A teacher and a parent from the Tri-County Regional School Board will sit on the province’s Council to Improve Classroom Conditions.
Cheryl Bourque-Wells is a Junior High teacher at Drumlin Heights, teaching math, and french immersion math and science.
The interim Superintendent of the TCRSB, Dr. Jim Gunn, was in Halifax recently to help select nine teachers out of nearly 800 applications.
Gunn says he was pleased with the interest level from teachers and talks about the choice of Bourque-Wells.
“She represents the province from the Junior high perspective. She brings a lot of richness in her experience as a teacher and a math mentor to the council table. We are very pleased about that.”
Gunn says it was quite a challenge to narrow down applicants.
“Though the legislation was helpful in defining the guidelines: elementary, junior and senior high levels, the cultural and regional representation, you have to reflect diversity, languages, education, work experiences and leadership. Those helped to guide us with the criteria to select the nine teachers.”
Shelburne County parent Amy MacKinnon will also be a part of the 14 member council.
MacKinnon volunteers on a Home and School Committee and a Schools Plus Advisory Council within the TCRSB.
MacKinnon’s son has an intellectual disability, and is in Grade 6 at Forest Ridge Academy.
The government appointed her along with a student and a guidance counselort.
The council will be co-chaired by representatives of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and the Nova Scotia Teachers Union.
The council will have $20 million over two years to address issues in the classroom that have been identified by teachers.
A first for our province! https://t.co/XsALymW56F
— NS Education (@nseducation) March 7, 2017
