YorkRegion

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Region=20 parents worry about anti-bullying watchdogsBy Kim=20 Zarzour

August 4, 2010

A fledgling group of parents, worried about the safety of their = school=20 children, are concerned no one is watching over the province=E2=80=99s = boards of=20 education, and they have launched a three-pronged attempt to change=20 that.
With help from several anti-bully groups including York Region=20 Anti-Bullying Coalition, the parents are sending letters to trustees, = MPPs and=20 the Ontario Ombudsman to persuade them to take the job of student safety = more=20 seriously.
Karen Sebben, founder of the York Region group, said = parents hope=20 to make safety and accountability key issues in the upcoming municipal = and=20 provincial elections.
=E2=80=9CAll the parents who contact me = don=E2=80=99t know where else=20 to go,=E2=80=9D she said. =E2=80=9CEveryone we=E2=80=99ve spoken to = makes reference to moving up the=20 chain of command, but nothing gets resolved. So many families are being=20 destroyed. We need an outside, independent investigative = organization.=E2=80=9D
Ms=20 Sebben, a Holland Landing mom who became involved in student safety = after her=20 son was bullied for several years in Newmarket schools, is compiling = submissions=20 from parents across the province who wish to complain to the provincial=20 ombudsman.
While the ombudsman doesn=E2=80=99t have oversight of = school boards, the=20 public watchdog does keep a tally of complaints which is published in = the annual=20 report. Ms Sebben, and others including Georgina resident Jason = Koblovsky who=20 launched Ombudsman for Ontario Schools Facebook site, hope a spike in=20 submissions will make clear the need for better checks and = balances.
The=20 action stems from a meeting in Guelph last May when parents from across = the=20 province met to explore the possibility of creating a province-wide = anti-bully=20 coalition. It became apparent that while the group had a variety of = concerns=20 with respect to the province=E2=80=99s schools, they shared a concern = over=20 accountability.
=E2=80=9CNo one seems to know who is = responsible,=E2=80=9D said Corina=20 Morrison, with the London Anti-Bullying Coalition. =E2=80=9CParents find = they get the=20 run-around.=E2=80=9D
The ad hoc group decided to send out two mass = mailings, to=20 trustees running for re-election in the fall to remind them that they = represent=20 their constituents =E2=80=94 not the board =E2=80=94 and to = MPPs pushing for greater=20 transparency and public consultation by boards.
The next step was to = tackle=20 the issue of a public watchdog to oversee schools.
Currently, school = boards=20 fall under the MUSH sector =E2=80=94 municipalities, universities, = hospitals, long-term=20 care facilities, children=E2=80=99s aid societies and police =E2=80=94 = off-limits to the=20 provincial watchdog.
Ontario Ombudsman Andr=C3=A9 Marin has been = trying for years=20 to expand his mandate to include MUSH. Spokesperson Patricia Tomasi said = Mr.=20 Marin supports the parents=E2=80=99 efforts.
=E2=80=9CThe number of = complaints about school=20 boards has risen over the past few years,=E2=80=9D she said. = =E2=80=9CParents feel they have=20 nowhere else to turn. There=E2=80=99s really a lack of oversight in that = area now.=E2=80=9D=20
Ms Tomasi points out that five Canadian provinces allow their = ombudsman to=20 investigate school boards. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s not like = they=E2=80=99re asking for something=20 extraordinary or new. =E2=80=9C
Peter Shurman, MPP for Thornhill, = agreed. The Tory=20 admits his opinion sways from the rest of his political party. =
=E2=80=9CI don=E2=80=99t see=20 why school boards should be out of bounds. It=E2=80=99s a reasonable = thing, subject to=20 certain rules of engagement.=E2=80=9D
But Oak Ridges-Markham MPP = Helena Jaczek=20 disagreed. The Liberal MPP said she had not received any correspondence = from=20 parents concerned about the issue and said there are adequate mechanisms = for=20 complaints already in place =E2=80=94 the Ontario Public School = Boards Association=20 and Ontario Catholic School Trustees=E2=80=99 Association.
Tory MPP = Frank Klees said=20 parents should be able to turn to their individual trustees and minister = of=20 education.
=E2=80=9CIf the trustees do their job, and the minister = does her job,=20 there=E2=80=99s no need for the ombudsman,=E2=80=9D the Aurora-Newmarket = MPP said.
Some=20 critics say trustees have outlived their usefulness = altogether.
=E2=80=9CToday=E2=80=99s=20 elected school board trustees are basically limited to advocacy and=20 rubber-stamping monthly staff reports,=E2=80=9D education consultant = Paul W. Bennett=20 writes in his Canadian education blog, Educhatter.
Doretta Wilson, = executive=20 director with The Society for Quality Education agreed. =E2=80=9CMore = and more people=20 are upset with the responsiveness of school boards,=E2=80=9D she said, = especially in=20 large =E2=80=9Cbureaucratic institution=E2=80=9D boards like York = Region, Toronto, London and=20 Hamilton. =E2=80=9CEveryone=E2=80=99s afraid to say = anything.=E2=80=9D
If there were more=20 accountability and choice at the school level, she said, the advocacy = group=20 believes school boards could be eliminated.
While neither the public = nor=20 separate school board chair of trustees in York Region were available = for=20 comment, Chris Cable, communications head with the Catholic board, = suggested=20 schools go out of their way to reach out to parents, pointing to various = initiatives including tours of schools for newcomers, and making it = clear to=20 parents schools want to hear from them when their kids have difficulties = and=20 challenges.
Catherine Fife, president of the Ontario Public School = Boards=E2=80=99=20 Association, says most trustees are =E2=80=9Cextremely = accessible=E2=80=9D =E2=80=94 but the=20 group is aware of the growing concern about school board accountability. =
The=20 association looked into the ombudsman issue after parents in Waterloo = brought=20 bullying concerns to small claims court, but the group decided a public = watchdog=20 was not the answer, she said.
The best approach, the association = decided, was=20 to keep track of official complaints, share school board =E2=80=9Cbest = practices=E2=80=9D in the=20 fall, and to focus on communication with parents.
=E2=80=9CTrustees = do make a lot of=20 difficult decisions,=E2=80=9D she said, =E2=80=9Cand that = doesn=E2=80=99t make us very=20 popular.=E2=80=9D
London=E2=80=99s anti-bully head Corina Morrison = thinks stronger steps are=20 called for. If the parents=E2=80=99 ombudsman and accountability appeals = aren=E2=80=99t heeded,=20 they are considering a =E2=80=9CSunshine List=E2=80=9D: publicizing the = names of each school=20 that has had student safety complaints, and whether parents are happy = with the=20 resolution.
=E2=80=9CIf that=E2=80=99s what we have to do, = shame them in the media=20 every year, then so be it. We=E2=80=99ll do whatever it takes to keep = kids=20 safe.=E2=80=9D

This=20 article is for personal use only courtesy of yorkregion.com - a division = of=20 Metroland Media Group Ltd.