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Nova Scotia classroom conditions council off to good start: teacher

Click to play video: 'Nova Scotia classroom conditions council emerges from 1st meeting with 18 recommendations'
Nova Scotia classroom conditions council emerges from 1st meeting with 18 recommendations
WATCH: After an initial round of meetings, the Council to Improve Classroom Conditions already has 18 recommendations to improve classroom conditions in Nova Scotia. Jennifer Grudic reports – Mar 23, 2017

A teacher on a new committee examining ways to improve classroom conditions in Nova Scotia’s public schools says progress is being made after an initial three days of talks.

READ MORE: Hundreds of teachers apply for classroom conditions council

Michael Cosgrove, an English teacher at Dartmouth High School, is one of nine teachers on the 14-member Council to Improve Classroom conditions.

The council was struck following a protracted labour dispute that saw the province impose a contract on more than 9,000 unionized teachers.

Cosgrove says the teachers put forward 18 recommendations and made immediate progress on issues around student attendance policies, evaluations and the data software used by teachers, including PowerSchool and TIENET.

He says after an initial period of “healthy skepticism,” he now believes the committee process can work as it moves to finalize an initial set of recommendations for a report due by April 28.

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READ MORE: Nova Scotia classroom conditions council members chosen in wake of Bill 75

The council has a $20-million budget that is expected to be spent over two years.

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