APPENDIX
Ministerial Panel on Educational Delivery in the Classroom

The Ministerial Panel on Educational Delivery in the Classroom was established in August 1999, led by two of the province�s eminent educators, Drs. Len Williams and Ron Sparkes.

Their mandate was, through extensive consultation with education stakeholders, to undertake a critical examination of the delivery of education in the province�s schools and make recommendations on matters of curriculum, supports to the K-12 education system and accountability of the system.

The panel consulted extensively with parents, educators, business and community representatives, economic development leaders, social agencies, representatives of aboriginal peoples and special interest groups along with some government departments, boards and agencies.

As part of the review process, the panel:

• established an interactive web site for public and stakeholder input;
• researched current educational delivery models in this province and other jurisdictions;
• hosted regional focus groups throughout the province;

• attended focused meetings with school boards and about 30 other key educational and stakeholder groups including the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers� Association (NLTA), a distance education group, the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils (NLFSC), Memorial�s Telemedicine/Telelearning Centre, the Newfoundland and Labrador School Boards Association (NLSBA), individual teachers, MUN Faculty of Education, the arts/music and science communities and the business community;
• undertook school visitations and student focus groups; and
• held a provincial education forum, December 17, 1999.

The final report of the ministerial panel, including 86 recommendations, was submitted in April 2000. Key recommendations included:

• an improved method of teacher allocations;
• accelerated implementation of new curriculum;
• a focus on reading and early literacy;
• the development of a new course in Newfoundland and Labrador history;
• renewed commitment to professional development for teachers;
• the use of technology to provide a means of delivering distance education; and
• increased emphasis on accountability of the school system and reporting to the public (public examinations, school and provincial reports, a school effectiveness audit team).

The Department of Education committed to the immediate implementation of the panel�s key recommendations and established an implementation committee comprising officials from the Department of Education, the NLSBA, the NLTA, the NLFSC, MUN, the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Directors of Education and a member of the House of Assembly.

The first stage of implementation was the development of an action plan which saw the recommendations organized under three groupings � those that could be implemented with existing department resources, those that required legislative changes, and those that required new budgetary considerations. Out of this process, work commenced on implementing 59 recommendations within current budget allocations, and using current personnel within the Department of Education. Two recommendations required legislative changes. Twenty-four recommendations had financial implications and were brought forward for inclusion in the 2001-2002 budget process.

So far, in response to the ministerial panel�s recommendations, the Department of Education has:

• developed a new, streamlined, efficient program of public exams in core subject areas, with six exams being administered in June 2001;
• developed a comprehensive program of testing at the end of Grades 3, 6, and 9, beginning this year with Grade 3;
• established a provincial advisory group on teacher training, supply, and demand comprising membership from MUN, the NLTA, NLSBA, school districts, and the Department of Education;
• begun development of a Newfoundland and Labrador history course for Grade 8;
• streamlined the special needs services allocation process and provided specialized training for teachers on adapting curriculum to suit students� special needs;
• hired reading specialists for all geographical school districts and provided specialized training for all primary classroom and special education teachers in new strategies to improve the teaching of reading, writing, oral language and spelling;
• moved aggressively forward with the implementation of curriculum developed with our partners in the other Atlantic provinces;
• struck a teacher professional development alliance between the department and school districts;
• established a Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation;
• implemented a new framework for allocating teachers for the 2000-2001 school year; and
• undertaken a comprehensive review of local interest courses developed by schools throughout the province with a view to establishing policy on their effective delivery.

Since the release of the ministerial panel report, all 86 recommendations have undergone extensive review and the majority are in the process of being implemented. In fiscal year 2001-2002, $5 million is being invested to complete implementation of the recommendations of the ministerial panel.

Plans are under way in the following areas:

• The budget for learning resources will be increased to speed implementation of newly developed courses.
• Three-year curriculum implementation plans with a 10-year outlook will be designed and tracked on a shared data base to facilitate shared planning by school districts and the department.
• New policy and procedures for the development, approval, and delivery of local interest courses will be implemented.
• The Newfoundland and Labrador history course for Grade 8 will move to pilot in September 2001 and will be implemented across the province in September 2002, using, for the first time in our provincial curriculum, authorized Web-based resources.

• Measures will be taken to ensure that students at high school undertake a challenging set of courses, and that schools make the most effective use of instructional time.

• A music specialist will be hired by the department and the main focus of the newly created position will be on professional development and the development of K-6 music curriculum.
• The art specialist with the department will focus on professional development as well as the development of new curriculum.

• A committee will be established to develop curriculum-support material for teachers who teach in multi-level classrooms.
• The department will work closely with MUN, the NLTA, and school districts to ensure that appropriate training is provided to teachers who are already teaching and those who anticipate teaching in multi-level classrooms.

• Specialized training for teachers on adapting curriculum to suit students� special needs will continue.
• A brochure informing parents and the public about special needs programs will be developed.
• A data base will be developed to allow school boards to submit documentation electronically, expediting the process of allocating supports for students with special needs.
• The implications of recommendations addressing such areas as student assistants and alternate schooling are also being studied.

• The department will continue to move forward aggressively with initiatives to support reading and early literacy.
• Specialized training for all primary classroom and special education teachers in new strategies to improve the teaching of reading, writing, oral language and spelling will continue.
• Reading specialists at school boards will receive intensive support from the department.
• The department will work with other government departments and agencies, such as family resource centres and the Healthy Beginnings program to ensure that early intervention and prevention programs and supports are in place for pre-school children. The plan is to develop a comprehensive service structure that addresses the needs of young children.

• Professional development for all teachers will increase with significant emphasis on initiatives for primary teachers and other priorities determined in partnership with school boards.
• The professional development alliance established between the department and school districts to develop yearly priorities for professional development will be expanded to include NLTA and MUN.
• Plans will move forward to lengthen the school year for teachers by three days to facilitate training for new school programs and continued professional development.

• The new framework for allocating teachers will continue to be tied to school sizes and programs at the school level. The new allocations will provide a better student-teacher ratio at the primary grades so that added support is given to early literacy.
• By maintaining more teachers in the K-12 system than is called for in the ministerial panel report, government will provide even greater opportunities for smaller class sizes and more individualized services to students.

• The newly established Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation (CDLI) will move forward quickly to complete Phase I (high school course development) as outlined in the ministerial panel report. Ten senior high courses, crossing six subject areas, will be developed and ready for pilot in September 2001. Teachers from several school districts will be seconded by the department to develop the courses for delivery through the centre. Teachers to deliver these courses (E-teachers) will be in place for September 2001.
• Phase II of the centre�s activities will commence in the upcoming school year. Department specialists, particularly in the areas of art, music and French, will work with centre personnel to provide supplementary resources for primary and elementary teachers and an in-service program for teachers.
• Collaboration within various agencies and levels of government will take place as the centre moves into Phase III which will see the integration of all distance education activity in the province.

• The newly established provincial advisory group comprising membership from MUN, NLTA, NLSBA, school districts, and the Department of Education will introduce several measures to monitor teacher training, supply, and demand to ensure that our schools are staffed with highly qualified teachers.
• The advisory group will assist the department by assuming a leadership role in developing strategies to address all aspects of teacher supply and demand, commencing with a provincial teacher recruitment fair being planned for later this year.
• A $5,000 bonus will be provided to teachers who teach in coastal Labrador (retroactive to January 2001).

• The number of public examinations will be increased to 10 as recommended by the ministerial panel, and the department will monitor the situation to determine if more are needed.
• Comprehensive testing in language arts at the end of Grade 3 will occur annually, and at the end of Grades 6 and 9 every three years.
• Comprehensive testing in mathematics will occur every three years, at Grades 6 and 9.
• Comprehensive testing in science every three years will occur at the end of Grade 9.
• The department will begin producing an educational indicators report every three years as well as school reports every two years that give comparative data on all schools in the province.
• The department will work with school districts to establish educational effectiveness teams which, together with field auditors, will monitor progress at the school level and provide assistance as required.
• Standards and specifications for school construction have been revised and will be put in place this year.
• Three-year plans with a 10-year outlook are being designed and will be tracked, using an electronic data base. Parts of the data base will be shared with school districts so that provincial plans can be incorporated into district planning.

Media contact: Andrea Maunder, Communications, (709) 729-0048.

2001 03 22                     3:15 p.m.