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"An Association of School Leaders " |
Students to Release Views about Schools at National School Principals' Meeting
April 25, 2000 -- Student views on education will be a key element at the Canadian Association of Principals (CAP) Annual Conference being held at the Ottawa Congress Centre this week.
A consensus statement developed by 250 student delegates to a recent National Student Forum will be presented during the closing session of the conference on Friday, April 28 at 12:30 PM. The statement calls for common provincial and national learning outcomes, a balanced curriculum, more relevance between schools and real life and work and a formal role in educational decision-making. One of the strongest themes in the statement is a call for more attention to the promotion of Canadian values in schools through an increased emphasis on bilingualism, multiculturalism, teaching Canadian history in a world context and student exchanges. The students are editing the statement online in anticipation of being able to make a presentation to the Ministers of Education in the Fall.
The students' statement will be one of three educational goal documents being discussed at the CAP conference. On Thursday, April 27 at 8:30 am, Dr. Paul Cappon, of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) will discuss the Victoria Declaration of Education Ministers that was re-affirmed last September. CAP will also release its statement on education in the new century at the gathering which is expected to attract over 400 educators from across Canada.
The CAP statement calls for action in several areas including more support for at-risk students, safer schools, better uses of technology and a rapid response to the impending shortages of qualified and capable school administrators. The conference theme, "Building the Future" , is based on these action areas.
John Abbot, President of the International school reform movement, The 21st Century Learning Initiative, will kick off the event in a keynote at 7:00 PM, Wednesday, April 26. His presentation will emphasize the need for reforms based on sound research and pedagogy.
"The turn of the century is an opportunity for all partners in the education process to reflect on how well schools are serving students" says Nick Parker-Jervis, Principal of Enver Creek Secondary School in Surrey, BC and President of CAP. "We need to face the issues that will shape our society in the future and try to find better ways to teach and learn.
CAP worked with two other educator organizations, the Canadian Association of Student Activity Advisors (CASAA) and the Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada (SEVEC) to help the students to express their views on education. The event was supported by the Open House Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
A working draft of the student statement can be found at: http://www.schoolfile.com/cap_start/studentstatement.htm
A draft of the CAP statement can be found at: http://www.schoolfile.com/cap2000/discussionpaper.htm
The CMEC Victoria Declaration can be found at: http://www.cmec.ca/reports/victoria99.en.stm