Helen Park is a special teacher in the Central Okanagan Public Schools system, and the Prime Minister of Canada appears to agree.
The primary teacher at École Casorso Elementary has received that acknowledgement as a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for teaching excellence, recognizing elementary and secondary school teachers in all disciplines for their remarkable achievements in education and their commitment to preparing youth for a digital and innovation-based economy.
Park was joined at the Central Okanagan Board of Education meeting on Wednesday (Oct. 15) to celebrate her award with Casorso principal Jared Birkeland and the mother of a special needs child in Park’s class.
Birkeland noted the award was unique in that the nomination for it comes from parents rather than school administration, a reflection of the impact Park has on her students and how that translates to parents.
The mom talked about the fear and trepidation of her non-verbal child fitting in with Park’s classroom, and how the teacher has made him feel part of the class with empathy and compassion.
“What started as a scary challenge for us has turned into an adventure,” she said.
When it comes to the ideals of inclusivity and making all students feel safe in their classroom environment, Birkeland said Park “walks the walk.”
Birkeland said Park has worked with him for the past six years, and is the principal-designate when he is away, a reflection of the trust he has in her to look out for the best interests of all Casorso students in his absence.
Park told the trustees she feels a little embarrassed to be singled out, noting the support of her students, teachers and the classroom CEA (Certified Education Assistant).
Jon Rever, Central Okanagan Public Schools superintendent, cited the empathy that Park has for her students and how that puts the concept of inclusivity into practice for her classroom.
“She sees kids on their own individual level and makes them all feel they are part of that class,” Rever said.
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Anita Deng was introduced to school trustees as the new payroll manager for the Central Okanagan Public Schools administration.
Deng said she has worked in the payroll finance field for the past decade.
“I am excited to join the big family of School District 23,” she said.
The school district declared October as Foster Family Awareness Month, and Oct. 21-25 as School Bus Safety Week.
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The school district’s focus on improving numeracy assessment levels was the focus of a presentation by math teachers Stefani Oakes and Cory Aitken.
The teachers are part of a team that has helped develop new numeracy and assessment teaching models to help students improve their mathematics learning skills.
The teachers talked about how teaching math is shifting from students working on equation exercises in a textbook, and applying math skills to deal with challenges posed to students, who learn by working out problems both individually and as groups.
The intent is for students to better appreciate math when better understanding in fun and challenging ways how important math can be to their daily lives in becoming mathematical thinkers.
“For students, it is a shift from doing math assignments for the teacher to understanding math for myself,” said Dacon.
Superintendent Jon Rever said improving numeracy learning is a high priority for the school district, and teachers at the classroom level are leading the way in looking at new ways to teach and assess math results.
“The reassessment coming from teachers is a better option than the typical top-down formula,” said Rever.
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The Annual General Meeting for the Central Okanagan Board of Education will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m., at the school district administrative office main board room.
Board of Education chair Julia Fraser will give her review of the previous school year, and elections will be held for leadership positions for the next year.
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A long-overdue and often requested review of the Policy Manual for Central Okanagan Public Schools has the unanimous support of the school trustees.
The existing and sometimes cumbersome manual, which contains more than 170 documents and regulations, has been seen by school district administration as in need of review to determine if existing policies meet the definition of governance, a high-level statement of intent or principle that guides decision-making, or is operational, guides day-to-day operations and ensures consistency in routine tasks.
Trustee Lisa Guderyan said the school board embraces the review and is “excited to do a deep dive into this.”
Setting a timeline for the review will be discussed at the next education and student services committee meeting in November.
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The District of Lake Country is working on a grant application in line with the Safe and Active School Routes program for active transportation improvements to connect Seaton and Camp roads to Okanagan Centre Road East for students heading into the municipality’s core to attend George Elliot Secondary or H.S. Grenda Middle schools.
As part of the application process, a letter of support from the board of education is needed, along with letters of support from the principals/vice-principals of the schools.
The school trustees voted to write a letter of support for the grant application, with the deadline for submission being Oct. 17.
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School board chair Julia Fraser participated in a virtual meeting between Education and Childcare Minister Lisa Beare and school board chairs across the province for an update on policy initiatives.
Included in the discussion was an advanced briefing on the planned tabling of Bill 19, which, if passed, will amend the School Act to allow school districts to operate school-age care on non-instructional days, provide birth to five-year-old care and recover reasonable costs incurred for the purpose of providing a child care program on district property.
School boards also received a letter from Minister of Infrastructure Bowinn Ma outlining amendments to the School Act that will result in two changes to the expropriation powers of boards of education.
The first change formalizes existing practice by adding the requirement for ministerial approval prior to any board of education expropriating private property.
And as ordered by the May 23, 2025, decision of the B.C. Supreme Court, the legislation also extends expropriation authority to the Conseil scolaire de la Colombie-Britannique, a power that is currently held by the other 59 boards of education.
Ma stated land expropriation is considered a tool of last resort, having been used only a handful of times in the last decade when no other options were feasible.
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