Nova Scotia’s Auditor General says Tri County Regional School Board students are still under performing in literacy and numeracy.
Michael Pickup released his February 2017 report Wednesday saying that the board has failed to complete three recommendations made in a 2014 audit.
Here are the three as outlined in the report:
3.1 The governing Board of the Tri-County Regional School Board should
define its role and responsibilities and the information required from management in
order to fully carry out its duties in educating students. Board members should also
complete an annual self-assessment of their performance and address any identified
weaknesses in a timely manner.
Status – Not Complete
3.2 The governing Board of the Tri-County Regional School Board should
request that management determine and address the reasons for the unsatisfactory
performance of its students in literacy and numeracy. In addition, the Board
should regularly review reports on student performance, including students with
individualized programs, to hold management accountable for the delivery of
educational services to its students.
Status – Not Complete
3.7 Tri-County Regional School Board management should regularly monitor
the performance of students in all subject areas and take the required action to ensure
student achievement meets expectations.
Status – Not Complete
Our follow up report is now public. Find the full report at oag-ns.ca and see a short video summary at https://t.co/HJUIu4KQHw
— NS Auditor General (@OAG_NS) February 22, 2017
Michael Pickup says he’s concerned.
“At the time we had indicated that there were some signs, through those assessment results, of some problems of student performance that were less than ideal. What the provincial assessment results show is that the Tri County Regional School Board continues to rank considerably lower than the other school boards in many of the areas.”
Dr. Jim Gunn, interim superintendent of the TCRSB says the board and management continue to address the problem.
“The report indicated that three of the recommendations were not completed. I am pleased to observe that 7 of the 10 recommendations were completed, that the board was successful in completing 7 of the 10. Regarding the three that were not completed, the specific one on assessment of board self governance…that is ongoing. There was some progress made. I was involved as the Minister’s advisor the last two years. I do know and understand that as the board elections came up and as the budget season and staffing season occurred last spring, they didn’t get that completed. In fact, the board has a session already scheduled to get back on track on the governance self-assessment, so it’s on going. On the other two, I did point out in my report to the minister of education back in September of 2015, regarding these two recommendations, they are very complicated matters and they are going to take time. Members of the Tri-County community should understand that trying to deal with two of those recommendations was going to take some pretty sophisticated, complicated work and take some time. So it wasn’t any surprise to me that they hadn’t been completed yet, but work is ongoing on them.”
The Tri- County Regional School Board did complete 7 of 10 recommendations made by the Auditor General:
3.3 The governing Board of the Tri-County Regional School Board should
ensure that appropriate school improvement plans align with Board goals and oversee
whether expected results are being achieved.
Status – Complete
3.4 The governing Board of the Tri-County Regional School Board should
ensure that teacher and principal evaluations are completed according to Board
policy, that teachers are adhering to the provincial program of studies, and that staff
development needs are being met.
Status – Complete
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Report of the Auditor General • • • February 2017
Follow-up of 2013 and 2014 Recommendations
3.5 The governing Board of the Tri-County Regional School Board should
evaluate the Superintendent’s performance against the responsibilities of the position
and take any necessary action.
Status – Complete
3.6 Tri-County Regional School Board management should ensure that school
improvement plans and annual reports are completed on a timely basis, include
specific goals and strategies to address Board and school priorities, and report
progress on achieving goals.
Status – Complete
3.8 Tri-County Regional School Board management should appropriately
monitor the performance of students with individualized program plans and take
needed action to ensure those students progress as expected.
Status – Complete
3.9 Tri-County Regional School Board management should ensure the
evaluation process includes recommendations for improvement that are specific and
that timely follow-up is completed to determine if appropriate progress has been
made.
Status – Complete
3.10 Tri-County Regional School Board management should ensure that
professional growth plans are completed and that plans link to Board and school
improvement goals.
Status – Complete
Here is a link to Michael pickup’s full report;
https://www.oag-ns.ca/sites/default/files/publications/February%202017%2…
