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School District 52 holds forum to gather input on graduation requirements

The British Columbian Ministry of Education is gathering input from people across the province to develop new graduation requirements.
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Lynn Hauptman

The British Columbian Ministry of Education is gathering input from people across the province to develop new graduation requirements that better reflect the skills, competencies and knowledge students in the 21st century need to be successful.

School District 52 hosted a community forum on Oct. 4 where to gather input on graduation requirements as well as show a presentation made by the ministry.

“There’s been a lot of conversation about how our education system has been very much the same over the last 100 years. But in the last few years there’s been conversation on [the changes we need to make],” Lynn Hauptman, superintendent of S.D. 52 said.

There were over 20 people in attendance, consisting of administrative staff, school board trustees, principals, teachers, parents and members of the community.

After the short presentation, people in attendance were asked to split up into groups and answer the following five questions the ministry wants input on:

-What do you think are the core or essential things all students should know, understand and be able to do by the time they leave secondary school?

-Beyond the core, how could pathways for choice or exploration be provided?

-Research is underway with a focus on the following five cross-curricular competencies; communication, critical thinking, creative thinking and innovation, personal responsibly and well being, and social responsibility. How do you think students could demonstrate these competencies?

-How could student learning be communicated to: students, parents/guardians, and post-secondary institutions/employers?

-How would you design an award program to recognize student success in a personalized learning environment?

Once the ministry has gathered input from districts in the province they will look at recommendations and create draft report of new graduation requirements that will be released by spring of 2013.