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 Learning Services
Home • MidYearRpt05-06 • Learning Services
 
FOUNDATIONS - Learning Services

The Learning Services Department (LSD) provides a range of supports for curriculum and instruction, assessment, and program planning for all students.  While the majority of these services are designed to provide direct services to students with special needs, the intention is that, by focusing on the classroom experience as of central importance, the expertise of special education and curriculum and instruction will be shared to benefit all learners.   

Following is a brief overview of the department by base group, in decreasing order of size.  The Deafblind Program, which we operate as a provincial outreach service, is not included in this overview although its teachers are district employees and members of LSD.  

Speech/Language Pathologists
Speech and Language Pathologists are experts in communication disorders and work with School-Based Teams, classroom teachers, educational assistants, and students to address a broad range of communication issues from articulation and fluency, to social communication skills, comprehension, learning difficulties, autism, and students who are nonverbal.  They are represented on the District Autism/Inclusion Support Team.

Area Counsellors
Area Counsellors work with School-Based Teams, classroom teachers, and students to promote the social/emotional development of students and provide direct social/emotional support to individual students, and often also to their families.  They also provide a liaison to community services and serve a vital role in crisis response.

Coordinators and Consultants
District Curriculum Coordinators and Teacher Consultants provide professional development programs at the district and school levels, consult with School-Based Teams and classroom teachers about the special needs of individual students when additional expertise is required (e.g., autism, challenging behaviours, learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities), and manage district programs and functions (e.g., ESL Reception, French Immersion registration and events, identification and preparation of Work Experience placements, apprenticeships, DISCOVER Learners’ Strengths). They are represented on the District Autism/Inclusion Support Team.

Educational Psychologists
Educational Psychologists provide a consultative service to School-Based Teams, conduct psychoeducational assessments of individual students when necessary to plan effective interventions or satisfy Ministry requirements, and provide inservice to Learning Resource Teachers on student assessment.

Teachers of the Hearing Impaired
Teachers of the Hearing Impaired provide a consultative service to classroom teachers and direct support to students who are deaf or hard of hearing.


First Nations Teachers
First Nations Teachers provide professional development and information to schools and classroom teachers with respect to First Nations students and their needs, provide classroom programs about First Nations peoples, run programs for First Nations students, and provide direct support to individuals as necessary.

Community Outreach Teachers
Community Outreach Teachers liaise with students who have been out of school and require assistance in reconnecting due to learning and/or behavioural issues.  They also assist with the transition of students from Station Stretch and Crossroads alternate programs to secondary schools.  In these roles, they work closely with MCFD, Mental Health, Probation, and other community agencies.  One teacher is also a member of the District Autism Team.

Teachers of the Visually Impaired
Teachers of the Visually Impaired provide a consultative service to classroom teachers and direct support to students who are blind or visually impaired.

Hospital/Homebound Teacher
The Hospital/Homebound Teacher assists secondary schools in providing support to students at home or in hospital because of physical or mental injury or illness.

Work Experience Teacher
The Work Experience Teacher identifies and prepares community placements for work experience and liaises with apprenticeship students.

District Autism/Inclusion Support Team
The District Autism/Inclusion Support Team supports School-Based Teams, classroom teachers, educational assistants, and parents in assessing the strengths and needs of students with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities and in designing academic and/or behavioural programs.  The District Autism/Inclusion Support Team takes a proactive role with students who are making key transitions (e.g., entering Kindergarten, entering the school district, newly-diagnosed, entering secondary school).

Area Counselling Team (ACT)
The focus of ACT is to enhance the capacity of schools to support students with challenging behaviours.  The team works with school staff to support classroom-based and/or school-wide systems of positive behavioural support and foster socially responsible and caring relationships.   The members of ACT do not provide direct service regarding individual student needs.  However, the Area Counsellor may recommend involving ACT in support of individual students if there is a systemic need involving a full class.  The Area Counsellor may also choose to recommend the involvement of ACT in classroom-based requests or school-wide requests, either for consultative support or for the active involvement of one or more ACT members.  These services have continued to be of enormous benefit to elementary schools.

This year ACT is beginning to provide its services to secondary schools as well.

Alternate Programs
Our two alternate programs serve students who have not been successful in the large secondary school settings.  Each of these alternate settings have a specific focus:

The Crossroads Program serves secondary students who live in group homes in Richmond and require personalized support for their academic, social, and life skills development. The students who attend this program are those for whom more traditional schools or other alternate services are not currently enabling. The Crossroads Program is located at 173-7011 Elmbridge Way. It is staffed by 1 teacher and 2 Child, Youth and Family Workers. Requests for service from this program are made to the teacher. The average length of time students spend at the Crossroads Program will be less than two years, the goal being to reconnect them to a more mainstreamed setting as soon as possible.

Station Stretch, the larger of our alternate settings, serves, on a semestered basis, 50 to 60 students.   It is staffed with 4 teachers, 2 Educational Assistants, and a Youth and Family Support Worker.  The students who attend Station Stretch are committed to successfully completing the core academic courses to the Grade 10 level in order to qualify for reentering the main secondary schools for Grades 11 and 12.

BC Early Numeracy Project
The Ministry of Education has published and distributed a series of documents written by educators from across the province, including Richmond’s own Leigh Ariel, Dot Clouston, Janice Novakowski, and Carole Saundry.  The documents, Assessing Early Numeracy and Supporting Early Numeracy, have been shipped to every elementary school in the province to support K and Grade 1 teachers in assessing and supporting the development of early numeracy ability in their students.  A parent resource, Math for Families, has been published and distributed by the Ministry to every kindergarten parent in the province.  It highlights the importance of mathematical learning in the home and suggests ways parents can support their children to develop numeracy skills and strategies.

In Richmond, a new 4-part after-school inservice series connecting Assessing Early Numeracy and Supporting Early Numeracy components is being offered to K and Grade 1 teachers and resource staff in a study-group format.  A copy of the assessment materials, instructional strategies, blackline masters, and forms is being made available to each participant.  Participants and teachers not attending the sessions are able to access an archived Ministry Webcast  featuring the Early Numeracy Project’s Coordinator, Dr. Heather Kelleher, which was simulcast to 16 sites in the province in January and February of 2005.  The work of the project teachers from across BC - including the Richmond teachers listed above - was highlighted in this 2-part series focusing on the assessment-to-instruction link.

Challenge Centre Program - Writers’ CIRCLE
In 2004/05, the district offered an online Writers' CIRCLE challenge program to gifted Grades 5, 6, and 7 students in Richmond.  These students demonstrated talent and passion for writing beyond their years.  The Writers’ CIRCLE program brought together gifted intermediate-aged writers - both face-to-face and over the internet - in order to build a writing community or CIRCLE.  Students met together with teacher mentors (Anita Lau and Jane MacMillan of Mitchell School) approximately once every six weeks over the course of the Winter and Spring terms, 2005, to build community, set expectations, outline writing projects, and monitor progress.  The Writers' CIRCLE drew to a close in June, 2005, with a parent and teacher evening (Writers' Café) and the publication of an anthology of the group's collected writing.  Copies of the anthology were made available to participating schools and participating students.  The program was very successful and is continuing in 2005/06.

Challenge Centre Program - Math CIRCLE
Math CIRCLE, the district's online math enrichment program for gifted and talented mathematicians, has been in effect since the mid-90s.  Under the guidance and mentorship of Nancy Sharkey and Kanwal Neel, hundreds of students have participated in the program and have enjoyed the challenge of a virtual math community.  In an effort to keep the program vibrant, and continuing to meet the needs of its particular student group, there were several updates to the way Math CIRCLE works in 2005/06.

In an effort to build community among students and to develop capacity in teacher sponsors, a series of half-day problem-solving sessions  will take place in January and February, 2006.  These sessions are intended to be hands-on, fun, and interactive with a strand-based focus (geometry, probability, etc.).  Students and their teacher sponsors, whenever possible, will be expected to attend each session.  It is hoped that these sessions will not only be fun and mathematically challenging for the students, but will also provide teacher sponsors with some ideas for supporting and extending their students back in their school building.

Guiding Gifted Learners Series
This 4-part study group began in 2004/05 and was designed for intermediate teachers with identified gifted learners in their classrooms.  It was intended to provide support for educators looking to extend learning opportunities in Language Arts, Math, and Science to ensure an appropriate level of challenge for their gifted learners.  Big ideas around giftedness, strategies for adapting content, and exploring different processes and products for learning in Science, Math, and Language Arts were explored.   In order to broaden thinking, teachers were invited to share what they tried from one session to the next.  A copy of a resource, Higher Order Thinking the Multiple Intelligences Way, was provided to each participant for use and implementation in their classrooms.  Connections were made to Faye Brownlie's strategies for deepening thinking and extending understanding across the subject areas.

DISCOVER:  Learner Strengths and “Enriching Our Practice”
Now in its 8th year of implementation, the DISCOVER: Learner Strengths assessment has reached all of our 38 elementary schools.  Beginning in 2003/04, the focus of support to schools has been to develop the instructional components that complement the assessment itself.  District pro-d sessions focusing on developing student strengths and problem-solving abilities were offered with release time to early primary teachers as a way of supporting best practice as teachers navigate the assessment-to-instruction cycle.  These sessions were extremely well received and involved over 60 early primary educators from across the district.  Sessions continued in the 2004/05 school year to further the conversation with Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 1/2 teachers and to promote rich early primary programs that focus on strengths.  In the second year of this series entitled "Enriching Our Practice" the participants co-authored a book of open-ended math lessons which was then provided to each teacher for use in their early primary classroom.

Presentations and information sessions connected to the DISCOVER: Learner Strengths assessment were made for educators and for parents in Richmond to build common understandings.  The DISCOVER: Learner Strengths assessment and the "Enriching Our Practice" series were featured at The Canadian Council of Ministers of Education’s Pan-Canadian Forum on Literacy and Numeracy held in Toronto in November, 2005.

Literacy
Literacy from K-12 continues to be an important area of focus this year.  Initiatives which support this focus include Focus Days and the ongoing work of school-based professional development activities in the areas of reading and writing.

Adolescent Literacy
Over the last several years, there has been increased attention in the area of adolescent literacy.  In the 2005/06 school year, all 11 of Richmond's secondary schools have a literacy-related goal.  A number of initiatives and activities are underway.  This year has seen the implementation of our Intermediate Reading Initiative (IRI) in which all secondary schools are participating.  Key elements of this initiative include performance-based assessment and instruction in the area of reading in the content areas, the formation of grade-wide literacy teams and the identification and use of literacy strategies and skills.  All secondary schools have been given a block for a literacy leader to support each school's development in this area.  Some secondary schools are offering an accelerated reading course for students not yet and minimally meeting expectations.  As part of a collaborative research project with the Richmond School District, Dr. Deborah Butler of UBC has been piloting a "reading to learn" questionnaire she has codeveloped to assess self-regulated learning as related to reading.

The Strengthening Student Literacy Network (SSLN) is a district networking group of Language Arts and English teachers (Grades 4 to 12).  This networking group meets regularly and hosts a Student Writing Conference and Literacy Share-In.  During the 2005/06 school year, SSLN has grown to over 80 members.   The members of this group focus on creating relevant and motivating literacy experiences for their students, ways to fuel and model writing, and how to use student ideas and samples in the development of criteria.  The group is once again sponsoring a Student Writing Conference in the Spring and repeating the very successful Literacy Share-In, an evening for Grades 4 to 12 teachers from across the district to share their ideas and attend sessions facilitated by SSLN members.

Early Success
A major focus in literacy continues to be early intervention to prevent reading failure.  A team of teachers and district staff continues to attend the annual Ministry Symposium on Early Success.  Many school-based teams have organized their resources so that young readers at risk can be as fully supported as possible.  

The district participated in the Ready, Set, Learn initiative in the 2004/05 school year.  The activities included 16 open houses which welcomed parents and preschoolers into our elementary schools to learn ways to support early child development.  In addition, a district-wide event was held on a Saturday in the Spring so that parents and their preschool children could learn more about ways to support the development of their young children as well as learn about available resources in the community.  Open houses will be offered again this Spring and the community event will be folded into an early childhood strand at our annual Learning and the Brain Conference on April 8, 2006.  

Effective Behavioural Support (EBS)
Effective Behavioural Support (EBS) is a system of school-wide processes and individualized instruction designed to prevent and decrease problem behaviour and to increase and maintain appropriate behaviour.  EBS is an important initiative because it provides a school-wide approach/framework for developing a safe and caring school community.  Bully Proofing, Second Step, Communication Lab, Roots of Empathy, etc., are examples of curricular/instructional programs which are effective on their own but are even more so when they are used within a school-wide approach such as EBS.  The implementation of positive behaviour support plans for individual students who exhibit challenging behaviour is more effective when applied within an EBS framework.  Approximately 14 schools in Richmond have sent teams to regional EBS training sessions.  These schools are at various stages of implementation.   There are several EBS coaches among our Richmond staff who are available to support schools which are implementing EBS as well as provide inservice training.  As stated previously, the focus of the Area Counselling Team is to enhance the capacity of schools to support students with challenging behaviours.  The work of this team is entirely consistent with the principles of EBS.

Supporting Diversity
The district continues to offer inservice opportunities, based on Dr. Mel Levine’s philosophy and framework, which are described as follows:

Great Beginnings
This series is designed for Educational Assistants supporting Kindergarten students with autism or other developmental disabilities.  It includes practical innovative strategies for including students in meaningful learning experiences in the classroom.

IEP Central
IEP Central is a secure web-based application for the development, monitoring, and reporting of progress for students on Individual Educational Plans (IEPs).  Many schools are now using IEP Central in developing their IEPs.

Learning Tools in Schools
Inservice sessions on the use of software to support learners with special needs has included Boardmaker, Writing with Symbols, Kurzweil, and Co-Writer.

Teach Anyone to Read at Any Age or Stage
This workshop series explores current thinking about supporting students with developmental disabilities at early stages of learning to read.  Resources for supporting students, examples of classroom planning tools, and actual experiences with inclusive curriculum are shared by the presenters.

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
PECS is a structured program that uses behavioural principles to teach nonverbal or minimally verbal children with autism how to communicate.  Children are first taught to request something by giving picture symbols to someone.  This behaviour is then refined and expanded to include additional communication partners, functions, and symbol-vocabulary,

Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA)
This four-day series explains ABA and how it can facilitate skills acquisition, teaches a variety of ABA procedures, and explains how to use reinforcement to improve student performance.

Study Groups
Continuing the Conversation
This is a study group which focuses on deepening and extending the knowledge and application of the principles and approaches to understanding learners developed by Dr. Mel Levine.  The facilitators support teams in exploring an individual or class profile using the Management by Profile framework.  Dr. Levine's latest book, "Ready or Not, Here Life Comes" is used as a resource for the conversations.

Professional Development
Assessment Literacy/Assessment for Learning Study Group
Assessment Literacy continues to be a focus in this year’s pro-d activities.  The theme of Assessment Literacy is now in its third year of development.

•  On November 23, 2005, 16 secondary educators participated in the first of 6 sessions of Classroom Assessment FOR Learning.  Administrators and teachers will participate in 3 full day sessions with Ken O’Connor in Surrey and 3 after school touchback sessions in Richmond to learn more about this concept.

•  On December 2, 2005, Dr. Anne Davies facilitated a full day workshop on Assessment for Learning for secondary educators.  She is an international consultant and author of many books on assessment practices, the most recent being "Making Classroom Assessment Work."

•  On May 24, 2006, the district will host a day with Ken O’Connor with a focus on Assessment FOR Learning for elementary and secondary educators.  This session will focus on the teacher’s role in improving student learning through effective use of accurate assessment.  Working from the keys to quality assessment developed by the Assessment Training Institute, and research evidence about student learning, 11 action steps for quality assessment that help to improve student learning will be examined.  Ken O’Connor is an international consultant on assessment and evaluation.

•  The RASA Pro-D Committee continues to support administrators in becoming more assessment literate.  The Committee received funding to purchase books on the topic of sustainable leadership for each RASA member and organized a dinner meeting that focused on sustainable leadership in support of its assessment literacy initiative. Plans for the Spring include additional dinner meetings, study groups, and the completion of a performance-based assessment tool to track district assessment practices.

Bully Prevention Curriculum
All elementary/secondary schools have been offered pro-d on Understanding the Bully and What To Do About It.  Training deals with the issue and includes a video-supported curriculum, Building Personal Strengths, for all schools.  Guided discussion, concept development, activities, and a class courtroom drama are just some of the features.  Rather than offering simple solutions, the videos create dissonance promoting discussion.  Through these and other emphases, people learn the meaning of accountability and empathy and experience them.  By focusing on assets not deficits, learners are offered positive qualities to adopt rather than negative activities to avoid.  In Building Personal Strengths, learners are given life skills to help them distinguish between actions that are powerful and powerless and adopt strength behaviours that are assertive not aggressive.  The accompanying book Standing Strong was written to assist parents and educators with these issues.

Because the orientation of this curriculum is positive and proactive, and is more concerned about building stronger people than building stronger environments, applications aren’t limited to the subject of bullying.  Safer structures are important, but solutions need to do more than focus on restraint.  The curriculum’s ultimate goal is for people to examine their attitudes and behaviour, motivating them to take action for positive change for themselves and for those around them.    

The Area Counsellors, specifically the ACT, have also been doing significant work around this and related subjects.

We continue to partner with agencies like the Library to conduct parent meetings dealing with how to help your children study, Using the Internet Wisely, and a pro-active way of looking at Bully Prevention by building personal competencies.  

Rob Inrig has conducted PAC and community meetings around bully prevention and parenting themes–Understanding the Uniqueness of You and Your Child and Parenting for Success.  

District Study Groups and Networks
Looking for good conversation?  Join one of this year’s District Study Groups or Networks to provide you with ongoing and regular opportunities to learn, share, and dialogue with your colleagues and deepen your understanding about teaching and learning.  These study groups support the learning of the educators who are in the RSB/SFU Grad Diploma Program, Today's Classroom - Tomorrow's Future.   For more information and specific descriptions of these study groups, please see RichNet Pro-D Resources.

• ABCs for LRTs - Becoming a Sustainable Resource Teacher
• Creative Arts Study Group, Elementary
• ESL Network, Elementary
• Inspiring Student Leadership Network, All
• Learner-focused Leadership for Vice Principals, Administrators
• Leadership for Everyone, All
• Leadership and Sustainability Study Group, All
• Magic of Dialogue Study Group, All
• Mel Levine - Continuing the Conversation Study Group, K-12
• Mind That Is Mine Study Group, K-12
• Network for Study Group Facilitators, All
• Primary Teachers Study Group, K-3
• Quality Classrooms Study Group, K-12
• Science Study Group, Elementary
• Strengthening Student Literacy Network, 4-12
• Sustainability Initiatives, All + Students
• Sustainability Network, All + Students

Instructional Strategies/A Day with Barrie Bennett
On April 19, 2006, the district will host its fourth “A Day with Barrie Bennett.”  Dr. Barrie Bennett is the author of Beyond Monet:  The Artful Science of Instructional Integration.  On this day, he will be presenting two demonstration lessons reflecting the key concepts from Beyond Monet:  attributes of effective teachers; instructional concepts (e.g., active participation, motivation, levels of thinking); instructional skills (e.g., wait  time, framing questions, responding to students' responses); instructional tactics (e.g., fish bone, Venn diagram, Place Mat); lesson design; effective group work; instructional strategies (e.g., concept attainment, concept formation, concept mapping, mind mapping); and instructional organizers (e.g., brain research, critical thinking, learning styles).

Literacy Focus Days
A growing number of schools have worked with Faye Brownlie on the topic of helping students become more thoughtful and effective readers and writers.  Reading workshops have focused on using the Ministry Performance Standards to assess the class and pinpoint areas needing further development.  Brownlie introduced the Standard Reading Assessment, a quick and effective way to assess reading using the Performance Standards.  As teachers analyzed their students’ strengths and set class goals, one of the areas needing attention involved helping students to better understand what they were reading.  Brownlie demonstrated ways to help students connect to, process, think about, and respond to their reading through talk, writing, drawing, drama, etc.  Brownlie also demonstrated many teaching sequences that engaged students in opportunities for focused conversation, making connections, questioning, prewriting, and visualizing--all strategies that research has shown help students to better understand and think about their reading.

• Elementary
A growing number of elementary schools continue to focus on the topic of helping students become more thoughtful and effective readers and writers.  Work in schools and on professional days has centered around assessment of and for learning, whether it be in content based subjects such as Socials and Science or in Language Arts.  Staff and students are working to develop their skills in the area of performance based assessment, reading, as well as written and oral response to reading and writing.  This year, several schools have been working with Adrienne Gear, a Vancouver Literacy Mentor on her program, Reading Power.  Reading Power is a reading comprehension program designed to help students learn how to think while they read, enabling them to have a more thoughtful, meaningful reading experience and personally engage with the text.  The five reading powers are Connect, Question, Visualize, Infer, and Transform.

• Secondary
All secondary schools in Richmond are participating in the Intermediate Reading Initiative (IRI).  This project, funded by a Ministry grant, is intended to enhance literacy instruction by expanding on initiatives currently underway in several schools.  This project will support integrated and inclusive reading instruction based on strong classroom practices for all students by creating opportunities for teachers to analyze student work, engage in collaborative conversations, and develop a grade-wide instructional focus.  This focus on literacy will result in improved reading ability and improved achievement across all subject areas for students of all ability levels.

Numeracy Focus Themes
Several elementary schools identified numeracy among their school goals and pursued staff development in best practice in numeracy instruction through their professional development days.  Led by district staff, schools explored ways in which effective numeracy instruction can enrich mathematical thinking and meet the needs of all learners.  Hitchhiking on strategies for effective literacy instruction, teachers explored ways to promote problem-solving, communication, and mathematical reasoning in their K-7 classrooms.  Follow-up days in classrooms featured demo lessons observed by teams of teachers in grade groupings.  The lessons, many drawn from new print resources put in school libraries this year, were photographed and/or videotaped and teachers were given the opportunity to debrief and reflect on their learnings.  Assessment methods, including the Numeracy Performance Standards and Kid-Friendly Performance Standards, were introduced and used in thinking about how children show what they know and can do mathematically.

Books in schools to support these important instructional concepts were highlighted in the focus themes and after school workshops for primary teachers (Primary Problems to Ponder: A Numeracy Resource for K-3 Classrooms) and after school inservice for intermediate teachers (Intermediate Investigations to Inspire) promoted those ideas more broadly.  Both these books were co-authored by Richmond's Janice Novakowski and Carole Saundry and featured lessons field tested in Richmond classrooms.  Books in schools continue to support numeracy - with a focus on rich tasks for the mathematics classroom (Intermediate Investigations to Inspire and Good Questions for Math Teaching - Why Ask Them and What to Ask, Grades K-6).

Math Resource Implementation - Math Makes Sense
Following on from a comprehensive report generated by a Richmond District Committee, elementary schools began to acquire and implement one of two new math programs.  Professional development has been offered at the district, school, and classroom levels to support implementation of these resources; in particular, the Math Makes Sense resource currently in most of Richmond's schools.  Formal after school sessions, non-instructional day sessions, Power-Lunch conversations, and demo-teaching opportunities are formats being used to support teachers as they delve into these new instructional materials.  In addition, teams of teacher leaders have been trained - in both English and in French Immersion - to support implementation of Math Makes Sense.  District-wide pro-d sessions will be offered in February, 2006, to support teachers across the grades in interpreting the big ideas behind this new math program.

Pro-D Days
Professional development days in many schools continue to focus on literacy and social responsibility.  As was the case in the previous three years, elementary schools collaborated in the development of Focus Days.  This year, the themes were:  Literacy, Social Responsibility, and Science and Literacy.  

This year, the district identified February 24, 2006, as a District Concurrent Pro-D Day.   This day has been organized to give support staff the opportunity to meet together in job-alike groups to learn with and from each other.  Teachers and administrators will continue to participate in school-based and district-based pro-d activities on this Concurrent Pro-D Day.  

Science Study Group
The Science Study Group consists of both elementary and secondary teachers and administrators eager to promote and enhance learning in science.  This group meets on an ad hoc basis to discuss current issues in science education.  The members of this group provide an important “sounding board” for the development of various science initiatives occurring in the district, including:  the development of science kits that correlate with the new Science IRPs, the development of a science supplies list for elementary schools, and the evaluation of science resources and materials.

Elementary Science Implementation
The Richmond School District's Science Implementation Committee (SCIMCO) has organized several initiatives as part of a three-year plan to provide support for the implementation of the new elementary Science IRP.  The three strands of science identified by the Ministry (physical science, earth and space science, and life science) will be highlighted separately each year.

Elementary Science Content Series
As part of the science implementation plan, 11 after school professional development opportunities and 4 touchback sessions have been offered to support K-7 teachers in the implementation of the new Science IRP.  These after school workshops include eight grade-specific sessions from K-7, two Aboriginal science workshops, and one French Immersion science session.  Each session provides teachers with: the prescribed learning outcomes, an overview of the key elements and concepts for instruction and assessment in the content area, an opportunity to engage in a hands-on learning activity, and a list of resources that are available in the district.  The physical science strand has been highlighted for the 2005/06 school year.

Elementary Science Publishers Series
To support the use of current resources in implementing the science curriculum, the district has also invited major Canadian publishers that have BC recommended titles included in the new Science IRP to host seven after school professional development sessions for teachers.

Science and Non-Fiction Literacy Focus Days
Twelve elementary schools are involved in the Science and Non-Fiction Literacy Focus Days which were organized to allow two or three schools with similar goals to collaboratively plan a professional development day together.  The Focus Days include elements such as:  whole group work with a speaker, grade group discussions facilitated by a teacher leader, and time for school-based planning.  Three key presenters, Brian Herrin (science), Adrienne Gear (non-fiction literacy), and Faye Brownlie (non-fiction literacy), have been involved in presenting the content for these Focus Days.

Science Performance Standards
The Richmond and Delta school districts have taken a lead role in beginning the process of developing Performance Standards for science.  Along with five other school districts, namely: Vancouver, Sunshine Coast, Langley, North Vancouver, and Surrey, Richmond and Delta are working towards forming an advisory and working committee for the development of Science Performance Standards for Grades 3, 6, and 9.

Secondary Science Implementation
In preparation for the implementation of a new Grade 8-10 Science IRP beginning in September, 2006, SCIMCO (Science Implementation Committee) has organized a Professional Development Day for secondary teachers on February 24, 2006, that will focus on science content and resources based on the new Science IRP.

In addition, secondary science teachers and administrators were invited to participate in discussions regarding the changes in the upcoming junior and senior Science IRPs.  From these discussions, district responses for drafts of the Grade 8-10 Science IRP and drafts of the Chemistry 11-12, Biology 11-12, Earth Science 11, and Geology 12 IRPs were written and submitted to the Ministry of Education in December.

SFU/RSD Graduate Diploma Program:  Today's Classrooms, Tomorrow's Future
The Today’s Classrooms, Tomorrow’s Future SFU/RSD Graduate Diploma Program is a practical two-year learning experience in which educators examine and strengthen their work through inquiry, reflection, and professional dialogue.  This 30-credit Grad Diploma Program has been tailored especially for Richmond educators, and extends on existing district activities such as study groups, projects, and pro-d events.  The instructional team for the program is comprised of SFU and RSD personnel.  Students participate in an intensive two-week Summer institute which supports them in developing action research projects for the Fall.  The first intake was January, 2004, followed by a Summer, 2004, intake, and a January, 2005, intake.  In May, 2006, we will begin work with our students from the fourth intake, Today’s Classrooms, Tomorrow’s Leaders.  If you would like more information, please contact Coordinating Faculty Associate Leyton Schnellert (leytons@sfu.ca) or district liaison Wendy Lim via RichNet.

Social Responsibility Focus Days
Several elementary schools that have a school goal focused on social responsibility combined their efforts to organize Social Responsibility Focus Days again this year.  A combination of workshops by district personnel and outside presenters resulted in a rich and varied program of learning.

During common pro-d days, secondary schools had the opportunity to participate in workshops on social responsibility, including a plenary session co-presented by Bruce Beairsto and Rob Inrig.

Elementary and secondary students have had the opportunity to participate in a Student Leadership Conference organized by TABLE 38 with active support from Glenn Kishi and Wendy Lim.  The Student Leadership Conference featured an incredibly wide and rich array of workshops dealing with issues of leadership, citizenship, and social responsibility.

Sustainability
The Richmond Sustainability Action Team (RSAT) organizes and coordinates all of the Richmond School District's sustainability activities.

Sustainability Initiatives
The Sustainability Initiatives is a four-part series of workshops offered to school teams to increase awareness and knowledge of environmental issues and concerns, and to encourage socially responsible behaviour of both students and adults in terms of acting and thinking in an environmentally sustainable manner.  Teams consisting of students, teachers, principals, custodians, and parents work together to plan and implement sustainability projects within their schools and the community.  School teams have the opportunity to apply for up to two $1,000 grants offered by the district to support their initiatives.  We are pleased to report that a total of twelve $1,000 grants for eight schools were approved for 2005/06.  The last session of the series is the Green Gala, a celebration of the year's work that will take place on May 4, 2006.

Sustainability Network
The Sustainability Network provides a means for students, teachers, administrators, parents, and representatives from community organizations to meet regularly to explore issues, share stories, discuss socially responsible behaviour changes, and gain information/resources relating to environmental sustainability.  The members of the Sustainability Network also plan to work together on a district-wide Earth Day event on April 21, 2006.

Richmond Community One Tonne Challenge
The Richmond Community One Tonne Challenge is a year-long initiative to engage citizens in Richmond to reduce their personal greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by one tonne, or 20%, as a means of taking action on climate change.  Richmond is one of 40 communities in Canada to receive funding from Environment Canada for this initiative.  The Richmond Community Challenge (RCC) Committee consists of members from the school district, City of Richmond, Vancouver International Airport Authority, and Passion for Action.  Some of the initiatives planned for the district by RSAT include:  the Student Ambassador Program to teach Richmond residents about climate change, social responsibility, and the One Tonne Challenge, development of a climate change curriculum for use in classrooms (in progress), and an Idle-Free Campaign for secondary schools.