Pictou mayor disturbed over school losing tech-ed, family studies

Pictou’s mayor is insulted that a school in his town is losing two longtime elective courses next year.

Mayor Jim Ryan told council Monday he wrote a letter to Gary Adams, regional director of education for the Chignecto-Central Regional Centre for Education, after hearing that technology education, which involves woodworking, and family studies, which includes food/nutrition, would not be offered to students at McCulloch Education Centre in 20182019.

“This is very disturbing considering that programs are available to middle school students in most, if not all, other schools throughout Nova Scotia,” he said in his letter to Adams. “In fact, new construction is currently taking place at another school within Pictou County including the facilities necessary to offer these programs.”

Ryan, a former principal of Pictou Academy, was vocal with his concerns during a school review process in 2016 that resulted in reconfiguration of classes with the former Pictou Elementary becoming McCulloch Education Centre with classes from Primary to 8. The Pictou Academy building was closed and students from grades 9 to 12 moved into the former Dr. Thomas McCulloch Junior High, renamed Pictou Academy.

He said these courses have been available to middle school children since 1971 at McCulloch School and even though they are considered electives, he believes they provide valuable learning experience.

“As you recall in April 2017, when the resolution was passed by CCRSB to reconfigure grades within the Town of Pictou, the non-existence of appropriate technology education facilities at the former Pictou Elementary School was discussed,” he wrote. “At the time, Dr. Chris Boulter very clearly indicated that arrangements would be made to insure these programs remained available to grade 7 and 8 students by busing students to Pictou Academy.”

He said this did happen in the 2017-2018 school year and they can continue to be offered this way until a more permanent solution is found.

“I find this insulting,” he told council Monday during a committee of whole meeting. “I really believe our kids deserve these programs.”

Coun. Dan Currie said he was told the school would be replacing these programs with music and art.

Ryan said decision to expand McCulloch Education Centre to a Primary to 8 school was “shortsighted” and now the former school boards decisions are coming back to “bite them.” He also expressed concern about overcrowding in the school, forcing some classes to be held in the library, in addition to narrowing the school’s chance to host a pre-primary class.

“I have been advised that McCulloch Education Centre is used to its full capacity and due to the lack of appropriate space would be unable to accommodate a preprimary class should the opportunity exist within the next few years,” he wrote to Adams. “The inability to offer this program would be detrimental to future school enrolments in Pictou schools and unfair to families within the town and surrounding areas.”

Since school boards in the province have been disbanded, Ryan said it is time for Adams and the Department of Education to make decisions that are “creative and considerate” of all students and communities.

Ryan asked Adams to make sure students in grades 7 and 8 at McCulloch continue to have access to technology education and family studies by providing busing to Pictou Academy.

The town is also “strongly recommending” that the province’s education department build a new gymnasium, presentation centre and four classrooms in the current Pictou Academy so grades 7 and 8 can be relocated to the school with appropriate space for programming in both schools.

Ryan said since staffing is now being decided for the upcoming school year he would like his concerns addressed by Adams in the near future.

Jennifer Rodgers, communication manager with the Chignecto-Central Reginal Education Centre, said McCulloch Education Centre has expanded the electives provided to grades 7 and 8.

“In doing so, the principal has also explored ways to deliver all electives on site in order to minimize any disruptions to instructional time. There will still be opportunities available for students at McCulloch Education Centre to continue to access labs (such as woodworking) at Pictou Academy and the Chignecto-Central Regional Centre for Education is prepared to provide transportation. Such opportunities could be incorporated into the programming or offered as a co-curricular experience,” she said.

Rodgers said staffing and scheduling of electives reside with the principal who has consulted with the school advisory council, the family of schools supervisor as well as the CCRCE youth pathways consultant who supports programming such as technology education.

“We applaud the principal’s efforts to look for creative ways to increase the number of choices offered to students, recognizing that student engagement is strongly supported by elements of choice. The attention to best use of instructional time is also appreciated,” she said.

She said in regard to the mayor’s concern about McCulloch as a potential pre-primary site, the CCRCE is still in the planning process for potential school sites for the 20192020 and 2020-2021 pre-primary site locations.

Currently, McCulloch Education Centre is well utilized as a school, but not over capacity. Current enrolment projections suggest that there will be space if offered in the future.