Public Meetings Cancelled: New Dates Not Set

An Urgent Message from the University Hill Secondary and Elementary PAC Executives, the University Neighbourhoods Association Schools Action Committee,

Dear Fellow Parents, Guardians and UBC/UEL Residents,

A meeting to announce the revised plans on June 4th was cancelled. The school board says their revised plans will be announced on June 11th, 7:00 pm at the VSB Offices (Broadway & Fir).

The Vancouver School Board (“VSB”) has heard from many parents about the shockingly inadequate school facilities in the UBC area. We thank you for your support to date.

But, please, we need to keep up the pressure. We ask that you e-mail the VSB school trustees and key representatives from the provincial government and let them know that action is needed NOW to resolve the growing crisis. Let them know that students, parents, guardians, and area residents have waited too many years for school facilities equal to others across the district. Public schools are paid for through our taxes and our children have the same rights to publicly funded schools as other Vancouver children do.

A critical decision on school facilities will be made June 19, and the decision-makers need to hear from as many of us as possible before that date. They need to be reminded that hundreds of families in the UBC/UEL area are affected and concerned, and that we insist on fair treatment.

Step One: Please send a short and urgent message, asking for action now on the UBC school crisis, to some or all of the following:

• VSB Trustees: See clickable email address in the side bar to the right.
• Our MLA, and our Minister of Education: See clickable email address in the side bar to the right.

Step Two: Please come Vancouver School Board meetings on June 11th. Let the trustees know that we need rebuilt schools and we need them now! A meeting for June 4th to announce the new plans was cancelled. Now the School Board says they will announce the news on June 11th at 7:00 pm

Additional info at:
http://uhs.vsb.bc.ca
http://uhe.vsb.bc.ca
http://www.vsb.bc.ca

email: rebuild.uhill@gmail.com

Will U Hill Schools Be Rebuilt?

Many parents living west of Blanca in Vancouver are wondering -will our schools be rebuilt to meet the learning needs of our children?

The EFR process has been public since early January 2008. As parents we have been waiting for over four years to get an answer we can "take to the bank." The process has been filled with delays. From administrative to political interruptions, the real need for schools in this area has been sidelined time and time again.

June 4th at 7 pm the senior management of the Vancouver Board of Education will present their 'final' draft to the school trustees. People are hopeful that there is a plan in the works that will lay out a course to rebuild the schools out on the edge of Point Grey. But no one is holding their breath.

The is a worrisome feeling that the status quo will win out and nothing will happen. The same expressions of sympathy will be shared, but real action will not follow. The status quo is, however costly and it has to change.

The status quo situation is being paid for through all of our collective labour and volunteer time as parents who work as staff or faculty and live on campus. We have allowed our children to pay the costs of keeping enclave facilities alive. Over 200 of our children are put on buses each morning to go out to Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth Elementary Schools, and others go farther afield to Southlands, Carnarvon and Henry Hudson so that annex facilities can survive. Our older children go to a high school that is decrepit and overcrowded. They eat their lunches on the floor, they do their labs in shifts, frequently miss gym, and they take classes in spaces that should be torn down and even so, they do amazingly well in their academic studies. These academic results have allowed politicians and administrators to avoid the real problems.

We all hope that on June 4th and on June 19th, when the trustees vote, our children will finally hear that their needs are being addressed.

If We Care About the School Facilities for Our Children: Two Simple Steps

An Urgent Message from the University Hill Secondary and Elementary PAC Executives

Dear Fellow Parents, Guardians and UBC/UEL Residents,

The Vancouver School Board (“VSB”) has heard from many parents about the shockingly inadequate school facilities in the UBC area. We thank you for your support to date.

But, please, we need to keep up the pressure. We ask that, before the end of May, you e-mail the VSB school trustees, and key representatives from the provincial government and the University of British Columbia (the main funding partners), and let them know that action is needed NOW to resolve the growing crisis. Let them know that students, parents, guardians, and area residents have waited too many years for school facilities equal to others across the district. The situation will soon get much worse with a growing population.

A critical decision on school facilities will be made in early June, and the decision-makers need to hear from many of us. They need to be reminded that hundreds of families in the UBC area are affected and concerned, and that we insist on fair treatment. We need many voices to show a strong political force; that is how many decisions are made in a democracy.

Step One: Please send a short and urgent message, asking for action now on the UBC school crisis, to some or all of the following:
VSB Trustees: [clarence.hansen@vsb.bc.ca; allen.blakey@vsb.bc.ca; carol.gibson@vsb.bc.ca; ken.denike@vsb.bc.ca; eleanor.gregory@vsb.bc.ca; sharon.gregson@vsb.bc.ca; don.lee@vsb.bc.ca; allan.wong@vsb.bc.ca; shirley.wong@vsb.bc.ca]

Our MLA, and our Minister of Education: [Gordon.Campbell.MLA@leg.bc.ca; Shirley.Bond.MLA@leg.bc.ca]

UBC Vice President, External, Legal and Community Relations: [stephen.owen@ubc.ca]

Step Two: Please come to a meeting next week to discuss the situation with key school trustees and other representatives. Again, we hope as many people can come to demonstrate the level of concern in the UBC area to the main decision-makers. We will also receive news about recent developments:

Time: 7:00 pm
Date: Wednesday, May 28
Where: U-Hill Secondary School Library/Auditorium

The VSB has received strong opposition from the Queen Elizabeth School community about the proposed closure of its Annex. Our community needs to make its much larger voice clear. The sale of the Annex land has been proposed to help to fund the new school facilities in the UBC area. If the Annex land will not be sold, we all need to know how the UBC school facilities will be funded.

The VSB’s plan has included the renovation of the former NRC building into a new secondary school for 675 students, and the rebuilding of the current U-Hill Secondary School on Acadia Road into a new elementary school. Only if the plan is approved will the UBC area have the necessary two elementary schools and an expanded and renewed secondary school for our children.

We look forward to seeing you at 7:00 pm on May 28 at this key meeting.

U-Hill Secondary and Elementary Parent Advisory Council Executives

Message from U Hill Principal

You may have had the opportunity to read the Vancouver Sun today (Saturday) and maybe you came across the article about the Fraser Institute’s Report Card on Schools. The reporter did a brief telephone interview with me and I am quoted several times in the article. Of course, not everything I said was included but she did connect the two issues that are currently a high priority at U Hill today.

Number one - Our students, thanks to parent support and hard work by teachers, perform extremely well on provincial exams. Our graduation rate is exceptional. I am proud of our students and how hard they work and how well they do. Although this is a good thing, our students are often under extreme stress to perform well and this can lead to disturbing behaviours. If a student is average, they can feel depressed; if a student feels they are not going to do well enough on a project or exam it can lead to academic integrity issues; teachers have found that students will often harangue them for “that extra mark” if the student feels that 96% is not quite good enough! These are issues that the staff are constantly struggling with. As I said to the Vancouver Sun, I do not really like the Fraser Institute rankings because it is a very narrow focus (provincial exam results) and does not focus on the whole student. Every single one of our students has strengths and weaknesses and it is important that we recognize each student as individuals and encourage all students to be their best - whatever that may look like.

Number two - Our aging, overcrowded, inadequate facilities was the second issue that is a priority at our school. We currently have over 50 students on our wait list and it is increasing daily. I am very concerned about all of the neighbourhood area students who will not be able to attend here next year. I am concerned that the facilities that our students work in on a daily basis are a challenge and, at times, inadequate. The Board will make its decision on June 19th as to whether a new secondary school will be built. There is a small group of parents who are diligently working on this issue and I encourage you to contact them if you would like to help. You can e-mail Charles Menzies (cmenzies@interchange.ubc.ca) or Birgit Eder (eder.warren@shaw.ca) or you can check out the following website: http://rebuilduhill.blogspot.com Also, our VSB liaison Trustee, Carol Gibson will be at our next PAC meeting on May 28th to discuss this issue. I hope you can come.

The juxtaposition of these two issues is ironic. At one of the recent Educational Facilities Review meetings, a speaker referred to U Hill as being a “crappy” school... and then one of our parents responded with, “U Hill is not a crappy school, it is a crappy building. The teachers, the students and the parents work hard to make the school a successful, positive environment for all students”. This report makes it clear that the heart of a school is not the building, it is the people. However - can you imagine how much better it would be if only we had adequate teaching and learning facilities?

U Hill in the News

the hill still the leader

Vancouver Sun blogs

With a building that's too small and not wired for today's high-tech gadgets, University Hill is ranked the best public high school in B.C. by the Fraser Institute

Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, May 10, 2008

A small, run-down school bursting with students on Vancouver's west side continues to be the public education leader in the annual Fraser Institute's Report Card on B.C. Secondary Schools, released today.

University Hill has been ranked as the number-one public high school in B.C. for several years, bested only by independent schools that charge hefty tuition fees and generally admit only the best of the brightest.

It manages this feat despite serious overcrowding due to new housing developments on the nearby University of B.C. campus. The school's capacity is 325 students, but it accommodates -- through the use of nine portables -- more than 500 teenagers and turns away several dozen more from its catchment area every year.