The Hastings Prince Edward District School Board, like many other organizations, is hoping 2021 is a little smoother to navigate than the previous year.
Director of Education Sean Monteith says while he expects things to slightly resemble what we previously called ‘normal’, he doesn’t shy away from the fact things will still be different in this new year.
“I also think that September 2021 is not going to look entirely normal, it’s going look a lot more normal than it did this past September.”
He predicts the pandemic will continue to dominate their work for the next year and it will continue to present some challenges.
One of those challenges has to do with sustainable funding, especially for virtual learning, something Monteith believes is here to stay.
“Sustainability of our operations is going to be pushed and pressured greater than it ever has been. We’re running a virtual school right now that costs millions of dollars that we are not funded for. Yet we know we’ve got over 2,000 kid that are in it. It’s our biggest school actually at 2,500 kids. So I mean we’re going to have to look at that and how that plays out and what that looks like.”
Another thing he wants to look into in 2021 is the octomester in secondary schools. He says while it hasn’t been overly successful for everybody, it has been successful for many.
“It has been successful for a lot of kids in terms of student data and data achievement. So I think we’re going to have to look at that. I think we’re really going to have to look at that, look at that and evaluate what has worked well and what we’re going to have to do and what we’re going to have to keep in place because some of the things have really worked well for kids.”
Monteith told Quinte News 2021 will see a significant push for equity across the board.
“I think you’re going to see this board become an extremely strong voice and a champion of social justice in equity. That I predict, that I can see coming and I think you’re going to see, to the point where people are like ‘There they are again, talking about equity.’ But it’s real, the equity agenda in our new strategic plan is real.”
He says this push for equity will get at the student achievement improvements they need to see in students in the HPEDSB.
