The superintendent of the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows School District has weighed in on the results of a consultation process about preferred secondary school schedules.
Consultations took place at the six secondary schools across SD42, in addition to Connex SD42 Alternative Secondary and Outreach Alternate Secondary, since April to see whether students, staff, and families, preferred to remain on a linear schedule, where students have to manage eight classes at once and remain in the same courses for the full school year. Or, transition to a semester schedule, where students manage four courses per semester which resets in February.
A working group – consisting of representatives from secondary administration, Indigenous education, learning services, human resources, safe and caring schools, and communications – reviewed the input gathered from the consultations and developed school-specific recommendations.
Superintendent Teresa Downs weighed in on the recommendations at five of the six schools.
Downs said she is supporting the recommendations for Maple Ridge Secondary, Pitt Meadows Secondary, and Samuel Robertson Technical, to remain on the linear schedule, and also supporting recommendations that Westview Secondary School transition to a semester model beginning in the 2027/28 school year.
However, she is not supporting recommendations that Thomas Haney Secondary transition to a semester model.
“The school’s self-directed learning community is built on the flexibility of the linear model as a way to foster student independence. I recognize that a shift to a semester model could negatively impact programs and opportunities that are central to the school’s culture,” Downs said in the “What We Heard” report that details the results of the consultations
With a student preference for a semester model, Downs said, staff at the school are now expected to reflect and respond by exploring how the existing model can be revised or refined to maintain flexibility and independence, while strengthening support for learners.
The district promised they would gather input about which system best supports students at each of the six secondary schools after moving back to a linear schedule following the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw schools temporarily shift away from the traditional linear model, to a quarter system, and then to a semester schedule, to comply with social distancing rules and health and safety measures at the time.
Since April there have been surveys and student pop-up booths collecting opinions.
Recommendations were based on manageable student workload, manageable staff workload, support for student success, support for positive connections, and responsiveness to diverse learning needs.
The superintendent considered the recommendations alongside other educational and operational factors before making final decisions for each school.
A separate survey was developed for Garibaldi Secondary, as the school must remain on the linear schedule to maintain its alignment with the International Baccalaureate program.
Students, families, and staff there were asked questions like what supports do they need to be successful in this model, and how many tutorial blocks are ideal.
Both students and families at Connex and Outreach said they preferred the semester model, although the sample size of participants was much lower than at the other secondary schools because the student population is much smaller. Staff at Connex also preferred the semester model, although staff at Outreach preferred the linear model.
However, Irena Pochop, spokesperson for the school district, explained Connex and Outreach Alternate Secondary, were not part of the secondary schedule decision, as these programs already operate on schedules tailored to the needs of the students they serve.
“These programs will continue using their existing structures. They were included in the consultation to ensure their perspectives and needs were also reflected in the overall findings,” she said.
Downs thanked the working group, in addition to everyone who took part in the process.
“Your voices matter, and your insights have shaped the decisions outlined,” she said.
“Thank you to each school community for the work that now begins, to reflect on what was heard, to consider what must change, and to act in ways that strengthen student learning and well-being.”