CASSCONNECTIONThe official magazine for the College of Alberta School Superintendents
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Teaching with TechnologyAlso Inside:Preventing BullyingTeaching Young MothersAlberta's Learning Language InitiativeEmbedding Professional DevelopmentAnd much more...
Teaching with TechnologyAlso Inside:Preventing BullyingTeaching Young MothersAlberta's Learning Language InitiativeEmbedding Professional DevelopmentAnd much more...
4 Fall 2004• The CASS Connection
The CASS ConnectionThe official magazine for the College of
Alberta School SuperintendentsFall 2004
Published for:The College of Alberta School
Superintendents#1200, 9925 – 109 Street
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2004 Matrix Group Inc. All rights reserved. Contents maynot be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part,without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Messages:Barry Stangeland, CASS President
Maria David-Evans, Deputy Minister of Alberta Learning
Innovation and Success:Toward a Safe and Caring Place
Palliser Regional Schools tackle bullying
Overcoming the Odds
Golden Hills School Division works toward success for
young mothers
CASS Talks Technology:Let’s Get Technical
The Tools of the Trade
Programs and Reports:Learning Languages
Alberta’s Learning Edge
The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement
Aligning Professional Development to Student Success
Legal Talk: Better Safe Than Sorry
Buyer’s Guide
contents
On the coverA student in the Fort Vermillion School Districtconnects with teachers and students in other
schools, with the help of learning suites.
611
12
18
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The College of Alberta School Superintendents 5
A s CASS president, I am pleased
to provide a report for this, our
second edition of the CASS
Connection, the official magazine of the
College of Alberta School Superintendents.
Provincial executive has established the
following priorities for the 2004-2005 fis-
cal year:
• Complete the “Revisioning of CASS”
process that we began last year. The
Zone directors will be discussing with
the membership, at zone meetings, the
“CASS Strategic Focus Workshop” doc-
ument. This document includes a new
mission, vision, core functions, values
statements and the principles of practice
for CASS. With feedback we plan to
present this document to the member-
ship for approval at the next Issues
Forum.
• Establish CASS as a “Professional Orga-
nization”. This had unanimous support
from the membership at our last Annu-
al General Meeting and is supported by
the Minister and Deputy Minister of
Learning. We are planning to have a
proposed “College of Alberta School
Superintendents Act” developed for the
spring sitting of the legislature. Feed-
back from our membership will be very
important as we proceed.
• Continue to develop and implement
the “Conceptual Framework for a
Superintendency Leadership Formation
Program”. We believe that this program
will assist in preparing superintendents
and provide ongoing professional devel-
opment to support them in their role as
CEOs of school jurisdictions.
• Proceed with the work began in the
paper commissioned by CASS, “Quality
Standards of Practice for School Princi-
pals”. This document was used this past
summer in the “Start Right” program
for beginning school administrators.
• We will also develop criteria for the use
of our legal reserve fund which will
require approval by the membership.
These priorities, along with other items
that arise, will make for another very busy
year for your executive.
I had the pleasure of attending the “Start
Right” program for beginning school
administrators and the zone summer confer-
ences. They were all successful and provided
great opportunities for the sharing of knowl-
edge and networking. Thanks to the mem-
bers who organized these events! This year
CASS will again provide many opportunities
for the professional development of our
members. We have added a “Human Resources
Symposium” to be held in conjunction with
the November “Issues Forum”, which will be
beneficial for our members.
CASS is very appreciative of the extra
funds provided by Alberta Learning to
school jurisdictions for reducing class sizes.
It is our hope that this will enable all school
jurisdictions to meet the average class sizes
recommended by the Learning Commission
and thereby provide an enhanced learning
environment for students.
I am pleased to inform you that enough
school boards expressed interest in the Sup-
plementary Pension Plan (SiPP) that it will
proceed. A special thanks to Jim Gibbons
for all his hard work to make this available
to our members.
There have been some changes to the
executive so here is an updated list. Lee
Lucente - Executive Director; Barry Stange-
land - President; Barbara Gammon - 1st
Vice President; Mary Lynne Campbell - 2nd
Vice President; Pat Dorney - Past President;
Rick Berry - Zone One Director; Dean
Lindquist - Zone 2/3 Director; Paulette
Hanna - Zone 4 Director; Jim Mclellan -
Zone 5 Director; Chris Smeaton - Zone 6
Director; and Jeremy Simms - Metro Direc-
tor. Please contact any one of us about any
issue and we will try to provide the support
required.
May you all have a very rewarding and
successful year. ■
Barry StangelandCASS President
6 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 9
10 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
T his summer I had the opportunity
to meet with many of you at CASS
summer conferences throughout the
province. As always, I enjoyed the opportu-
nity to discuss the successes and the chal-
lenges we face in our work to make Alber-
ta’s K-12 learning system the best it can be.
As is true in most professional fields, Alber-
ta’s education landscape is constantly changing.
CASS, ASBOA, teachers, school boards, gov-
ernment, and parents have worked well togeth-
er to ensure students’ needs are being addressed
in our rapidly changing environment.
And work well we must, because I
believe that it is a sin for senior education
leaders — or all CEOs for that matter —
to act without knowledge, or to have
knowledge, but not act. It is especially easy
for leaders to commit these transgressions
during a time of transition and rapid
change.
Increased responsibility and authority
for school boards and superintendents are
at the hub of this transition. Not only must
you advise your boards about the different
options and opportunities available to
them, but you, too, have new roles and
responsibilities. This demonstrates Alberta
Learning’s confidence in your ability to
take knowledge-inspired action in support
of Alberta students and our learning system.
With the implementation of the new fund-
ing framework in September 2004, the govern-
ment will be transferring the majority of deci-
sion making to school boards and to you —
the people who know your jurisdictions best.
The new funding framework will
require a different kind of leadership.
While the framework provides jurisdictions
with maximum flexibility in how funds are
spent, it will require you to provide advice
and analysis in identifying local needs and
priorities. Through the accountability pillar, the
new funding framework also requires increased
public accountability — not only for the use of
the resources, but for the results achieved.
Likewise, achieving the recommendations
of the Learning Commission will require con-
tinued leadership from you. Superintendents
will be expected to take a lead role in estab-
lishing learning communities and implement-
ing annual professional development plans for
teachers that are directly connected to school
improvement goals outlined in their three-
year education plans. You will also be
involved in reporting on class sizes as all juris-
dictions move to reach the class size averages
recommended by the Learning Commission
by the 2006-07 school year. Superintendents
and their senior teams will be working with
Alberta Learning and other education part-
ners to implement the majority of the recom-
mendations of the Learning Commission.
Amendments to the School Act (Bill 25)
and the Teaching Profession Act (Bill 26) also
give superintendents new responsibilities. For
example, superintendents have a new option
in dealing with issues of teacher competence
— providing you with not only new authori-
ty, but greater opportunities to ensure teach-
ing continues to be of the highest quality, and
our students are learning from the very best.
CASS’s decision to pursue professional
status is another example of leadership in
action. Becoming a professional association
with stand-alone legislation would raise the
profile of superintendents as a defined entity
and provide superintendents with additional
responsibilities and authority, such as educa-
tion and training requirements, compulsory
on-going professional development, a stan-
dard of practice and code of conduct.
As a member of a professional organiza-
tion, superintendents, not the school boards
you represent, will be accountable for your
decisions and your actions.
Strong leadership from our province’s super-
intendents will enable our K-12 learning system
to not only manage change, but embrace it as a
catalyst for growth and new opportunities for
our students as we strive to continuously
improve Alberta’s learning system.
Once again, thank you for your ongoing
hard work and commitment. My best wishes
to each of you for another successful school
year. ■
Maria David-EvansDeputy Minister of Alberta Learning
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 11
Incidents of bullying are occurring in
every school across the country. And, while
Palliser Regional Schools prides itself on
providing a positive and secure school climate
for students, incidents of bullying continue in
spite of district values and goals aimed at provid-
ing a safe learning environment for all students.
Bullying in Palliser schools has no
greater nor lesser presence than in virtually
any other school system in North America.
Whether society is prepared to admit it or
not, bullying is a part of life for students in
every school — public, separate and pri-
vate. In the past, school systems have not
adequately addressed this issue. Efforts
often tend to be superficial at best, and
usually look for a “quick fix” when a “quick
fix” is neither possible nor appropriate.
Over the past six years, the issue of bully-
ing in schools across North America has been
catapulted into the headlines by horrific and
tragic school shootings and suicides. In the
2000 – 2001 school year in Palliser, two sepa-
rate and major incidents of bullying were
identified first at the school level and, as they
continued to boil over, at the division level.
Both incidents, one involving boys and one
involving girls, occurred at the junior high
level. In both, the school staff had difficulty
acknowledging the severity of the bullying.
These separate incidents highlighted for us a
lack of understanding of the situation.
Utilizing the Alberta Initiative for
School Improvement funds, Palliser
Regional Schools undertook a student sur-
vey to reveal the prevalence of bullying
behaviour in schools. The study, entitled
Toward a Safe and Caring Place (Ellefson
and Goslin, 2002), indicated that one third
of students identify bullying as a problem
for themselves and that on any given week
35 per cent will be victimized in this man-
ner. This number was most dramatic at the
junior high school level, where bullying
behaviour was almost considered a “specta-
tor sport”. Clearly students would rather
tell a friend or a parent before telling either
a sibling or teacher, citing they were less
confident in the latter two’s assistance.
Interestingly, 4 to 8 per cent of students
could be considered pathological bullies,
seeing no problem with their behaviour.
Typically, one skilled bully picked on three
targeted victims. Depending upon the grade
level, between 40 and 60 per cent of stu-
dents considered themselves as bystanders.
It was on this large, uncommitted group
that Palliser wanted to focus its educational
program. The study concluded with making
four recommendations, namely the develop-
ment of a system-wide vision and goal
regarding reducing bullying behaviour, a
transparent response protocol, a consistent,
integrated, pro-social education program,
and monitoring and tracking behaviours.
Embedded in Palliser Regional Schools’
Vision Statement and explicitly addressed
by policy is the commitment to effectively
eradicate bullying from the school experience
12 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
Toward a
Place
andSafe
Caring
By John Bolton, Barbara Gammon, Khym Goslin, and Doug Orr
(Palliser Regional Schools)
of children attending Palliser schools. This
focused investment in school climate strives
to ensure that no student in Palliser schools
will ever have to come to school in fear that
others may verbally or physically bully them.
“Imagine that you are in middle school
and very much alone. Every day you dread
tomorrow and you have to drag yourself to
class where children tease and taunt and point
at you. The more you squirm, the sweeter the
chase. There is no escape and hardly anyone
ever comes to your assistance. Sometimes a
child does not have to have a particular physi-
cal trait for other children to hone in on,
sometimes they just pick on someone for the
heck of it and the hate becomes infectious
with group leaders and their followers within a
school.” (Dellasega, 2001)
Any initiative to address bullying in
schools needs to be policy driven in order to
be successful. In Palliser, five policies
address the issue of bullying from various
perspectives. Like most jurisdictions, Palliser
has in place a Discipline and a Safe School
and Harassment policy, which are founda-
tional to the provision of a secure learning
environment. Palliser Schools’ ground-breaking
policies concerning student supervision and
bullying, however, are unique within the
province. While many jurisdictions address bul-
lying in the context of “harassment”, given the
nature of bullying and its public profile, it was
deemed necessary and appropriate to design
and implement policy specifically targeting bul-
lying behaviours — a policy of “zero avoidance”
in dealing with incidents of bullying.
Teachers often assume that they are
aware of the relationships among students
based on their own classroom and supervi-
sion observations. Survey results do not
support this belief. Despite teachers believ-
ing and expressing the view that schools are
free of bullying, parent surveys indicate
concern about the safety of the learning
environment. Research confirms that par-
ents and students often have a much more
accurate picture of the extent and nature of
bullying in schools, and that teachers are
often the last to become aware of problems
(Ellefson and Goslin, 2002). Students generally
confide in parents and friends, rather than talk-
ing to teachers or other school authorities about
bullying.
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 13
Who are the Bullies?
Children become bullies in many different ways - there is not a single type ofbully. The following characteristics have been identified primarily through researchon boys who bully. We know little about girls who bully.
• Gender. On surveys more boys report bullying than girls, but the discrepancybetween boys' and girls' rates of bullying is not as great in playground observa-tions. Boys report more physical forms of bullying; girls tend to bully in indirectways, such as gossiping and excluding.
• Age. In Canadian surveys, 11-to 12-year-old students reported bullying othersmore than younger (9- to 1O-year-old) and older (13-to 14-year-old) students.
• Temperament. Bullies tend to be hyperactive, disruptive, impulsive, and overac-tive.
• Aggression. Bullies are generally aggressive toward their peers, teachers, parents,siblings, and others. Bullies tend to be assertive and easily provoked. They areattracted to situations with aggressive content and have positive attitudes aboutaggression.
• Physical Strength. Boys who bully are physically stronger and have a need todominate others. In contrast, girls who bully tend to be physically weaker thanother girls in their class.
• Lack of empathy. Bullies have little empathy for their victims and show little or noremorse about bullying.
Who are the Victims?
Children become victimized for many different reasons and there is not a singlevictim type. For some children the following characteristics may be present beforebullying occurs; for others they may develop as a result of bullying.
• Gender. On surveys, boys and girls are equally likely to report being victimized.
• Age. Victimization decreases across grade levels: 26% of Grades 1-3 childrenreport victimization compared to 15% of Grades 4-6 and 12% of Grades 7-8children (Pepler et al., 1997). Children in lower grades are more likely to be vic-tims of older bullies, whereas children in higher grades are more likely to be vic-tims of same-age bullies. lounger students experience more direct bullying,whereas older students experience more indirect bullying.
• Temperament. Some victimized children have a tendency to be anxious andwithdrawn. There is more evidence of this among preschool children thanamong school-aged children.
• Physical Appearance. Research has not supported the popular stereotype thatvictims have unusual physical traits.
• Self-esteem. Victims often report low self-esteem, likely because of repeatedexposure to victimization.
• Depression. Both boys and girls who are victimized report symptoms of depres-sion such as sadness, and loss of interest in activities.
• Anxiety. Boys and girls who are victims report symptoms of anxiety, such astenseness, fears, and worries.
Information courtesy of the National Crime Prevention Council. For more infor-mation go to www.prevention.gc.ca
Palliser’s bullying policy makes explicit
the expectation that two-way communica-
tion with students and parents must hap-
pen early in the school term and be repeat-
ed regularly throughout the year. Both
students and parents need to recognize
their right and responsibility to report
problems as soon as they know about them,
and the school’s responsibility to be open
and responsive. “Serious About Bullying”, a
brief self-contained presentation produced
by district staff and distributed to all schools,
assists schools with the task of informing
their communities about Palliser’s plan to
clearly address bullying behaviour in schools.
Those familiar with the work of Barbara
Coloroso will recognize that Palliser’s policy
on bullying in schools has adopted her
“three r’s” for dealing with incidents of bul-
lying behaviour; restitution, resolution and
reconciliation — “fixing what you did”,
determining how to prevent the incident
from occurring again, and healing the hurt
that was done (Coloroso, 2002). Coloroso’s
“fourth r”, repentance, is ideally a by-prod-
uct of the process of reconciliation.
Efficacious implementation of policy
addressing bullying behaviours requires
adoption of a system-wide program to
ensure commonality and consistency when
dealing with bullying. While many pro-
grams are available, Palliser has selected
“Focus on Bullying” (B.C. Ministry of
Education, 2001) which complements the
excellent material in the Alberta Safe and
Caring Schools program and aligns with
the suggestions of expert Dan Olweiss,
author of the “Bullying Prevention Pro-
gram” (Olweus, n.d.). In order to provide a
consistent and contiguous message to all
students, K-12, a team of secondary teachers
produced an “appendix” of age-appropriate
materials and instructional strategies to allow for
the incorporation of the “Focus on Bullying”
program into secondary-grade core courses.
Research (Ellefson and Goslin, 2002)
reveals student concerns that teachers are not
around when and where problems occur, and
further clearly delineates a direct relationship
between increased supervision and decreased
incidents of bullying. Consequently, Pallis-
er’s new Student Supervision policy includes
an unequivocally directive statement pre-
scribing “active supervision”, which requires
teachers to be on the playground and in the
hallways, interacting with students. Additional-
ly, as data suggests that many bullying problems
occur during class changes, policy stipulates that
teachers are at their classroom doors observing
and supervising these transition times.
Toward a Safe and Caring Place continued
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 15
While many jurisdictions address bullying in the context of “harassment”, given thenature of bullying and its public profile, it was deemed necessary and appropriateto design and implement policy specifically targeting bullying behaviours — apolicy of “zero avoidance” in dealing with incidents of bullying.
All these policies are linked to Palliser’s
position of “zero avoidance” for bullying inci-
dents which makes explicit the expectation
that whenever staff become aware of a prob-
lem they will take immediate steps to inter-
vene and respond appropriately. One of the
key components of the successful implementa-
tion of any program is, monitoring progress.
Concise and accurate monitoring of imple-
mentation provides critical data for the cele-
bration of successes, the identification of prob-
lem areas, and planning for improvement.
Two crucial aspects of Palliser’s “Focus on Bul-
lying” project are regularly monitored and
reported — student behaviour and progress of
program implementation.
In order to accurately and meaningfully
report student behaviours, a common lan-
guage and definition of terms needed to be
established. Additionally it was important to
create some means of not only reporting stu-
dent behaviour, but of actually measuring the
reduction of severity of inappropriate behav-
iours, presumably as a result of the implemen-
tation of the “Focus on Bullying” program in
all schools. The first of these necessities was
met by reviewing existing literature on the
issue of bullying and student behaviours for
descriptors and definitions. This information
was brought forward to a steering committee
for refinement and consensus. Each of twelve
definitions ranging from “play fighting” and
“other behaviours” to “severe bullying” and
“unwanted/inappropriate sexual behaviour” is
ranked on a scale from 1 – 4. This common
vocabulary is provided to all school staff as a
key component of their introduction to the
“Focus on Bullying” program.
Utilizing simple tracking software, schools
record the number of student incidents in
each of the appropriate categories, according
to the agreed-upon common definitions.
From this data it is possible to track what
kinds of incidents are occurring, where inci-
dents are occurring, who is involved, and to
determine an “incident-severity index” for
each month. This allows school staff to make
crucial and timely decisions concerning effec-
tive and appropriate responses and interven-
tions. This data is also reported monthly to
the district office to provide a broader perspec-
tive concerning the efficacy of the anti-bully-
ing protocols and procedures.
Additionally, schools report their progress
toward full implementation of the “Focus on
Bullying” program, while the district in turn
provides on-going staff development and sup-
port to schools. Information from both the
16 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
Toward a Safe and Caring Place continued
The success of Palliser’s “Focus on Bullying” initiative relies on parents, studentsand staff communicating openly and striving together to reduce incidents ofbullying and to repudiate the acceptance of bullying behaviours in the schoolcommunity. To this end, parents are key partners.
student incident data and the program
progress reports allows district staff to make
informed decisions about the nature of the sup-
port required to help schools effectively imple-
ment policies and procedures aimed toward
reducing bullying behaviours in Palliser schools.
Successfully defeating bullying in Palliser
schools will require partnerships working col-
lectively to achieve a common goal. The suc-
cess of Palliser’s “Focus on Bullying” initiative
relies on parents, students and staff communicat-
ing openly and striving together to reduce inci-
dents of bullying and to repudiate the acceptance
of bullying behaviours in the school community.
To this end, parents are key partners.
Parents have an instinctive need to protect
their children from harm. Clear and open
communication with parents is embedded in
Palliser’s bullying policy and procedures. Par-
ents are encouraged to report to their child’s
school incidents in which they believe their
child is being bullied. Further, schools want to
be made aware of situations in which a par-
ent’s child is witnessing bullying behaviours,
or if they believe their child is bullying others.
Classroom lessons, K – 12, will increase stu-
dent awareness about the unacceptable nature of
bullying and how their attitudes and interven-
tion can help prevent bullying in their schools.
Students need to be empowered to share their
concerns about students who are being bullied,
with responsible adults and to trust that their
concerns are taken seriously. Affirming the right
of the “bystander” to stand up and speak out is
crucial to affecting positive change.
Teachers are an important link in the
chain of cooperation against bullying behav-
iours. Teaching and support staff knowledge-
able about bullying and confident in report-
ing, intervening, and responding to bullying
behaviours will make a difference for students.
Bullies need to understand clearly that their
behaviour is unacceptable, and that schools
will respond promptly, persistently, consistently
and appropriately to reduce those behaviours.
Parents, students and staff working togeth-
er can reduce bullying behaviour throughout
Palliser schools. This goal can be achieved
through increased awareness of what bullying
is and how to respond to it. Palliser Regional
Schools intends to change behaviours, actions
and attitudes in order to significantly reduce
the incidents of bullying behaviours. ■
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 17
Toward a Safe and Caring Place continued
ReferencesColoroso, B. (2002). Bully, the bullied, and the bystander. Toronto, On, HarperCollins.Dellasega, C. (2001). Surviving Ophelia: Mothers share their wisdom in navigating thetumultuous teenage years. Cambridge, MA, Perseus Publishing.Ellefson, B. and K. Goslin (2002). Toward a safe and caring place, Palliser Regional Schools:1 – 22.B.C. Ministry of Education (2001). Focus on bullying: A prevention program for elementaryschool communities. Victoria, BC, Government of British Columbia.Olweus, D. (n.d.). Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, U.S. Department of Health andHuman Services. 2003.
Our creation story is one of perse-
verance, profound wisdom and
courageous leadership. In the ear-
liest days of our operation, Elder Raymond
Crowchief was teaching me about the histo-
ry of the plains tee pee. “ Its construction was
genius,” he said. “They built it round so it
could withstand the prairie winds. They could
always take it where they needed to go. It did
not hurt anything where it had stood.” I would
later reflect on his words and realize how mean-
ingful they would be in this new “outreach”.
We too were going where we were needed, and
we would require flexibility and strength to
meet the challenges these winds of change
would bring. Most importantly we would need
to be ever mindful and do no harm.
In 1996 Golden Hills School Division
opened three outreach schools within their
jurisdiction. One year later, through the
urging of social worker Genny Solway of
Siksika, a small number of students from
the Siksika Nation registered at the Strath-
more StoreFront School. Consistent with
the schools mandate, most of these stu-
dents were young expectant mothers. The
social safety net of the Nation poured
resources into our program and the stu-
dents responded with academic success.
The ensuing relationship enriched our
entire program as we began to embrace,
through their example of integrating servic-
es, this community based method of coor-
dinated service delivery. Our students
thrived within this supported educational/
social environment. We soon discovered
that our optimism was far too complacent.
Our students had their babies and one by
one our roles diminished.
Transportation became an overwhelm-
ing issue. Bussing the infants with their
parents was not an option as insurance cov-
erage and associated costs were prohibitive.
Some suggested that these young women
should place their children in day care and
attend the mainstream schools. This option
was exercised by some students, and
though we supported their desire to contin-
ue their education, we continued to be
concerned about parent/child bonding,
breast feeding and other parenting issues.
Some students continued with us through
Virtual School, but problems regarding lack of
access to technology (including no telephones)
continued to compromise their chances to
complete their high school education.
In spite of these challenges and disap-
pointments these young women were hun-
gry to regain their previous success. Month
after month they continued to call, always
inquiring if there were new developments
that would somehow allow them to attend
school with their children. Their persistent
18 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
Overcomingthe
OddsThe Gleichen Siksika OutreachSchool helps young mothers realizetheir dreams
By Denise Peterson, Teacher/PrincipalGolden Hills School Division
hope was a driving force in our efforts to
find a way to meet these needs.
After more than five years of consulta-
tion and research a decision was made.
There would be a new school. Amelia
Clark, Superintendent of Siksika and Mr.
Edwin Holt, Associate Superintendent of
Golden Hills announced that they were
proceeding in a partnership. Said Edwin
Holt, “At the end of the day Amelia and I
agreed…this school must go forward
because it is the right thing to do. These
young women need and deserve an educa-
tion.” Having convinced their respective
authorities of the need for this new pro-
gram, a new set of challenges were born.
The program would be cost shared. Sik-
sika would fund their students under
INAC guidelines. The Nation also provid-
ed start up funds for the school’s opera-
tion. Golden Hills would supervise the
operations and staffing of the school. A
joint committee was struck for the pur-
pose of interviewing prospective staff.
Siksika provided two vans complete with
car seats, to transport our new students.
Measurements for accountability and
outcomes would be established. The
Principal would be responsible to report
to both Siksika and Golden Hills.
The school would eventually be situ-
ated in the community of Gleichen, in
the United Church. The program would
be accessible to students in the communi-
ties of Bassano, Gleichen, Hussar, Siksika
and Standard. We held community
meetings to address concerns, and natu-
rally the concept received mixed reviews
within the community. Most important
in preparing people for such a change was
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 19
the necessity of providing all members of
the community the opportunity to voice
their concerns and play an integral role in
seeking satisfactory solutions. We came to
an agreement for seeking resolution to
potential problems. In September 2003,
the Gleichen Siksika Outreach School
opened for business. In the first days I was
overcome with humility and emotion
when, one by one, all 17 students from the
StoreFront School in years past (now parents)
came with their children to register for school.
Now that our education plans were firm-
ly in place we began to actively seek out com-
munity partnerships. We wanted our part-
nerships to be equal, meaningful, and fully
integrated into the context of community.
We were committed to entering into partner-
ships where we could provide mutual sup-
port. We sought partnerships with service
providers and local business. Public Health
played a crucial role as healthy children stand
a much better chance of academic success.
Health nurses, nutritionists, opticians,
dentists and doctors joined us in a concert-
ed effort to provide our students with
access to the best possible care. For exam-
ple, Dr. Joni McNeeley set up a Tuesday
morning clinic for the express use of our
students. The school’s role would be to
ensure students were able to follow through
with appointments (we would arrange
transport) and prescription access. Public
Health set up bi-weekly clinics and infor-
mation sessions in the school. Students
were allowed to incorporate these sessions
into their CTS Community Health pro-
gram. Twice weekly parenting classes were
held at the school. Pre- and post-natal
nutrition and breast-feeding support pro-
grams were coordinated between the school
and public health (Siksika & Strathmore).
Local food banks donated their excess food
to help support this program. In exchange,
students clean the food bank buildings and
wash and stock shelves. Their volunteer
hours are incorporated into the CTS Com-
munity Volunteerism credit. When local
employers hire our students we offer to
design and make their business cards,
(InfoPro) and assist in their advertising
(Enterprise & Entrepreneur). We partici-
pate in the ‘Communities in Bloom’ proj-
ect as well as other initiatives with the Gle-
ichen & District Agricultural Society. To be
good community members, we clean our
neighbourhood, shovel sidewalks for sen-
iors and assist with odd jobs. Our students
receive countless benefits from these rela-
tionships, the most important being the
opportunity to be a part of the community.
Our students are learning to reconnect to
their families, schools and communities.
Our results in this initial year of opera-
tions are encouraging. We had our first
graduates, and our first group of students
moved on to post secondary education.
This September 2004 our numbers have
increased by one-third. We face ongoing
challenges in meeting the academic needs
of our students, but we are committed to
moving forward in the belief that by bring-
ing together all the resources of our com-
munity we can weave a safety net that will
ensure each student the best possible
opportunity to succeed.
For more information, please contact
me at [email protected]
or at (403) 734-0190. ■
20 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
Overcoming the Odds continued
“At the end of the dayAmelia [Clark,Superintendent ofSiksika] and Iagreed…this schoolmust go forwardbecause it is the rightthing to do. These youngwomen need anddeserve an education.”Edwin Holt, AssociateSuperintendent ofGolden Hills
By Ken Dropko, Superintendent of Fort
Vermillion School Division
Our goal is to “provide the best pos-
sible education to all students,” in
the Fort Vermillion school district
and we are well on our way to making this
happen. Being a rural and remote district
— we can be found in the extreme north-
west corner of Alberta — we needed a way
to better serve our 3800 students who are
scattered over a geographical landmass of
250,000 kilometres (about five times the
size of Denmark).
But we were faced with our own unique
challenges including communities that vary
in size and in culture (about one third of
the student population is First Nation,
another third Mennonite and the final
third is made up of a diverse mix of stu-
dents typical to North American communi-
ties), and some communities have only 60
high school students. From this stems two
major issues, 1) the recruitment and reten-
tion of teachers and 2) accommodating
large numbers of students who have not
had rich language development experiences
in the home.
We were faced with a problem but we
knew we could no longer accept geography
as a tolerable excuse for poor student
achievement. So in order to level the play-
ing field between students in our region
and their urban counterparts, we turned to
technology — in particular, learning suites.
The Fort Vermilion learning suites are
designed to provide broadcast quality video
and audio to each of the five high schools
in the district, a division run band first
nation school, the central office and other
classrooms that are part of the Netera video
classroom network. While the price tag
may be big, about $125,000 per suite, we
realize that the benefits are even bigger for
students: they don’t have to leave home to
have access to the courses they want; they
can see their teacher and classmates even
though they may be four hours away; if
absent students can access lessons via a
secured web access point; there is potential
to access courses from outside the division;
new teachers might be drawn to the divi-
sion because of the leading edge technology.
But the number one impetuous for cre-
ating the suites was to improve upon the
quality of the distance education program
being offered within the division. Prior to
the learning suites all distance education
classes were taught using an audio graphics
system that consisted of a conference phone
in each room and a shared SMART board.
Students could only see what the teacher
was writing on the shared whiteboard and
heard the teacher through the phone line.
Interaction was limited and supervision was
problematic.
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 21
Lets
TechnicalGet
Premier Ralph Klein joined Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, as well as other officials,school staff and students when the Fort Vermillion School Division launched the use of theirlearning suites.
One district connects students to a world of learning
“
However, the video suites improve upon
this experience by providing two way video
into each classroom. What makes this sys-
tem different from traditional videoconfer-
encing is the technology chosen to broad-
cast over the network. Traditional video
conferencing is usually based upon a stan-
dard known as H.320 or H.323. H.320 is a
technology used to allow video conferenc-
ing over standard Switched 56, or ISDN,
lines. The available bandwidth for this
technology tended to be between 56 kb/s
and 256 kb/s. While this may be adequate
for a meeting between two individuals with
very little motion, it does not lend itself to
a dynamic teaching environment where the
teacher moves around and interacts with
the children. H.323 is the same basic tech-
nology, however it is designed to run over
IP networks, such as the Supernet. The
quality of H.323 improved vastly over the
older H.320 standard and speeds upwards
of 2 mb/s are capable with this protocol.
The quality of the newest H.323 standards
comes very close to broadcast quality.
At the front of our classrooms are two
32” television monitors. On the left moni-
tor is a split screen of the students that are
in the videoconference. The right hand
monitor is a full screen image of the
instructor. With a press of the control
panel the instructor can move any one of
the spilt screens over to the right (full
screen) side so as to allow for remote pre-
sentations etc. The number of streams that
are sent and received highlights another
difference in the learning suites compared
to a traditional videoconference. In the
Fort Vermilion system there are two
streams coming into each classroom. The
stream that shows the students and the
stream that shows the teacher. Traditional
video conferencing is limited to one
stream, thereby forcing the viewer to
choose between a split screen or a full
screen of the presenter, but not both at the
same time as we have done. This capability
22 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
Lets Get Technical continued
We were faced with aproblem but we knewwe could no longeraccept geography as atolerable excuse for poorstudent achievement. Soin order to level theplaying field betweenstudents in our regionand their urbancounterparts, we turnedto technology — inparticular, learningsuites.
adds a great deal to the cost and complexi-
ty of the system as well as requiring twice
as much bandwidth.
Also in the front of the room is a 62”
SMARTboard rear projection screen. This
screen is used for the interactive computer
sessions. The instructors are able to display
anything that is a computer-generated
image on to all of the other classrooms
whiteboards simultaneously. In our system
Netmeeting is used to provide the interac-
tivity and sharing of programs. The
instructor can, at anytime, give control of
the board over to any other site to allow
students to demonstrate a concept.
The large screens are also used when
the instructor chooses to show a movie or a
3-D object on the document camera to the
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 23
Lets Get Technical continued
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 23
Talking TechnologyJust how does your school compare with the rest of Canada? Check out these statistics on computer use in the country. Source: StatisticsCanada
IT in Canadian elementary and secondary schools, 2003/04 school year
All schools Elementary Secondary
Number of schools 15,500 10,100 3,400
Proportion of schools with Internet-connected computers 97.7 98.2 99.1
Average number of computers 71.6 53.2 134.2
Average number of Internet-connected computers 66.3 48.4 127.8
Median number of students per computer 5.0 5.5 4.3
Median number of students per Internet-connected computer 5.5 6.0 4.6
Proportion of computers by Internet-connectivityInternet-connected 92.7 91.0 95.3
Not Internet-connected 7.3 9.0 4.8
Proportion of computers by processor speedLow speed 28.5 34.5 22.6
Medium speed 54.3 51.1 57.8
High speed 16.1 12.9 18.8
Proportion of schools by Internet access methodDial-up access 8.6 8.0 3.9
Always-on access 85.8 84.2 93.2
Unknown type 9.5 11.6 5.5
class. Once that choice is made the system
automatically changes the SMARTboard
image away from the computer to the
selected device so that students are able to
view the material more easily. On top of
the board is a camera that is used to
send the image of the whole table
or can be moved to zoom in on
a particular location in the
room.
Located on each table
are a series of buttons that
allow the students to ask
questions of the instruc-
tor. When a student
presses the red question
button, the instructor’s
touch panel changes
screens and alerts the
instructor that a ques-
tion is waiting and shows
where the question is
coming from. When the
instructor accepts the ques-
tion (by pushing the button
on the panel) the cameras auto-
matically move and zoom in on the
location where the question was asked
and the split screen changes configuration
to make the questioner larger. There is also
a second yellow button on each table that is
used to provide anonymous feedback to the
instructor perhaps giving an indication of
students not following a topic.
At the back of each class are two 27”
monitors hung from the ceiling. These are
for instructor use. The left image is always
a split screen image of the other classes and
the right monitor is a confidence monitor
that shows the outgoing signal of the
instructor. In this way the instructor will always
maintain eye contact with the camera that is
sending that stream. Between the two monitors
a camera is used to send the instructor images.
However, even with its initial success,
we did learn a few lessons in the process.
For example, the importance of setting
timelines and regularly monitoring the
progress of planning, developing and
implementing the project cannot be under-
estimated. As well, we would say that the
value of really spending time to consider
the courses to be offered, orientating stu-
dents and parents to their new “classroom”,
and setting protocols to address issues such
as class size should not be overlooked.
Even with these concerns, we feel that
the potential that the learning suites offer is
limitless. Now teachers, parents and stu-
dents alike know that the North, too, can
be a pocket of excellence and that through
the use of the SuperNet and the learning
suites, we can create a network that knows
no boundaries. ■
24 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
Lets Get Technical continued
T here will be a few less my dog ate
my homework’s heard in Edmon-
ton Public Schools classrooms this
fall. That’s because as students get back into
the swing of things, many parents will have
the opportunity to take a sneak peak into
the academic lives of their sons and daugh-
ters with SchoolZone, an online informa-
tion system which allows parents to check
the attendance records, class schedules AND
homework assignments for their children.
The concept was created over a year ago
when the district was looking for new ways
to share school information with parents in
a secure online environment. When no
“quick fix” program was found, they looked
for ways they could develop it themselves.
Now, using portal technology and the con-
venience of the Internet, parents can log on
with their own unique I.D. and password
to check their child’s daily homework
assignments, school news, attendance,
marks and upcoming events.
Widely received by parents in the area,
SchoolZone will be implemented over the
next 2-3 years. This past May 2004, 15
new schools were selected to begin imple-
mentation starting in October 2004, and
the district will add an additional 30
schools throughout the course of the 2004
- 2005 school year. Currently there are more than
10 schools and thousands of teachers, students
and parents taking advantage of the system.
“It’s a great resource,” explains Darwin
Martin, Supervisor at District Technology
in Edmonton Public. Martin has been
involved with the program since day one,
responding to feedback and listening to
users in an effort to work out any kinks the
program may have. But, he says the feed-
back has been overwhelmingly positive.
“SchoolZone is definitely providing better
access to information. Parents now have a
much easier time keeping track of how
their children are doing academically and it
allows them to support the learning process
in the school and in the home.”
And, while parents can keep track of
their children’s academic career, students
can also take advantage of SchoolZone. For
example, if a student is sick they can easily
check what they missed without having to
rely on friends to bring them their home-
work. Or, if they are learning a second lan-
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 25
Tools Trade
The
of the
Parents, staff and students in Edmonton’s Public Schools get in the ‘zone’
Now, using portaltechnology and theconvenience of theInternet, parents can logon with their ownunique I.D. andpassword to check theirchild’s daily homeworkassignments, schoolnews, attendance, marksand upcoming events. Continued on Page 29
28 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
The Tools of the Trade continued
guage or about an event in history, the
teacher can post audio or video clips so stu-
dents can hear words and phrases or see
clips of different events in history. Addi-
tionally, students can access online practice
questions in preparation for upcoming
exams. The system marks the questions and
provides immediate feedback to the student.
Martin explains that schools across the
district have been invited to test out the pro-
gram. As well, about a dozen other school
districts have expressed interest in using
SchoolZone technology. For example, Aspen
View school division in Athabasca is imple-
menting it next year at a cost of $1 per stu-
dent (there is currently no charge to schools
or parents using the program in Edmonton).
Martin points out that it’s important for
schools to consider options like this, which
is why his team is currently working with
three other school boards, helping them to
implement SchoolZone and, which is also
why they are very open to partnering with
other school boards across Canada.
For more information contact Darwin
Martin at [email protected] ■
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 29
The Tools of the Trade continued
At a GlanceHere’s how SchoolZone can work for you:
• Homework Channel — Classroom teachers will be able to display homework expectations forstudents/parents to view. Links to uploaded documents, such as project descriptions, can bemade available to parents and students. The events and homework will be displayed in amonthly calendar format and a daily agenda format to encourage time management skills.
• News Channels — These channels communicate classroom, school and district news/announce-ments to all users. Items with dates are viewable on a calendar that is customized for each user. Par-ents can select to be automatically notified by email of new or upcoming events posted in the portal.
• Planner Channel — A uniquely designed channel will facilitate a teacher's planning with: links tooff-site resources, homework expectations, class announcements and the ability to upload doc-uments to the portal, all on one page. Teachers will have the ability to share personally devel-oped resources with other teachers.
• Test Generation — Teachers will be able to create tests from an online question bank (60,000questions) with this channel. The tests can be printed and used in class or posted online for studentsto practice at home. The test results are marked and made available immediately to students.
• Student Info — Students (and their parents) will be able to view marks for their assignments,attendance information, and progress report information. Additionally, Grade 3, 6 and 9Provincial Achievement Test scores will be accessible.
• Online Resources — Links and authentication to resources such as the Online Reference Cen-tre, Alberta Curriculum, LearnAlberta.ca, eTrain and ICT projects.
• Student Email — A secure email application for students to use in a controlled environment.
• LCMS — Learning Content Management System is an on-line course management tool for stu-dents and teachers. It includes e-learning tools for communication, collaboration, communitybuilding, assessment creation, and management of online learning courses. It provides flexibilityfor instructional design and professional content, as well as administrative control.
Shhh…do you hear that? Guten Mor-
gen. Comment allez-vous? Como
estas? What’s going on? Well, come
September 2006 you won’t just be hearing
‘I before e except after c’ from classrooms
throughout Alberta. That’s because not only
will students in grades four to nine be master-
ing the mechanics of English, they will also be
learning the do’s and don’ts of another language.
Alberta is leading the way with its new
Learning Languages Initiative, which is one
of the first of its kind in Canada. It will
ensure that high school graduates across
Alberta have what it takes to compete
nationally and in an ever-global market.
Beginning in the 2006 school year, each
student in grade four will begin the process
of learning a second language. Then, for
the 2007 school year, the initiative will
apply to students in grades four and five,
2008 will affect those in grades four, five
and six…and so on. By 2011, each student
in Alberta, from grades four to nine will be
studying a second language.
“The reality is that students are seeking jobs
around the world,” explains Dr. Lyle Oberg,
Minister of Learning in Alberta. “This initiative
will give our students that extra boost, enabling
them to compete in a global economy.”
But giving this opportunity to students
did not come without a lot of hard work.
Meetings were held between Alberta Learn-
ing and school boards, teachers, parents
and students. New programs have been and
still are being developed along with guides
to implementation and new teaching
resources. But, when it all came down to it,
Minister Oberg says the Initiative is widely
accepted. “Typically when government
brings in a new idea there are ‘boos’ from
some people but this one was different. It is
almost universally accepted across the
province and it has a lot of people very
excited to get the ball rolling.”
Throughout the course of implementa-
tion, there have been a number of key rea-
sons identified as to why students should
be learning languages. These include:
• A better understanding of people who
are different linguistically and culturally;
• The development of great cognitive
skills in such areas as mental flexibility,
creativity and divergent thinking;
• The obtainment of practical communi-
cation skills for increased job opportu-
nities with businesses and industries
that compete on global scale;
• An enriched educational experience
that promotes personal growth and
cultural understanding.
Everyone agrees that the Initiative is a
great opportunity for students as learning a
second language will only prove to benefit
them in the long run. Alberta Learning is
expecting that students will need approxi-
mately 30 minutes per day of instruction
time to learn languages including French,
German, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish and
Ukrainian. And, with the help of Alberta’s
SuperNet, expected to be completed this
year, learning these languages will go hi-
tech. Because language teachers are not
always widely available, especially in rural
areas of the province, the SuperNet will
ensure that no matter where they are locat-
ed, students will have the opportunity to
discover another language.
Connecting more than 4,500 provincial
government facilities, schools, health care
facilities and libraries, the SuperNet will
bring learning to life as a student studying
Spanish in Taber will be able to speak
directly with and interact with his or her
teacher and fellow classmates at another
school in another city. With this power to
connect comes the reassurance that small
town students will not miss out on learning
the languages that their big city counter-
parts have available to them.
“Technology and the SuperNet are what
30 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
LearningLanguages!
Students in Alberta are in for some seriouslanguage learning with some programsstarting this fall and all compulsory by 2006
will make this Initiative doable,” explains
Dr. Oberg. “If a school doesn’t have some-
one to teach German or any other language
for that matter, students can still learn it.
Technology will allow students to partici-
pate in classroom activities, ask questions,
contribute to discussions and benefit from
the class — even if they are hundreds of
miles away.”
As well, he explains, help has been
given to existing teachers who want to go
back to university so they themselves can
learn how to instruct language classes. “We
want to explore all means possible to
ensure that our students are benefiting
from the access to second languages,” he
says.
While students in Alberta will not be
required to have a second language to
graduate, the option to continue learning
after grade nine is open. The half an hour a
day of language instruction will give stu-
dents in grade four to nine a beginner level
of competency while continued education
in high-school will take them to an inter-
mediary level, helping them to continue
with their second language studies at uni-
versity.
There is no doubt that Alberta has taken
the lead when it comes to language learning.
Will other provinces follow suite? Dr. Oberg
hopes so, after all he says, “this Initiative will
prepare students for life after graduation.
Whether it be speaking another language on
vacation or showcasing their knowledge to
obtain a high paying job — students are def-
initely going to reap the rewards.”
For more information visit www.learn-
ing.gov.ab.ca ■
32 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
Learning Language continued
Canada’s Communicating• Canadians reported more than 100 languages in completing the census question on mother
tongue. The list includes languages long associated with immigration to Canada: German,Italian, Ukrainian, Dutch, Polish, and so on. However, from 1996 to 2001, language groupsfrom Asia and the Middle East again recorded the largest gains.
• In 2001, almost 5,335,000 individuals, about one out of every six people, were allophones,that is, they reported having a mother tongue other than English or French. This was up12.5 per cent from 1996, three times the growth rate of 4.0 per cent for the population as awhole.
• The census also reaffirmed the position of Chinese as Canada's third most common mothertongue. Almost 872,400 people reported Chinese as their mother tongue, up 17.9 per centfrom 1996. They accounted for 2.9 per cent of the total population of Canada, comparedwith 2.6 per cent five years earlier.
• Italian remained in fourth place, and German fifth, although their numbers declined. Punjabimoved into sixth, and Spanish slipped to seventh.
• The census showed that 9 out 10 people speak English or French most often at home.
• Only 10.5 per cent of the population spoke a non-official language most often at home, farlower than the 18.0 per cent who reported a non-official language as their mother tongue.
• Just over 5.2 million people reported that they were bilingual, compared with more than 4.8million five years earlier, an 8.1 per cent increase. In 2001, these individuals represented17.7 per cent of the population, up from 17.0 per cent in 1996.
• Nationally, 43.4 per cent of Francophones reported that they were bilingual, compared with9.0 per cent of Anglophones.
“The reality is that students are seeking jobs aroundthe world. This initiative will give our students thatextra boost, enabling them to compete in a globaleconomy.”Dr. Lyle Oberg, Minister of Learning
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 33
Please Support theAdvertisers
who make thispublication possible
Alberta promotes life-long learning,
excellence and opportunity
W ith summer already a fading
memory, teachers, professors,
administrators, students and
parents have turned their attention back to
school. What better time to introduce the learn-
ing community to Alberta’s Learning Edge!
Alberta’s Learning Edge is the slogan
that has been adopted by partners in the
learning community to raise awareness of
the excellence in and importance of the
province’s world-class lifelong learning system.
“The new slogan captures the fact that
Alberta is a world leader in education and
that learning gives us the edge we need as
individuals, and as a province, to compete
and succeed in the new knowledge econo-
my,” says Alberta Learning Deputy Minister
Maria David-Evans. “It is a slogan we hope
Albertans will come to embrace as being syn-
onymous with excellence and opportunity.”
The Learning Edge slogan and a recent-
ly developed accompanying graphic are
part of a cross-stakeholder initiative to pro-
mote the province’s learning system.
The initiative grew out of concerns by
leaders in the learning community that,
despite their best individual communica-
tions efforts, there is an overall lack of
knowledge, understanding and apprecia-
tion of our learning system, its complexities
and the opportunities it affords.
It was developed after representatives
from the Alberta School Boards Associa-
tion, the College of Alberta School Super-
intendents, the Alberta Association of Col-
leges and Technical Institutes, the
Universities Coordinating Committee and
Alberta Learning agreed to pool their
efforts to promote what was originally con-
ceived as the “Year of Learning”.
In February 2004, the idea was brought
to a larger gathering of education partners that
included associations representing teachers
and instructors, students, and parents. Most
participants expressed an interest in joining in
the initiative, particularly as it relates to high-
lighting the importance of learning.
“People around the table agreed the idea
had a lot of potential in terms of raising
awareness of education, and so they wanted
to be a part of it,” says David-Evans, who
led the discussions.
Simply put, the Learning Edge initiative
is a coordinated communications strategy
that seeks to build on and enhance the indi-
vidual communications activities of learning
stakeholders — including those not involved
in the initial discussions — to help Albertans
better understand the many features of and
choices and opportunities available within
our world-leading learning system.
Central to the strategy is a set of key
messages that highlight the importance of
lifelong learning to individuals, as well as to
society, and the need to ensure Alberta’s
learning system continues to be among the
best in the world. Stakeholders are encour-
aged to integrate these messages into their
regular speeches, publications, web sites,
and other communications material and
activities, and to use the Alberta’s Learning
Edge graphic to reinforce these messages
wherever possible.
Alberta Learning will be sending stake-
holders an electronic copy of the Alberta’s
Learning Edge graphic early this fall with
suggestions as to how it might be used. The
department will also develop information
packages that stakeholders may use in their
communications, create an Alberta’s Learn-
ing Edge web site that stakeholders will be
encouraged to link to, and work with stake-
holders to coordinate and maximize oppor-
tunities to spread the word.
“The success of this initiative will
depend on the level of commitment among
all learning stakeholders, including govern-
ment,” says David-Evans. “We have some-
thing important to say. Together, we can
make sure we are heard.” ■
34 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
Alberta’sLearning
Edge
Alberta’sLearning
Edge
“The new slogan captures the fact that Alberta is aworld leader in education and that learning gives usthe edge we need as individuals, and as a province, tocompete and succeed in the new knowledgeeconomy. It is a slogan we hope Albertans will cometo embrace as being synonymous with excellence andopportunity.” Maria David-Evans, Alberta Learning’s Deputy Minister
AISI encourages
student learning by
understanding
unique needs and
circumstances
AISI has given us the opportunity to
learn from each other and has provid-
ed the forum to learn what other
schools are doing. This has been an
invaluable experience at [our school].
— AISI Participant
The goal of AISI is to improve stu-
dent learning by fostering initia-
tives that reflect the unique needs
and circumstances within school jurisdic-
tions (Alberta Initiative for School
Improvement Education Partners Steering
Committee, 1999). Developed through a
collaborative partnership in 1999, AISI
was first implemented in all Alberta
school authorities in the 2000/2001
school year. AISI provided $68 million
targeted funding annually to school
authorities for specific local improvement
projects. CASS is a member of the part-
nership along with Alberta Learning, the
Alberta Home and School Councils’ Asso-
ciation (AHSCA), the Alberta School
Boards Association (ASBA), the Alberta
Teachers’ Association (ATA), the Associa-
tion of School Business Officials of Alber-
ta (ASBOA), and the Alberta University
Faculties of Education.
Cycle 1 of AISI developed a program
that contributes to improved student
learning and performance. It established a
foundation of trust between government
and education stakeholders. It created a
model for collaboration that has been
employed in other government initiatives.
It established accountability measures and
criteria to provide evidence that the ini-
tiative is working. Continuous improve-
ment has become AISI’s modus operandi.
AISI had a positive and sustained
impact during Cycle 1. More than 90 per
cent of all projects exceeded their baseline
on the majority of measures every year. On
average over the three years, 48 per cent of
the projects improved student learning and
57 per cent improved satisfaction (students,
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 35
The Alberta The Alberta Initiative for Initiative for
School Improvement Improvement School
parents, and teachers). Differential effects
were found for groups of students, curricu-
lar areas, themes and instructional strate-
gies. Generally, projects that targeted stu-
dents who were at risk or had
mild/moderate disabilities needs showed
greater improvement in achievement than
those in regular or gifted programs. AISI
had a greater impact on satisfaction (stu-
dents, parents and teachers) than on stu-
dent achievement.
During its first three years of imple-
mentation, AISI had a profound impact on
the culture of schools in Alberta. There is a
renewed focus on learning as the central
purpose of schooling. Teachers, students,
parents and administrators are developing a
common language of school improvement.
With 90 per cent of Alberta schools
involved in an AISI project, the language of
improvement — goals, strategies, measures,
baselines, targets, and results — is now
widely understood and used. More teachers
are routinely reading the research literature
and becoming better versed in research-
based practices for improving teaching and
learning. This openness to evidence and
new ideas contributes to a culture of con-
tinuous improvement in schools.
Teachers and administrators are making
better informed decisions about student
learning and instructional practices based
on solid evidence collected through appro-
priate assessment strategies that include
standardized tests, rubrics, observations,
and teacher-made approaches. Schools and
districts are surveying students, parents,
and staff to get their input into educational
processes and desired outcomes. There is an
increased emphasis on professional devel-
opment with schools using a variety of
strategies to meet local needs. School
jurisdictions now use markedly different
PD models that have evolved from one-
time experiences to focused, collaborative
and ongoing job-embedded activities tar-
geted at meeting specific learner needs,
characteristic of professional learning
communities. A culture of shared/distrib-
uted leadership has become common in
Alberta schools. Teachers and administra-
tors made a concerted effort to engage
parents in meaningful ways in their chil-
dren’s learning and school improvement
activities.
Cycle 2 (2003-2006) of AISI began
with the 2003/2004 school year. There are
currently about 460 projects. Cycle 2 is
consolidating emerging knowledge and
synthesizing what works. It is building on
the lessons learned and commitment from
the first cycle and expanding AISI’s sphere
of influence to more teachers and students
in Alberta. During Cycle 2, greater focus
on collecting the right data, in-depth analy-
sis of promising practices, and further dis-
semination of findings is fundamental to
the future success of AISI.
Project teachers, students and educational
assistants can bring their new knowledge,
skills and attitudes forward to new teaching
and learning situations, continuing to build
upon the foundation provided. — AISI Par-
ticipant
The provincial report for the first cycle
of the Alberta Initiative for School
Improvement (AISI) is currently available
online at www.learning.gov.ab.ca/k_12/spe-
cial/aisi/ThirdYear/Full_Report.pdf
It provides results of the first cycle of
AISI (2000-2003) and discusses lessons and
impacts of this three-year, $204 million
province-wide initiative. ■
36 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
• AISI funding increased to $123 for K-12 public students for the 2004/2005 schoolyear.
• The fourth AISI Conference will be held in Calgary, February 13-15, 2005.
• AISI was featured in Education Analyst (2004), which focused on school improve-ment programs.
• In June 2004, the School Improvement Branch received an Alberta Learning Excep-tional Contribution Award for its work on AISI.
• CASS is represented by Ed Wittchen and Lorne Radbourne on the AISI EducationPartners Steering Committee, as well as Dot Negropontes, Lissa Steele, DeanLindquist and Manny Ferreirinha on the AISI Professional Development WorkingGroup.2003). Edmonton, AB: Alberta Learning.
AISI Facts
References
Alberta Initiative for School
Improvement Education Partners
Steering Committee. (1999). Framework
for the Alberta Initiative for School
Improvement. Edmonton, AB: Alberta
Learning.
Alberta Initiative for School
Improvement. (2004). Improving
student learning: Provincial report for
cycle 1 (2000-2003). Edmonton, AB:
Alberta Learning.
Alberta Initiative for School Improvement continued
With 90 per cent of Alberta schools involved in anAISI project, the language of improvement — goals,strategies, measures, baselines, targets, and results —is now widely understood and used. More teachersare routinely reading the research literature andbecoming better versed in research-based practicesfor improving teaching and learning.
By Cathy Faber, System Principal, Innovative Learning Ser-
vices, Calgary Board of Education
Embedding professional development (PD) activities and pro-
grams into the everyday work of educators is emerging as a
key strategy to address ongoing curricular and technology
developments, limited resources, and increasing demands on time.
Embedded PD is based on the premise that educators already possess
foundational skills and knowledge that support instructional and
community directions. (Miller, 1999) Embedded PD also recognizes
that educators learn best from each other, and within defined con-
texts. The notion of the external expert who arrives for the one-day
cure has proven itself largely ineffective as teachers struggle to contex-
tualize and realize the potential of “solutions” that do not align with
their identified needs. (Spark & Hirsh, 1997, p. 2)
Perhaps more significantly, on-the-job PD creates opportunities
to link professional practice directly to student outcomes thus mak-
ing everyday professional learning responsive to the context and
expectations of the community it serves. It provides validity to the
approaches and instructional strategies teachers develop and use.
Data within and among schools can be shared on a weekly or
monthly basis and act as windows on managed change, data-driven
decision-making, and priorities for resources. (Ellis & Miller, 2004,
p.7) This approach shifts the onus on school and jurisdictional lead-
ers to develop policies and marshal resources that support the link-
ages between student learning and professional support and growth,
building systems thinking into professional development and change
efforts.
What does embedded professional development look like in the
everyday context of work for educators? What would change from
having educators attending lectures, workshops, institutes and con-
ferences?
At the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) one strategy for
embracing embedded professional development has been through
the development of technology supported and networked environ-
ments that may be shared with students, parents, and stakeholders.
A new service unit within the CBE, Innovative Learning Services
(ILS), has been created to work closely with the Information Tech-
nologies (IT) Department to build and support research and profes-
sional development opportunities for educators that examines cur-
rent assumptions, beliefs, practices, and outcomes impacting student
success, organizational capacity, and managed change at the CBE. In
addition, ILS works with Curriculum Support and Student Service
departments to extend and enhance learning options for all students
and staff as alternative and blended programs are built onto technol-
ogy supported learning environments.
New Ways of Learning in New Learning SpacesILS began 18 months ago by identifying a number of technology
supported learning spaces that would enable educators to have ways
of bringing together community, collaboration, and information into
their daily working environment and planning time. These learning
spaces include:
AligningProfessionalDevelopmentto
StudentSuccessThe following article summarizes information presented at
the CASS-Alberta Learning Annual Conference held April
2004 in Edmonton, Alberta.
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 37
38
• A learning management system
Enhances students' opportunities to learn anytime anywhere. Dis-
tributed learning occurs through the use of Internet tools such as
discussion groups, email, electronic calendars, content modules
and online quizzes. Courses are password protected and allow
educators complete control over access to the course and the use
of content and tools within the course. As a professional develop-
ment environment, educators can now learn with colleagues in a
secure environment that can be developed to meet their own
learning needs.
• A digital learning repository
Provides a storage and retrieval technology for digital educational
resources. Educators are able to store their collaboratively devel-
oped educational resources. Learners, educators and parents are
able to retrieve content and build online/distributed learning
courses and projects by linking to Learning Repository resources.
• The project server
Provides a space for all classroom teachers and administrators to
create collaborative learning projects, resource sharing environ-
ments and spaces in which to create and develop innovative
learning resources and online inquiry-based learning. This serv-
er is an excellent alternative for teachers who wish to post proj-
ect content on the Internet but don't need some of the other
tools that the learning management system has to offer. Assistive
technologies can address a multitude of learning styles and
learning opportunities.
• A staff intranet
Offers a password-protected space accessible through the Staff
Tools link on the CBE Website. Teachers can login to their out-
look mail, stay current on developments within the CBE, Alberta
Learning and other educational institutions, and visit a commu-
nity of practice to read interesting articles, find out about profes-
sional development opportunities and contact curriculum specialists.
This first step of integrating a number of learning and working
spaces into the everyday life of educators offered new ways of con-
necting, sharing, testing, measuring and storing activities and infor-
mation with other educators, students, parents and external commu-
nities. At the same time, educators needed support and opportunities
to learn about these new environments and see how others were
using them.
Building Communities of PracticeAsking educators to work as learners to build understandings by
sharing practice, examining student work, and experimenting with
new instructional and information strategies, can be supported
through connected, networked, secure communities, focused on
common agendas or goals. Building opportunities for educators to
connect face-to-face and then continue their work on a day-to-day
basis has begun in the CBE through a variety of communities, estab-
lished and supported by networked technologies. Currently there are
Communities of Practice emerging in curricular areas such as Sci-
ence, Social Studies, Mathematics and English Language Arts as well
as within support services such as the High School Counselors, Off
Campus Support, Student Records Systems (SIRS), English as a Sec-
ond Language, and Aboriginal Education. Accessing information,
collaborating on projects, or building common resources is support-
ed anytime, anywhere.
New educators connect with experienced staff when help or
information is needed. Jurisdictional practices and expectations are
built over time, and within a comfortable, secure learning environ-
ment. Communities aren’t left without face-to-face time but contin-
ue to build their relationships and expertise on an everyday or every
week basis within web pages, discussion areas, chat rooms and shared
calendars. There is no waiting for those two or three opportunities
throughout the year when educators from across a jurisdiction can
meet to talk and work together.
• Connect to and access resources
• Share expertise, skills and understandings
• Help each other
• Explore new ideas
• Contact your specialists and experts
• Share similar interests
• Learn from each other
• Design with your colleagues
Educators looking for support and information through struc-
tured learning programs also have access to professional development
online courses. Topics such as “Teaching and Learning Online”, “E-
valuator” and E-designer” focus on issues related to working online
with students. There are also online courses focusing on strategies for
Aligning Professional Development to Student Success continued
Action research, researchsupport teams and newdata collection toolkitsallow educationalcommunities andconnected classrooms toset and measure goalsand targets, strategize,problem solve andaddress barriers tostudent success.
working with exceptional learners, off campus support teams and
student work experience programs as well as courses directed to
information literacy issues. These online PD courses are available
throughout the year and can be accessed when and where educators
can find time. Groups of educators can work through issues, com-
plete assignments, and even gain University graduate credit as they
study with colleagues. For example, at the University of Calgary, edu-
cators may choose to take CBE e-PD courses for graduate elective
credit in the Graduate Division of Educational Research (GDER).
Each course is a half-course equivalent and can be taken as part of
the Post Degree Continuous Learning (PDCL) program at U of C.
Prior learning accreditation is considered and those educators who
have already completed the Calgary Board of Education e-PD cours-
es may not have to repeat that work.
Accessing ResourcesWhere CBE educators have engaged most active in day to day
professional learning is with the use of learning resources that are
available online either as linked resources or downloadable files that
can be customized or re-purposed. Linking learners to a multimedia
presentation on gravity, a clip of Shakespeare, a java applet on veloci-
ty, or a walk through a virtual museum, provides educators with
ready resources that support differentiated instruction, formative
assessment and collaborative project or inquiry-based learning. While
resources abound on the Internet, CBE teacher librarians and cur-
riculum specialists also participate in selecting resources that attend
to Alberta learning outcomes. Building our resources through inter-
active pages helps to engage learners and parents, as well as educators,
in working with connected and supported learning.
Visit the CBE Library at http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/curriculum/library
Aligning Professional Development to Student SuccessThe linkages between successful student learning and engaged,
successful professional practices are being mapped and directed
through these technology enhanced and technology supported
opportunities within the Calgary Board of Education. Action
research, research support teams and new data collection toolkits
allow educational communities and connected classrooms to set
and measure goals and targets, strategize, problem solve and
address barriers to student success. Over the past year research has
directed the ongoing learning in professional communities in
high school science, junior high integrated occupational pro-
grams, assistive technologies, and with educators focused on
information literacy.
Not incidentally, educators use their own day-to-day learning
to extend and enhance student opportunities to connect, share
and build new ways of learning and knowing. Project and
inquiry-based learning for educators is translating into inquiry
and project based learning for students. Program initiatives such
as high school Career Pathways allow both educators and students
to work beyond time and space to connect relevant and purpose-
ful agendas. Educators are more able to study and share their stu-
dents’ work on a regular basis as one approach to enhancing their
own professional practice.
By connecting educators in supported and extended learning
communities, professional development becomes connected to
student learning and continuous, ongoing professional improve-
ment. Each day provides opportunities for educators to identify
how their own learning enriches their practice. ■
References:
Ellis, Patricia, Miller, Janet, (2004). Professional develop-
ment plan, building capacity to ensure academic excellence
for all children. Retrieved August 12, 2004 from
http://www.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/fileBroker.php/9068/PD_Pl
an_03-04.pdf
Miller, Steven, (1999). Embedded professional devel-
opment, Project MEET Policy Strand, Mass Networks
Education Partnership. Retrieved August 12, 2004 from
http://www.massnetworks.org/resources/MNEParticles/embe
dded-pd.pdf
Spark, Dennis, Hirsh, Stephanie, (1997). A new vision
for staff development. Retrieved August 12, 2004 from
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/1997sparks/1997spa
rkstoc.html
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 39
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 41
CASS Thanks YOU!
The team at CASS would liketo extend a big thank you toeveryone who makes TheCASS Connection such a greatsuccess. Without thesupport of advertisers andthe commitment ofeducational leadersthroughout the provincewho dedicate their timetowards writing greatarticles, this magazinewould not be possible. But,because of everyone’s hardwork, CASS is able to putout a publication that assistseducators across Alberta.
Thank you to everyonewho makes The CASSConnection a huge success!
T wo recent legislative changes have
implications for employers regard-
ing the issue of workplace safety.
A number of significant updates have been
made to Alberta’s Occupational Health and
Safety legislation, with the most recent
change having come into effect in the spring
of 2004. The changes include: increased
fines, a wider variety of penalties for work-
place health and safety violations and new
safety-related obligations on employers.
The Criminal Code was also amended in
March 2004 by Bill C-45. These amendments
impose a legal duty on employers to provide a
safe workplace, failing which an organization
may be subject to criminal sanctions.
Changes to Alberta’s OccupationalHealth and Safety Legislation
Employer Obligations Generally
under Alberta’s Occupational Health &
Safety Legislation
The Alberta Occupational Health and
Safety Act provides that employers must do
everything that they can reasonably do to
ensure the health and safety of workers.
The Act and its corresponding regulations
and code of rules require employers to: pro-
vide and maintain safe equipment, ensure
proper handling and storage of dangerous
chemicals, ensure workers are given proper
training, advise workers of workplace haz-
ards, monitor workers exposed to hazards,
and have safe work policies and practices in
place. Contraventions of the Act, regula-
tions or Code can result in substantial fines
or imprisonment.
Recent Changes to Alberta’s Occupa-tional Health & Safety Legislation
Recent changes to Alberta's Occupa-
tional Health & Safety legislation have sig-
nificant implications for employers. The
legislative changes have been implemented
by way of a three step process:
1. The Occupational Health & Safety
Act was amended in December 2002.
One of the most significant amend-
ments provides for the use of an Occu-
pational Health & Safety Code to set
out the detailed technical rules and
requirements necessary to carry out the
intent of the legislation.
2. The new Occupational Health &
Safety Regulation took effect on
March 31, 2003. This Regulation deals
primarily with administrative and poli-
cy issues which are not covered by the
Occupational Health & Safety Code.
3. The Occupational Health & Safety
Code came into effect on April 30, 2004,
and sets out detailed technical require-
ments to support the Act and Regulation.
a. Amendments to the Occupational
Health & Safety Act
In December, 2002 the Occupational
Health & Safety Act changed in six (6)
major ways. The updated Act provides for:
• increased maximum fines;
• alternative penalties (aside from mone-
tary fines & imprisonment);
• the implementation of an Occupational
Health & Safety Code;
• on the spot administrative fines;
• publication of the names of the “best
and worst” safety performers; and
• an extension of the timelines for prose-
cution of an offence under the Act.
Maximum Fines Increased
The maximum fine for a first offence,
for a contravention of the Act, regulation
or Code, has been increased from $150,000
42 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
LegalTalk
Changes to Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety legislation and the Criminal Codeplace increased legal responsibility on employers to provide a safe work environment
By Angela Town, Solicitor, ASBA Legal Services
to $500,000. The maximum fine for a sec-
ond or subsequent offence has been
increased from $300,000 to $1,000,000.
Other fines have increased proportionately.
Alternative Penalties
With the changes to the Act, courts
may now assess penalties other than fines
and jail sentences for violations of the Act.
Courts may now order any penalty they con-
sider appropriate, such as requiring an
employer to establish effective health and
safety programs, implement specific training
or workshops, or perform community service.
Occupational Health & Safety Code
The Act provides the authority to the
Minister of Human Resources and
Employment to adopt an Occupational
Health & Safety Code. In an effort to
streamline the regulatory process, the
Code, in conjunction with the Regulation,
replaces 11 different Occupational Health
& Safety Regulations, namely: Chemical
Hazards Regulations A.R. 398/88, Desig-
nated Worksites A.R. 306/77, Designated
Worksites A.R. 91/78, Designation of Joint
Worksite Health & Safety Committee A.R.
218/77, Explosives Safety Regulations A.R.
272/76, First Aid Regulation A.R.
48/2000, General Safety Regulation A.R.
448/83, Joint Worksite Health & Safety
Committee Regulation A.R. 197/77, Mines
Safety Regulation A.R. 292/95, Noise Reg-
ulation A.R. 314/81, and Ventilation
Regulation A.R. 326/84.
On the Spot Administrative Fines
Provisions to allow Occupational
Health & Safety officers to issue on the
spot fines for a contravention of the Act,
Regulation or Code, have been contemplat-
ed for future inclusion in the Act. Whether
or not a system of administrative fines will
be introduced will depend in part on
whether similar processes have been shown
to be an effective deterrent in other juris-
dictions.
Publication of Names of “Best and
Worst” Safety Performers
With the implementation of changes to
the Act, Alberta Human Resources and
Employment will now have the authority
to publish the safety records of Alberta
employers on its website and in other pub-
lications.
Extension of the Prosecution Period
Previously prosecutors had to com-
mence a prosecution against an employer
within one year from the date of the alleged
offence. With the new changes to the Act,
prosecutors now have up to two years with-
in which to gather information and begin a
prosecution.
b. Occupational Health & Safety
Regulation
The new Occupational Health & Safety
Regulation consolidates many of rules of an
administrative and policy nature that
appeared in the eleven (11) regulations that
were repealed in April 2004. In addition, a
number of changes have been implemented
through the Regulation. Changes of partic-
ular relevance to school boards include:
• Critical work place documents must be
in writing and available to affected
workers. An employer is required to
have a report, plan or procedure in writ-
ing and available to employees where
the legislation requires the employer to
do so.
• Employers must ensure that workers
perform safety related duties. Employers
must have a system in place to monitor
workers and ensure that they comply with
their safety related duties under Occupa-
tional Health and Safety legislation.
• Workers must report any unsafe equip-
ment to the employer. Workers must
immediately report unsafe equipment
to their employer. Employers are
accountable for ensuring that equip-
ment is safe to use and unsafe equip-
ment is removed.
• Workers must be trained to safely oper-
ate equipment. Employers are required
by law to ensure their workers are
trained in the operation of any equip-
ment that the worker is required to
operate in the course of their duties.
The training must meet certain criteria
and the employer is responsible for
determining the content and duration
of the training. This does not mean that
the employer itself must provide the
training. However, the employer must
make arrangements so that the worker
will have received the appropriate train-
ing before they operate the equipment.
c. The Occupational Health & Safety
Code
The Occupational Health & Safety
Code came into effect on April 30, 2004. It
contains detailed technical requirements to
support the Occupational Health & Safety
Act and Regulation.
The combined effect of the Code and
the Occupational Health & Safety Regula-
tion is to combine duplicate rules which
existed under the eleven (11) repealed regu-
lations, to eliminate unnecessary rules, to
clarify existing rules, and to add certain
new provisions.
The Occupational Health & Safety Code
is organized into 39 Parts, dealing with vari-
ous workplace conditions and hazards.
Parts 1-3 address Core Requirements
Applicable to all Industries, such as Defin-
itions and matters of General Application;
Hazard Assessment, Elimination and Con-
trol; and Specifications and Certifications.
Parts 4-29 cover Requirements Applic-
able to all Industries, dealing with various
workplace conditions and hazards, such as:
chemical handling and storage, confined
spaces, emergency response, first aid, lifting,
workplace violence, and working alone.
Parts 30-39 cover Requirements
Applicable to Specific Industries and
Activities, such as Demolition, Diving
Operations, Excavation, Explosives,
Forestry, Healthcare and Industries with
Biological Hazards, Mining, Oil and Gas
Wells, Residential Roofing and Tree Care
Operations.
Some highlights of the Code that may
be particularly relevant to school boards,
include:
• Under Part 2 - Hazard Assessment, Elim-
ination and Control, employers are
required to assess a worksite and identi-
fy existing or potential hazards before
work commences. Employers must pre-
pare a report providing results and spec-
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 43
44 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
Legal Talk continued
ifying how hazards will be controlled or
eliminated. This report must be in writ-
ing and available to workers.
• Part 4 - Chemical Hazards, Biological
Hazards and Harmful Substances, con-
tains rules regarding exposure to
asbestos, silica and coal dust. Provisions
restricting the use of asbestos in build-
ings have been transferred from the
Alberta Building Code to the Occupa-
tional Health and Safety Code.
• Under Part 5 - Confined Spaces, employ-
ers are required to have a code of prac-
tice in place governing practices and
procedures for workers entering and
working in a confined space, and to
establish an entry permit system for
confined space entry.
• Part 7 - Emergency Preparedness and
Response, provides that employers must
have in place an emergency response
plan for the purpose of responding to
an emergency requiring rescue or evacu-
ation. This plan must be in writing and
available to workers.
• Part 9 - Fall Protection, provides that
workers working on flat roofs are no
longer exempt from the need to use fall
protection.
• The requirements under Part 11 - First
Aid remain largely identical to those
previously contained in the, now
repealed, First Aid Regulation.
• Under Part 27 – Violence employers are
required to develop policies and proce-
dures regarding potential workplace vio-
lence. These policies and procedures
must be in writing and available to
workers. “Violence” is defined under
the Act as “whether at a worksite or
work related, means the threatened,
attempted or actual conduct of a person
that causes or is likely to cause physical
injury.”
• The contents of Part 28 - Working Alone
remain identical in substance to the
working alone requirements that were
implemented in the year 2000 with
additions to the General Safety Regula-
tion; however, the wording has been
simplified and reorganized. The work-
ing alone portion of the Code applies if
a worker is working alone at a worksite
where assistance is not readily available,
and there is an emergency or the worker
becomes ill or injured. This section
requires employers to assess their work-
place and take preventative measures
that eliminate or minimize the hazards
associated with working alone.
• Part 29 - Workplace Hazardous Materials
Information System (WHMIS) provides
that employers may not store a con-
trolled product without a WHMIS or
MSDS or label information for more
than 120 days, unless the employer is
actively seeking the supplier label or
MSDS and placards have been provided
in the storage area. Further, information
presented on an MSDS is to be no
more than three years old.
Due Diligence It may be possible for an employer to
avoid liability for a violation of provincial
OH&S legislation if the defence of due dili-
gence can be established. An employer must
demonstrate that it has ensured the health
and safety of workers “as far as it is reason-
ably practicable”.
Due diligence requires employers, and
employees in supervisory or managerial
positions, to take all reasonable steps to
ensure the health and safety of workers
before an incident occurs.
Due diligence is a culture and a way of
doing business. To be duly diligent an
employer must implement an effective sys-
tem to identify, evaluate and control haz-
ards. Elements of an effective system
include:
• workplace hazard assessments;
• implementation of control measures to
eliminate or reduce risks from hazards;
• clearly communicated company policy
and management commitment;
• worker competency and training;
• an inspection and monitoring program;
• emergency response plans;
• proper investigation of incidents; and
• effective administration of the program.
The steps you take to ensure the safety of your
workers should be documented in writing. These
records are essential so that you can evaluate your
system. It may enable you to form the basis of a
due diligence defence in the event of an incident.
Bill C45 (An Amendment to the CriminalCode Regarding Workplace Health andSafety)
Attention to the issue of workplace
health and safety is also an issue at the fed-
eral level. Bill C45, An Act to amend the
Criminal Code (criminal liability of organi-
zations), resulted in certain amendments to
the Criminal Code. The Bill was pro-
claimed in March 2004, and was, in part, a
response to certain recommendations that
came out of the judicial inquiry into the
1992 Westray mine disaster in Nova Scotia,
where 26 miners lost their lives. Bill C45
establishes criminal liability for all organi-
zations, including, large corporations,
medium-sized businesses, small businesses,
public bodies, school boards and munici-
palities, for serious violations of workplace
health and safety. Bill C-45 places more
responsibilities on directors and managers
and those employees responsible for safety,
to ensure safety in the workplace.
Bill C45 deals only with the criminal
responsibility of the organization. It does
not change the law regarding the personal
liability of directors, officers and employ-
ees, but does extend the scope of represen-
tatives for whose activities the organization
may be held criminally liable.
Bill C45 refers to “organizations” instead
of corporations. The definition of “every
one” “person” and “owner” under the Crim-
inal Code has been broadened to include an
“organization”. A “pubic body” is included
in the definition of an “organization”.
Bill C45 establishes, for the first time, a
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 45
Due diligence requiresemployers, andemployees in supervisoryor managerial positions,to take all reasonablesteps to ensure thehealth and safety ofworkers before anincident occurs.
Criminal Code duty on “everyone who
undertakes, or has the authority, to direct
how another person does work or performs
a task … to take reasonable steps to prevent
bodily harm to that person, or any other
person, arising from that work or task.”
This legal duty elevates the stigma and the
penalty associated with serious contraven-
tions of health and safety laws to that of a
crime, extends the legal duty to maintain a
safe work environment to a new level, (i.e.
foremen or even co-workers may now be
included within the scope of individuals
required to comply with the duty), and
places a duty on individuals to take reason-
able steps to prevent harm to members of
the general public who may be affected by
the work or task as well.
Elements of the Offence
To obtain a criminal conviction the
Crown must prove: (1) the commission of
a prohibited act; and (2) intent – the requi-
site guilty mental state.
To prove that a prohibited act has been
committed by an organization, the Crown
must prove that the physical act was com-
mitted by employees of the organization.
Bill C45 widens the scope of individuals
who may be deemed to act on behalf of an
organization, beyond that of employees, to
include: directors, partners, members,
agents and contractors, as well as employ-
ees. These individuals must be acting with-
in the scope of their employment at the
time of the alleged crime.
Whether or not the necessary intent was
present depends on the mental state of
mind of the “directing mind” of the organi-
zation. The “directing mind” for purposes
of Bill C45 is a “senior officer”. Bill C-45
defines a senior officer as including every-
one who has an important role in: (1) set-
ting policy; and (2) managing an important
part of the organization’s activities. This
definition focuses on the function of the
individual rather than on a particular title.
The new definition also provides that direc-
tors, the CEO and the CFO of an organiza-
tion are, by virtue of their position, auto-
matically deemed “senior officers.”
Further, an organization may be held
liable not only where its representatives com-
mit the offence themselves, but also if they
are party to an offence, (i.e. if the representa-
tive “aids or abets” or “counsels” another
person in the commission of an offence).
Offences
An organization may be convicted as a
result of Bill C-45 for criminal negligence
or where specified intent exists.
Generally, for an organization to be
found guilty of committing a crime of neg-
ligence under Bill C-45 an individual must
have acted so carelessly or with such disre-
gard for the safety of others that criminal
punishment is appropriate. The Crown
must establish that one or more employ-
ees of the organization committed the act
and that a senior officer should have
taken reasonable steps to prevent the
employee(s) from carrying out the act. In
such cases a court will consider whether a
system should have been in place to pre-
vent the act from occurring and, secondly,
whether the lack of such a system was a
significant departure from the standard of
care expected under the circumstances. In
making this determination, a court will
consider other practices put in place by
46 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
Legal Talk continued
The Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act provides that employers must doeverything that they can reasonably do to ensure the health and safety of workers.The Act and its corresponding regulations and code of rules require employers to:provide and maintain safe equipment, ensure proper handling and storage ofdangerous chemicals, ensure workers are given proper training, advise workers ofworkplace hazards, monitor workers exposed to hazards, and have safe workpolicies and practices in place.
the senior officer as well as similar prac-
tices at other organizations.
Bill C45 sets out three ways that an
organization may be deemed to have com-
mitted a crime requiring awareness of a cer-
tain fact or specified intent. In each case,
the focus is on the senior officer who must
intend for there to be a benefit to the
organization as a result of the criminal
act. This intent may be proven in three
ways: (1) the senior officer actually com-
mits the crime; (2) the senior officer directs
others to undertake the dishonest act; or
(3) the senior officer knows employees are
going to commit an offence but does not
stop them because he wants the organiza-
tion to benefit.
Sentencing
As corporations cannot be imprisoned,
the Criminal Code provides for fines
where corporations are convicted of
crimes. For summary conviction offences
(less serious offences), Bill C45 has
increased the maximum fine for summary
conviction offences from $25,000 to
$100,000. For more serious indictable
offences, there is no limit on the fine that
may be imposed.
Factors provided for under the Criminal
Code that a court will consider in fining an
organization, include matters such as: seri-
ousness of the crime, the extent of the
injury caused, whether death results, eco-
nomic advantage sustained, the degree of
planning involved, public interest, and
prospects of rehabilitation.
Bill C45 provides for “corporate proba-
tion”. A judge may impose conditions such
as, requiring the organization to: provide
restitution to victims, establish policies, or
inform the public of the offence, the sen-
tence and the remedial measures being
undertaken. A court may also make an
order regarding supervision of the any such
efforts undertaken by the organization.
Summary
Bill C-45 demonstrates the importance
that the federal government is placing on
health and safety issues. With the passing
of Bill C45, the threshold required for an
organization to be charged and convicted
of a crime for health and safety violations
has been substantially lowered.
Organizations must assess their cur-
rent occupational health and safety
programs, report ing re lat ionships ,
training budgets, and the overall level
of commitment to workplace health
and safety, and make improvements
where necessary.
An ef fect ive occupational health
and safety program, including appro-
priate training, monitoring, policies
and procedures, that is clearly com-
municated throughout the organiza-
tion will go a long way to proactively
ensuring corporate compliance with
legal obl igat ions , and more impor-
tant ly, the hea l th and sa fe ty o f
employees.
This article is provided for information
only and should not be construed as providing
legal advice. �
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 47
Wholesale Lighting Distributors Brite-Lite Wholesale Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Accounting Curriculum SoftwareIntuit Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Acoustic MaterialsECKEL Industries of Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Acoustic SolutionsMJM Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
AcousticsGWP Wallworks Group Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Architecture & Interior DesignThe Workun Garrick Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Assertive Non-Violent Crisis InterventionCrisis Prevention Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Audio VisualACA Audio Visual Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Audio / Visual ProductsMatrix Video Communications Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Audio Visual Technology ProductsTorcomp Systems / Crosstec Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Benefits ProviderAlberta School Employee Benefit Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Books - WholesaleHans Schafler & Company Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Carpet Cleaning SuppliesFibreclean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Catholic EducationACSTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Circuit Strength Training EquipmentApex Fitness Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Club Moo / Alberta MilkAlberta Milk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Conference Centres & HotelsChip Hospitality - Mayfield Inn & Suites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Distance EducationAlberta Distance Learning Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Educational Book StoresThe Teachers’ Book Depository . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Educational MaterialsCanadian Centre for Energy Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC
Educational PublisherScholastic Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Educational ToursFehr-Way Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Electronic Bilingual Dictionary ProductsSharp Electronics of Canada Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Employee Assistance ProgramsOrganizational Health Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Flags & Flag PolesThe Flag Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
French Language Book StoresLibrairie Monettee Itée . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
French Language ProgramsOxford University Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
FurnishingsCDI Furnishings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Hand & Hair DryersComac Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Heating Boilers / Related EquipmentW. Dalton Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Hotels & Conference CentreCrowne Plaza - Chateau Lacombe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
HVAC Water TreatmentSpecified Technical Sales Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Insurance & Risk Management ServicesLloydsadd Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Insurance Career & EducationalResourcesThe Insurance Institute of Canada . . . . . . . . . . . .44
International Truck & Engine CompanyInternational Truck & Engine Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26-27
Learning ResourcesLearning Resource Centre - Alberta Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Life InsuranceIndustrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company . .4
Management ConsultantsWestern Management Consultants . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Manufacturer EquipmentNilfisk Advance Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Music Sales / LessonsAllegro Music Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Musical InstrumentsMother’s Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
48 Fall 2004 • The CASS Connection
guidebuyer’s
Natural Cleaning SuppliesSFI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Networked Class Room ProductsTorcomp Systems / Crosstec Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Networks & IT SolutionsNovell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Noise controllGWP Wallworks Group Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Noise Control SolutionsECKEL Industries of Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Outdoor EducationCentre for Outdoor Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Plumbing FixturesCanadian Aqualine Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Professional DevelopmentNelson Thomson Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Professional DevelopmentTTG Systems Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
RecyclingCalgary Bottle Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
School Administration SoftwareKimputer Evolutions Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
MasterWorks Software Systems Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . .29
School AttractionsCanadian Petroleum Interpretive Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
School Banking SoftwareKimputer Evolutions Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
School Equipment & SuppliesShanahan's Building Specialties Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
School LightingHolophane Canada Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC
School of HairDelMar College of Hair Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
School Software & Educational MaterialSoftware 4 Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Seating ProductsIrwin Seating Company Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC
ServiceMatrix Video Communications Corporation . . . . .44
Ski-Snowboard Equipment, Clothing &ServicesSki Cellar Snowboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
SoftwareTSC Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Window TreatmentsGWP Wallworks Group Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
The College of Alberta School Superintendents 49
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