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Delta school board chair supports Falcon’s master teacher system

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Delta, BC: Delta School Board chair Dale Saip is expressing his support for BC Liberal leadership candidate Kevin Falcon’s strategy to develop great teachers and improve educational outcomes for BC students.

“As an advocate for public education and a school trustee for more than 20 years, I'm always encouraged to see education being given the priority and consideration it deserves,” said Saip. “I am in full support of exploring new directions that present an opportunity to improve upon how we provide the best possible learning experiences for our children. Teachers need to feel they will be given support to develop more effective practice!”

Yesterday, Falcon announced that he would work with teachers, administrators, parents, and community leaders to develop a set of criteria for identifying innovative educators across BC. Recognized Master Teachers would then help mentor other educators in the system to encourage excellence in the system.

“Education is changing at a very rapid rate and we have seen significant improvements in the development of children as a whole by being willing to embrace change and take positive steps towards how we 'do', or more specifically 'have done' education,” said Saip. “If we are unwilling to embrace change it comes at the expense of our children. We can’t afford to be shortsighted in that respect.

“When an opportunity like the Master Teacher Incentive Program can improve upon our model or make advancements in the system, I feel we owe it to our children to explore it. How we move forward in that certainly requires further discussion, but I think it's critical to remain open to having those conversations.”

As Premier, Falcon would also support the development of a Model School Incentive Program that potentially rewards schools for improvements in areas such as grades, attendance, graduation rate, trades programs, and arts.

Falcon has a keen interest in education for several reasons, including family and friends who work in the school system.

The BC Liberal Party leadership vote will take place on February 26, 2011. For more information, visit kevinfalcon.com

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Contact:
Dale Saip

Trevor Pancoust
Media Relations for Kevin Falcon

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