The dedication of the board room in memory of the longest-serving chair in Saskatoon Public Schools history was the Celebrating Excellence item during the Sept. 20 meeting of the Board of Education.
William Benjamin Doyle served as a member of the Board of Education for 21 years beginning in 1920, including 20 consecutive years as board chair until his retirement as a trustee. Saskatoon residents Tim Hutchinson and Lorraine Salt unearthed Doyle's story and brought his contributions to the attention of the Board of Education.
The W.B. Doyle Board Room is located at Saskatoon Public Schools' downtown office on 21st Street East.
Other items on the board's agenda included:
- The Board received Treaty Essential Learnings Survey results for 2015-16. The survey of Grade 7 students measures understanding of treaty essential learnings and the level of teachers' use and satisfaction with resources. The four treaty education goals are: treaty relationship, historical context, treaty promises and provisions, and spirit and intent of treaties. Students overall mean score was 58 per cent and students performed most strongly on historical context (64 per cent) and spirit and intent (65 per cent). In September 2011, there were 13 treaty catalyst teachers in the division; now, there are 140 certified treaty catalyst teachers.
- The board received an update on its Collegiate Renewal strategic learning priority. Goals for 2016-17 include work in each collegiate to improve early identification and support of students who may struggle to gain credit and strengthening support of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students. There will also be an emphasis in all schools and classrooms of innovative interventions to meet the diverse needs of students.
Reports and information presented at board meetings can be found at www.saskatoonpublicschools.ca. The next meeting of the Board of Education is Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
