The Vancouver School Board and its aboriginal-focus school steering committee are seeking feedback about the aboriginal school being designed for the district. A survey geared towards potential parents and guardians is being circulated.
It asks respondents if they have school-aged aboriginal or non-aboriginal children and whether theyd send them to an aboriginal-focused school. If not, the questionnaire asks what might change their answer. It also quizzes participants on how many blocks theyd allow their children to walk to get to such a school or how many minutes by bus theyd allow them to travel.
The school board hasnt identified a location for the school yet or figured out all the details around how it might operate. Although the VSB was optimistic the school could start as early as September, potentially with a couple of grade levels, it's not clear whether that's possible considering teachers aren't meeting with administrators or participating in committee meetings during their job action. The aboriginal school committee continues to get together to plan what details it can organize without teacher input.
An Aboriginal Focus School will embrace the cultural and linguistic diversity of our urban aboriginal community and it will include common, aboriginal core values. From that core, Aboriginal Focus School educators will teach the true history of Canada and its intergenerational implications. These core values will guide the school's planning, implementation, evaluation, reporting and governance, a fact sheet on the school explains. It is our belief that grounding our new school in these principles will improve the academic and social outcomes for aboriginal learnersindeed all learnerswho choose to attend.
Stranger danger? The Vancouver Police Department issued a warning last week about a suspicious vehicle spotted in the area of West 15th and Balaclava Street at about 3 p.m., Feb. 16. A boy waiting for a family member in front of Carnarvon elementary school became worried after a pick-up truck pulled up in front of him. The boy began to walk away when the truck allegedly began to follow him. He walked faster and then ran towards a group of people nearby for help. The truck drove off down West 14th Avenue. The suspicious vehicle was described as a White Ford pick-up, possibly a F150 model. Anyone with information is asked to contact the VPDs sex crimes unit or Crimestoppers. Vancouver School Board spokesperson Kurt Heinrich said the district took the warning seriously and a bulletin was issued to schools in the area Friday night so that principals could circulate the information to parents.
Twitter: @Naoibh
