Monday, September 23, 2013

Response from Jenna's Mom

Wow.  An amazing message to wake up to!  If I had any doubts whatsoever about whether posting my letter was the right thing to do, this lays them all to rest. Please read and share this response I received from Jenna Bowers-Bryanton's mother.

Amanda, what a wonderful letter.  You have said more than a mouthful when you tell the government that it is time to put money where their mouth is. I have been fighting the Bullying issues since Jenna passed away. The present government was all over me to help them make a difference till I disagreed with them on some points. Then I was dropped like a hot potato.

To leave things as they are is not the answer but neither is a big glossy book. I agree with everything that you have said about the bullying issue and I believe that it is hands on that will make a difference and letting children know that they matter and are important will help more than you know. I have done several presentations at schools from grade primary to grade 12 and kids get it. The last presentation that I did was in front of about 200 young adults. Those kids listened to what I had to say, then i spoke with some of them in small groups. About a month after I did this presentation I received a large brown envelop in the mail. In that envelop were letters from those kids telling me what a difference I had made, there were at least 3 letters that said ” I had a plan and I was going to kill myself until I saw you and heard what you had to say and now I know that someone cares”. You have no idea how this helped me. It has been a struggle since Jenna died and yes she had depression but I can tell you for sure that the school that she attended failed her miserably. I wish I had home schooled her rather that tell her she had to go back to that school. I know in my heart that this is what pushed her over the edge.I feel that we need more teachers and guidance counselors to help our children. We also need to educate ourselves and children on the effects that bullying has on someone with depression. We need to promote good mental health is our schools and have the resources available to our children if they need help. Also, The Kids Help Phone is a wonderful source of support for our children and they are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week and they are free. Why could the schools not have a quiet room with a phone directly to kids help phone so that our children could access it anytime they wanted. When a parent deals with the loss of a child it is horrible, but to lose a child for something that is 100% preventable is totally unacceptable. In closing I would like to tell you if you ever decide to run for the government in a position that will help and protect our children I will be the first one on the band wagon to support you. Thank you for your words of wisdom I hope that the government parties of Nova Scotia take heed and listen to what you have to say. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Pam Murchison, Jenna Bowers-Bryantons mother.

We need to educate our children and ourselves on adolescent depression and the effects that bullying can have on someone with this disease.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Darrell Dexter's Response to my Concerns for Public Education

Thank you for your email.  My office recognizes the receipt of your message.  Due to the high level of correspondence received by my office, we may not be able to respond immediately.  Please be assured that my office will review your message and take appropriate action as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

Darrell E. Dexter, Q.C., M.L.A.

Premier of Nova Scotia



Thank you, Mr. Dexter.  I hear you loud and clear.


Thursday, September 19, 2013

Party Responses to My Open Letter

Hello friends!

Now that the babies are tucked into bed for the night and I've caught my breath, as promised, here are the responses I have received from various candidates in the upcoming provincial election with regard to my concerns for the state of public education in Nova Scotia.  

The NDP party was the first to respond.  Their campaign headquarters Tweeted:

"NDP will give kids a better start by focusing on what matters/making sure parents are up to date with plain language report cards", followed by "NDP will give kids a better start by focusing on what matters most: NDP are making kids safer with new anti-bullying laws", and then finally, "NDP will give kids a better start by focusing on what matters: NDP hiring more guidance counselors and mental health clinicians."

I also heard from my local candidate, Peter Lund, via email.  He was the first person I actually emailed the link to my letter to, and I did that early Monday morning.  He took his time, replying this afternoon, and I think his response reflects that.  Here it is:

Hi Amanda:

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. I wanted to do research into these  education  issues (my focus in the past few years has been on other school related issues, as described below) before responding so that I feel better informed. In the past few days, I have been discussing these issues with teachers I meet on the door steps and asking them questions/opinions. 

Just so you know, my focus during my tenure as Councillor for Hammonds Plains-St. Margaret's was on keeping rural elementary schools open such as Shatford and East St. Margaret's so that kids can stay in their communities without being bused long distances. My focus was also on standing behind parents during boundary reviews, such as last year when the School Board wanted to bus Glen Arbour students away from HP Consolidated to Kingswood, which in the end didn't happen. I, alongside Mat Whynott, lobbied to successfully locate the new CP Allen high school to where it is situated, along with convincing HRM Council to approve the all-weather sports field and community centre into the new school. I have an issue of the community not having access to the school after hours without paying $200 for a custodian. Non-profits cannot afford this.

Mat Whynott was also able to help secure additional teachers for Kingswood Elementary, HP Consolidated and, if I'm not mistaken, Madeline Symonds Middle School at the beginning of last year when we saw classrooms that had more students than expected (late registration often causes challenges there). It is no surprise to us that Hammonds Plains is one of the fastest growing regions in HRM and this time last year we needed some extra support in our classrooms. I was very impressed that he was proactive and took it upon himself to reach out to each individual principal of schools in his constituency to check in on class sizes and see how he might be able to help. 

In my own personal experience, my attention to date has not been on  education in the classroom aside from promoting activities (sports, theatre, cadets, etc.) to inspire kids, provide them with social skills and give them a sense of purpose. I am also very concerned with bullying having been bullied myself in school as a child (resulting in me living in fear and isolation growing up). I have also been concerned with the use of electronic devices in the hands of kids. I heard that the Ontario Teachers Union a month or so ago approved a Resolution to ban electronic devices in schools which in my opinion is a step in the right direction.

Having said this, you have clearly and eloquently described the challenges that you see as a parent, and teacher. I want to address what I can personally and also provide you with the direction that the NDP wish to head with respect to Education. 

I have been told by elementary teachers I know that the ideal ratio of Grades Primary to two is 1:20 , and Grades 3-6 is 1:25 . The Dexter government has recently capped the ratio to 1:25  for 1-3 and has committed to a gradual cap over the next three years for grades 4-6. I feel that this is a step in the right direction. For the HP catchment area, the ideal ratio of  1:20  will be challenging in the near future because the area is the fastest growing within HRM over the past number of years. I think more portables will be required to achieve the ratios until another school is built (please correct me if I am wrong on this and/or if you have suggested solutions).

The Dexter government announced last month that more counselors were to be immediately hired (a teacher told me yesterday that there were 35 positions advertised in Aug for this current school year). This should get the ratio to within or below the 1:500. More  mental health clinicians and youth health centre coordinators were also hired in schools across the province as part of the NDPs strategy to help provide students with the support they need at school, particularly with respect to (cyber)bullying.  I agree that more work needs to be done. 

The Dexter government is committed to front line teachers, as they have recently stated, similar to their commitment to front line health professionals. The government has been active in addressing anti-bullying and alongside other Provinces, has been pressuring the federal government to enact proper legislation to address this issue.

I can see that you're tremendously passionate about what you do. Frankly, we need more people like you to stand up and point out inefficiencies in our systems. One thing that the NDP government has made clear to me is that they listen to front line staff in every sector to ensure that investments are allocated appropriately. With respect to Education it can sometimes be an additional challenge to have funding allotments filtered through school boards on the recommendations of the provincial government - the target may not always match. The bottom line is, and always should be, that students should never see negative affects of any budgetary changes in the classroom. 

I can say at this time, that if elected as your MLA, I am committed to work with you and other teachers in the new Riding of Hammonds Plains-Lucasville to achieve proper education for all our children, and to stand  behind you. After all, they are our future. 

I welcome feedback on this response and suggestions/recommendations that I can bring forward at this time to Caucus. Please see the attached Party's position on education, something that I hope you see as more than just words. 

Finally,  I have received similar emails as yours from others, so curious as to where you reside/teach. If you would like to meet, please let me know. 

Hope this helps. 

Respectfully,

Peter

Not bad.  Obviously a thoughtful, sincere reply.  Mr. Lund seems like a person I would enjoy talking with.  I am planning to speak with him in person soon, and will let you all know how that goes.  I would also still like to hear from you, Mr. Dexter, if you're out there listening/reading.

The Liberal party was very, very quiet at first, not even venturing to Tweet.  Then this morning I received an email from Liberal leader, Stephen McNeil.  His response to my letter is as follows:

Dear Ms. Windsor, [Pause: It's a common mistake (but one that bugs me), so even though it's off topic I would like to state for the record that there is no "d" in my last name.  Thanks.]  

Thank you for sharing your blog post with me. I have been listening to teachers, parents and families across the province about their concerns about the education system.

Liberals see education as a priority and are committed to ensuring that classrooms get the resources they need for every student to succeed.

Government needs to set priorities. Liberals have raised concerns about the NDP's priorities while in government. While corporations were getting cheques for up to a billion dollars in free money, education budgets were being cut and teachers were being asked to do more for less. Within the Department of Education itself, nearly $700 000 was spent on advertising and promotions, while we were hearing of students with special needs losing the much needed support of an education assistant and nearly 2000 students were waiting to see specialists.

Bullying is a very serious issue and our caucus tried to strengthen legislation when it was first tabled- not just after a tragedy.

A Liberal government will reinvest the $65 million into public education that was cut by the NDP government. While the government has used declining enrollment as an excuse to slash budgets,
The NDP cuts to education resulted in over 700 teachers being cut from Nova Scotia classrooms and in total a loss of over 1,100 positions including education assistants, library technicians, literacy and math mentors, among others who support student learning. This is unacceptable. We will instate class caps for grades primary to 6. Grades primary to two will be capped at 20- students. For those classes with 21-25 students, an additional education assistant will be assigned to the class to provide support. Grades 3-6 will be capped at 25 students per class.

Today’s classroom is far more complex than in the past. Each class represents a wide diversity of need. Teachers have to teach several different lessons to the same class depending on modified plans, Individual Program Plans, etc. There are more special needs considerations in today’s classrooms than there were in the past – and not enough resources to meet the needs of these students. A Liberal government will also increase investment in special needs. Liberals believe that all students in the province should be given the tools to succeed.

We will also offer school Student Support Grants where each school will have access to $5000 per school and $25 per student to ease fundraising burdens and provide the much needed equipment you talk about in your letter.

Improving education in Nova Scotia starts with supporting the student in the classroom- this is our priority. We will initiate a curriculum review with a focus on literacy, numeracy and creative thinking to give students a strong foundation. For too long, teachers have had their hands tied. We want to support teachers in doing what they do best. If a teacher decides that a student may need to stay behind to master a grade, we have to respect the teacher's expertise. To push students through the system is unfair to students and does not help our province. I agree with you wholeheartedly that we have to hold our students to a standard. We have excellent teachers and ambitious students- it is time we acknowledge this and build an education system that supports and encourages this.

A Liberal government will put Nova Scotia first – and that starts with standing up for public education.

Regards,
Stephen

Also good.  A bit more "canned" than what I was hoping for, but on point.  Unfortunately, I have no sense of what Stephen McNeil is like as a human being based on this email, nor do I get the feeling that he would welcome hearing from me again anytime soon.  I don't like that.

Finally, the PC party.  My communication with Jamie Baillie was a little more extensive than with the other parties, simply because he made me the maddest. 

The first response from the PC party was a Tweet that read:

"Read w/ interest Amanda's blog on bullying @JamisBaillie's anti-bullying proposals can be seen here: http://pcparty.ns.ca/a-pc-government-will-take-real-action-to-combat-bullying/"

Okay, so this Tweet made me rage.  Here is the Facebook message I sent to Mr. Baillie in response to his totally off point response:

Good morning, Mr. Baillie!

I wanted to contact you personally to let you know how I feel about your indirect response to my open letter.

The only personal feedback from candidates so far has been an email from Peter Lund, NDP candidate for a riding within the HRM, which acknowledges receipt of the link I forwarded to him on Monday morning. Other than that the only other communication I am currently aware of is on Twitter, which I don't personally use or understand for that matter. Thanks to a very helpful Mama, I have learned that the Nova Scotia NDP HQ tweeted that they intend to hire more guidance counselors and mental health clinicians, and that they plan to instate plain language report cards. No word, to my knowledge, from the NS Liberal Party at this time. Your retweet of the link to my letter, which you claim is about bullying, accompanied by your party's anti-bullying agenda is, in my opinion, nothing more than an attempt to redirect people's attention to anti-bullying which, again, is an important issue, however it is NOT WHAT I WAS WRITING ABOUT.

This is about how money is managed generally within the NSDoE. What I want to know, Sir, is are you going to hire more teachers, support staff, and front line educators? Are you going to cut redundant upper management positions where appropriate? Are the microscopes going to be fixed? Will students have access to working computers and updated software when they need it? Are you going to reform and prioritize appropriate spending within the NSDoE? Is the curriculum going to be reviewed? Are the assessment policies going to be reviewed? Are you going to do the hard work required to give NS students what they need in school?

Please don't tell me about how you plan to push forward with the "Stand Up Against Bullying Day Act", because that is not what we're talking about here. That's all well and good, but not what I asked you about.

Please do not use my letter for your own motives. Please do not twist my words to distract people from my message. Address my concerns directly, please. You now have my personal Facebook contact information, and so I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.


I know, the all-caps is dramatic and probably wasn't necessary.  Moving on.

Here is Mr. Baillie's reply:

Hi Amanda,

Thanks for your message - I appreciate you getting in touch.

I invite you to read my platform, Change that Works, at http://pcparty.ns.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/PC-Party-of-Nova-Scotia-Platform.pdf

Starting on page 13, you'll see my plan for education.

To your point, on page 14 you will see that a PC government will reduce the number of school boards to four - Capital, Mainland Rural, Cape Breton and the Conseil scolarie provincial - and provide new boards with clear mandates to set goals, deliver flexible programs and invest administrative savings into classrooms.

In short, we will take education funding out of boardrooms and put it into classrooms where it belongs and this includes support staff for students who need it. We'll guarantee lower class sizes from Primary to Grade 6 by making it the law of the province through a stronger Education Act. Also on page 14, we'll implement a five-year agreement to reinvest in public education, based on supporting teachers to get the best results from students.

We'll ensure students in all grades are properly educated to reflect the growth of the digital economy and we will target funding for real results in school.

The detailed costing of all these items is on the back cover of the platform document. On page 17 you will see that a PC government will conduct an open, comprehensive review of provincial government programs and services including in the Department of Education.

I can assure you that I don't intend to use your letter for any purpose.

We will make report cards clearer, more consistent and more meaningful to parents and students, so student performance is clear.

Thank again for getting in touch. I appreciate the discussion.

All the best,
Jamie

On point, finally.  Like Stephen McNeil I have no idea what this man is like either, but I don't see us having coffee anytime soon.  Of the three responses this one is the least satisfactory to me.  To be fair, that could be because of some lingering aforementioned rage, but I am not sure.

I think in order for this comparison to be totally objective that I still need to hear from NDP leader Darrell Dexter, as well as the Liberal and PC candidates for Hammonds Plains.  If you're talking to any of them, let them know that I'm looking forward to their responses!

In the meantime, I plan to go over the responses I do have a few more times to make sure I make the best choice.  I invite all of you to thoughtfully do the same, and most importantly, I invite all of you to VOTE on October 8th!


Follow Up to my Open Letter to the Candidates of the 2013 Provincial Election in Nova Scotia

Hello friends!

Earlier this week I posted an open letter to the candidates of the provincial election here in NS, on a blog that I contribute to on a regular basis.  Since we at Mama Might (a blog you should follow!!) normally write about such topics as breastfeeding and how to feed a family on a budget, it was difficult to say how a very political letter about public education would be received among our readers, who are mainly young mom friends of the writers.  A fantastic, and highly satisfactory, week for us usually means around 300 hits and 30 shares.  

The open letter went locally viral, receiving around 17,000 hits and over 4,000 Facebook shares in 48 hours.  I received calls from CBC television and radio, CTV News, Global News, the NSTU, and other media sources.  All three major political parties have corresponded with me personally in response.  Clearly, I hit a nerve.  

I was very anxious about posting my letter, for many reasons, and I took a long tome to think about my motives before doing so.  At the end of the day, my decision to go ahead was based on my belief that it was the right thing to do, and I am satisfied with that decision.  As many of you have since pointed out, it needed to be done.

To say that I am overwhelmed by the support and response my letter has received would be a massive understatement.  Someday soon I will sit down and try to express my gratitude for the outpouring of solidarity, affirmation, and even the simple acknowledgement of what I've done.  While the overall response was very validating, the one that meant the most to me was a from a woman, formerly very involved in educational activism, who emailed:  "...I don't even have a job to protect, let alone a teaching job. Your letter was the first of it's kind that I have seen in about 15 years of watching. I really think that you 30 something Moms are going to make some big changes in the system. The time is coming and your attitude is awesome."

As parents, and teachers, we often tell our children to stand up to their peers and speak the truth, no matter the cost.  And yet, we've created an adult world where we are afraid to do the same.  Oftentimes, as adults, and in particular in the workplace, our experience is that there is no discourse anymore, no accountability, and a whole lot of fear and discontent.  We think that by being open about things that need to be addressed that we risk it all: our jobs, our security, our professional relationships, our ambitions, and maybe even our very future.  This can no longer be held true.  Open, respectful dialogue is the only thing that will ensure accountability and reform.  This is true in the workplace, families, friendships, and even in the Department of Education.  We all need to be heard.  We need to speak, not only for ourselves, but for those who have little or no voice of their own.  In this case, my intention was to speak for myself, but also for the children, parents, and teachers of NS who were not being heard by our provincial government.

Thanks to all of you, I think we got their attention.

Thank you again.  I will be posting the various responses I have received from provincial candidates later today for your perusal.

Stay informed, read the party platforms on education, write to your MLA's, and speak up about whatever it is you believe needs to be done to give our kids what they deserve: a high-quality public education.

And most importantly, on October 8th, make an informed vote.

Cheers,

Amanda