CENTRAL OKANAGAN — As the school year officially draws to a close, the Central Okanagan school district has released the following information bulletin on how the labour dispute will affect regular year end procedures, including report cards. It reads:
Dear Parents/Guardians:
As you are aware, the Provincial labour dispute between the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) and the BC Public
School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) is ongoing. Because of this, the normal year-end activities have been
interrupted and we now need to provide parents with further information about what to expect in the immediate
future. The Labour Relations Board (LRB) has deemed some areas as essential, such as final marks for Grade 10
and 11 students, as well as final marks and report cards for Grade 12 students.
REPORT CARDS
Grade 12 Students – Students have now written the mandatory Provincial Exams, and these have been sent to the
Ministry of Education for marking (as is the normal practice). Schools are currently entering the final school-based
marks for these students and will be generating a report card to mail home to parents during the week of
June 30 to July 4, 2014. These report cards will appear very similar to ones that have been received in the past,
with the exception of teacher comments. Once the Provincial Exams are marked, the Ministry will combine the
school and exam marks to generate the final marks for the courses. These marks are then printed on an official
transcript that is mailed to students at their home address in the middle of the summer. The Ministry will also send
the transcript information to any post-secondary institution that the student has requested.
Grade 10 and 11 Students – Based on the LRB ruling, teachers of Grade 10 and 11 courses have been provided
with the marks that are currently in our student information system for verification. Schools will receive
confirmation of the final marks for these students by the end of the day on Friday, June 27th. Once this has been
completed, secondary schools will be entering the most recent marks into our system during the week of June 30th
to July 4th. They will then print report cards which will be mailed out to parents as soon as possible after July 4th.
Again, these reports will look similar to what parents are used to with the exception of teacher comments.
Kindergarten to Grade 9 Students – Because marks and report cards for these students have not been ruled to be
an essential service, we will not be in position to produce a typical year-end report card at this time. Instead,
parents will receive a report in the mail from their child’s school that includes the student’s attendance and
promotion standing. Our hope is that we will be able to communicate more detailed information to parents once
the job action is resolved and everyone returns to work.
OTHER YEAR-END ROUTINES
Individual schools will make arrangements for students and/or parents to come in and pick up any personal
belongings and to drop off outstanding library and textbooks. Your school will provide more information on this.
COMMUNICATION
Parents are encouraged to review information posted on the District’s website as well as in the local media. Any
updates on the current dispute will be noted there.
Thank you for your patience and understanding during this challenging time.
Sincerely,
Hugh Gloster
Superintendent of Schools
For comments, please contact:
Moyra Baxter, Chairperson of the Board of Education, 250-767-6153 or 778-214-5588
Hugh Gloster, Superintendent of Schools, 250-470-3256
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