Agenda - Immigration Portalimmigration.london.ca/LMLIP/About-LMLIP/Documents/EDminAgenda-2012.pdf3....

London and Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership

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Agenda

Sub-council: Education Date and Time: January 18, 12 (4-6 p.m.)

Meeting Location: Central Library: Learning/Literacy Lab (2nd floor)

Present:

Regrets:

Absent:

Item Description

1. Chair’s Opening Remarks

2. Guest – Sarah Andrews, E-resources Librarian

3. Adoption of November 16, 2011 Minutes

4. Additions to Agenda

5. Update and Reports from Implementation Plan Work Groups:

a. Central Council Update b. CLARS c. Mapping Resources: Enhancing Pathways Project d. Education & Employment sub-councils joint work group e. Supports for Parents and Students f. Support to Teachers

6. New Business

Chair and Vice-chair positions

Membership

Dates for April 2012 – March 2013 Meetings


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7. Chairperson’s Closing Summary and Review of Action Items.

8. Adjourn

9. Next Meeting Location and Date

March 21, 2012 (Kinsmen Recreation Centre)

Please bring copies of the agenda and November 16 2011 Minutes


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Minutes

Sub-council: Education Date and Time: January 18, 2012 (4-6

p.m.)

Meeting Location: Central Library:

Learning/Literacy Lab (2nd floor) Present: Muriel Abbott, Kathy Milczarek,

Becky Howse, , Gebre Woldemicael, Janet

Pinder, Kate Kennedy, Lise Beland, Sheila

Carson, Susanne Quan, Tamara Kaattari,

Jennifer Smith, Ramiro Castro, Denise Taylor

Edwards, Mo Jeng and Huda Hussein

Regrets: Imtiaz Shah , Jo-elle Rinker, Yamile

Albarracin

Absent:

Item Description Information, Update,

Action, Lead and Due Date

Chair welcomed guest speaker, Sarah Andrews, E-resources

Librarian. Sarah shared with the group, four products that

London Public Library has acquired: Mango Language,

Learning Express, Little Pim and CareerCruising which are

related to language learning and a resource on

careers/occupation. These products can be accessed from

anywhere.



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Muriel Abbott welcomed the group and noted that Jean-

Pierre has stepped down as the Chair of the Sub-council

and being the Vice Chair and in accordance with the Terms

of Reference; she will be the Chair of the Sub-council. She

thanked Jean-Pierre Cantin for his leadership, commitment

and contributions as the past Chair of the Education Sub-

council.

2. Adoption of Previous Minutes

November 16, 2011 Minutes were reviewed. Motion to approve

Minutes as amended was made by Becky, seconded by Kathy

and approved.


Muriel requested that the following items be added under the

New Business:

Vice –Chair,

Membership and

Dates for April 2012-March 2013

Susan motioned to accept the new agenda items, Jennifer

seconded and all approved

4. Updates and Actions from Previous Business

Central Council:

Muriel noted that the Terms of Reference have been approved by Council on November 28. She also noted that the Council’s Task Groups are working towards addressing some of the overarching themes of the Strategic Plan. Dr. Vicki Esses, the research liaison from UWO, has used the LMLIP as a best practice module in her presentation in Calgary. Council is recruiting three members at large and a new research project, partnership between Western University and the South London Neighourhood Resource Centre, on youth’s perception on a


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welcoming society is underway. LMLIP will be represented on the City Age Friendly Work Group

Coordinated Language Assessment Referral System

(CLARS)

Sheila noted that CLARS was a pilot project run through London Cross Cultural Learner Centre (LCCLC). She noted that CLARS will continue after March 31, 2012. She shared that CLARS helped in the decline of the waitlist. She encouraged service providers to send their clients for assessment and referrals to the LCCLC where assessment and referrals are made to any language or employment related program

Mapping Resources – Enhanced Pathways Project

Tamara reported this project funded by the Ministry of Training,

Colleges and Universities and it is one of five Pilot Projects in

Ontario. The first round table with 30 service providers was held

in October 2011 where case scenarios were used for

discussion. The information collected will help create the tools

that will facilitate the referral of clients to programs. The group

works closely with CLARS to ensure that the best information is

available for clients. Project ends on March 31, 2012. The

second round table discussion will be held on February 28 and

the group will check then if there is interest to continue with the

conversation after March 31.

Education and Employment Joint Committee

Muriel shared with the group the minutes from the last Education & Employment Joint Committee meeting held on December 14, 2010. It was noted that some projects that are in progress now address some of the action items in the minutes. The group requested that a meeting be convened by the chair of the joint committee, Anne Langille to start afresh. Lise Beland, Sheila Carson, Denise Taylor Edwards.

Supporting Parents/Students

The task group is developing a resource guide (Welcoming All

Voices: Building Inclusive School Councils, Home and School

Huda to request Anne

Langille to call for a meeting

for the Joint Committee.

Check with Kate Kennedy if

interested in joining this

group


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Associations, and Parent Groups) along with an accompanying

PowerPoint to be used for workshops with members of parent

organizations in schools. Presentations are tentatively planned

for three families of schools within the Thames Valley District

School Board. This has the potential of reaching 22 schools via

parent representatives. The purpose of the guide and

workshop is to provide information, resources and tools to help

members of School Councils reach out and engage newcomer

families

Supports for Teachers:

The workgroup is being reformed to pursue a revised work

plan. Activities will need to be shifted into the year 3 plan.

5. New Business

Acronyms

Muriel noted that Jo-elle has shared with her the acronyms

that are currently used in her field. Muriel added some of the

acronyms used frequently by the LMLIP Sub-council.

Vice Chair position

Muriel encouraged group to send their names for the

position of the Vice-chair

Huda to send updated list

along with this month’s

minutes

Group is asked to keep

updating the list and share

with the Sub-council

Interested members to send

in their names to Huda by

January 27 (noon)


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6. Chairpersons Closing Summary and Review of Action

Items.

Muriel thanked group and noted the actions to be followed

and informed group about next year’s meeting times

LMLIP staff will send doodle

with meeting times for April

2012 to March 2013

7. Adjourn

Meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.


March 21, 2012 (4-6 p.m.) Kinsmen Recreation Centre


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Agenda

Sub-council: Education Date and Time: March 21, 2012 (4-6 p.m.)

Meeting Location: Kinsmen Recreation Centre Room # 4

Present:

Regrets:

Absent:

Item Description


2. Adoption of January 18, 2012 Minutes


4. New member-approval

5. Central Council Update and Review Year Two Implementation Plan

a. Central Council Update b. Education & Employment sub-councils joint work group

6. Review the Education Priority Setting Template and Prioritize for Year Three Plan

7. New Business

a. Welcome to Our School booklet-TVDSB

b. Education Sub-council Recruitment Work Group

c. Signing the Letter of Understanding

CONTINUED…


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8. Chairperson’s Closing Summary and Review of Action Items

9. Adjourn

10. Upcoming Meeting Dates

2012 dates: April 10; June 12; September 11; November 13

2013 dates: January 8; March 12

All meetings will take place from 4-6 p.m. Location TBD

Please bring copies of the agenda and January 18, 2012 Minutes


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Minutes

Sub-council: Education Date and Time: March 21, 2012 (4-6 p.m.)

Meeting Location: Kinsmen Recreation Centre, Room 4

Present: Muriel Abbott, Kathy Milczarek, Becky Howse, Gebre Woldemicael, Janet Pinder, Kate Kennedy, Lise Beland, Sheila Carson, Susanne Quan, Tamara Kaattari, Denise Taylor Edwards, Mo Jeng, Imtiaz Shah, Jo-elle Rinker, Kim Godwin, Huda Hussein

Regrets: Jennifer Smith, Helen Patterson, Ramiro Castro

Absent:

Item Description Information, Update, Action, Lead and Due Date


Muriel welcomed the newly elected vice-chair, Lise Beland and

thanked her for considering this role.


January 18, 2012 Minutes were reviewed. Motion to approve Minutes as circulated was made by Becky, seconded by Susanne and approved.


4. Approval of New Member

Muriel put forward the application received by Eon Hwang who is a member from the Korean community and a new comer to Canada. Motion to accept his application was moved by Susan seconded by Jo-elle and all approved

Invite Eon Hwang to join our April meeting


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5. Central Council Update and Review Year Two Implementation

Plan

Central Council:

Muriel informed group about the LIPs Annual Conference held at the beginning of February. LMLIP presented on the initial stages of measuring outcomes. It was noted that all presentations from the conference will be posted on the Welcoming Communities Initiative. Muriel also noted that Council is drafting its 2012-2013 Work Plan. She encouraged members to visit LMLIP webpage on the Portal for detailed minutes of Council and all other sub-councils

Education & Employment Joint Committee

Muriel and Huda shared with the group that the Employment sub-council has three volunteers, Anne Langille, Martin Whithenshaw and Robert Collins who would like to work with the Education Sub-council to create a mechanism between the two sectors to share information on employment data. Sheila Carson and Lise Beland indicated their interest to join this group

Review of Year Two Implementation Plan

Access to Education

a. Clarity between ESL and Literacy Project that came from this strategy: Enhancing Pathways. Tools have been developed and practitioners were brought together in round table discussion twice. The project ends on March 31 and the resources will be shared with the community. Tamara noted that the discussion may continue even if further funding is not available.

b. CLARS – one of the strategies of the Education Sub-council to facilitate access to education was addressing the child minding/child care issue that face immigrants. Once the pilot project coordinated by the Thames Valley District School Board and the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre was in place, the Education Sub-council decided not to follow through with their strategy since our community is addressing the need.

Notify the Chair of the Employment Sub-council and a date for a meeting will be scheduled

Resources will be shared and posted on the LMLIP webpage

Anne Marie will be contacted to provide the success indicators of the project

It was noted that data collected from year one after the CLARS has been implemented and data that will be collected next year, will help the Sub-council to see the impact of


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Supports Support for Parents - the work group on parent engagement focused on welcoming immigrant parents and to support the existing parent councils and the home school associations in engaging immigrant parents. Two workshops on Welcoming All Voices have been developed along with a resource tool for parents’ councils and home school associations to use. The group will also set a mechanism to check in with participants in 3-6 months to determine the impact of the workshop and the resource guide. The group also decided to expand the workshops into other schools and include the francophone schools as well. The Catholic School Board will also be engaged. Supports for this project was based on in-kind contributions from sitting members and some financial support from the Thames Valley Parent Involvement Committee (TVPIC) Year Three Plan: the following items were discussed as action items for Year Three Implementation Plan:

- Support to students: the possibility of partnering with existing initiatives to work on supporting the students/youth

- Support to teachers

6. New Business

a. Welcome to Our School Booklet – TVDSB – Denise and Muriel shared with the group reprinted copies of the Booklet to be shared with immigrant families

b. Denise shared a report of the work of the TVDSB

c. Education Sub-council Recruitment Work Group Kate Kennedy, Mo Jeng, and Muriel volunteered to participate in this ad hoc committee

d. Signing Letter of Understanding: Members were given the letters of understanding which were signed and returned to Huda

Other:

- Group affirmed the need to communicate with each other on resources and new information to be shared

- Newcomer Student Summit will take place on May 17, 2012

CLARS.

Helen Patterson will be asked to attend next meeting to discuss this further

Group decided to refine their action items in April’s meeting


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- Adult Education received excellent recognition. Becky shared that members may watch the London Free Press of March 31.

- The YMAP Program has 75 members from the newcomer student community and they can be engaged

- The NOW (newcomer orientation week) Program prepares peer leaders who mentor other newcomer students

7. Chairpersons Closing Summary and Review of Action Items.

Muriel thanked group and noted that the April meeting will focus on selecting and prioritizing items for next year

8. Adjourn



April 10, 2012 (4-6) p.m. at Kinsmen Recreation Centre


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Agenda

Sub-council: Education Date and Time: April 10, 2012 (4-6 p.m.)


Present:

Regrets:

Absent:

Item Description


2. Adoption of March 21, 2012 Minutes



5. Central Council Update and final reports from work groups

a. Central Council Update b. Enhancing Pathways c. Supports for parents

6. Review the Education Priority Setting Template and Prioritize for Year Three Plan

7. New Business


9. Adjourn

10. Next Meeting: June 12, 2012 at Kinsmen Recreation Centre

Please bring copies of the agenda and March 21, 2012 Minutes


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Minutes

Sub-council: Education Date and Time: April 10, 2012 (4-6 p.m.)

Meeting Location: Kinsmen Recreation

Centre, Room 4 Present: Muriel Abbott, Kathy Milczarek,

Becky Howse, Gebre Woldemicael, Janet Pinder, Kate Kennedy, Susanne Quan, Tamara Kaattari, Denise Taylor Edwards, Mo Jeng, Jo-elle Rinker, Helen Patterson, Phillipa Myers, Mureed Shahid

Regrets: Lise Beland, Imtiaz Shah, Sheila

Carson, Huda Hussein, Ramiro Castro

Absent:

Item Description

Information, Update, Action, Lead and Due Date


Introductions around the table done.


March 21, 2012 minutes were reviewed. Correction of spelling to Susanne’s name (under adoption of previous minutes) noted. Motion to approve minutes as amended was made by Becky, seconded by Kate and approved.


5. d) update regarding CLARS from Helen

7. a) Neighbourhood Child & Family Centres (NCFC)-Joelle


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Muriel put forward the application received from Phillipa Myers. Recommendation from the ad hoc member recruitment group to accept this application and to invite Phil to today’s meeting had been previously circulated via email. Motion to accept recommendation made by Susanne, seconded by Tamara, and approved. Welcome Phil!

5. Central Council Update

a. Central Council:

Highlights from the March 26 meeting were shared. Central Council has reviewed its activities from 2011-12 and set priorities for the upcoming year.

b. Enhancing Pathways:

Tamara: project finished at the end of March with final report planned for mid-April. Resources being developed include dot chart, decision-making template, series of referral questions. There has been an application submitted for further funding.

c. Support for Parents:

Second pilot workshop has been held with good attendance and positive evaluations. Work group meets next week to review the collated evaluations and plan for ongoing development and adaptation for further delivery of the sessions and resource guide.

d. CLARS:

Helen: the “pilot” has been extended to the end of June. They now have a contract for the following year. There is no significant change from what has been done other than the 3 assessor positions are within CCLC.

6. Review and Priority Setting for Year Three Implementation

See the attached plan for details. This is also the time to consider which task group is of most interest and pertinence to you.

Actions to be completed in assist plan development:

i) Jo-elle will send report from the youth passport working group (to be shared with the group)

Anne Marie will send link to the resources and the report once available.

All to review the plan as discussed today (and attached to minutes) and offer comments via email to ensure accuracy of the plan. Indicate your


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ii) “ICAP”, a “one-stop” service related to recognition of international credential is available (this was not the case when the original implementation plan was developed). Kate will do presentation to the education sub-council to increase our awareness and understanding

iii) Jo-elle shared that MCI has an ongoing funding stream for one-time event funding that could potentially be used for some of our identified activities in the year 3 plan.

7.

a. NCFC:

Jo-elle: 4 centres are planned to officially open in fall 2012, as part of the London system re-engineering: Carling (Northbrae school), White Oaks (campus approach including White Oaks school, co-led by South London Neighbourhood Resource Centre and London Children’s Connection), Westmount (Jean Vanier school) and Argyle (Lord Nelson school, co-led by the Y and Merrymount). The centres are a “one-stop shop” for families with children from 0-12; will eventually include youth. There is a community developer hired for each site.

Other:

- Anne Langille (chair of the Employment Sub-council) will be calling a meeting of the joint employment and education work group. Thanks to Sheila and Lise for representing the Education sub-council.

- Discussion about the value of allowing time in our meetings for more in-depth discussion of work that is happening in the community that is or may be addressing some of our identified priorities. This helps keeps all the members aware of what is happening as well as prevents duplication.

interest in joining and/or changing task groups.

Add as a standing item to each agenda

8. Chairpersons Closing Summary and Review of Action Items.

Thanks to everyone for their commitment to the priority setting process and willingness to extend today’s meeting.


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9. Adjourn



June 12, 2012 (4-6) p.m. at Kinsmen Recreation Centre


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Agenda

Sub-council: Education Date and Time: June 12, 2012 (4-6 p.m.)


Present:

Regrets:

Absent:

Item Description


2. Adoption of April 10, 2012 Minutes




a. Central Council Update b. Enhancing Pathways-availability of resources and final report c. Supports for parents

6. Year Three Plan-Implementation and Workgroups

7. Other community projects related to our identified priorities

8. New Business


10. Adjourn


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11. Next Meeting: September 11, 2012 at Kinsmen Recreation Centre

Please bring copies of the agenda, April 10, 2012 Minutes and Implementation Plan


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Minutes

Sub-council: Education Date and Time: June 12, 2012 (4-6 p.m.)


Present: Muriel Abbott, Kathy Milczarek, Becky Howse, Gebre Woldemicael, Janet Pinder, Kate Kennedy, Imtiaz Shah, Tamara Kaattari, Denise Taylor Edwards, Mo Jeng, Helen Patterson, Phillipa Myers, Mureed Shahid, Sheila Carson, Emily Low, Mahin Ghasemiyani, Huda Hussein, Jennifer Smith

Regrets: Susanne Quan, Jo-elle Rinker, Ramiro Castro

Absent:

Item Description



Emily Low from College Boreal was welcomed. Chair noted that Lise Beland, the Vice Chair has stepped down and will no longer be able to participate on the Education Sub-council

Group is requested to consider applying for the position of the vice chair. Will discuss at Sept. meeting.


April 10, 2012 minutes were reviewed. Motion to approve minutes as circulated was made by Becky, seconded by Jennifer and approved.


Timing of the meetings

Information sharing from Denise A motion to approve the additions was made by Kate, seconded by Kathy and approved.


Muriel put forward the application received from Dana Bekri and noted that the ad hoc member recruitment group recommends to accept this application and to invite Dana to our next meeting.

LMLIP staff to invite Dana to September


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a. Central Council:

Highlights from the April 30 meeting were shared. Central Council has reviewed its activities from 2011-12 and set priorities for the upcoming year and approved the Community Achievement Report for Year Two. The report was shared electronically with sub-councils and networks; it was noted that it has been shared with services (i.e., Ontario Early Years Centre, Middlesex-London Health Unit). Members were asked to share it with staff and managers. It was noted that Council did not meet in May and the next meeting is scheduled for June 25, 2012

b. Enhancing Pathways:

Tamara: Shared copy of the tools developed through the Enhancing Pathways. A sign-up sheet was circulated so that copies of any specific resources can be shared directly with those requesting. The final provincial report that includes outcomes from all the pilot sites is pending.

c. Support for Parents:

A third pilot workshop has been held with good attendance and positive evaluations. Work group is reviewing the Guide and exploring other venues to deliver it. The Catholic School Board has been approached and group is waiting for their request. Post-session evaluations have been collated and the 3-month post session survey is being sent at the end of this week. Group will also plan to deliver the workshops in the new academic year. So far fifteen schools have been engaged.

It was suggested to attract immigrant parents, mainstream parents need to be engaged to reach the audience group.

It was also noted that some connections to schools can be made through the NCFC once they are in full operation

6. Year Three Implementation and work groups

Group reviewed the Plan and the following was noted: (see the edited Plan for details)

- Sheila confirmed her participation on the Joint Education & Employment Committee

- Emile Low will replace Lise Beland on the Joint Education & Employment Committee

- The access and eligibility work group (led by Tamara) will have their first meeting next week.

- Janet Pinder to join the Parent Engagement Group

- Wording about the strategic plan theme with regard to supports to students to include leadership development , specifically “To

meeting

Tamara will send copies of materials to those who requested them

Group confirmed their ongoing participation on this work group


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enhance relationship building, mentoring and leadership development across cultural backgrounds”

- Volunteers on the Supports for students identified (Jennifer, Mahin, Denise and Kathy). Group will meet and present their report on their action plan in September

- Volunteers for Supports for Teachers theme identified. Activities are outlined in the Plan. It was recommended that a connection be made with the Dean of the Faculty of Education (Western University) about the LMLIP and the identified need to supporting the teachers. Workgroup volunteers are Phil, Imtiaz and Muriel. Possibly Dana might be interested once she confirms her membership.

It was also noted that connections be made with researchers at Western to learn about existing resources. Another starting point would be a scan of existing best practice documents.

7. Other Community projects related to our identified priorities

a. Jennifer noted that the Literacy Group on the Child & Youth Network is working on Youth Literacy and this may align with the work of the Support Students work group. More details will be shared in September

8. New Business

a. Secondary Education Update: Denise noted that the province is planning to implement a cap on the number of credits earned for secondary school graduation (cap of 34) starting September 2013. This may jeopardize the English Language Learner (ELL) who usually accumulates more credits for varying reasons. Denise noted that this discussion is going on and the impact on ELLs will be shared as more details come out. She also noted that a provincial teachers’ advocacy group English Resource Group of Ontario (ERGO) has written a letter to the Ministry of Education to express their concerns and to consult with them before decisions are made. ERGO is an organization that the Ministry of Education consults with

regularly regarding ELLs in K-12.

b. Timing of the meeting

It was requested that we review the meeting time, along with the suggestion of checking the feasibility of changing the time to 3-5 p.m. Initially the 4-6 p.m. time slot was suggested so that interested teachers could join the group.

Group will be advised once the note is sent out to the members

c. Community Meeting Group members expressed much interest in LMLIP holding another community meeting. There was consensus that this meeting should focus on showcasing all of the various “products” from the initiative. E.g. similar

LMLIP staff to prepare a rationale for supporting the teachers and a meeting with the Dean to be scheduled.

Contact the researchers.

LMLIP staff to check in with members via email with regard to their availability from 3-5 p.m.

Muriel to share this suggestion at the next Central Council meeting.


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to a conference showcase where community members and other sub-council members could learn specifics about what has been done in a more informal, networking type of format that could also include brief presentations. The group feels that February/March 2013 would be an appropriate timeline. 8. Chairpersons Closing Summary and Review of Action Items.

Thanks to everyone for their commitment to the priority setting process and willingness to volunteer on the new work groups

9. Adjourn



September 11, 2012 (4-6) p.m. at Kinsmen Recreation Centre. Please note

that the time of the meeting may be changed after the survey of the group

members regarding timing and room availability.


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Agenda

Sub-council: Education Date and Time: September 11, 2012 (4-6

p.m.)


Present:

Regrets:

Absent:

Item Description


2. Adoption of June 12, 2012 Minutes


4. Welcoming new member(s)

5. Vice-chair position

6. Report from Central Council’s June meeting

7. Report on the Sub-councils’ work

8. Reports from the:

a. Access & Eligibility work group-Tamara b. Support for Students Work Group – c. Support for Teachers – Muriel d. Supports for parents

9. Employment and Education Joint Committee

10. Update from CYN Youth Literacy project-Jennifer Smith


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11. New Business


13. Adjourn

Next Meeting: November 13, 2012 at Kinsmen Recreation Centre Please bring copies of the agenda and June 12, 2012 Minutes


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Minutes

Sub-council: Education Date and Time: September 11, 2012 (4-6 p.m.)


Present: Muriel Abbott, Kathy Milczarek, Becky

Howse, Gebre Woldemicael, Kate Kennedy, Susanne Quan, Tamara Kaattari, Denise Taylor Edwards, Mo Jeng, Jo-elle Rinker, Helen Patterson, Phillipa Myers, Emily Low, Sheila Carson, Ramiro Castro and Huda Hussein, Jennifer Smith, Lissete Ochoa, Dana Bekri

Regrets: Imtiaz Shah,

Absent: Mureed Shahid, Mahin Gasemiyani, Janet

Pinder

Item Description



Introductions around the table done.


Amendment from Denise under New Business 8 a. Secondary Education Update. The provincial teachers’ organization referred to is ERGO (English Resource Group of Ontario) and is comprised of ESL/ELD coordinators, consultants and designated representatives of boards of education, colleges and universities. Motion to accept amended Minutes was made by Becky, seconded by Kate and approved.


Motion to accept agenda as presented made by Sheila, seconded


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by Ramiro and approved

4. Welcoming New Members

Dana and Lisette were welcomed as new members

5. Vice Chair position:

Phil was nominated by Susanne; all approved

6. Report from central council

Muriel noted that the June meeting was a condensed meeting; a mix of celebration and some business. Highlights from Task Groups were shared; the LMLIP Communication Strategy was shared. Vicki noted that her department at Western received funding for the Pathways to Prosperity Project

7. Report on Sub-councils work. This report had been previously shared by email (attached to the day’s agenda). No further questions about the information presented. However, this item resulted in considerable discussion about the level of sharing and amount of detail required in order to be most effective during our meetings. After some discussion the following was noted:

each task group to keep in mind what works best for them

minutes reflect general information and discussion

update on work group may be sent in advance if group feels that information is helpful to other members

members come prepared with questions if more details are required about a particular task or project

members from this sub-council who may like to check out other sub-councils by sitting in on a meeting, send request to project staff to be forwarded to the specific sub-council

8. Reports from Working Groups

a.Access & Eligibility work group: Tamara presented on behalf of the group; first meeting was held and group reviewed the work done by the Enhancing Pathways Project which ended in March 2012. The conversation between three ministries was started; the group will be meeting to flesh out work plan for this group

b.Support for students:

The group did not meet and volunteers Jennifer, Mahin, Kathy and

Phil accepted the nomination

Mahin will be asked to coordinate the first


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Denise will meet to discuss and develop their action plan

c.Support for teachers:

Group met yesterday (Phil, Muriel, Dana, Susanne and Huda) yesterday and the following was discussed:

- Muriel chaired and Phil took notes; established timelines and guidelines re: the position paper to be sent to the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Position basically will be recommending the addition of multicultural component to the education program in light of the extension of the Education Program from 2014 to two years

- Over the summer met with Margaret McNay who agreed on our recommendation to develop a position paper focusing on pre-service teacher education and provided us with some contacts

- Group decided to engage other LIPs in the process and develop a concise paper by the end of November 2012

d.Support for parents group: Group did not meet since June. Group is revising its presentation and will continue to engage schools and school boards. Muriel also shared some of the suggestions provided through evaluation that will be discussed in the October meeting of the group, as well as the initial draft of the presentation for the On New Shores conference in October.

9. Employment/education joint committee: Group will have the first meeting in October. Emily, Lisette and Gebre joined the group along with existing member Sheila. Potential meeting dates provided by Anne Langille were shared with the group

10. Update from CYN Youth Literacy Project-Jennifer. Plan is in process of getting endorsement. Stakeholders identified the importance of a youth strategy. One issue is those who don’t pass the grade 10 literacy test and their need for direct support. Focus groups in the community, conduct inventory of youth services in the city, with direct support. Looking at best practices and literature review related to transition points.(e.g. from elementary to secondary school). Question about the size of the inventory-not

meeting

Group will advise staff which day works for them and staff will coordinate the first meeting


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known at this time but growing. There is representation from school boards, not-for-profits, the “Y”, and more. The literacy team has a family literacy website-www.thisisliteracy.com . It has some info for ESL/LINC programs, literacy activities for all family members. There is a connection with the support for supports work group-would be useful for a discussion between the working group members and Jennifer or other members such as Denise and/or Marcella from the YMAP program.

11. New Business:

N/A

12. Chairperson’s closing summary and review

Great to see everyone after summer. Muriel thanked the group for their work on different work groups

13. Adjourn


Next meeting: Location and Date:

November 13, 2012

London & Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership

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Agenda

Sub-council: Education Date and Time: November 13, 2012 (4-6 p.m.)


Present:

Regrets:

Absent:

Item Description


2. Guest Tracy Fawdry – Learning Disabilities Association – London Chapter

3. Adoption of September 11, 2012 Minutes


5. Members’ resignation

6. Report from Central Council’s September and October meetings

7. Reports from the:

a. Access & Eligibility work group- Discussion b. Support for Students Work Group – Discussion c. Support for Teachers – Phil d. Supports for parents - Kate


9. New Business


London & Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership

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11. Adjourn

Next Meeting:????, 2013 at Kinsmen Recreation Centre Please bring copies of the agenda and September 11, 2012 Minutes


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Minutes

LMLIP Education Sub-council Date and Time: November 13, 2012, 4:00 - 6:00 pm

Meeting Location:

Room 4, Kinsmen Recreation Centre 20 Granville Street

Present: Muriel Abbott, Denise Taylor-Edwards,

Rebecca Howse, Mo Jeng, Kate Kennedy, Emily Low, Kathy

Milczarek, Phillipa Myers, Lisette Ochoa, Helen Patterson,

Susanne Quan, Jo-elle Rinker, Mureed Shahid, Ria Urbi

Regrets: Dana Bekri, Huda Hussein, Jennifer Smith,

Gebre Woldemicael, Sheila Carson, Mahin Ghasemiyani

Absent: Janet Pinder, Imtiaz Shah, Shelly Taylor

Guest: Tracy Fawdry (Learning Disabilities Association

London Region) & Jennifer Morish (Resource Consultant)

Item Description

Information,

Update, Action,

Lead and Due

Date

1. Chair’s Opening Remarks:

Muriel welcomed the group to the meeting.

2. Adoption of September 11, 2012 Minutes

Susanne requested to add her name on the Support for Teachers work group,

page 3.

Motion to Motion to approve the September 11, 2012 Minutes as amended

was moved by Phil, seconded by Kathy and approved.


Motion to adopt the November 13, 2012 agenda was moved by Kathy, se-

conded by Kate and approved.

4. Guest Tracy Fawdry – Learning Disabilities Association London Region

Tracy and Jennifer presented on the Learning Disabilities Association, and

talked about their student programs and parent supports. Jennifer noted that

one of the challenges for their organization is to get newcomer and immigrant


2

families to access their services. LDA then sought ways to fill in the gap. This

year, they received a grant through the Ministry of Education (Parents Reach-

ing Out Grant) to engage parents in education and with schools. This project,

“Linkages & Access: Newcomer Engagement and Education”, will focus on

newcomers and immigrants recognizing that they may come from a country

where this is stigma on learning difficulties or they are not able to differentiate

very well between literacy and learning.

Some progress with the project includes:

Developing informational fact sheets for parents (range of languages)

Working with SWIS workers of London Cross Cultural Learner Centre,

LUSO Community Services, South London Neighbourhood Resource

Centre to determine where and when to host workshops

Developing promotional materials to agencies and families (posters

and bookmarks)

Tracy requested the group to let her know of opportunities to conduct the

workshop. The workshops are open to anyone.

Jo-elle will connect Tracy to YMCA Special Education

Kathy confirmed that LUSO will participate in the workshop (elemen-

tary)

Denise commended Tracy for their work and also highlighted the importance of

keeping the messaging consistent with existing efforts in the community.

Denise and Tracy

will connect to

discuss this

further.

5. Members’ Resignation

Muriel announced the resignation of Tamara Kaattari. Muriel recognized Tama-

ra for her commitment and thanked her for her contributions to the group.

Muriel also announced Ramiro’s resignation and shared Ramiro’s resignation

letter with the group. Thanks were also extended to Ramiro for his numerous

contributions to the group.

6. Report from LMLIP Central Council’s September & October meetings

Muriel shared information about the November 21, 2012 launch of

London: A Newcomer’s Story. Ria reminded agencies to bring their

banners to the event.

Muriel also asked to Save the Date on March 27, 2013 for the LMLIP

Community Event. This will be a celebration of our community’s

achievements as well to educate on policy changes that impact our

community. The venue will be at Best Western Lamplighter Inn.

The multimedia task group is implementing the Communication Strate-


3

gy and has met with the Londoner and Rogers TV for initial meetings.

Muriel also shared that the Ontario’s Expert Roundtable on Immigra-

tion Report is now available and encouraged members to read the re-

port.

7. Reports from Work Groups

a. Accessibility & Eligibility Work Group

Muriel shared that based on the last meeting with Tamara, Sheila,

Helen and Mo, there seemed to be an understanding among them that

existing efforts in the community already address this issue and per-

haps, there is no need to establish a new work group. Upon discussion

with Sub-council, it was decided that the group will bring input from the

Sub-council to the Community Partnership Committee (the larger

group addressing this issue). It was also expected that they will be the

voice of adult ESL in this committee. Jo-elle noted that the next meet-

ing is in December 2012, and that this is a venue for two-way feed-

back.

b. Support for Students

Kathy informed that there is no update available. Mahin has provided

Muriel with a name for the CCLC contact (rather than Mahin).

c. Support for Teachers

Phil informed that the work group is working on a position paper

addressed to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities for the

inclusion of at least one mandatory course about multicultural and

multilingual issues within the pre-service teacher’s program. The

teaching program will be extended to two years starting 2014 and the

position paper comes at an opportune time. The group is also drawing

on the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy of the Ministry of

Education to strengthen their argument. Other LIPs such as

Peterborough and Ottawa have offered varying levels of support, either

in helping to develop the paper or endorsing it. Denise noted that the

language used in the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy for

diversity is “culturally and linguistically diverse members of our

community”. Plan is to have the position paper ready by end of

November.

d. Support for Parents

Kate informed that the group will meet again in December 2012 and

have been working on modifications on the delivery of Welcoming All

Voices (not on the content). The group has also been discussing how

to increase reach to parents, parent councils and schools.

Work group will

update the LMLIP

Education Sub-

council in the next

meeting.

Kathy will

organize the first

meeting for the

group.

Group will provide

updates in a

future meeting.


4

Muriel presented in Toronto on October 25, 2012 at the On New

Shores Conference. The group is also exploring the possibility of pre-

senting in the Leadership Conference which is focused on parent

leadership, and also at Ontario Federation Home Schools Association

conference in Hamilton. Both events are scheduled in Spring 2013.

Group will discuss about participating in these events and the ap-

proach in the presentations.


Members from the LMLIP Education Sub-council are Sheila, Lisette, Emily and

Gebre. The joint committee met last October and Sheila provided a written up-

date to the group. One of the things that was discussed is to link the group to

the Labor Market Information Knowledge System (LMIKS) project of London

Economic Development Corporation (LEDC).

Mo explained that a consultant was hired for this project and it is aimed to bet-

ter understand London’s labour market. One of the recommendations is the

creation of an information system that both employers and job-seekers can

have access. To develop this, a survey among employers is being carried out

by Workforce Planning & Development Board to understand their needs and

link that with the current market situation. The information system is scheduled

for release in March 2013. For further information about the project, Mo Jeng

advised to be in touch with Robert Collins of LEDC.

Phil mentioned that it is important to understand what the labour market needs

so that students will go to these areas for future employment. Denise also

wondered about the best time to bring in guidance counselors to the project as

end-users of the information system.

9. New Business

None


On behalf of Huda, Muriel inquired about moving the next meeting from Janu-ary 8 to January 15, 2013. Group approved.

Muriel reminded everyone to forward signed consent forms (for photo and in-formation release on the Immigration Portal) to Project Staff.

11. Adjourn

Meeting adjourned at 6:00 pm.


5


January 15, 2013, 4:00 – 6:00 pm (please note the change in date)

Location: TBA

Project Staff to

confirm location.

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