Director's Annual Report

1996

Reductions to education funding and the retention of effective programs and services to meet the diverse needs of our student population continue to challenge us as a school system.

Despite our financial circumstances, we have enjoyed a number of successes. We saw the opening of the Humberwoods project--the new home of Holy Child Catholic School, much needed renovations or additions to existing school facilities, new initiatives such as primary literacy programs, improvements in the results of provincial standardized tests, and celebrations of countless anniversaries, special events and individual staff and student achievements at the local level.

I continue to take heart in the knowledge that our staff are among the best in the world. Their commitment to the students, and indeed to the preservation of the quality of Catholic education, are evident in everything they do--both within the classroom and after hours.

This annual report outlines some of the latest developments within MSSB, and the achievements of staff and students in our schools.

I take great pride in serving those who make up MSSB, the largest Catholic school board in this country, and I can only hope that we will achieve even greater things in 1997.

Norm Forma
Director of Education

Each school must formally establish a Catholic School Advisory Council (comprising parents, students, staff, members of the business community, local ratepayers and parish representatives) subject to the requirements of the Education Act and MSSB policies, guidelines and operating procedures.

Advice from Councils will take into consideration a commitment to partnership and will reflect the general views of the school community, and the best interests of the students.

Training and Implementation

The 1996-97 school year will be a training year for Councils. Phase I of the implementation process is ongoing. More than 600 Council members, representing 185 schools have already been in-serviced. Phase II includes a review of policies which are related to Advisory Councils, while Phase III will include a final review and evaluation of the first year.

A Council Forum is planned in late spring for the purpose of sharing successful ideas and events which took place during the school year.

The ongoing restructuring of the Board's administrative departments continues to result in downsizing, as MSSB responds to Ministry of Education and Training grant reductions. In March 1996, for the first time ever, we were forced to issue layoff notices to teachers to meet our Social Contract obligations.

As of October 1996, 115 teachers had not yet been recalled to teaching duty, and the non-teaching workforce had been reduced by an additional 16 positions. Central and administrative costs have also been reduced significantly over the last two years, from a level which was already well below the provincial average.

Re-engineering of MSSB business processes continues to highlight the need for MSSB to deal with all of its employees in a fair, equitable, honest and Christian manner, respecting the dignity of each individual and recognizing their contributions to the Board.  

In October, the Board was presented with a draft policy on student and program assessment. The development of the policy was a consultative process, in which more than 750 representatives from the MSSB community (including students, graduates, teachers, administrators, parents and trustees) participated, providing input into the purpose, principles and practices of student and program assessment.

The implementation of the policy will include in-service for all schools, the development of local assessment action plans and the development of performance-based checklists in core subject areas for grades 3, 6, 8, 9 and 11.

These initiatives will ensure ongoing feedback on individual student proficiency and progress, providing the Board and the public with consistent and accurate information on both student progress and the effectiveness of programs.

The policy, and its implementation at the local level, will be the subject of a system-wide professional activity day in February 1997.  

Religious education

Through the religious education program, Catholic students learn the basic knowledge of their faith tradition, develop attitudes and skills that encourage a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and participate in a faith community committed to living the Gospel's call to transform persons, relationships and structures.

As well, family life education enables students to become knowledgeable about the Christian vision of the human person, with a special focus on human dignity, living in relationships, sexuality and contributing to human society.

Programs used in MSSB schools for religious/family life education are developed under the direction of the Canadian and Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The National Office of Religious Education, which operates under the auspices of the Canadian Bishops, has now completed its curriculum revisions for the primary cycle of the “Born of the Spirit” catechetical series. In-service on this new program was provided for all MSSB grade 3 teachers.

A new textbook has been produced by the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops for use in secondary schools, entitled “Reaching Out--Readings in Family Life Education”. The Bishops have also written a statement addressed to the Catholic education community on family life education for secondary schools, and both the textbook and the statement are being used as curriculum resources in MSSB secondary schools.

The Archdiocese of Toronto has a new publication entitled “Norms for Sacramental Preparation”. This document outlines the responsibilities of home, school and parish in this area. MSSB schools have received copies of the document and representatives from each school have attended in-service workshops as to the school's role in sacramental preparation.

In Other Program Areas

In 1996, MSSB continued to focus on monitoring program and student performance as one means of improving both.

CAT/2 Results Show Improvement

Following the 1995 CAT/2 results and the 1994 Mathematics Program Review, steps were taken to enhance student performance in mathematics problem-solving. Improved student performance in the 1996 CAT/2 subtest: “Math Concepts and Applications” indicates that system and school action planning to address such needs have assisted in boosting performance.

(The Canadian Achievement Test/Revision 2 was administered to 5,500 grade 5 students in May 1996. The students scored within the national sample percentile range in all subtests including vocabulary, comprehension, language expression, study skills, math concepts and applications, but were above the national sample range in spelling, language mechanics and math computation.)

Primary Language Program

The primary language arts program review initiated in early 1996 has been completed and will be reported to the Board in February 1997. The findings will be used to formulate new directions and enhancements to the language arts program for 1997 and beyond.

Literacy Initiatives

Ongoing initiatives in emergent and early literacy abound within MSSB. The Wonder of Literacy Project (operating in 13 MSSB schools) and the Early Literacy Project/TIPPS/IBM are two high profile initiatives. The latter is a shared initiative involving the MSSB, the Etobicoke and North York Boards of Education, the York County Roman Catholic Separate School Board, the Ministry of Education and Training, and IBM (Eduquest). The Wonder of Literacy project is a collaborative effort between the language arts department, the generalist resource teachers from each of the curriculum support units and the speech and language department.

Science Review

A review of the science program has been initiated, with much of the assessment instrumentation already being developed by York University, the Ministry of Education and Training, and a number of school boards (including the MSSB). The MSSB will integrate this initiative with an expanded review which, like the mathematics and language arts reviews, will provide information on areas of program delivery and student performance.

Junior Division Curriculum Material

In the spring of 1996, the program services department developed a document entitled the MSSB Interpretation of the Common Curriculum for the junior grades. It includes outcome planners for all the specific outcomes, as well as unit planners. In the fall of 1996, all junior classroom teachers, specialist teachers and administrators were in-serviced on the use of the document.

Last year a similar document was developed and in-serviced for the intermediate division. Work will commence shortly on a document for the primary division.

Compucentre & Program Services Partnership

Program services has entered into a partnership with Compucentre in order to facilitate the electronic access of MSSB-designed curriculum.

This database of curriculum resources is non-static in nature, as it will continue to expand by the addition of newly-developed unit planners and other resources, i.e. direct links to internet websites.

The MSSB interpretation for the junior and intermediate division are currently being formatted for this process.

Secondary School Reform

During 1996, the MSSB Task Force on Secondary School Reform arranged a number of information and consultation sessions with staff and school communities in order to provide a comprehensive response to the Ministry of Education and Training's recent consultation paper on that subject. The task force will continue to work cooperatively during 1997 to respond to the MET's directions for secondary school reform.

Junior Kindergarten

MSSB maintained the junior kindergarten program for the 1996-97 school year, despite an $8.2 million reduction in provincial grants to fund this initiative. The Board believes that positive experiences for children in this age group could in fact enhance ongoing learning skills and reduce remedial actions required in later grades.

Technological Literacy Project

The Board has launched a primary pilot project in technology literacy. The $4.28 million project, funded jointly by the Ministry, IBM, MSSB, North York and Etobicoke Boards of Education and the York Region Roman Catholic Separate School Board, was established to promote the use of technology as an instructional tool.

Holy Child, Our Lady of Fatima, Pope Paul, St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. Brendan, St. Denis, St. Francis de Sales, St. Martin de Porres and St. Raymond have each been set up with 24 network multi-media workstations, one file server, 6 printers, $50,000 of software and resources, and eight days of inservice for their teachers.  

Support Material Created

A comprehensive staff development plan which focuses on strategies to support school staff as well as parent communities, is planned. A package of materials has been developed in cooperation with all the Metro school boards using a Ministry of Education and Training grant for the production of support materials on inclusion. The material developed will be provided to all elementary and secondary schools as part of an in-service program.

Early Literacy

Under the leadership of the psychology department, a video for parents has been produced to provide information on how to encourage language development, interest in books and reading skills. Volunteers from within the MSSB community including media personalities have donated their time and talent to this project.

The psychology department has also introduced a pilot project which employs co-operative education students as literacy mentors for at-risk grade 1 and 2 students. Eighteen at-risk students in four schools will participate in individual 40-minute sessions daily for four months. These sessions provide practice in reading, phonemic awareness and writing activities to supplement the instruction that is provided by the classroom teacher. The expectation is that these practice sessions will lead to accelerated growth in literacy skills and eliminate the need for special education support for these students.

The literacy mentors (senior high school students who are interested in pursuing careers in the field of psychology) are earning secondary school credits for their participation. Each mentor will work under the direction of a member of the psychology department and will receive training in motivational and instruction techniques as well as assessment procedures.

Kindergarten Language Program

A kindergarten language program has been initiated to provide intensive speech and language support to senior kindergarten students with significant needs. The pilot program is taught by a teacher and a speech-language pathologist. Students in the program attend two half days in addition to the regular kindergarten program.

Project Modification

A collaborative project on program modification has been initiated with special services staff. A resource document for teachers is being developed, and in-service is planned for special education teachers.

In-service and support documents have been provided for teachers and parents on the following topics:

• Early language and literacy development, including phonemic awareness
• Autism/PDD and augmentative communications strategies
• Programming strategies for students with oral language difficulties.

  Expansion of Section 27 Programs

• A partnership between the Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services, the Ministry of Education and Training, and our Board, has resulted in the provision of educational programs to young offenders at the Metropolitan Toronto West Detention Centre.
• Due to the increased enrollment at Rosalie Hall, one additional MSSB teacher has been added to the program.
• A new agreement with the George Hull Centre has facilitated the expansion of educational and therapeutic service for adolescents with mental health issues and conduct disorders. Education can now be provided for young adults in residential and day treatment programs.

A new agreement has also been finalized with Enterphase Child and Family Services for latency aged youngsters who come into crisis care through Children's Aid Society and Catholic Children's Aid Society referrals.

Informal Liaisons with Agencies

MSSB will work with Integra in a pilot project to determine the relationship between unidentified learning disabilities and young offenders.

A pilot project has been initiated with Stothers Centre for Children and Families to work with selected schools in the Etobicoke area to promote the social well-being of children through therapeutic intervention during the crucial early years.

Social Work Initiatives

In addition to the direct services which school social workers provide to students and their families within MSSB schools, special initiatives within the department include:

• In-services to all schools began last year on the revised MSSB child abuse policy, guidelines and procedures. Presentations to the remaining schools and other appropriate MSSB staff were completed by late 1996.
• Initiatives and programs for the prevention of violence in the schools, prevention of violence against women and children, have been planned at local levels within individual schools as well as communities of schools. Some initiatives have involved partnerships with other school boards, community agencies, and local police divisions which will continue into 1997.

Crisis Intervention and Prevention Project

At the beginning of this academic year, staff from the social work department and other special services departments were trained by the Canadian Training Institute in crisis intervention and prevention, a program to help diffuse anger, hostility and resistance in conflict situations. The purpose of this training is to assist other MSSB staff to respond effectively and appropriately to individuals--both staff and students--who may be experiencing a crisis.

School-Based Support Teacher
Inservice Program

The renewal of the School-Based Support Team Inservice Program in conjunction with the Faculty of Education, York University, has begun. The focus of this intensive professional development program includes strategies which support the exceptional child in the most inclusive educational environment.

In-service Programs for Education Assistants

An in-service program for education assistants has been developed in conjunction with George Brown College. Fifty-six support staff are involved in this intensive certificate program which runs from September 1996 to June 1997.  

The Metropolitan Separate School Board is currently in the implementation phase of the strategic planning/continuous renewal process. Strategic planning continues to occur at both the system and the local school/department level.

System level planning is guided by the four system strategy teams: Gospel values, collaborative leadership, decentralized decision-making and transforming the learning experience. Each of these four system strategy teams has made recommendations to the MSSB within the context of the Board's Mission and Vision. A number of recommendations have led to professional development opportunities at both system and local levels.

A “Guide to Collaboration” is currently being used as a tool to enhance collaborative decision-making within the Catholic School Advisory Councils.

At the local level, our schools and departments are engaged in a process of continuous renewal as they follow an action planning process to establish their school/department goals. This process continues to provide schools with a framework for integrating MET and MSSB priorities and initiatives into a comprehensive school plan.

During the past year, the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee completed the development of indicators of success which can be used by schools and administrative departments to monitor the implementation of the continuous renewal process at the local level.  

In-House Legal Counsel

MSSB initiated the trial of in-house legal counsel last year, saving the Board approximately $91,000 during the first three months.

Shared Transportation Agreement

MSSB has negotiated a sharing agreement with the Metropolitan Toronto School Board to reduce the cost of special education busing. Participating in the pilot project are the North York and East York Boards of Education. This sharing of transportation will result in savings of more than half-a-million dollars for the partners.

Financial Audit

MSSB established a Financial Audit Subcommittee, which will report to the Board's Administrative Services and Budget Committee. The subcommittee is responsible for internal controls and management information systems (reporting, policies, procedures, budget process, compliance of legal, ethical, regulatory requirements as established by the Ministry of Education and Training and MSSB).

Advertising

The Board approved a new policy on advertising on school and MSSB-owned or operated property. In addition to inviting proposals from the business community for partnership initiatives, the Board continues to explore the possibility of school bus messaging (advertising on school buses) in partnership with its transportation provider, Laidlaw. If successful, these initiatives could result in additional revenues for the Board.

Five Star Accident Prevention Awards

MSSB recorded its lowest number of “lost time” injuries since it began tracking these accidents five years ago. In 1995 there were 209 lost time injuries at MSSB, compared to the five-year high of 282 recorded in 1992.

Ten MSSB work sites have not had any lost time accidents in five years: computers in education department, French language curriculum support unit, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic School, Holy Redeemer Catholic School, Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School, St. Dunstan Catholic School, St. Gabriel Lalemant Catholic School, St. Malachy Catholic School, St. Michael Choir Catholic School and St. Richard Catholic School.  

MSSB was pleased to see the completion, or the near-completion of several renovation/expansion projects at local school facilities through the Canada/Ontario Infrastructure Works, Facilities Renewal Program and Board funds:

• Construction of a $1.516 million addition to Chaminade College (expected completion date: February 28, 1997);
  
• An $400,000 renovation to the science lab at St. Joseph Morrow Park Catholic Secondary School;
  
• Replacement of six portables with a two-story addition to St. Isaac Jogues Catholic School at a cost of $1.16 million;
  
• A two-story addition to Regina Mundi Catholic School at a cost of $1.536 million;
  
• Replacement of 12 portables with a two-story addition to St. Andrew Catholic School at a cost of $1.348 million;
  
• Construction of a two-story addition to St. Barnabas Catholic School at a cost of $1.993 (estimated completion date: February 28, 1997); and
  
• The addition of four classrooms and a library to Blessed Sacrament Catholic School totalling $1.317 million.

This year marked the blessing of Bishop Allen Academy in Etobicoke and the official opening and blessing of Holy Child Catholic School (part of the much-anticipated Humberwoods project).

We also celebrated the 75th anniversaries of Holy Rosary Catholic School and St. Brigid Catholic School, and the 25th anniversaries of St. Agnes, St. John Fisher and St. Martha Catholic Schools.

MSSB saw the opening of some new child care facilities in Board-owned or operated schools. These included:

• Three child care centres--Sadochok (Josyf Cardinal Slipyj Catholic School), Day Care Connection (St. John Catholic School), Y.M.C.A. Day Care (St. Maximillian Kolbe Catholic School).
  
• Five before- and after-school programs--Little Prints (Blessed Trinity Catholic School), Umbrella Day Care Services (St. Bonaventure Catholic School), P.L.A.S.P. (St. Clement Catholic School), Kids Can Doodle (St. Joseph Catholic School) and East Scarborough Boys and Girls Club (St. Malachy Catholic School). 

Each year outstanding educators and students bring recognition to MSSB through their individual or collective achievements. These are some of the highlights from 1996:

• Hugo Pereira, St. Sebastian Catholic School--Father Andrew Cuschieri Award;
  
• Rosemary Commisso, Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School and Cleavon Francis, St. Anthony Catholic School--Sr. Mary Hamilton Award for Exceptional Students;
  
• Dean Doucette, St. Barbara Catholic School and Gino Grieco, South Curriculum Support Unit--1996 Design & Technology Teachers of Ontario Award of Merit;
  
• Hugo Ceren, Rommel Cruz, Neil Forester, Mike Griffin, Anthony Infanti, Nick Lakhan, Andy Lati, Richard Martins, Christian Phillips, Pio Sebasiampillai, Sean Robinson, Issam Saad, Cory Sommerville and Sebouh Torossian, Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School--Ontario Invitational Classic “A” Volleyball Championships;
  
• Cecilia Lui and Clara Chow, Francis Libermann Catholic Secondary School and Jayne Lee, Loretto Abbey--Canada-wide Mathematics Science Fair;
  
• Pauline Tam, Christl Dabu, Francis Libermann Catholic Secondary School--International Learning Styles Centre “Notion Commotion” Competition;
  
• MSSB Divisions 1 & 2 Teams: Ada Chan Benedict Chong, Adrian Dusanowshyj, Alexander Howard, Michael Tu, Jacqueline Valerio, Micahel Vitullo, Kimberley Bethke, Alexis Fabricius, Karen Keung, Raymond Siochi, Jacqueline Smith, Megan Shrubsole, Beth Robinson--Odyssey of the Mind Canadian Finalists, participants in World Finals;
  
• Elmer Ting, Brebeuf College--Young People's Press Provincial Essay Writing Contest;
  
• Garret Monahan, Bishop Allen Academy--Action Grosse Ile Canadian-Irish History Competition;
  
• Valérie Intraligi, Saint-Noël-Chabanel Catholic School and Caroline Bard, Sainte-Madeleine Catholic School--Club Richelieu Public Speaking Contest;
  
• Krystle Ng-A-Mann, St. Martin de Porres Catholic School--Participant in Ontario Junior High National Debating Contest and Junior High National Debating Championships;
  
• Grace Chau, Dora Cheung, Kathleen Gallo, Shannon Le Clair, Melanie McAleese, Christina Palod, Dagmar Radwan, Colleen Uncao, St. Joseph College--Ontario Catholic Schools Inter-Board Law Tournament Champions;
  
• Samuel Wong, Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School and Jimmy Chui, Brebeuf College--strong performance in various math competitions;
  
• Kevin Hughes, St. Richard Catholic School, Mathew Joseph, Prince of Peace Catholic School, Vivian Leung, Holy Redeemer Catholic School; and Fabian Roche, St. Anselm Catholic School--wrote perfect papers in 1995-96 nation-wide Gauss Mathematics Competition;
  
• Courtney Amaral and Andrea Santos, St. Lucy Catholic School and Michael Ku, St. Joseph Catholic School--Toronto Atmosphere Club environment poster contest winners;
  
• Holy Cross Catholic School--Winner of the first Technology Challenge sponsored by BASF and Children's Creative Marketing Incorporated;
  
• James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic Secondary School--host site for “virtual school”--Cybercampus Ontario.
  
• Cardinal Léger Catholic School--the #1 fundraiser for the annual Terry Fox Run;
  
• Tyrone Bernardo, Kempton Shaw, Clifford Chow, Zack Prohaska, Royon Henry, Stanley Samuel, Mike Grew, Glen Calliste, and Cornelius Oparah, Francis Libermann Catholic Secondary School--gold medallists in Hamilton Spectator Games (track);
  
• St. Monica--selected by TVOntario to participate in “Galaxy Project”, linking students to schools in the United States through fax modems and satellite;
  
• Elizabeth Vitullo, St. Patrick Catholic Secondary School--nominated for Scotiabank's Young Achiever and profiled in Toronto Sun's “Women on the Move” salute;
  
• Stephanie Stasyna and Tanya Monestier, Bishop Allen Academy--spread their antidrug message to 70 elementary schools;
  
• Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School--first place in provincial cheerleading championships; fifth at the nationals;
  
• Sabina Martyn, St. Brendan Catholic School, Kathryn Dabu, Prince of Peace Catholic School and Maija-Lijsa MacLeod, St. Richard Catholic School--advanced to national championships, Spelling Bee of Canada;
  
• Michelle Lam, St. Joseph Morrow Park Catholic Secondary School and Alice Wu, St. Basil the Great College--first place in accounting contest sponsored by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario;
  
• St. Wilfrid Catholic School--pilot school for “Diversity Project”, a joint initiative of the Ministry of Education and the Faculty of Education, York University, to promote equity and diversity in teacher education and teaching practices;
  
• Elizabeth Vitullo, James, Han, Vaughan Johnson and Oliver Ortuoste, St. Patrick Catholic Secondary School--second place at Connaught Student Biotechnology Exhibition at the Ontario Science Centre;
  
• Nativity of Our Lord Catholic School--junior chess team wins Etobicoke Public/Catholic Schools Finals;
  
• Eduardo Dinis, St. Mary Catholic Secondary School, Rudolfo Guilherme, Francis Libermann Catholic Secondary School, Rani Rivera, Loretto College and Michael Bregin, St. Pius X Catholic School--qualified for the 1996 Geography Challenge, Ontario Championships;
  
• Vicky Loh, St. Joseph Morrow Park Catholic Secondary School--first place in column/opinion writing, Toronto Star Top Journalists contest;
  
• Madonna Catholic Secondary School--Distinctive Festival Award at Sears Drama Festival;
  
• St. Francis de Sales Catholic School--North York Environmental Award of Merit for recycling, garbageless lunch program, school yard clean-ups and beautification;
  
• Nicole Campbell, Teresa Caruana, Tania Castanheira, Amanda Dove, Charlene Gethons, Patience Okyere, Diego Reyes, Isabel Sosa, Christine Stanyon, Kamila Szedzinska, Lisa Torelli, Nadia Trevisiol, Mark Scola and Marlon Martinez, Monsignor Percy Johnson Catholic Secondary School--school choir featured on new album for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops;
  
• Michelle Joseph, Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School--Harry Jerome Award winner;
  
• Lee Bahou, Glen Calliste, Darren Dowdy, Derek Gibbs, Mike Grew, Shomari Gray, Donald McLeod, Rob McPherson, Cornelius Oparah, Stanley Samuel, Kempton Shaw and Adrian Sluga, Francis Libermann Catholic Secondary School--track team wins St. Cloud Invitational and Mike Roberson Invitational in Florida.  

The Metropolitan Separate School Board approved a budget of $702.8 million for 1996. At the conclusion of the budget process, the Board had a shortfall of approximately $3 million, largely due to changes in Provincial grants--a $25.8 million reduction to general legislative grants (this includes the $12.9 million Social Contract reduction for 1996), a reduction of support for junior kindergarten and adult education programs, and a reduction in support for transportation. The approved mill rates for 1996 were 259.65 for residential and 305.47 for commercial and industrial.

A number of cost-saving measures were implemented, including reductions to employee benefits, administrative department budgets, instructional supplies, administrative and support staffing levels, as well as a reduction to the trustee honorarium.

The budget process is always a collaborative one, with input from staff, parents, ratepayers and students. Budget information workshops were conducted locally by school principals and representatives from our School Associations (now called Catholic School Advisory Councils). The number of participants in these workshops exceeded 1,500. In keeping with the direction we received from those workshops, MSSB continues to spend just 1.9 per cent of its total budget on administration (according to Education Finance Reform statistics), leaving more resources available to students in our classrooms. A full 89.6 per cent of the budget goes towards instruction, the maintenance of school buildings, rent, tuition fees and student transportation.