The rumour mill is working overtime, but before panic sets in, the Vernon School District wants to set the record straight about the restructuring of secondary schools.
On Monday, the district will hold the first of several meetings titled Restructuring Secondary Schools to Personalize Learning.
“We want to gather information from the community and parents to see what our secondary schools will look like in the future,” said superintendent Bev Rundell.
“There are a lot of rumours going around, but we just want to find out what they will look like, and the board hasn’t made any decisions yet. This is not about physically changing the structure of the schools.”
The parents’ meeting takes place Monday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at W.L. Seaton Secondary School, in the commons area.
Subsequent meetings for other members of the community take place Feb. 6 and 13 at 7 p.m. at Seaton.
“This could mean changes to the way programs are delivered to the students in order to personalize their learning experience,” said Rundell. “The discussion will align with the Ministry of Education plan for 21st Century Learning.
“We want to show people what the ministry says about personalized learning, and we want the secondary schools to reflect those values that the kids have, and parents have questions about how the curriculum should be delivered.”
Rundell said no decisions will be made without input from teachers, but with the current job action under way, she said they most likely won’t want to be involved at this stage.
“We value the teachers and we are going to want the teachers’ input; teachers are already doing a lot of these things in the classroom, they are doing amazing things, and we value the work they do, so we want to meet with teachers.”
Parents who wish to attend Monday’s meeting should RSVP to Judy Sedge at jsedge@sd22.bc.ca or 250-542-3331.
