Voting, Monday, February 27th

It has been a very busy past month but a very rewarding one as well.

I have had several fliers dropped off over the coarse of this weekend and I'm hoping many of you that received them will come here to find out exactly why you should be electing Sean Graney to the trustee position for Ward 17.  Here is my platform explained:

Safe, Nurturing Schools
Bullying
Almost half of the people I talked to or that completed my survey mentioned tackling bullying as the most significant priority.  Here is how we do it:

1. Tackle ignorance head on in the classroom 
2. Help teachers develop methods for highlighting similarities in a safe, nurturing manner
3. Use peer mediators when bullying is identified
4. Escalate to parental involvement if peer mediators are not successful

Bill 13

Many people are also concerned that Bill 13 is going to force teachers and students alike to deal with subject matter that some feel is not appropriate for the classroom.  As a trustee it is my job to make sure that we deliver the material as effectively as possible.  However, through better teacher education programs we can help them feel more comfortable with the material themselves and enable them to deliver it in an open, honest and non-judgmental way.

Full Day Kindergarten

The Drummond Report has made several suggestions that make some sense.  I would recommend slowing the program down somewhat.  Survey all the parents in the primary grades at the schools that do not yet have FDK.  Those schools were the interest level for before and after care is required should be the schools that get the program first. There are lots of advantages to having care offered from 7:30am to 6:00pm at the school.  Where the ECE staff are concerned you can use the staff to cover breaks and lunches.  I've been the President of a daycare for 7 years.  I know what I'm talking about.

I would also look at class sizes.  The teachers that I have spoken to suggest that 2 or 3 more students in a classroom isn't going to ruin the program.  

Exploring Alternate Ideas to Closing Schools

There are a few ideas we can explore that would enable us to keep our schools and, in fact, take care of that maintenance back log people keep talking about. 

Daycare

There is a huge shortage of daycare spaces across the City.  If we designated some space in an under-enrolled school for daycare (an infant room, a toddler room and a preschooler room) we could accommodate at least 36 more children, we can offer these children a seamless integration from daycare to school, and the after-school program, if needed by the community, would be staffed by people the children are already familiar with.  

Grades 7 and 8

We can extend the elementary schools to grade 7 or 8.  This has already been done at some schools and the feedback I am getting from teachers, students and parents alike is fantastic.  Long term, my vision is that all the middle schools are used for specialty programs and the grades 7 and 8 are moved into the elementary schools or high schools if space permits.  

Specialty programs

The TDSB is introducing their Academy programs this September in 9 schools across the GTA.  If they are well received, why not find out if the parents of a local community would be interested in having one of these programs here.

Making Schools More of a Focus in the Community

People talk about some of the elementary schools being dark and dreary after 4pm in the winter.  It feels abandoned and feels unsafe.  Let's use the schools then.

Building new facilities with an eye to Community Needs

Every new school that is created should have space designated for those activities the community demands.  This can range from a larger art room for art classes to be run for adults and kids alike, a cricket pitch, a regulation soccer field, or a gymnasium complete with a stage that local theatre groups can use for rehearsal.  The more attractive we make the amenities, the more demand there will be for the space (I use the same principles in real estate when trying to sell a home).

Reviewing the Permit Fee Structure

Every person or group that uses a TDSB facility has to apply for a permit.  The permits are not expensive and are particularly cheap if you are serving children or seniors in a not-for-profit capacity.  However, to rent a classroom for a boy scouts troop on a Wednesday night costs the troop $1.07 per hour.  You have the room for two hours, TDSB collects $2.14.  TDSB then pays a caretaker to clean up after you.  And sometimes this is overtime.  We are doing the organization a disservice at this rate. 

I've had a look at all of the rates we charge and there is certainly room for increases.  The increased revenue can help pay for improvements to these facilities which will enable us to rent them out to additional community groups.  We collect more money, we use it to improve our buildings, which allows us to collect more money.  

Marketing

Currently there is no incentive for a school to develop relationships with the community organizations out there and encourage them to use the school for whatever needs they may have.  I'd like to change that.  I think the schools should be receiving a portion of the permit fees as an incentive to market themselves further.  The more a school is used, the more the school receives.  The plan would be to increase permit applications, increase the revenue collected by the TDSB, and then put a portion of this increase back to the school for them to use as they see fit.  

Communication

At the beginning of the election I tried to contact every parent council in every school.  I sent out 35 emails and had 10 responses.  The school don't check their email because it is an onerous process.  It shouldn't be.  I'd like to make communication between parents, and community members and the school much simpler and more efficient.  And it is easy to do.

I'd like each school to use their website (some don't) and allow each classroom to have their own page.  This way, each teacher can publish assignment instructions online.  They can publish marking schemes online.  They can publish a calendar of events online.  We can reduce the number of pages that need to be printed and recycled at the home.  Parents can find out information whenever they want.  Teaching teachers how to do this is easy and won't cost anything.  The TDSB already has the webspace for the schools.  They just aren't using it properly.

These are some of my ideas.  I have lots more.  We can talk about the areas to the budget that I think offer us the ability to save some money.  We can talk about the impact Toronto Community Housing Corporations properties have and will have on local schools.  And the impact on those families.

I will talk to each and every person that asks me to regarding whatever you would like.  I am always available and always interested in talking our children, our schools and our community.  

On February 27th, please, vote for Sean Graney.