The Fallacies of the Glaze Report, and the Real Issues Compromising N.S. Student Performance

By: Ashley Rice
Published: February 18, 2018

The single greatest and most glaring fallacy that is perpetuated by the Glaze Report, in my opinion, is the idea that our Nova Scotian children are failing compared to the rest of Canada and, ultimately, the world. It is the reason our government claims to have such a great sense of urgency in implementing 11 of Glaze's 22 recommendations right away: our children cannot wait. And, while the spotlight has been cast again and again on administrators being separated from our union, it seems to me to be more important that we inform a generation of children and their parents that, no, Nova Scotian children are not failing and, therefore, the entire premise upon which the Glaze Report is based is false.

While pouring over PISA scores in science, reading, and mathematics, it quickly became apparent that Nova Scotian children met, or were very close to meeting, Canada's national average. And this is one time when being average is good; Canada's national average in the 2015 PISA scores (the most recent data available) places us within the top four countries in the world. 

Certainly, there is room for improvement in our Nova Scotian performance. It is good to keep moving forward. Countries like Finland show us the benefit of properly-funded, valued public education systems. But the collective "we," as a society, should not be allowing a government to base sweeping changes to our education system on a report that hinges on false information that can be verified with a quick Google search. Rather than demanding change because our students are failing, we should be celebrating the fact that, despite the third-highest rate of child poverty in the country in 2017, Nova Scotian children are still ranking close to or at the national average in PISA scores. Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the two provinces with the highest rates of child and family poverty, are far below the national average in science, reading, and mathematics. 

This led me to my next point of investigation: what factors are truly compromising our scores? I waged my bets again that it's not because administrators are in the same union as teachers. So, I turned to the trusty Google once more and started typing in some search terms related to demographics in Nova Scotia. Here are some of the things I learned from a very preliminary search:

Did you know that, between January 2011 and December 2016, there were 2,655 reports of children missing from Nova Scotia's 15 group homes? Those children are in (and out, and back in again) our classrooms. 

Did you know that, according to data collected in the 2017 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Nova Scotia, while 3.9% of children in Fall River live in poverty, 72.7% of children in Eskasoni are living in poverty? 67.8% of Arab children in Nova Scotia live in poverty, compared to the national average of 43.3%. 50.6% of Korean families living in NS live in poverty, compared to a national average of 35.2%. And, to quote the report, "black children make up 43.7 per cent of visible minority children in Nova Scotia and 39.6 per cent of these children are living in poverty" (p. 15). 18 communities in our province have a poverty rate of over 30%. 10 of those communities are in Cape Breton. Think about the varying demographics in our communities, and what those numbers tell us about race and equity in our province. Think about the issues of hunger, physical and mental well-being, and stress that go hand-in-hand with these statistics. All of those children are in our classrooms.

Did you know that Aboriginal children under the age of 14 represented 7% of all children in Canada in 2011, and yet accounted for 48% of all children in foster care in the country? In 2011, Aboriginal people totaled 33,845 in Nova Scotia, comprising 4% of our province's population at that time. I could not pinpoint the total number of Aboriginal children in NS younger than 14, but I did learn that about 4 in 10 (43%) were younger than 25. 2% of Aboriginal children under age 14 living off reserve were in foster care, and 3% of children living on reserve were in care. Of the over 1,000 children in foster care in Nova Scotia, 23% were Aboriginal. We are just beginning to scrape the surface of the iceberg when it comes to reconciliation with our Aboriginal communities. Those children, with the exception of those in federally-mandated MK schools, are in our classrooms.

Did you know that, in 2015, 78% of participating Nova Scotians over the age of 12 self-reported their mental health as either excellent or very good? That was on par with the national average. The number dipped, however, in the most rural areas of the province, with the exception of Cape Breton. It is also not reflective of the rising level of anxiety we are seeing among children in our schools, as reported in a 2016 report by the Public Health Agency of Canada, showing that "the largest relative increases in prevalence [of anxiety] were found among children and youth (aged 5–14 years)." The minute-by-minute access to news, social media, and ensuing societal pressure placed on children in this age is unprecedented. Smartphone usage, anxiety, and difficulty with emotional regulation are very real, and growing, issues in our classrooms. 

Did you know that, as long ago as 2001, nearly one third of Nova Scotian parents who reported having a child with special needs (4.8%, or approximately 7,440 children) had also reported having difficulty accessing special education services? While I haven't found any recent data to address that same question, I would, again, wager that the situation has not improved. If the mid-term report prepared by the Council on Inclusive Education is any indication, we should prepare for a scathing rundown in March of how the current model for inclusive education is serving no one well. Those children with the highest needs - and the biggest hearts - are in our classrooms.

All of those issues manifest themselves every day in classrooms around the province. So, someone please explain to me, in detail and with evidence based in proper research, how removing administrators from the union, abolishing democratically-elected school boards comprising representatives from marginalized populations and rural areas, and centralizing bureaucracy in Halifax is going to have any impact on resolving any of those issues? 

Now, with all of those needs to consider, here are my current legal responsibilities as a teacher, in accordance with the Education Act of Nova Scotia:

It is the duty of a teacher in a public school to

(a)  respect the rights of students;

(b)  teach diligently the subjects and courses of study prescribed by the regulations that are assigned to the teacher by the school board;

(c) implement teaching strategies that foster a positive learning environment aimed at helping students achieve learning out- comes;

(d)  encourage students in the pursuit of learning;

(e)  monitor the effectiveness of the teaching strategies by analyzing outcomes achieved;

(f) acknowledge and, to the extent reasonable, accommodate differences in learning styles;(g) participate in individual-program planning and implement individual program plans, as required, for students with special needs;

(h) review regularly with students their learning expectations and progress;

(i) conduct such assessments and evaluations as are necessary to document student progress;

(j) administer such evaluation and assessment instruments as required by the school board or by the Minister;

(k) take all reasonable steps necessary to create and maintain an orderly and safe learning environment;

(l) maintain appropriate order and discipline in the school or room in the teacher’s charge and report to the principal or other person in charge of the school the conduct of any student who engages in unacceptable behaviour;

(m) maintain an attitude of concern for the dignity and welfare of each student and encourage in each student an attitude of concern for the dignity and welfare of others and a respect for religion, morality, truth, justice, love of country, humanity, equality, industry, temperance and all other virtues;

(n)  attend to the health, comfort and safety of the students;

(o)  report immediately to the principal the existence of any infectious or contagious disease in the school or the existence of any unsanitary condition in the school buildings or surroundings, and perform such duties as are from time to time prescribed by or under the Health Protection Act;

(p) take all reasonable steps to secure full and regular attendance at school of the students under the teacher’s supervision;

(q) keep accurate attendance records and report absent students to the principal as prescribed by the regulations;

(r) communicate regularly with parents in accordance with policies established by the school board;

(s) keep such records as are required by the school board or the Minister and permit the inspection of those records by the board, the superintendent or superintendent’s representative, the principal, the supervisor and the Minister or Minister’s representative or, upon their request, provide the records to them;

(t) assist in the development and implementation of the school improvement plan;

(u)  maintain their professional competence;

(v)  serve, to the extent reasonable, on committees established within the school to improve student achievement and success;

(w) implement programs and courses as prescribed by the public school program; and

(x) perform such other duties as are prescribed by this Act or the regulations.

Furthermore, the Special Education Policy of Nova Scotia adds, "Teachers are responsible for teaching all students who are placed under their supervision and care. This includes responsibility for safety and well-being, as well as program planning, implementation, and evaluation. This is not a responsibility that can be transferred or delegated to non-teaching staff (Education Act, sections 26 and 38)" (p. 6). 

And, for each documented adaptation we make, or Individual Program Plan we write, this is the process we have typically had to follow:

I have 10 children out of my 45 students this year who have Individualized Program Plans. 30 of my children have documented adaptations. That means that, for 67% of my students, I am in some phase of this process. Keep in mind, this is just for academic needs. There are also behavioural needs, for which more paperwork is required, as well as the socioeconomic factors from above.

In order to implement the Glaze Report recommendations, there will need to be changes made to the teachers' current contract - an imposed contract, but a contract, nonetheless. There will need to be changes made to teachers' collective bargaining agreements, and to the Education Act I cited above, potentially changing our legal duties as teachers without consultation or negotiation. Further to that, why have contracts and collective bargaining if changes can be legislated before a contract even expires? If the upcoming legislation is allowed to pass, this sets the standard for all contracts and collective bargaining in this province, rendering unions, and the principles for which they stand, null and void. To the nearly 100,000 public sector employees in this province, that, if nothing else, should be a matter of serious concern.

Going back to the various challenges in meeting student needs, let's take a look at the support that is given. And by support, I mean the actual people and resources on the ground in the classroom and schools who are going to help me (and the 9,300 others like me) meet the needs of my precious little people every day. I'll start by saying that, as of 2014, Nova Scotia ranked 10th of the 13 provinces and territories in per capita student funding, spending an average of $2,480 per student. Nunavut, ranking first, spends an average of $7,258 per student. Now, here is the standard resource grid applied when determining the funding for special education to be allotted to each school board in Nova Scotia. I will quote again from Nova Scotia's Special Education Policy:

The special education formula funding grant is determined by the application of a special education support matrix, which applies funded enrollment against a standard resource grid to derive a full-time equivalent number, which is then valued based on a board’s average teacher salary. 

The standard resource grid applies the following ratios: 

• resource teachers 1:16 

• speech language 1:2,000 

• psychology 1:2,500 

• administration 1:7,000 

• support for intensive needs students funded at 1:10 or 1.76 percent of the total population 

• teacher assistants 1:10

... 


In order to provide these programs and services, boards may charge against the special education grant the salaries and benefits of  

persons to direct, develop, implement, and evaluate special education programs and services 

special education/resource teachers 

school psychologists 

speech-language pathologists 

teacher assistants others as approved by the Minister of Education

Salary and benefit costs of these personnel may be prorated on the basis of the percentage of time spent in providing special education programs and services. 

School boards may enhance programs and services for students with special needs by co-operating with other school boards or agencies in the sharing of personnel, provided that they are personnel within the above categories.

Boards may use the allocated grant money for the specific staffing positions indicated, for transportation of that staff between schools and boards (increasing the area that specialist may be responsible for covering), and for purchasing materials to support student programming. There have been some promises to change those ratios after last year's legislation, but the impact has not yet been felt in classrooms. As with everything else, it is important to consider that the allocation of resources is numbers-based. That means that larger schools and centres, like Halifax, are likely going to receive more than smaller areas, like South Shore and Tri-County. The needs are no less serious, just fewer in number, resulting in less support, and a longer distance to travel. If Minister Churchill would like to implement any recommendation from the Glaze Report, it might be wiser to start with Recommendation 5, which states, "Make all schools “wrap-around” facilities, where students and families can promptly access support from any government department, not just for education, but also support from mental health professionals, health care providers, justice, family services, and so on" (p. 31). Rural schools with dwindling populations would certainly have the space to house those resources. That is a suggestion that would almost certainly address some of the broader societal factors affecting Nova Scotian student performance, and would have a positive impact in classrooms and communities. 

So, after a bit of research, I must ask the following questions of my democratically-elected government, with all of the sincerity in my heart: how - how - can a government justify widespread changes in an education system based on false information that the general public can fact-check in seconds? How can a government state that the reshuffling of existing bureaucracy and a further centralization of resources is going to result in savings for the classroom? How, in good conscience, can a government continue to be apathetic about one third of our children living in poverty, all the while kicking them while they are down by telling them that they are failing? Sorry. That teachers are failing them. How can it be more lucrative to focus on a weakening of unions and the centralization of power, rather than investing in the one resource that will shape the future of our province - a well-educated generation of children?

Institutions cannot raise children. Yet, if you turn on the news or the radio at any time of the day, you will hear that "we have to do a better job" at teaching everything from mindfulness to financial management to social skills in schools. More and more, society views the public education system as responsible for raising good citizens and balanced humans, as well as producing students who are academically capable of scoring high on international standardized tests. More and more, our classrooms are being undercut by reports and studies to study the effects of the reports and studies, and the teacher's knowledgeable voice is lost in other agendas. You can't have it both ways. Look at those statistics above about the socioeconomic demographics of our province. Look at the PISA scores with your own eyes. Nova Scotian teachers have been doing a remarkable job of patching the holes in the system for a long time. We are a creative, innovative, and capable bunch. But, if you want to find ways that we can really improve in this province - and not simply ways that we can turn education into a business model to benefit private corporations - you're not going to do it by moving Administrators out of a union, or axing the democratically-elected school boards who are paid the least, or by centralizing more bureaucracy in Halifax. The College of Educators could be a completely separate post for another day. To make true change, you need to picture the 45 little faces to whom I am accountable each and every single day and you need to come down to their level for a minute. And once you're there, you will see the need for more EA support, more resource support, more psychologist support, more SLP support, less standardized testing, and more faith in your front-line professionals. 

Teachers and administrators are the ones holding the ship together, Mr. Churchill, and they have been doing it for a long time, some longer than I - and you - have been alive. 

If I vote in favour of giving my union a strike mandate on Tuesday, it will not be because of any one of the recommendations in the Glaze Report. It is because facts matter, and I sincerely hope that my union will use the strike mandate to educate and focus on the broader issues at play in our province, not create more exclamation-mark-ridden bulletins and facetious PR campaigns about "The Department of Divide and Distract." If I vote yes on Tuesday, it will be because you cannot build anything upon a foundation that is not solid, and the entire premise of the Glaze Report - that our students are failing - is a lie. The only way our students will fail is at the hands of successive governments who refuse to address the real issues of child poverty, mental health, inequity, and lack of funding that are holding our children back in this province. If we had as great a sense of urgency to fix those problems as we do to remove administrators from the union, imagine the Nova Scotia we might envision.