Submitted by Celina Mau, Vice President
“The harder you push a system to change, the harder the system pushes back.” (Slide from BCPVPA Advocacy)
On Friday, February 18th, BCPVPA Chapter Council Zoom Meeting kicked off with greetings from Darren Danyluck, BCPVPA President. I was asked to say a few words on behalf of our association before Minister Whiteside came on. I focused on the current project, Membership Recruitment and shared with the attendees, our e- communication resources such as our website address, President’s email address and my VP-Communications e-address.
Ready for some Trivia? Can you guess? (Answers are located at the end of this article)
- What is the lowest age of School Principals? Vice Principals?
- What is the average age range of Principals and Vice Principals?
- What is the % ratio of male and female in Vice Principals?
- What is the % ratio of male and female in Principals?
- What is the lowest age of District Principals? District Vice Principals?
- Of the 23 Superintendents in the BC School Districts, how many are working less than 2 years in their current Superintendency position?
- As Principal/Vice Principal, who is our employer?
The answers to the above questions pretty well summed up the topics covered at this Chapter Council Meeting.
The team of Directors of Members Support Services presented a quick overview of the School Act pertaining to the role and responsibilities of Principals and Vice Principals and its relationship within the three levels of stakeholders (schools, districts, and province), with emphasis on the importance of judicial prudence, fiduciary duties, and the language of ‘fidelity’ as P/VP, as well as the District Policy and Guidelines. Three recurring themes from the BCPVPA members were: 1) choosing to return to teaching, 2) mental injury leaves, and 3) retirement. As pointed out by the Director of Mental Health and Wellbeing, since the pandemic, BCPVPA members suffered secondhand trauma similar to the First Respondents and it would take the members at least two years to reset their physical and mental health, so the road to recovery would be long!
The BC Ministry of Education team presented to the audience the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning with an Indigenous focus, as it related to student growth, achievement, and equity of outcomes, while Minister Whiteside recapped the extreme challenges that the Omicron wave had in BC schools last Winter. Darren Danyluk, BCPVPA President captured statistically the gravity of the situation during the series of December 2021/ January 2022 Townhall Meetings.
- Staffing level challenges have increased 77%
- Short of Staff daily 38%
- Dealing with staffing challenges (5-10h/w) 38%
- Likely experience functional closure 48%
- Role most often short-staffed: support 100%
Minister Whiteside continued by listing a few upcoming key projects such as Residential Schools – Truth and Reconciliation, Child Care to move to the Ministry of Education Portfolio, ‘soon to expire’ Collective Agreements, and February 21st – BC Budget Week. BCPVPA concluded this segment by reiterating how the data from the “Thriving in Education” Survey conducted in May 2021 would help focus its discussion with the government on members’ working conditions and mental well- being.
In summary, it was a very ‘jam packed content heavy’ day with lots of ‘back bid’ break out room chats in groups of 4/5, facilitated by BCPVPA staffers. All in all, the members were extremely appreciative of this learning opportunity with many wanting to review the day’s content and share this precious information with their members. Kudos to the BCPVPA staff for another successful Chapter Council Meeting!
In case you wonder, here are the answers to the 7 Trivia Questions from this article.
