BCCPAC - District PAC Chair Summit - Richmond, BC

The British Columbia Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils (BCCPAC) convened a full-day meeting of District PAC chairs in Richmond, BC on August 16^th.  In addition to most of the elected members of the BCCPAC Board of Directors, there were 28 District PAC Chairs (or a designate) in attendance.  It was reported at the meeting that the parents of 81% of public school students in BC were represented at the meeting via their District PAC chairs.  I attended on behalf of NVPAC.  Most Lower Mainland District PACs were represented, and there were representatives from the DPACs of Victoria, Saanich, Qualicum, Haida Gwaii, the Gulf Islands, the Okanagan, Prince George as well as other school districts.

The meeting was dubbed an ”Emergency Parent Leader Planning Session” because of the current labour dispute in BC schools.  Participants expressed frustration at the slow pace of negotiations to date.  The BCCPAC Board stated that the goal of the meeting was not to take a position “for” or “against” either party in the dispute, but rather to find common goals and to understand the parent position going forward.  The BCCPAC Board of Directors wants to understand parent priorities so that they can advocate for public school students in BC.   

All in attendance agreed strongly that they wanted to see schools open on September 2^nd, whether or not the labour dispute is resolved.  Further, there was general agreement that there is a need for additional resources in classrooms to support all students.  Longer-term goals were discussed, including a method of assessing teacher workload, a learning plan for every student, and, since many expressed a desire for parents to be “part of the power”, a program of ongoing parent education so that more can participate in discussions about education matters with other partner groups.  The concept of a “Classroom Resources Fund”, to be shielded from other cost pressures was explored.  This fund would be allocated after consultation and collaboration with all partner groups, and is intended to target the needs of each class specifically.

 

BCCPAC issued a press releasepress release the day following the meeting.