By Clare Ogilvie
The long awaited school survey on the 2010 Winter Games calendar is now available for Sea to Sky corridor residents.
It was released on the Howe Sound School district website this week ( www.sd48.bc.ca ) and is also available in schools.
The cut off date for completing it is June 5.
“Your input is very valuable to us,” said Andrée Janyk, school board trustee and chair of the board’s 2010 Committee.
The information will be used by the district to help it make a decision about whether or not to close schools for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games that run from Feb. 12 to 28.
The board is also gathering information from administrative staff, teachers, principals, vice principals, and CUPE workers.
Discussions are on going with both the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the Games (VANOC) and the B.C. Ministry of Education about what opportunities are there for students to participate in the experience.
The ministry has already stated that spring break will fall between March 8 and 12 in 2010 so that kids are not out during the Olympics and in particular the Paralympics, which traditionally operates an intense school program.
Currently VANOC has asked for access to the gyms in four secondary schools in the district for volunteers.
“I think everyone is aware of the excitement and the uniqueness of this event,” said Janyk. “The board is aware of the issues and we are weighting them very carefully.”
While generally satisfied with the survey Cathy Jewett, chair of the District Parent Advisory Council, is concerned that the fate of high school students may not be fully understood through it.
Her concerns stem from the fact that some students will be in their grad years and closing the school may have a serious impact on them.
There is also the question of what will happen to youths at risk if the schools are closed.
“What are they going to get up to while they are out of school and whether they are going to be adequately supervised are concerns,” said Jewett.
“Whether they will get into the programs that will keep them out of trouble or whether they won’t take that option is unknown.
“We have to take a look at the big picture. It is not whether it will inconvenience a family, but what is best for the kids and our focus is youth at risk and students at risk. These are students that are already in situations where there may be issues at home or in their community… we want to be sure that those kids don’t fall between the cracks.”
Jewett investigated the school closure issue in Park City during the 2002 Winter Olympics. That Utah town closed all its schools for nearly a month.
“I couldn’t find negative feed back from the parents,” she said of her Park City research. “It was all positive feedback.”
Jewett said there is a concern that a significant number of students will miss school for the Games experience even if school is in session.
“There are kids that are going to get pulled out, kids will miss school,” she said.
“The worry amongst the teachers and the administrators is that parents are going to opt out of school and that will basically make it a blown shift for the teachers and the kids that stayed in. It turns it into a childcare situation because… while it is good for the kids that are there… all the material will have to be covered again when the other kids come back.”
The school board, which hired a professional group to produce the survey, hopes to make a decision on the issue by the beginning of the next school year at the latest.
The survey gives parents three main choices when it comes to the school closure issue.
The first option is to close from Feb. 12th to 28 th ; the second option is to close Feb. 5th to 28 th ; and the third option is to keep all schools open.
Parents are asked to give their first, second and third choice.
Other topics covered in the survey include general views of the school district, views of the 2010 Games, the schools and the Olympics, and how to make up instructional time if the schools close.
Jewett is hoping that at least 1,500 households fill out the questionnaire. There are 4,500 students in the district. There will be a Punjabi translator available through schools in Squamish.
“I think it is really important that as many households as possible participate in the survey because this is a great opportunity to give our opinion, and if you don’t give your opinion you are going to have a hard time complaining down the line,” said Jewett.
Jewett has also approached the municipality about setting up a deal with an Olympic sponsor to get Olympic event tickets to school aged kids.
