Schools Rate Low In Tests

SD23 Schools Rate Low in Tests, May 19, 2007
School District 23 schools were far from the top in a ranking of the province‘s 984 elementary schools. Watson Road Elementary, in the North Glenmore area, received the highest placing in the Valley #76.

Peter Greer Elementary in Winfield, listed at #138, and Peachland Elementary, at #320, were both noted in a separate list of the 25 fastest-improving schools, jumping up from No. 450 and No. 564, respectively.
Peter Cowley is the director of school performance studies at the Fraser Institute, the right-wing think-tank that prepares the annual elementary school report card.
Peter Cowley said:
1/ "This is meant to be an audit of how a school is doing."
2/ "It‘s meant to help parents choose a school."
3/ "It's to help educators take action where it's needed."
4/ "Both can observe if a school's is improving or sliding."

*The rankings are based on how well Grade 4 and Grade 7 students in each B.C. school did on the 2005-06 provincewide foundation skills assessments that test reading, writing and numeracy. The top five elementary schools in the rankings are Crofton House, Mulgrave, St. George‘s, West Point Grey and York House, all private schools in Vancouver.
Not all the province‘s elementary schools are included in the rankings. The Fraser Institute said it excluded schools that did not generate a sufficiently large set of data for its rankings. The Fraser Institute prepares similar rankings of high schools and universities.

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Roberts Passes Off Responsibility

Adult Male Inside Girl's Washroom at SD23 School

When reactiong to a male offering chocolate to a young student inside a girls washroom, School District 23 Superintendent Mike Roberts passes off the responsibility of school security to elementary children..What else would parents expect from Roberts!

Roberts is quoted .."It's just not possible to lock all doors all the time." the student reacted appropriately and did what she was taught to do in such circumstances." "We're redoing our training with elementary kids in terms of how to deal with strangers."

It has been found that the school district keeps no record of who has hundreds of keys to school property. Up to a few years ago Staff ID Tags were not even provided.

Businesses for years have been able to lock all doors and to track all who entered..with today's relatively inexpensive technologies available why can't the school district secure its buildings?

Astonishing..Roberts adds that .."even if the school could lock down its premisses during school hours that wouldn't solve the problem as strangers can approach kids when they are not in school as well."

Roberts continues to deflect and deny the school district's lack of protection for young children in it's buildings.

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Roberts should at least ensure that signs have graffiti removed.

Click to read about concerns with Mike Roberts as Superintendent

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