Teachers dont have to write report cards during their job action, according to a Labour Relations Board ruling issued Tuesday.
The B.C. Public School Employers Association (BCPSEA) asked the board to rule on whether teachers must prepare and distribute report cards and on a request that the B.C. Teachers Federation reimburse school districts 15 per cent of teachers salaries and benefits for work not being done. But the LRB found in teachers favour on both counts.
The BCTF considers report cards an important tool but theyre not essential. They are only one way in which teachers communicate students progress to parents. Face-to-face, phone conversations, emails, handwritten notes, quiz results sent homemany different kinds of informal communication are providing parents with a clear understanding of their childrens progress. Some parents have told us they feel better informed this way than with the traditional formal reporting, president Susan Lambert stated in a press release.
Vancouver School Board superintendent Steve Cardwell noted in early November that
the School Act requires parents receive a minimum of three written reports per year, so the province directed schools throughout B.C. to send home report cards. Given the ruling, theyll only include the name of the teacher or teachers, courses and attendance information.
Colin Redfern, acting co-chair of the District Parent Advisory Council, told me via email that many parents voiced concern about the lack of report cards at its October citywide meeting, while an equal number were relieved there wouldnt be report cards because of the distress it causes some families.
But parents also wondered how parents of students with Individual Education Plans [IEPs] or who are on the borderline academically would be informed about their progress so they could make timely decisions about their kids education
There was a lot of concern in regards to how the transfer of the childrens class progress to administers, who are responsible for reporting to the parents and setting up intervention and support programs within the VSB, was going to occur given the current boundaries set out by the BCTF during bargaining, Redfern wrote to the Courier. In the field we have reports from parents that some teachers are indeed communicating directly to parents via email, journal memo and/or face-to-face meeting, [to keep] parents up to date on the progress of their children (ideal) and we have reports of teachers not going to these lengths to communicate to parents. To date, we have had no reports of teachers not participating in the annual IEP planning meetings with administrators, support staff and parents.
Based on the October meeting, DPAC sent a letter, dated Nov. 17, to BCPSEA and the BCTF expressing their growing frustration with the lack of progress in concluding the bargaining between teachers and their employer.
The letter asked them to re-focus their efforts to conclude bargaining quickly and respectfully and asked for increased updates on bargaining to keep parents better informed.
Redfern also told the Courier, In followup, our parents were not happy with the governments escalation of the report issue to the LRB and are happy that this distraction is behind us and the bargaining parties can focus on concluding bargaining positively and respectfully.
Twitter: @Naoibh
