Local school boards buying skateboards, flight simulators and air conditioning

WATERLOO REGION — Local school boards are pledging more help for students who have special needs, more air conditioning for overheated kids, new help for kids who skateboard to school, and even flight simulators to study aviation.

Public and Catholic schools in Waterloo Region will spend more than $1.1 billion to educate students in the coming school year, according to budgets recently approved by education trustees.

The boards will be hiring 267 more teachers and classrooms assistants as enrolment surges by 2,100 students in September, compared to a year ago.

Salaries for teachers and staff will consume most school spending, which has increased at twice the inflation rate (per student) since 2005.

Citing provincial direction and local needs, trustees have endorsed a few new initiatives.

Under provincial direction, boards are launching expert teams to better support students with special education needs. Teams will work to reduce wait lists for assessment.

“It is hoped that these new supports will enhance the educational experience of our most vulnerable students,” Shesh Maharaj, treasurer of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, wrote in unveiling the initiative.

A new team at the Waterloo Region District School Board will include a psychologist, speech pathologist, child and youth workers, educational assistants and behavioural analysts.

The team will complete student assessments, consult with school staff, help implement classroom strategies, and work directly with students to help them learn, the public board says.

The Catholic board is hiring four coaches to help train teachers in professional development. It’s adding technology by buying more Chromebooks, laptops and projectors.

Catholic schools are also getting new bike racks, scooter racks and storage for skateboards.

“We are hopeful that more students will choose to travel to school in active ways instead of being driven to school,” Maharaj wrote.

Boards are hiring more guidance counsellors to help students in Grades 7 and 8 prepare for high school.

Schools want to get younger students planning for their futures in a community where students graduate at a rate in Ontario’s bottom third.

The public board is hiring more social workers to help high school students who have mental health needs, and to help high school students at risk of dropping out.

This region has seen a surge in students who are learning English. To respond, the public board is hiring almost five more educational assistants. The Catholic board is hiring almost three new teachers and possibly more.

Public schools have seen an extra 1,361 students learning English in the last two years, prompting the board to expand instruction in English as a second language.

The public board will provide more training for teachers and others who might face violent students. That’s after reports soared of students hitting, kicking and biting teachers and staff.

To improve the well-being of students and staff, the public board will spend part of $4 million to chill six schools that lack air conditioning. Schools getting air conditioning include Howard Robertson, Forest Hill, Rockway, Wilson Avenue, Queen Elizabeth and J.F. Carmichael.

Many classrooms in public high schools are getting new furniture that will make it easier for math teachers to work more closely with students. The cost is just over $1 million. This is based partly on feedback that desks and chairs currently in place make it hard for teachers and students to collaborate.

The public board is spending $337,000 to buy six flight simulators, partnering in an aviation program with the regional airport, the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College.

Aviation training is seen as an innovation to help students learn math and build confidence. It’s hoped the simulators will steer students toward jobs in an “exciting industry” that needs more qualified people, the public board says.

Go to therecord.com to track surge in school spending.