan 30 Transportation Services 33 Page 2 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Message from the Board Chair and Superintendent The schools and staff of the Grande Prairie Public School District are on a journey to ensure that we are “a learning community where every student succeeds.” As part of this we have placed everything we do within a framework of expected and effective practices that will help us achieve this mission: QUALITY INSTRUCTION Balanced Literacy Approach-in order to learn, children have to be able to read, write and comprehend Comprehension Strategies Across all Content Areas First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) Support Through Instruction Framework for Effective Instruction (Marzano) Professional Learning Community (PLC) Focus on Student Achievement Action Research-teachers and schools using their classroom data to support the learning needs of their students Reading Recovery© CASE MANAGEMENT Focus on Meeting Needs of All Learners Intervention Models Systemic School Response that Ensures Support for Every Student ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION Common Assessment Assessment to Drive Instruction Frequent Monitoring of Students’ Progress Putting the Student Faces on the Data and Providing Support Move to outcomes based assessment in junior high (new for 2012-13) ADMINISTRATIVE WALK THROUGHS Support Quality Instruction Supports a Culture with a Focus on Learning for All Provide Support to Staff Builds instructional leadership skills of the administrators ACTION ON INCLUSION Promote Placement of Students in Community Schools Links the” success for all” philosophy into the most appropriate community based environment INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING MODEL (Site Based Model 2013-14) Improve the quality of instruction our students receive Focus on Building Relationships Collaboration Use Teaching Strategies that are for the 21st Century Learner Focus on Improving Learning For All Students We want these to occur within the realm of a community of safe and caring schools where we all treat one another with dignity and respect. As you read the summary of our results and our plans, we want you to undertake this journey with us. We are working hard to address the areas we feel we need to focus on to help our learners succeed while we are also addressing unprecedented growth in the district. We are proud that over 75% of our funding last year went directly to address the learning needs of our students and only 3.2% was spent on central office/system and board expenditures. We also believe that the renewed focus on using data that we gather to support our learners will result in improvements over the next three years. We believe in accountability to the community we serve. We provide this report as part of that commitment to serving you. Page 3 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Grande Prairie Public School District (GPPSD) #2357 Responsibility and Accountability Statement GPPSD #2357, as a school authority in the province of Alberta, is accountable for results achieved from carrying out our responsibilities to provide education programs to our students. As such, the following Accountability Statement, signed by the Superintendent of Schools and the Board Chair reflects our commitment to implement the Plan and achieve the identified outcomes and targets stated as follows: The Annual Education Results Report for the 2012-2013 school year and the 3 Year Education Plan (3YEP) for the three years commencing September 1, 2013 for the Grande Prairie Public School District #2357 was prepared under the direction of the Board in accordance with its responsibilities under the School Act and the Government Accountability Act. The document was developed in the context of the provincial government’s business and fiscal plans. The Board has used the results reported in the document, to the best of its abilities, to develop the Education Plan and is committed to implementing the strategies contained within the Education Plan to improve student learning and results. The Board approved this combined Annual Education Results Report for the 2012-2013 school year and the Three-Year Education Plan for 2013-2016 on November 26th, 2013. Carol Ann MacDonald Karen Prokopowich Superintendent Board Chair Grande Prairie Public Schools Grande Prairie Public School Board _____________________________________ _____________________________________ Signature Signature Communicating the Plan The Grande Prairie Public School District #2357 Three Year Education Plan and Results Report uses existing data available as of October, 2013. The plan has been communicated to stakeholders through the following means: 1. Paper copies of the Grande Prairie Public School District #2357 Three Year Education Plan and Results Report have been distributed to all schools and are available on each school’s webpage. 2. Electronic versions of the Grande Prairie Public School District #2357 Three Year Education and Results Report, the Grande Prairie Public School District #2357 Budget report are available on line at the District website at http://www.gppsd.ab.ca. For more detailed financial information please contact Mr. Jeff Olson, Associate Superintendent Business Services/Secretary-Treasurer, Grande Prairie Public School District #2357. 3. The Grande Prairie Public School District #2357 Central Office Administration and School Board meets with School Council Chairs and representatives in February, April and November to seek their input into the development of the Grande Prairie Public School District #2357 Three Year Education Plan and share with them results that were achieved by our District. School Principals follow a similar process in developing their individual school plans and reviewing their schools results. 4. Individual School Administrations have developed School Reports for their school. Signed copies by the School Council Chair and School Principal of these reports have been submitted to the Superintendent for review and final approval. Copies of Individual School Reports can be obtained from the School Office, and/or on the individual school website. Page 4 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Mission I. Grande Prairie Public School District Mission The Grande Prairie Public School District #2357 (GPPSD) is a learning community in which every student succeeds. Alberta Learning Mission Alberta Learning’s leadership and work with partners build a globally recognized lifelong learning community that enables Albertans to be responsible, caring, self-reliant and contributing members of a knowledge-based and prosperous society. II. Guiding Principles Universal Guiding Principles For everything we decide and do, we will hold ourselves accountable and we will ask: • Is it good for students? • Will it build trust and good relationships? • Will it help us improve? • Is it a responsible thing to do? • Are we being open, honest and ethical? Operating Guiding Principles • Students Unique learning needs of each student will be accommodated; An inclusive culture in schools will be fostered; Student emotional and physical health and safety will be ensured; The principles of natural justice and due process in student matters will be followed; and Students will know and understand what is expected of them as students and citizens. • Programs A diversity (breadth and depth) of learning opportunities will be provided; Partnerships will be developed; Relevant provincial, national and international opportunities will be explored; The needs of our students and community shall be reflected in a responsive manner; Programs will be resourced in a sustainable manner; Programs will be regularly reviewed, as appropriate, to determine whether intended results are achieved; Instruction will reflect sound instructional strategies guided by current educational research; and Integration of Information Technology across the curriculum shall enhance student learning and prepare students for 21st century learning. Page 5 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 • Human Resources Mental and physical wellbeing of staff will be promoted; We will seek the best candidate who is the most qualified for all positions; Performance evaluation measures will be implemented; The principles of natural justice and due process will be followed; Human resource allocation will be transparent; Human resource allocation will be sustainable; and We will invest in building our human capacities. • Financial Management Budgets shall be developed in consultation with the Board and School Administration; Additional revenue streams will be sought consistent with the education mandate; Financial reserves will be developed in a strategic manner; All financial reporting and resource allocations will be comprehensive and transparent; and Allocation of resources will be sustainable. • Facilities Facilities shall be made available for community use; Facilities shall be maintained at the highest standard possible; Facilities will be environmentally sustainable; Facilities shall be safe and healthy; Long-term facility planning will occur; and Partnerships with other community groups, organizations or Boards to create program and cost saving opportunities will be encouraged. • Transportation Where efficient and appropriate, transportation services should be shared with other school jurisdictions, or public service providers; Wherever possible, the system-wide coordination of the transportation will be ensured; and Transportation services will be provided in a safe manner. All of the above components shall make decisions based on the guiding principles of the Board and will also; have at their heart, a focus on maximizing student learning in the District. Page 6 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 District Celebrations ASBA Premier’s Award The Alberta School Boards’ Association (ASBA) Premier’s Award for School Board Innovation and Excellence was awarded to the Grande Prairie Public Board of Trustees for their submission of the Composite High School Student Health and Wellness Centre project. The Premier’s Award for School Board Innovation and Excellence recognizes school boards for their role in launching innovative programs and initiatives that enhance student achievement. The Trustees are proud to share this honour with the Community of Grande Prairie, who came together and raised the funds needed to develop a wing of the Composite High School for this purpose. Student Engagement A number of district sites are involved in the provincial government’s Tell Them from Me project. Students are surveyed once or twice a year on a series of questions around areas such as “Safe and Caring Schools”, Programming availability, their engagement in the school, etc. These survey results are provided to the schools and the District to use in their future planning. Schools are encouraged to look at what the students are saying in their buildings and make changes and alterations to practice as appropriate. Reading Recovery GPPSD continues to provide grade one students the opportunity and benefits of Reading Recovery®. In 2012-2013 81 (English) students were provided with the Reading Recovery ® Intervention. 70% of those students were discontinued successfully, carried over or progressing but unable to continue. 29% were referred for further support. This support may have included more one on one support, an increase in small group instruction or referrals for other assessments such as Psychological testing. School Buildings Announced GPPSD will open Charles Spencer High School in September 2014; this grade 9-12 school is located beside the Eastlink Centre at 7 Knowledge Way. We also received news in spring 2013 that we will be opening a new K-8 school in Pinnacle Subdivision in September 2016. The new K-8 school will have the name Isabel Campbell School to honour a local pioneer and historian. Learning Links Learning Links were one hour Professional Learning sessions offered after-school by teachers for teachers. Topics included assessment, analyzing assessment data, literacy strategies, numeracy strategies, Individual Program Plan (IPP) development, classroom management and other topics chosen by teachers as their “need to know” items. Page 7 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Peer Math Observation: “Teachers Watching and Learning from Teachers” This math focused initiative released teachers to observe model lessons, as a group. The project included pre and post observation meetings and was well received by teachers who saw the value of learning from one another. Enrolment Growth The District continues to grow and, as a result, the positives are increased staffing and more funding. School Year (Sept. 30) (Total Student Numbers) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Grande Prairie Public School District Total 6,469 6,775 7,211 7,631 7,993 4.7% 6.4% 5.8% 4.7% Student Percentage Increase Page 8 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Trends and Issues The current nature of the 21st century world means that districts must envision beyond a three-year plan as we prepare our students to be successful in an ever-changing and evolving technological environment. The 21st century learner will need to be prepared for a world that is constantly changing and transforming, thus requiring students who are active learners and are able to adapt to the challenges and opportunities of that changing world. Our involvement in the High School Flexibility Project is providing us and the government with data that supports providing students with flexible ways to learn. All students do benefit from teaching that focuses on their strengths. The resulting decrease in dropout rates is cause for celebration because today’s world demands a student who can learn and adapt. The challenges of enrolment growth provide both positives and negatives to a system. The growth needs funding to be manageable. The fiscal situation in the province is proving to be a challenge as we move forward. It is difficult to plan when the financial picture is so fluid. The inability to make long-range plans due to uncertain infrastructure funding or the potential of reduced funding acts as a constraint in setting up long range plans of any sort (be they instructional, capital, infrastructure or evergreening). Enrolment Growth A challenge with increasing enrolment is space concerns. The 2013 school year began with 17 modulars to be installed on buildings; as GPPSD has little control over installation timelines, we are pleased that the District received the units but concerned that they were not ready by school start-up. Charles Spencer High open in September 2014 and we have Isabel Campbell School (K-8; capacity of 750) approved for the Pinnacle neighbourhood and it is scheduled to open in September 2016. Unfortunately, GPPSD is still in the position where we require even more buildings and we are hopeful that announcements for both new buildings and modernizations will occur over the next year. The Board continues to lobby and work collaboratively with the various ministries to ensure the students of GPPSD are well served. Due to enrolment projections, it seems modular and construction will be part of the landscape in the Grande Prairie Public School District for the foreseeable future. Projected Enrollments 2013-2020 (according to Alberta Workforce Planning Projections) Page 9 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Teacher Recruitment and Retention Trends in Staffing Growth Pressures-Teachers The enrolment trends demonstrate the likelihood that staffing GPPSD classrooms will continue to be an ongoing challenge. We will likely have to continue actively recruiting for some positions (especially specialty areas such as Mathematics, French Immersion and music). Connected to this concern is the need to provide mentoring and induction programs for our beginning teachers to ensure we provide them with timely and ongoing support. Growth Pressures-Administrators The addition of new positions and retirements of existing administrators has placed pressure upon our system to develop the leadership capacity of our future leaders. Again, the onus is on the District to put leadership development programs into place to prepare future leaders and to find mentors able to and work with the next generation of GPPSD leaders. Programs and Supports Technology and the 21st Century Learner The importance of maintaining a network infrastructure to address the needs of the 21st century learner is placing pressures on the wireless technology, bandwidth and switching supports to allow students to “Bring their own Devices” into the school setting. There will still be a need for schools to provide some device access (as not everyone has their own) but the resultant pressure on the infrastructure and bandwidth will need to be addressed through funding. There will also be a need to evergreen this technology so it grows and adapts as students access the internet more and more for their daily school work. Providing professional development to support teachers changing their pedagogy to more effectively integrate technology into teaching and learning will need to be a priority as well. Digital Citizenship Survey data is clearly demonstrating that digital citizenship is an issue with our parents and community. Planning over the next few years will address the professional learning needs of our staff, students and parents with regards to assisting students to use their devices in a responsible manner (this includes appropriate use and cyberbullying training). Page 10 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Professional Learning Needs All of the trends noted speak to the need for professional learning opportunities that are centered in Grande Prairie. The provision of high quality professional learning by the District will focus on areas identified through the accountability measures and survey data to be areas of need for our teachers and other staff. Learning opportunities directed at digital citizenship and appropriate use of technology will enhance our abilities to address the needs of an increasingly “plugged in” society. Literacy and numeracy skills will continue to be a focus along with more work on areas including: engaging students in their learning, utilizing data effectively to inform decision making about addressing identified student learning needs. Community Engagement Focus GPPSD is excited to expand the community engagement process, initially electronically to look at addressing the structure and boundaries of the two high schools we will be operating beginning September 2014. This electronic information gathering will be followed up by a series of community consultations in the spring of 2014. These will also look at how we restructure our remaining schools to best address the learning needs of our students within the District’s existing buildings. Class Size Reporting-2012-2013 School Year GPPSD compared quite well to the province with regards to the average pupil teacher ratio for the 2012-13 school year. Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Grades 1-3: 19.6 PTR Gr. 4-6: 22.0 Gr. 7-9: 21.6 Gr. 10-12: 22.3 Gr. 4-6: 21.9 Gr. 7-9: 22.8 Gr. 10-12: 21.8 Provincial Averages Grades 1-3: 19.4 PTR Please follow web link http://www.gppsd.ab.ca/Pages/publications.aspx to view Class Size Report. Page 11 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Student Services The Grande Prairie Public School District continues to support the diverse needs of all learners by ensuring that students have equitable access to quality education programs. The goal of an inclusive education system is to provide all students with the most appropriate learning environments and opportunities for them to best achieve their potential. This can mean a variety of solutions within GPPSD. The ultimate goal is to have as many students as possible receiving an education in their designated community school. We attain this goal by recognizing the individual needs of all learners and ensuring that the appropriate supports are in place at the school and classroom level. Speech-language therapy, occupation therapy, physical therapy, deaf and hard of hearing supports, visual impairments, sensory integration clinics, and psychological-behaviour support services were available to all students. All schools are staffed with teachers who are trained in Level B Assessments to compliment the work of our specialists. This inter-disciplinary team approach is essential to student success at GPPSD. Student Support Plans are student-focused plans developed by a collaborative team to ensure that the needs of individual students are being best met. In our District, teams have a choice of template in developing Student Support Plans: Individual Program Plans (IPPs), Academic Action Plans (AAPs), and Early Learning Plans (ELPs). What the Student Support Plan looks like and who participates in the process depends on each individual student. Individual Program Plans are the most developed type of plan and are meant to support the needs of students with significant program challenges and who have an Alberta Education code. Academic Action Plans are less robust and are meant to support a few academic or behaviour goals for a student. The Early Learning Plan is the simplest support plan and is intended to support speech goals and other less developed interventions. One strength of the Student Support Planning process at GPPSD is the breadth of supports and knowledge that can be called on to ensure that student needs are being met. Our goal, as an inclusive system, is to have as many students as possible learning in their home school and we accomplish this by ensuring that a range of programming options are available in each school and in each classroom. The key to success in this area is ensuring that all staff in our schools has the training and level of understanding required to do their jobs effectively. Professional development opportunities in support of this were made available to teachers and teacher assistants in our system. GPPSD also proudly supports our students who are identified as being gifted. We employ a District Gifted Education Coordinator who oversees a program that blends in-class and pullout programs to support these learners. Through the support of the Coordinator, students receive in-class enrichment on a regular basis. Complimenting this is a pull-out program that enables gifted students to explore specific areas of interest. For the 2012-2013 year our Gifted Program worked with 114 students. Inclusive work at GPPSD is supported through a variety of essential partnerships with various groups/agencies. These include the Student Health Integrated Partnership (SHIP), Children and Youth with Complex Needs (CYCN), Alberta Health Services---Community Mental Health and Addictions, Family Supports for Children with Disabilities (FSCD), Children and Family Services Authority (CFSA), and other partners. Cultivating these strong relationships ensures that we are able to offer a broad continuum of service to our student within and outside of the Page 12 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 school setting. It should be noted that 2012-2013 was the final year for separate CASE, CYCN, and SHP supports for our schools. The CYCN and SHP funding was merged in the Fall of 2013 into the future Regional Collaborative Services Delivery approach, with the intent of folding in CASE funds for 2014-2015. First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI): Grande Prairie Public School District continues to focus on meeting the academic and social needs of our FNMI students through a variety of supports and interventions. GPPSD employs a District FNMI Coordinator who is responsible for the development, coordination and administration of the FNMI education program for the District. The District also employs 5 school-based liaison workers who are responsible for directly supporting FNMI students, their families, and the schools in order to maximize opportunities for success in the learning environment. This is accomplished by working closely with teachers and school administrative teams as well as families and caregivers in the home setting. The selfdeclaration process continues through the optional section on the student registration form. In the 2012-2013 year: 1154 students were FNMI funded o 419 Status First Nations o 294 Non Status First Nations o 399 Métis o 42 Inuit Key activities: FMNI Parent Sharing Circle: Parents participated in a monthly sharing circle to meet, learn and understand what the District Program is doing. This also allows parents the opportunity to provide feedback to us as well as providing them an avenue to discuss areas of concern or celebration. Tri-District PD with Peace Wapiti and GP Catholic on the three District PD days Cultural Presentations/Events: o Elders – at various requests from Alberta Education and District staff, facilitated the invitation of Elders at many events o Coordination of various activities including Métis Week, Aboriginal Day, among other events Youth Leadership programs offered to over 30 youth in the District (Sacred Circle) Page 13 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Looking Forward: Student Services To support all learners in our District we have made the following changes and adjustments to our services: Hiring of a Director of Student Services Redevelopment of Inclusive Support Team to help with students specific and classroom based needs Addition of Family Outreach Worker, making a team of two Continued work around Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA) District counsellors embedded in budget going forward Universal programming such as 4th R and Second Steps in development Looking Forward: Student Services To support our FNMI learners we have made the following changes and adjustments in this area: FNMI Specific funds are allocated at the school level in a transparent manner. Schools are required to develop a strategy to meet FNMI student needs while also being accountable for the use of FNMI specific funds. Most sites have elected to use these funds to support literacy interventions targeting FNMI learners. Enhanced Professional Development (PD) for administrators (i.e. Dr. Ross Greene training on how to work with students experiencing difficulties in school). Enhanced PD for teachers (i.e. Ross Greene training on how to work with students experiencing difficulties in school). HEROES training to compliment 4th R training to support the social/emotional development of children. Partnership with the (Paul) Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative to introduce Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneurship Program and Accounting Mentorship Program to our high schools. Youth Leadership development workshops to continue throughout the year (sacred circle). Focused work on trauma and traditional parenting. Hosted the Zone 1 FNMI (Mamwihtowin) Conference. Page 14 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Combined 2013 Accountability Pillar Overall Summary GPPSD #2357 Measure Category Safe and Caring Schools Student Learning Opportunities Student Learning Achievement (Grades K-9) Student Learning Achievement (Grades 10-12) Preparation for Lifelong Learning, World of Work, Citizenship Measure Category Evaluation Acceptable Good Issue Issue Acceptable Grande Prairie School District Alberta Current Result Prev Year Result Prev Year Result Prev 3 Year Average Achievement Improvement Overall Safe and Caring 83.7 84.7 84.1 89.0 88.6 88.1 Intermediate Maintained Acceptable Program of Studies 79.4 79.6 80.3 81.5 80.7 80.7 High Maintained Good Education Quality 87.2 86.1 87.1 89.8 89.4 89.3 Intermediate Maintained Acceptable Drop Out Rate 4.7 4.1 5.1 3.5 3.2 3.9 Intermediate Maintained Acceptable High School Completion Rate (3 yr.) 63.2 57.8 59.3 74.8 74.1 72.7 Intermediate Improved Good PAT: Acceptable 75.0 75.3 77.2 79.0 79.1 79.2 Low Declined Issue PAT: Excellence 12.4 14.6 14.4 18.9 20.8 19.9 Low Declined Issue Diploma: Acceptable 74.4 69.5 73.3 84.6 83.1 82.5 Low Maintained Issue Diploma: Excellence 9.9 6.2 8.8 21.7 20.7 20.1 Low Maintained Issue Diploma Exam Participation Rate (4+ Exams) 40.1 34.6 38.6 56.6 56.2 54.9 Low Maintained Issue Rutherford Scholarship Eligibility Rate (Revised) 48.2 44.3 43.2 61.3 61.5 59.4 Low Improved Acceptable Transition Rate (6 yr) 44.1 39.8 44.9 59.5 58.4 59.2 Low Maintained Issue Work Preparation 74.5 72.9 74.2 80.3 79.7 79.9 Intermediate Maintained Acceptable Measure Prev 3 Current Year Result Average Measure Evaluation Citizenship 76.8 74.9 74.8 83.4 82.5 82.0 Intermediate Improved Good Parental Involvement Issue Parental Involvement 73.3 74.7 75.0 80.3 79.7 79.8 Low Maintained Issue Continuous Improvement Issue School Improvement 75.9 78.5 78.6 80.6 80.0 80.0 Intermediate Declined Significantly Issue Notes: 1. PAT results are a weighted average of the percent meeting standards (Acceptable, Excellence) on Provincial Achievement Tests. The weights are the number of students enrolled in each course. Courses included: English Language Arts (Grades 3, 6, 9), Science (Grades 6, 9), French Language Arts (Grades 3, 6, 9), Français (Grades 3, 6, 9). 2. Diploma results are a weighted average of percent meeting standards (Acceptable, Excellence) on Diploma Examinations. The weights are the number of students writing the Diploma Examination for each course. Courses included: English Language Arts 30-1, English Language Arts 30-2, French Language Arts 30-1, Français 30-1, Chemistry 30, Physics 30, Biology 30, Science 30. 3. Overall evaluations can only be calculated if both improvement and achievement evaluations are available. 4. The subsequent pages include evaluations for each performance measure. If jurisdictions desire not to present this information for each performance measure in the subsequent pages, please include a reference to this overall summary page for each performance measure. 5. Data values have been suppressed where the number of students or respondents is less than 6. Suppression is marked with an asterisk (*). 6. Please note that participation in Diploma Examinations and Grade 9 Provincial Achievement Tests was impacted by the flooding in June 2013. Caution should be used when interpreting trends over time for the province and those school authorities affected by the floods. Page 15 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Combined 2013 Accountability Pillar FNMI Summary (Required for Public/Separate/Francophone School Authorities) Measure Category Student Learning Opportunities Student Learning Achievement (Grades K-9) Student Learning Achievement (Grades 10-12) Preparation for Lifelong Learning, World of Work, Citizenship Measure Category Evaluation n/a Concern Concern n/a Grande Prairie School District Alberta Current Result Prev Year Result Prev Year Result Prev 3 Year Average Achievement Improvement Overall Drop Out Rate 7.7 9.6 11.5 8.5 9.0 10.2 Low Improved Acceptable High School Completion Rate (3 yr) 45.1 35.0 33.4 43.9 40.2 37.5 Very Low Improved Issue PAT: Acceptable 57.4 60.9 59.2 61.8 58.4 58.6 Very Low Maintained Concern PAT: Excellence 6.5 7.0 5.4 6.1 6.6 6.3 Very Low Maintained Concern Diploma: Acceptable 74.4 61.4 67.1 77.1 75.8 76.0 Low Maintained Issue Diploma: Excellence 2.4 3.4 6.5 9.5 9.2 8.5 Very Low Declined Concern Diploma Exam Participation Rate (4+ Exams) 18.8 19.1 21.3 21.2 19.6 18.5 Very Low Maintained Concern Rutherford Scholarship Eligibility Rate (Revised) 34.4 27.7 25.6 35.1 34.4 31.4 Very Low Improved Issue Transition Rate (6 yr) 26.1 31.5 26.0 32.2 30.2 31.8 Very Low Maintained Concern Measure Prev 3 Current Year Result Average Measure Evaluation Notes: 1. PAT results are a weighted average of the percent meeting standards (Acceptable, Excellence) on Provincial Achievement Tests. The weights are the number of students enrolled in each course. Courses included: English Language Arts (Grades 3, 6, 9), Science (Grades 6, 9), French Language Arts (Grades 3, 6, 9), Français (Grades 3, 6, 9). 2. Diploma results are a weighted average of percent meeting standards (Acceptable, Excellence) on Diploma Examinations. The weights are the number of students writing the Diploma Examination for each course. Courses included: English Language Arts 30-1, English Language Arts 30-2, French Language Arts 30-1, Français 30-1, Chemistry 30, Physics 30, Biology 30, Science 30. 3. Overall evaluations can only be calculated if both improvement and achievement evaluations are available. 4. Data values have been suppressed where the number of students or respondents is less than 6. Suppression is marked with an asterisk (*). 5. Please note that participation in Diploma Examinations and Grade 9 Provincial Achievement Tests was impacted by the flooding in June 2013. Caution should be used when interpreting trends over time for the province and those school authorities affected by the floods. Page 16 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Goal One: An excellent start to learning Outcome: 1.1 Children are reaching emotional, social, intellectual and physical development milestones and are ready for school. As the AB Ed Kindergarten Program Statement articulates “Early childhood is a significant period in human development. Independence, initiative, decision making, creativity, the ability to learn, the ability to relate to others and feelings of self-worth all have their beginnings in early childhood.” Strategies to meet this belief: 1. Program Unit Funding (PUF) programming to address the needs of pre-school students with identified learning needs is in place to help these students be better prepared for Kindergarten and Grade 1. As well, a partnership providing HeadStart preschool has also proven to be a great success. 2. District Kindergarten teachers meet as a cohort and learning community four times in the year to discuss specific needs seen in classrooms; addressing how we can address these needs through the curriculum and instructionally. 3. The Learning Partnership “Welcome to Kindergarten” evenings are scheduled each spring at each of our elementary schools. Presentations on fine motor skills, reading to children, speech services and other community support services are available for the children and families who will be registering their children for the following ECS year. A bag of books, play dough, paper and crayons are given to each child to explore and work with over the summer. 4. Spring assessment of ECS students that are struggling. Parts of the Observation Survey of Early Learning and Phonemic Awareness is given to students who are struggling so that specific areas of literacy development can be targeted before the grade one year. 5. ECS timeline has been developed and used as a resource for ECS teachers so that when ‘red flags’ start to pop up in January/February teachers can perform a 10 minute screen on students to obtain specific information on literacy development that is useful to use in CASE management meetings with Reading Recovery Teachers, Academic Support Teachers, Boost Teachers. a. Boost Teachers also use this information the following year with these students in Grade one. It gives them the head start on where to start with these students. 6. Reading Recovery is offered to the bottom 20% of grade one students who are struggling. This intervention is a 12 – 20 week one-on-one intervention for students who require extra intervention to get them up to the average band of the class. 7. Boost programming is made available for end of Kindergarten, grade one and early grade two students who do not qualify for Reading Recovery or who required added support after Reading Recovery. Leveled Literacy Intervention in small groups is made available at two of our schools. Page 17 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Goal Two: Success for every student Outcome: 2.1 Students achieve student learning outcomes. Performance Measure Results (in percentages) Target Evaluation Targets 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2013 Achievement Improvement Overall 2014 2015 2016 Overall percentage of students who achieved the acceptable standard 79.3 78.3 72.0 69.5 74.4 75.0 on diploma examinations (overall results). Low Maintained Issue 85.0 86.0 87.0 Overall percentage of students who achieved the standard of excellence 13.6 10.2 on diploma examinations (overall results). Low Maintained Issue 10.5 12.5 15.0 Performance Measure 9.9 6.2 Results (in percentages) 9.9 9.5 Target Evaluation 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Achievement Improvement Targets Overall High School Completion Rate Percentage of students who completed high school within three years of entering Grade 10. 52.0 54.7 65.3 57.8 63.2 60.0 Intermediate Improved Good Drop Out Rate - annual dropout rate of students aged 14 to 18 8.6 Intermediate Maintained Acceptable High school to post-secondary transition rate of students within six years of entering Grade 10. 47.1 49.1 45.8 39.8 44.1 42.5 Low Maintained Issue Percentage of Grade 12 students eligible for a Rutherford 39.7 38.7 46.6 44.3 48.2 46.0 Scholarship. Low Improved Percentage of students writing four or more diploma exams within three years of entering Grade 10. Low Maintained 5.9 5.4 4.1 4.7 35.1 36.9 44.2 34.6 40.1 37.5 2014 2015 2016 46.0 49.5 52.5 Acceptable 48.0 50.0 52.5 Issue 42.0 45.0 50.0 Comment on Results At the high school level, we have had a series of incidents over the past two years that led to the need to address the social issues first at the Composite High School. With time passing and support structures in place for over a year, we anticipate that these will have less impact upon student learning in the building. We met or exceeded 4 of the 6 areas we had targeted last year for improvement. As a result, we know that analyzing information and ensuring we focus on identified student needs can have a positive impact upon the classrooms in the district. Strategies Data Day to analyze results was held on October 11th at all sites; this analysis specifically looked at areas where our students failed to meet specific outcomes. The analysis was done as by large groups of teachers so the entire school knew where the students achieved. PD focused on helping struggling adolescent readers in content area reading for grade 7-12 teachers is in place along with focused grade 7-12 Math and Science PD focused on student learning needs (identified as a concern area through analysis). Review and refocusing of the Professional Learning Community model so that it addresses looking carefully at data to determine student learning needs and ensuring these are addressed in this learning time. Workshops sponsored by Alberta Education are being offered to High School (HS) teachers to provide them professional development on assisting students with having success on the exams. Continued work on High School flexibility is bearing success; the dropout rate has declined with over 100 students served by the Student Success program that operates out of the Bridge Network. The Math department at the COMP is actively engaged in a project working with the Alberta Assessment Consortium with a focus on enhancing mathematical thinking in their classrooms. Increased cooperation between the system outreach program and the COMP should also make transitioning between the two locations more seamless. Increased focus on student program planning and communication between the junior high schools and the HS should also assist in addressing student programming for success. Increased connection between the data gathered and analyzed and teacher Professional Learning Community work with outcomes that address the needs identified in the data analysis done at the beginning of the school year. Focus on CASE management and “putting faces to the data” will provide “just in time” intervention to address students who may be falling through the cracks. Page 18 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Notes: 1. Aggregated Diploma results are a weighted average of percent meeting standards (Acceptable, Excellence) on Diploma Examinations. The weights are the number of students writing the Diploma Examination for each course. Courses included: English Language Arts 30-1, English Language Arts 30-2, French Language Arts 30-1, Français 30-1, Chemistry 30, Physics 30, Biology 30, Science 30. The percentages achieving the acceptable standard include the percentages achieving the standard of excellence. 2. Diploma Examination Participation, High School Completion and High school to Post-secondary Transition rates are based upon a cohort of grade 10 students who are tracked over time. 3. Please note that the rules for Rutherford Scholarships changed in 2008, which increased the number of students eligible for Rutherford Scholarships. The history for the measure has been re-computed to allow for trends to be identified. 4. Data values have been suppressed where the number of students or respondents is less than 6. Suppression is marked with an asterisk (*). 5. Please note that participation in Diploma Examinations was impacted by the flooding in June 2013. Caution should be used when interpreting trends over time for the province and those school authorities affected by the floods. Outcome: 2.2 Students demonstrate proficiency in literacy and numeracy. Performance Measure Results (in percentages) Target Evaluation Targets 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2013 Achievement Improvement Overall 2014 2015 2016 Overall percentage of students in Grades 3, 6 and 9 who achieved the acceptable standard on Provincial 75.5 78.4 77.8 75.3 75.0 77.5 Achievement Tests (overall cohort results). Low Declined Issue 85.0 85.0 87.0 Overall percentage of students in Grades 3, 6 and 9 who achieved the standard of excellence on Provincial 13.2 13.7 14.8 14.6 12.4 Achievement Tests (overall cohort results). Low Declined Issue 14.0 15.0 15.5 Comment on Results A renewed focus on the PAT’s began with the enhanced provision of the Data Day to analyze the exams and determine best course of action (by site) to address identified student learning needs. As well, we had sites work with the Numeracy Coordinator on addressing items they had identified. While, specific subjects are not noted as the overall performance is reported, we noted increases in achievement in all areas we specifically identified. This type of focused work should help us transfer this learning to other sites and subjects over the next year. Strategies Data Day to analyze results was held on October 11th at all sites; this analysis specifically looked at areas where our students failed to meet specific outcomes. The analysis was done as by large groups of teachers so the entire school knew where the students achieved. “Boost” program support being provided to sites with more intense needs showed success last year. We have enhanced Boost programming at identified sites to assist in addressing student learning needs. PD focused on helping struggling adolescent readers in content area reading for grade 7-12 teachers began this past August (identified as a concern area through analysis). After-school PD sessions for teachers on specific assessment and instructional strategies (focused on literacy and numeracy). School Based Instructional Coaches have been put into place to provide supports for the teachers in the system. A specialized mathematics coach to assist teachers in addressing student learning needs in mathematics is one of these coach positions. Review and refocusing of the Professional Learning Community model so that it addresses looking carefully at data to determine student learning needs and ensuring these are addressed in this learning time. Outcomes will derive directly from that data. Reading Recovery program continued with increased students to be addressed in the coming year. Notes: 1. Aggregated PAT results are based upon a weighted average of percent meeting standards (Acceptable, Excellence). The weights are the number of students enrolled in each course. Courses included: English Language Arts (Grades 3, 6, 9), Science (Grades 6, 9), French Language Arts (Grades 3, 6, 9), Français (Grades 3, 6, 9). The percentages achieving the acceptable standard include the percentages achieving the standard of excellence. 2. Data values have been suppressed where the number of students or respondents is less than 6. Suppression is marked with an asterisk (*). 3. Please note that participation in Grade 9 Provincial Achievement Tests was substantially impacted by the flooding in June 2013. Caution should be used when interpreting trends over time for the province and those school authorities affected by the floods. Page 19 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Outcome: 2.3 Students demonstrate citizenship and entrepreneurship. Performance Measure Results (in percentages) Target Evaluation Targets 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2013 Achievement Improvement Overall Percentage of teachers, parents and students who are satisfied that students model the 74.5 74.4 75.1 74.9 76.8 characteristics of active citizenship. Intermediate Improved Good Percentage of teachers and parents who agree that students are taught attitudes and 72.5 73.1 76.6 72.9 74.5 behaviours that will make them successful at work when they finish school. Intermediate Maintained Acceptable 2014 2015 2016 Comment on Results While we are pleased that the system is having some success in this area, we are continuing to plan for enhanced results in this area. Strategies Continue work with student leadership at the HS level; continue to be supportive of schools offering Leadership classes as options across all grades. Continue to communicate successes to the stakeholder groups; enhancing communication to the home from the school should also assist in this area. Note: Data values have been suppressed where the number of students or respondents is less than 6. Suppression is marked with an asterisk (*). Outcome: 2.4 The achievement gap between First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) students and all other students is eliminated. (Results and evaluations for FNMI measures are required for Public/Separate/Francophone School Authorities only) Performance Measure Results (in percentages) Target Evaluation Targets 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2013 Achievement Improvement Overall 2014 2015 2016 Overall percentage of selfidentified FNMI students in Grades 3, 6 and 9 who achieved the 63.8 60.9 55.6 60.9 57.4 63.5 acceptable standard on Provincial Achievement Tests (overall cohort results). Very Low Maintained Concern 65.0 70.0 72.5 Overall percentage of selfidentified FNMI students in Grades 3, 6 and 9 who achieved the standard of excellence on Provincial Achievement Tests (overall cohort results). 7.7 Very Low Maintained Concern 11.0 12.0 14.0 Overall percentage of selfidentified FNMI students who achieved the acceptable standard on diploma examinations (overall results). 85.3 76.1 63.8 61.4 74.4 72.5 Low Maintained Overall percentage of selfidentified FNMI students who achieved the standard of excellence on diploma examinations (overall results). 8.8 Very Low Declined 3.9 8.5 5.1 7.5 7.0 3.4 6.5 10.0 2.4 7.5 Issue 77.0 85.0 Concern 8.0 10.0 85.0 12.5 Page 20 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Performance Measure Results (in percentages) Target Evaluation 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Achievement Improvement High School Completion Rate Percentage of self-identified FNMI students who completed 34.6 22.7 42.5 35.0 45.1 38.5 high school within three years of entering Grade 10. Targets Overall Very Low Improved Issue Low Improved Acceptable 2014 2015 2016 50.0 55.0 70.0 Drop Out Rate - annual dropout rate of self-identified FNMI students aged 14 to 18 15.7 9.8 High school to post-secondary transition rate of self-identified FNMI students within six years of entering Grade 10. 3.4 29.6 16.8 31.5 26.1 32.5 Very Low Maintained Concern 35.0 39.0 40.0 Percentage of Grade 12 selfidentified FNMI students eligible 21.2 20.8 28.4 27.7 34.4 30.0 for a Rutherford Scholarship. Very Low Improved Issue 37.5 42.5 50.0 Percentage of self-identified FNMI students writing four or more diploma exams within three years of entering Grade 10. Very Low Maintained Concern 25.0 29.0 31.0 15.2 9.6 7.7 20.6 12.4 32.4 19.1 18.8 23.0 Comment on Results We are committed to engaging the FNMI student and community over the next three years. The Student Success program and increased cooperation between the Bridge Outreach and the Composite HS should also help in this area. We are pleased with the increased number of students who achieved the acceptable standard on diploma exams along with increased completion rates, increased eligibility for Rutherford scholarships and a decreased dropout rate. We are utilizing the FNMI staff and Student Services staff to assist in ensuring more FNMI students experience success in GPPSD. Strategies District/school data days focused on analyzing a wide range of data will provide sites more useful and usable information meant to address student learning for all, including a specific focus on the needs of FNMI learners. The Student Services Assistant Superintendent is engaged in enhancing the services we provide all learners including the specific needs of FNMI learners. GPPSD staff provided opportunities in February 2013 to learn more about the needs of FNMI learners at a Professional Learning day focused on the FNMI learner in GPPSD. Professional development opportunities focused on literacy and numeracy needs as well as addressing the needs of reluctant readers/learners planned for this year and the next two will assist teachers in addressing the range of needs of all learners. Notes: 1. Aggregated PAT results are based upon a weighted average of percent meeting standards (Acceptable, Excellence). The weights are the number of students enrolled in each course. Courses included: English Language Arts (Grades 3, 6, 9), Science (Grades 6, 9), French Language Arts (Grades 3, 6, 9), Français (Grades 3, 6, 9). The percentages achieving the acceptable standard include the percentages achieving the standard of excellence. 2. Aggregated Diploma results are a weighted average of percent meeting standards (Acceptable, Excellence) on Diploma Examinations. The weights are the number of students writing the Diploma Examination for each course. Courses included: English Language Arts 30-1, English Language Arts 30-2, French Language Arts 30-1, Français 30-1, Chemistry 30, Physics 30, Biology 30, Science 30. The percentages achieving the acceptable standard include the percentages achieving the standard of excellence. 3. Diploma Examination Participation, High School Completion and High school to Post-secondary Transition rates are based upon a cohort of grade 10 students who are tracked over time. 4. Please note that the rules for Rutherford Scholarships changed in 2008, which increased the number of students eligible for Rutherford Scholarships. The history for the measure has been re-computed to allow for trends to be identified. 5. Data values have been suppressed where the number of students or respondents is less than 6. Suppression is marked with an asterisk (*). 6. Please note that participation in Diploma Examinations and Grade 9 Provincial Achievement Tests was impacted by the flooding in June 2013. Caution should be used when interpreting trends over time for the province and those school authorities affected by the floods. Page 21 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Page 22 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Goal Three: Quality teaching and school leadership Outcome: 3.1 Teacher preparation and professional growth focus on the competencies needed to help students learn. Effective learning and teaching is achieved through collaborative leadership. Performance Measure Results (in percentages) Target Evaluation Targets 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2013 Achievement Improvement Overall 2014 2015 2016 Percentage of teachers, parents and students satisfied with the opportunity for students to receive a 79.8 79.9 81.4 79.6 79.4 broad program of studies including fine arts, career, technology, and health and physical education. High Maintained Good Comment on Results Strategies District support of innovative programming choices continues to provide students an opportunity for them to explore their “passion” and experience success. District music, District “programs of choice” including a Christian School, Edge Sports and Dance, and French Immersion program sites provide students and families a broad range of programs. Page 23 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Goal Four: Engaged and effective governance Outcome: 4.1 The education system demonstrates collaboration and engagement. Performance Measure Percentage of teachers and parents satisfied with parental involvement in decisions about their child's education. Results (in percentages) Target Evaluation 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2013 Achievement Improvement 75.9 75.0 75.2 74.7 73.3 Percentage of teachers, parents and students satisfied with the 86.4 87.6 87.5 86.1 87.2 overall quality of basic education. Targets Overall 2014 2015 2016 75.5 77.5 81.0 Low Maintained Issue Intermediate Maintained Acceptable Comment on Results The involvement question is one we are determined to address over the coming year. A renewed focus on leadership development in the system as well as a renewed focus on student centered professional development opportunities should clearly demonstrate the belief in the system that all students succeed through the efforts of the collective leadership of the jurisdiction and its employees. Strategies Enhanced communication between the District and community and between schools and the community may assist in this area. Parents need to clearly see the connection between decision-making and educational rationale. Thoughtstream surveying of staff, students and parents, will continue in the coming year to engage the community more and support programming decisions around Charles Spencer High and Grande Prairie Composite. As well, this will assist in clarifying programming decisions in the junior high/middle schools. Outcome: 4.2 Students and communities have access to safe and healthy learning environments. Performance Measure Results (in percentages) Target Evaluation 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2013 Achievement Improvement Targets Overall Percentage of teacher, parent and student agreement that: students are safe at school, are learning the importance of 83.9 83.6 84.0 84.7 83.7 caring for others, are learning respect for others and are treated fairly in school. Intermediate Maintained Acceptable Percentage of teachers, parents and students indicating that their school and schools in their 76.5 75.0 82.2 78.5 75.9 jurisdiction have improved or stayed the same the last three years. Intermediate Declined Significantly Issue 2014 2015 2016 78.5 82.0 88.0 Comment on Results We will continue to work at addressing the perception in the community. Our high school completion rates are up, our dropout rates are down, our number of students writing 3+ diploma exams and the percentage of students who qualify for Rutherford Scholarships are up. The absence of “areas of concern” (red) on the system chart for the first time in a number of years indicates that we are improving. Strategies We will communicate system plans and successes more regularly to the public as this should assist in the public belief about the quality of the school system. As part of the planning process and focus on our accepted practices, we believe that the parent’s level of satisfaction will increase as our focus on having all students succeed addresses the learning needs of all of our students. We will communicate system successes to our teachers and staff members so they also clearly understand change is bringing good things because of their efforts. In recognizing that teacher/student relationships are paramount to success, the District will investigate ways to recognize and accommodate staff who are willing to participate in extracurricular activities. The Board will continue to advocate for appropriate adequate facilities to reflect the learning needs of the growing student population to optimize student learning. Page 24 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 A. Summary of Financial Results: 2012-2013 I. Accumulated Surplus and Reserves There are three main areas for reserves controlled by the Board of Education: unrestricted reserves ($417,315), internally-restricted operating reserves ($6,705,965), and capital reserves ($1,391,925). Accumulated Surplus Total accumulated surplus represents the full equity position of the school district, after netting all net financial assets and non-financial assets. For the year ending August 31, 2013, the District recorded an increase of $2,445,272 in accumulated surplus, primarily in the area of operating reserves. Most other reserves remained unchanged from the previous year. Year End Operating Surplus Allocated to: Increase to Restricted Operating Reserves Increase to Capital Vehicle Reserves Increase to Capital Unsupported Facilities Reserves Increase to Investment in Tangible Capital Assets Reduction in Unrestricted Surplus $2,445,272 2,933,113 30,000 77,251 22,747 (617,839) $2,445,272 Unrestricted Surplus Unrestricted surplus help the Board of Trustees operate the organization in several ways: manage cash flow (due to timing of Government funding and expenditures), second to manage external risk to the organization from enrolments, funding and other factors, and third to manage internal risk on unanticipated costs without impacting inyear commitments to budget centres. At minimum for an organization our size, an unrestricted surplus should be at least $1,500,000 if not higher. For the year ending August 31, 2013, our unrestricted reserves are $417,315 representing 0.45% of our district budget, or 1-2 days of operation. Restricted Operating Reserves Restricted operating reserves are funds established for a purpose and represent future commitments. All funds are Board established and range from school reserves to specific-purpose reserves. For the year ending 2012-13, the basic breakdown of restricted operating reserves is as follows: Page 25 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 New School Implementation (Goal is $2.6M) Unsupported Building Planning School and Education Reserves School Generated Funds Reserves $2,100,000 1,914,000 2,044,218 647,747 $6,705,965 Capital Reserves Capital reserves of $1,391,925 are held for the purposes of future capital needs, and are typically funded through amortization of assets not supported by the Government (evergreening) or unspent administration expenses. The two areas of planning are $1,228,962 for non-supported building planning and $162,963 for equipment and transportation vehicle planning. II. Statement of Revenues and Expenses From the “Statement of Operations” there was an excess of revenues over expenses of $2,445,272. As detailed in the reserve discussion, the amount is from allocated dollars to schools and education programming that was unspent. The amount represents 2.6% to the budget of the District and is not considered a significant amount to the overall budget. Revenues to the prior year increased $9,736,011 or 11.8% largely from enrolment increases and grant increases. For the 2012-13 budget, significant variances to budgeted revenues include increases in early childhood learning supports ($785,000), inclusive education supports ($1,100,000), and transportation ($190,000). Other revenue variances are part of the normal fluctuations that can be expected to occur or from accounting inclusions of amounts that are budget-neutral (increase in revenues is matched with a corresponding increase in expenditures). 2012 - 2013 Summary of Allocation by Program ECS to Grade 12 Instruction 76.1% External Services 2.7% Operations & Maint. of Facilities 15.8% Board & System Admin 3.3% ECS - Grade 12 Instruction Operations & Maintenance of Facilities Transportation Board & System Administration External Services $68,403,780 14,243,500 1,931,420 2,975,241 2,390,844 $89,944,785 Transport. 2.1% Page 26 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 2012-13 Summary of Revenues by Funding Source 2012-13 Summary of Expenditures by Object Alberta Education 92.8% Other Government of Alberta 0.7% Teacher Salaries & Benefits 57.6% Support Staff Salaries & Benefits 18.9% Other School Authorities 0.5% Amortization of Capital Allocations 0.4% Services, Fees,Rentals and Other 4.3% Fundraising and Donations 1.3% Alberta Education Other Government of Alberta Other School Authorities Fees, Services, Rentals, Other Fundraising and Donations Amortization of Capital Allocations $85,722,728 597,067 476,157 3,997,662 1,188,135 408,308 Capital Debt Interest 0.2% Capital Asset Amortization 3.8% Teacher Salaries & Benefits Support Staff Salaries & Benefits Services, Contracts and Supplies Amortization of Capital Assets Interest on Capital Debt Services, Contracts and Supplies 19.5% $51,776,094 16,988,411 17,513,413 3,463,605 203,262 $89,944,785 $92,390,057 Generally budget variances for expenditures were a product of differences in enrolment projections, where schools often budget enrolments conservatively, or increases in spending consistent with increases in revenues. In almost all cases schools have a positive reserve position, allowing schools to adjust to changing and unexpected needs or future planning. III. School Generated Funds Schools received and fundraised for school generated funds during the year. A total of $953,059 (net of direct costs) was generated from these activities which were used for extra-curricular activities, field trips, and other student activities, with actual expenditures incurred of $1,046,701. The balance of restricted operating reserves for school generated funds that remained at year end for school uses is $647,747. This amount allows schools to work on school projects relating to student activities from year to year. Information on specific sources and uses of school generated funds can be obtained in the notes of the audited financial statements. IV. Further Information The Grande Prairie Public School District’s Audited Financial Statement and the Unaudited Schedules can be viewed in their entirety at www.gppsd.ab.ca. The web link to all school jurisdiction financial reports, which provides comparative data, is located at www.education.alberta.ca/admin/funding/audited.aspx. Page 27 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 B. Budget 2013-14 Changes for 2013-14 The school district is fully dependent on the support of the Alberta Government to provide education services and the capacity to address increasing costs. The District continues to grow and, as a result, the positives are increased staffing and more funding. For 2013-14, Inclusive Education and Class Size Funding rates increased by 2%, all other funding rates including Base Instruction remained the same as for 2012/2013. School Year (Sept. 30) (Total Student Numbers) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Grande Prairie Public School District Total 6,469 6,775 7,211 7,631 7,993 4.7% 6.4% 5.8% 4.7% Student Percentage Increase 2013 - 2014 Budget - Summary of Allocation by Program ECS to Grade 12 Instruction 80.9% Board & System Admin 3.2% Operations & Maint. of Facilities 13.3% ECS - Grade 12 Instruction Operations & Maintenance of Facilities Transportation Board & System Administration $77,925,487 13,462,166 1,984,634 2,448,924 $95,821,211 Transport. 2.6% Page 28 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 2013-14 Budget - Summary of Revenues by Funding Source 2013-14 Budget-Summary of Expenditures by Object Government of Alberta 89.1% Teacher Salaries & Benefits 56.0% Support Staff Salaries & Benefits 18.5% Other School Authorities 0.9% Sales Services & Expense Recoveries 2.0% School Operating Contingency Reserves 0.9% Amortization of Capital Allocations 3.5% Fundraising & Donations 1.6% Fees 2.0% Government of Alberta $85,342,393 Other School Authorities 816,000 Sales Services & Expense Recoveries 1,918,250 Fees 1,953,779 Fundraising & Donations 1,576,091 Amortization of Capital Allocations 3,367,099 School Operating Contingency Reserves 847,599 Transfers to School Contingencies 0.03% Interest on Capital Debt 0.2% Amortization of Capital Assets 3.6% Teacher Salaries & Benefits Support Staff Salaries & Benefits Services, Contracts and Supplies Amortization of Capital Assets Interest on Capital Debt Transfers to Contingencies and Reserves Services, Contracts and Supplies 21.7% $53,686,455 17,670,574 20,809,832 3,444,350 180,000 30,000 $95,821,211 $95,821,211 Further Information The Grande Prairie Public School District’s budget’s reports and summaries can be viewed in their entirety at www.gppsd.ab.ca. The web link to all school jurisdiction financial reports, which provides comparative data, is located at www.education.alberta.ca/admin/funding/audited.aspx. Page 29 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 C. Education Facilities Plan and Highlights of Education Facilities BACKGROUND The Grande Prairie Public School District continues to experience significant enrollment growth as the community itself continues to grow. The GPPSD Board and community appreciates the Government’s response to our education needs with the completion of Charles Spencer High School in September 2014 and Isabel Campbell School K to 8 opening in September 2016. Concerns remain however, available instructional space for students identified in previous capital plans continue to exist, and are addressed in this current version of the plan. Our Plan is built on two pillars: First, our modular submission submitted on November 30th 2013 must be linked to our capital plan as they both are focused on meeting the base learning space needs of our students for the immediate term but must transition into our strategic vision for the future . Our Jurisdiction has over 20% or almost 2000 students in modular for meet their program needs. The Jurisdiction is still at 100% utilization with some schools over that level. In fact our ability to physically more sites on our school properties is now constrained. Our needs can’t be supported by modular for the immediate and especially the long term. This must be part of both of our planning processes. Secondly, a 2010/2011 Value Management Scoping Report’s Recommendations, involving stakeholders from Alberta Education, Alberta Infrastructure, GPPSD, and representatives from the construction industry continues to be used as the second pillar. The core strategies identified and more importantly the recommendations at that time to address GPPSD space issues remain at the core of this plan, with specific modifications made to address neighborhood demographics, continued space pressures in some south sector schools, and ultimately to address needs in all District schools. For example our Capital Plan contains a request for a new Composite High School and relocating our French Immersion students as recommended by that report. We need our number 1 priority of one new school in Riverstone and two modernizations/additions to meet the student enrolment growth of one of the fastest growing communities in the Province. We are in fact growing at 400 to 500 students a year which is equivalent to a new school per year. The plan overview is provided below and the details are attached for your review PLAN OVERVIEW The 2014 – 2017 Capital Plan addresses both District growth and specific pressures that exist. The highlights of this plan are through the identification of 3 top priorities. They are referenced in detail in the attached table and provided below in summary form. Priority 1: Our number 1 priority is listed as 3 projects as they are all needed simultaneously to meet the specific pressures facing the south and east quadrants of the City. The following table outlines the projects, associated costs and enrolment capacities of each school. School Riverstone North Montrose Aspen Grove Total Grades K–8 K–8 K–8 Cost $21.25M $8.0M $8.0M $37.25M Capacity Students 750 Core Modular 750 Core Modular 700 Core Modular Page 30 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Priority 2: We have identified a new K to 8 school in North West Grande Prairie. It has been part of previous capital submissions, and is also a recommendation coming from the Value Management Scoping Report in 2010/2011. Grande Prairie City is consistently one of the fastest growing communities in the province and this is even more of an issue in the North West sector of the city. We are growing at a school a year and modulars alone are not the answer. Priority 3: We have consistently identified a replacement or new High School for Grande Prairie Composite High in west-central Grande Prairie. This has become more critical as we may face a heat system breakdown of that school in 2014. We have used our limited Infrastructure and Maintenance funding (IMR) from the province to purchase an emergency boiler. As the current building was built in the 1950’s and part contains Asbestos materials, we have increased its priority listing to number 3 and are requesting a replacement school rather a modernization. The placement of the school would be in the growing North West part of the city and it would be our intention to partner with the Grande Prairie College on programing and teacher training. This request is also in keeping with the Value Management Scoping Report back in 2010/2011. In essence, this plan consists of (in chronological order, refer to attached plan for priorities): 2014/17 – 3 YEAR CAPITAL PLAN November 2013 Identified Project Priority New School – Riverstone North Public School K - 8 South East Quadrant – K - 8 Elementary Planning Period: 2014 – 2015 School year Opening Date: September 2016 Accommodate Increasing Enrolment Capacity: 750 Core Modular Total Budget: $ 21,250,000 1 Modernization/Addition – Montrose French Immersion Center K - 8 French Immersion K – 8 Redeployment Planning Period: 2014 – 2015 School year Opening Date: September 2016 Accommodation Increasing Enrolment Capacity: 750 Total Budget: $ 8,000,000 1 Modernization/ Addition – Aspen Grove School K - 8 English K - 8 Redeployment Planning Period: 2014 – 2015 School year Opening Date: September 2016 Accommodation Increasing Enrolment Capacity: 700 Total Budget: $ 8,000,000 1 Page 31 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 New School – Royal Oaks Public School K - 8 North West Quadrant – K - 8 Core Modular Planning Period: 2015 – 2016 School year Opening Date: September 2017 Accommodation Increasing Enrolment Capacity: 600 Total Budget: $17,000,000 2 Replacement – Composite High School 9 - 12 Modernize Skills CTS Labs Centre – Composite High School 9-12 Planning Period: 2015 – 2016 School year Opening Date: September 2018 Accommodation Increasing Enrolment Capacity: 1,800 Total Budget: $ 80,000,000 3 Permanent Addition – CKC site (New School) High School 9 - 12 Two story addition and modular classrooms Planning Period: September 2014 - 16 Opening Date: September 2016 Accommodation Increasing Enrolment Capacity: 400 4 Total Budget: $ 10,500,000 Modernization – Parkside Elementary School ` English Preschool – Early Learning Programs Redeployment Planning Period: 2015 – 2016 School year Opening Date: September 2018 Accommodation Increasing Enrolment Capacity: 400 Total Budget: $ 1,200,000 5 Permanent Addition – Alexander Forbes School K - 8 Replace 20 modular classrooms - permanent addition Planning Period: 2017 – 2018 School year Opening Date: January 2020 Accommodation Increasing Enrolment Capacity: 750 Total Budget: $ 7,150,000 6 Lease – 2012 Portables (Derek Taylor and Parkside) 2013: 7 portable classrooms $ 500,000 (Setup Costs) 2012/13 $ 160,000 2013/14 $ 160,000 2014/15 $ 160,000 Government Commitment not met Fund or replace with Modus units Lease – Grande Prairie Christian School Continue annual Lease funding $ 397,937 Continue Required Support Lease – Grande Prairie Christian School – Additional Area Additional funding to support $ 124,015 (Outstanding for 3 years) school expansion (926 m2) Government Commitment not met Lease – GE Capital Portables 25 portable classrooms $524,965 Various schools continued until 2014 Continue Required Support TOTAL 3-YEAR CAPITAL PLAN $ 155,126,917 Page 32 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 D. Transportation Services The Grande Prairie Public School District receives funding to provide transportation for students to and from their home and nearest school. Students and parents have the ability to pay fees to a school of choice, provided the bus is not re-routed and the students meet the bus at an existing stop. All transportation services are contracted to First Student Canada, one of the largest school bus transportation companies in Canada. The Grande Prairie Public School District runs cooperative bussing with the local separate school board. In total, the District has twenty-four (24) regular routes and four (4) special needs routes that run at least twice daily (morning and afternoon). For the Grande Prairie Public School District, First Student transports over 2,000 students each day representing approximately 30% of our students. School buses in Grande Prairie travel a total of approximately 2,125 kilometres each day or over 400,000 kilometres over ten months. This represents a single bus traveling around the world ten times each year! To enhance safety with our students, the Transportation Department introduced a student tracking system. Zonar is designed to track and monitor student ridership in a safe and non-intrusive way by using a Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) bus pass. By scanning their unique bus pass the District and parents know if, when, and where a student got on or off the bus. This accounts for a significant portion of phone calls parents make to schools and is information that our District needs to know. The Zonar GPS tracking will also help the District with some of the more common busing issues by tracking: 1. 2. 3. 4. How many students are riding the bus in total for billing purposes; How many students are on a single bus for overcrowding; How long students are on the bus to know the length of the bus rides; and When the buses arrive to pick up students from their stops and drop off/pickup at the school for late buses. Now student ridership can be monitored in a safe and non-intrusive way. Parents and school officials can have answers easily, immediately and cost-effectively with the Zonar student tracking system. GPPSD is one of the few Districts in the province to implement this system that has a small cost of operation but a large impact in safety and reporting for our students and District. Page 33 Authority: 3240 Grande Prairie School District No. 2357 Page 34
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