"That tells people that, at Roosevelt elementary, however well -intentioned the teachers are, however dedicated they are, however hard -working they are and however much of their own money they put into the school's resources, they have not been effective," said Cowley.
"You can hide the people who aren't effective and make the kids think they're just doing well, or we can open it up to the public and encourage the people of Roosevelt Park that this is the way it is - now, how are we going to do better?" -- The observations of the Fraser Institute's Peter Cowley, quoted last month in a Kamloops Newspaper.
As we reviewed on the blog on Sunday, the Fraser Institute's annual rankings were released over the weekend, culled from the results of the Foundation Skills Assessments for Grades four and sevens.
For the North Coast it showed a general decline in the results for the public schools, while the Independent school had a better result than last years numbers.
While the local teachers union has long been opposed to the Fraser Institute's rather narrow view on scholastic achievement based on raw data and not on other real time factors, for the most part they have voiced their concerns through their internal channels, whether to the School District or through the BCTF.
It was a PRDTU motion at convention last year that led to a provincial call to boycott the FSA's mainly due to the way that the data is interpreted and of course how the Fraser Institute has used the data to rank the schools.
That plan of course came to an end when the Labour Relations Board ruled that the teachers had to administer the tests as required, this years tests take place through the month of February.
So with the past history between the PRDTU and the Fraser Institute it should perhaps not be a surprise to learn that once again the two sides have locked horns over the issue of the rankings and the data interpretation.
The local teachers are quite upset with the commentary of the Fraser Institutes Peter Cowley regarding the progress of work at Roosevelt Community School in Prince Rupert. Cowley was quoted in the Kamloops This Week paper as suggesting that regardless of what teachers at Prince Rupert's Roosevelt Park Elementary are doing, it isn't working.
It has become a rallying cry of sorts for local teachers, many of whom seem to be a little weary of the Fraser Institute's interpretations of how education is faring on the North Coast.
They have asked the School Board to craft a reply to Mr. Cowley, calling his commentary an insult to local educators, that reqeust is a process that apparently underway following this weeks School Board meeting.
The next report that will no doubt make for more tension is the secondary school report set to come over the course of the next two months or so, Cowley frequently goes on tour after these reports are delivered, so it will be interesting to see if he makes another trip to Prince Rupert to share more of his thoughts.
It might make for a very fascinating debate, if the two sides were make their presentations as to what provides for a good learning environment and how best to achieve the best results for the students .
The Daily News has provided two days worth of coverage with a review of the report findings from the Fraser Institute and the fall out from Mr. Cowley's observations that has followed the report's release.
Teachers angry at Institute's 'insult' over FSAs
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Page one
Prince Rupert teachers feel they have been insulted by the Fraser Institute, after the institute's spokesperson referred to them as ineffective.
Last month, Peter Cowley, the Fraser Institute's director of school performance studies, was quoted in Kamloops This Week as saying that regardless of what teachers at Prince Rupert's Roosevelt Park Elementary are doing, it isn't working.
Cowley's comments were made in response to the president of the Kamloops-Thompson Teachers' Association, David Komljenovic, who said Roosevelt's last-place ranking in 2005's Foundation Skills Assessment ranking has had a profoundly demoralizing effect on students at the school.
"That tells people that, at Roosevelt elementary, however well -intentioned the teachers are, however dedicated they are, however hard -working they are and however much of their own money they put into the school's resources, they have not been effective," said Cowley.
"You can hide the people who aren't effective and make the kids think they're just doing well, or we can open it up to the public and encourage the people of Roosevelt Park that this is the way it is - now, how are we going to do better?"
Prince Rupert District Teachers' Union President Gabriel Bureau attached a copy of the article in a letter written to the trustees of School District 52, and asked how the board would respond to the accusations.
"Obviously, this insulting comment does not take into consideration the well-established great progress made by the majority of these students on several basic skills, such as reading and writing, nor does it acknowledge the kids' improvement in broader aspects such as social interactions or cultural awareness," said Bureau.
"Mr. Cowley's demeaning comments have circulated all around British Columbia."
SD52 Board Chair Tina Last responded to the comments last night at the monthly open board meeting, stating that her definition of "effective and Mr. Cowley's are obviously very different," and that she has no doubt Roosevelt teachers are indeed very effective in their role as educators in the community. Her sentiments were echoed by the other trustees, and a motion was adopted to draft a letter formally responding to Cowley and Fraser Institute.
Rupert's schools slip down think-tank rankings
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Page one
Once again, the Fraser Institute has released the results of its controversial school report cards, and once again Prince Rupert schools rank in the lowest bracket provincially.
The much-debated Report Card on British Columbia Elementary Schools 2009 was made public at the weekend, using last year's province-wide Foundation Skills Assessment tests completed by Grade 4 and 7 students to rank schools in order of achievement.
Despite overall scores improving at most of Prince Rupert's schools in the 2006-07 year, all of the elementary schools in School District 52 scored lower in the 2007-08 year. And, much the same as years past, Annunciation continued to climb higher on the Fraser Institute's list.
Roosevelt Park Elementary was Prince Rupert's lowest ranked school, dropping down to 946, with only six schools beneath it on the list out of all the province's schools.
Roosevelt had a overall score 1.3 out of a possible 10, lower than the five-year average of 1.7 for the school. Conrad Street's overall score of 2.5.in the 2007-08 year was also a considerable drop from the 3.1 it scored the previous year, and is below the five-year average of 3.2.
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Page one
Once again, the Fraser Institute has released the results of its controversial school report cards, and once again Prince Rupert schools rank in the lowest bracket provincially.
The much-debated Report Card on British Columbia Elementary Schools 2009 was made public at the weekend, using last year's province-wide Foundation Skills Assessment tests completed by Grade 4 and 7 students to rank schools in order of achievement.
Despite overall scores improving at most of Prince Rupert's schools in the 2006-07 year, all of the elementary schools in School District 52 scored lower in the 2007-08 year. And, much the same as years past, Annunciation continued to climb higher on the Fraser Institute's list.
Roosevelt Park Elementary was Prince Rupert's lowest ranked school, dropping down to 946, with only six schools beneath it on the list out of all the province's schools.
Roosevelt had a overall score 1.3 out of a possible 10, lower than the five-year average of 1.7 for the school. Conrad Street's overall score of 2.5.in the 2007-08 year was also a considerable drop from the 3.1 it scored the previous year, and is below the five-year average of 3.2.
Conrad ranked 918 out of the provinces 952 elementary schools, and placed below its five-year average ranking of 818. Pineridge was also grouped in the province's 100 poorest-performing elementary schools, coming in at 878, below its five-year average of 773. Pineridge's overall score dtopped to 3.4 from the impressive 5.1 it scored in the 2006-07 year, as well as from the school's five-year average score of 4.1.
Lax Kxeen Elementary also saw an overall drop for the 2007-08 year, achieving a score of 4.7 after scoring 5.4 the previous year. Lax Kxeen ranked 730 along with 14 other schools, down from the five-year average placement of 724. Although Westview Elementary achieved a much higher ranking than most Prince Rupert schools, its rank of 517 was down from the school's five-year average of 432. The reason for Westview's drop comes from a 2007-08 score of 5.8, a drop from a score of 6.0 last year and below a five-year average score of 6.2.
Although it has historically ranked well above other Prince Rupert elementary schools, the success story of the year for Prince Rupert was Annunciation. The private school jumped dramatically to a rank of 156, way above its five-year aver. age of 354. Annunciation's 2007-08 score of 7.6 was a significant increase from 6.7 last year, and more than a full point increase from the five-year average score of6.5.
Lax Kxeen Elementary also saw an overall drop for the 2007-08 year, achieving a score of 4.7 after scoring 5.4 the previous year. Lax Kxeen ranked 730 along with 14 other schools, down from the five-year average placement of 724. Although Westview Elementary achieved a much higher ranking than most Prince Rupert schools, its rank of 517 was down from the school's five-year average of 432. The reason for Westview's drop comes from a 2007-08 score of 5.8, a drop from a score of 6.0 last year and below a five-year average score of 6.2.
Although it has historically ranked well above other Prince Rupert elementary schools, the success story of the year for Prince Rupert was Annunciation. The private school jumped dramatically to a rank of 156, way above its five-year aver. age of 354. Annunciation's 2007-08 score of 7.6 was a significant increase from 6.7 last year, and more than a full point increase from the five-year average score of6.5.
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