Yk1 in need of parents' voices
April 16 meeting one of several to shape future of school board's facilities, programming
Candace Thomson
Northern News Services
Published Friday, April 11, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Parents will get a chance to voice their concerns and opinions on the future of most of Yellowknife's schools.
The Facilities Working Committee with Yellowknife Education District No. 1 plans to host the first of a series of meetings with parents and staff April 16.
According to Heather Clarke, chair of the committee and vice-chair of Yk1's board of trustees, this first meeting will begin groundwork that will shape the future of Yk1 facilities, programming, and gauge how the needs of students and concerns of parents are being met by the district.
The committee was struck during the February board meeting after a request from the GNWT to give up William McDonald Middle School, or another Yk1 school with low enrolment, to the government so they could meet a 2012 Supreme Court ruling to provide amenities and expand the francophone schools in Yellowknife and Hay River - a project that would cost the GNWT $28 million.
The proposal, also dubbed the "school swap," was met with negative reactions from trustees when it became public in December, but without the input of parents the board of trustees would not make a decision. The committee was then struck, and is made up of a large group of people which includes trustees, district office staff, teachers and parents.
"Our goal as a committee is to develop recommendations for the Board of Trustees that describe how to organize our educational programs and facilities to best meet the needs and interests of current and future students," Clarke stated in a press release issued Tuesday by Yk1.
"As well, we need to address the request made by the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment that we transfer one of the district's school facilities to the (GNWT)."
Clarke told Yellowknifer after the April board meeting on Tuesday that the upcoming meetings are not solely about the proposed transfer of a school, which could still happen despite the GNWT's appeal date being passed, but a conversation about the general future of Yk1 facilities that was sparked by that proposal.
"It's become about more than the facilities proposal," Clarke said.
"This process has been a lot of work, and there's still more work to come, but it's an important issue and we need to do this so we can hear the thoughts and concerns of our parents about the future of our schools."
Parents attending the meeting will be asked how the district can best provide programs and services based on the needs of their students, if the district should consider changing the grade configuration in the schools, and if it can transfer a school to the GNWT and still meet the needs of students, among other questions.
Along with information gleaned from further meetings scheduled for later this month and May, and potential online surveys the committee is working on, the committee plans to create a list of recommendations for the board of trustees, which it hopes to present to them during the May meeting.
The April 16 meeting will be held at William McDonald Middle School at 7 p.m.
