After the holiday break, the Rocky View Schools (RVS) Board of Trustees convened for the first time in 2023 on Jan. 12. Here is a rundown of some of the items discussed at the meeting.
Bussing costs still high in Rocky View Schools
RVS Superintendent of Schools Greg Luterbach presented the quarterly report to the public school division's trustees on Jan. 12, highlighting purchases over $200,000 made by RVS between Sept. 1, 2022 and Nov. 31, 2022.
According to Luterbach, RVS spent about $3.94 million on five different transport companies for bussing services during that timeframe. Southland Transportation Ltd., Fenton Bus Lines Inc., and First Student Canada all received an allotment of around $1.05 million each.
Four Seasons Transportation received about $502,000, and Wilco Transportation Ltd. received around $292,000.
Provincial advocacy
RVS board chair Norma Lang reported to her fellow trustees at the Jan. 12 meeting that she had received a response from Alberta Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange to the letter sent by the board last month outlining the urgent need for new schools and new modulars in the division.
Lang told trustees the Minister had acknowledged receipt of RVS' letter, as well as that of Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt, on the overcrowding issue, and suggested new modulars would likely be on the way to help take some of the pressure off to start 2023-2024 school year.
Lang did not mention if LaGrange said anything about new schools in the letter sent.
Four-Year Plan meets goals despite COVID disruptions
RVS Superintendent of Schools Greg Luterbach said the ambitious four-year plan adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2019 had largely met all of its goals despite plentiful disruptions brought on during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a lengthy presentation to the Board of Trustees during the Jan. 12 meeting, Luterbach reminded trustees what those goals were.
The first goal had been to have an education curriculum that connected passions, interests and people. To further this goal, Luterbach reported students had engaged in real-world, hands-on learning opportunities in local schools, and students had demonstrated ownership of their learning through various project-based opportunities and through following the “Building Thinking Classrooms” model, as championed by educational theorist Peter Liljedahl to build up their math skills.
The second goal was to help students “achieve their potential.” Luterbach said this was done by helping ensure students are literate, numerate, and are acquiring their core competencies. The superintendent acknowledged there was more work to be done on achieving better results on provincial exams and diploma exams, but felt, overall, that RVS was heading in the right direction when it comes to students meeting high expectations and learning outcomes.
The third goal outlined in the four-year plan was to have students learn to successfully navigate as global citizens by continuing to engage in good self-care, building up their resiliency, and valuing diversity.
Luterbach highlighted for trustees the important work that had been done in this regard by RVS’ Indigenous Connector and Learning Specialist programs, which helped students learn about Indigenous and Métis culture, traditions and issues.
