Rural Education in British Columbia

Agenda

Rural Strategy Provincial

Structure Rural

Experience Strategies

Rural Resources

The Rural Strategy

Rural Task Force

Steering Committee

Leadership embedded in rural district

Rural Assets New legislation - First Nations

Jurisdiction over Education Rural schools and classrooms tend to be

smaller Lots of opportunity for action research

and innovation Close working relationships Opportunities for professional growth Ability to represent local culture in the

regular curriculum

Rural Challenges Overall declining enrolment Growing diversity in classrooms –

social/economic pressures Retention of specialist teachers Opportunities for professional

development Equitable and accessible

secondary course options

Purpose of the Rural Strategy To address the long standing

achievement gap that exists To connect rural students to wide

variety of completion options in order to build a sense of optimism for their future

To provide a culturally relevant school experience to promote a sense of well being in our youth.

Work of the Rural Strategy Create structures and strategies that

enhance the work in Rural Districts Support professional development in

small districts so they continue to focus on Learning

Build teams at all levels Break down the isolation mentality by

building connections Personalize our approach in Rural Use Inquiry as our approach to

improvement

Critical Challenges for Educators Remodel classroom instruction to

keep pace with the knowledge based society we live in

Develop new approaches to learning Encourage students to co-construct

content Deal with the digital gap that exists

between rural and urban communities.

Rural Strategy’s Action Plan

Student Achievement

District Leadership

School Leadership

Classroom instruction

Rural Strategy Steering Committee Initiatives

Conference New Teacher Support Professional Online Series Classroom Connections Online Community District Based Train the Trainer session

Rural Initiative:October 2008 Conference Keynote Speaker:

Calvin Helin, Author

Plenary Speakers: Russell Bishop,

Power Relationships in Classrooms

Faye Brownlie & Leyton Schnellert – Literacy and Universal Design

October 2008 Conference cont’d

Themes: Teaching and Learning in Multi-Age

Classrooms Successful Strategies for Engaging

Aboriginal Learners Supporting Special Needs Students e-Learning Creating Community Boards and parents working together to

support learning communities

Rural Initiative:New Educator Training Rural Educators with less than two

years experience One face-to-face training experience Three facilitated learning opportunities

supported through technology On-going cohort discussions with master

teacher/facilitators

Rural Initiative:New Educator Training Instructional Themes:

Formative Assessment and Performance Standards

Managing Curriculum and Resources - Secondary and Elementary

Parents and Community

Rural Initiative: Professional Online Series Weekly Online S

eries Sample sessions

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4auERaPl2c)

Technical Support Archiving Professional

Learning Modules

Rural Initiative:Connected Classrooms Classroom Connections

Archives Music

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF3WWF_-kIM)

Rural Initiative:Connected Classrooms Classroom Connections

Archives Music Artist Trading Cards

(http://ruralteachers.wikispaces.com/Artist+Trading+Cards)

Rural Initiative:Connected Classrooms Classroom Connections

Archives Music Art Poetry Rocks

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXAwJoqP8SI)

Rural Initiative:Connected Classrooms Classroom Connections

Archives Music Art Science World Aboriginal Literature

Circles Aboriginal Authors (http://

aboriginalliteraturecircle.wikispaces.com/)

Rural Initiative:Online Community Online Community

Rural Blog (http://bcrural.blogspot.com/) Rural Wiki

(http://ruralteachers.wikispaces.com/) Newsletter

(https://ruralteachers.wikispaces.com/newsletters)

Other Rural Strategies

Leadership Capacity Building Community/School Based Leadership Teams

Small Secondary Schools Forum Teams from Secondary Schools with less

than 200 students Teams from Secondary Schools with more

than 50% aboriginal populations Teams from Band Operated Secondary

Schools

Resources:

Learn Now BC Students Parents Educators