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ata A EIA XSI I "WEEKEND STAR" CALND VARY AT FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2001 -3 Ecker announces new guidelines Province's tough talk worries Durham official By Rik Davie The Star A Durham District School Board superinten- dent sees serious prob- lems on the horizon after the latest set of changes to education announced last week. Bev Freedman is the board's superintendent for programs. She says Education Minister Janet Ecker's proposal to expand province-wide testing to include all grades and impose stricter standards for passing each grade are "vague, and could cause us real problems." "One thing that I know is that 1 will not allow our pro- grams to revert to a time when we had 15-year-olds in Grade 5," Ms Freedman said of the government's plan to impose stricter standards for promotion in the school system. Freedman "There are many factors besides actual grades that go into deciding to keep a student back, or to pro- mote them, for that mat- ter," she said. "These are much more complex than just academic success." Education Ecker told the provincial legislature last week that Township officials have asked municipal staff to look into the fea- sibility: of installing a three-way stop near the south end of Union Ave. in the Prince Albert area. The study was ordered last week after members of Scugog's works committee Steven Edwards, a Union Ave, resident who has called for a three- way stop at the intersec- tion with Josephine St. road. He has also asked the township to install calming zones into the road surface, which act as speed bumps. is heavily used by local Committee members agreed that. Unién Ave. Township looks at three-way stop for received a letter from to slow traffic on the' - traffic and construction crews, and poses a safe- ty risk to pedestrians because of a lack of sidewalks. But Ward 2 Councillor Marilyn Peace ques- tioned whether a three- way stop would be the answer. "m not a big fan of three-way stops. They don't work because... people coast through them, they don't stop," | she said. 4 "We need to survey the other residents on how they feel about a . 5 three-way stop and get . some input from staff." | Committee members were also told that no ° 'petition has been circu- lated around the neigh- 'bourhood there asking. for a three-way stop. FAS Talent aiiction'; S tonight « lonated: all articles to be The Seagrave United Church is hosting a talent and live auction. . ': | The auctiori will te held in the church base- ment tonight, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. The community has eavestrough being built. More than 65 items are available, including a Lishman Fur Cape and Toronto Blue Jay tickets. Minister v "auctionied' with proceeds going to a new well: and ksi advancing grades in Ontario schools is about to become tougher for stu- dents. "To ensure that Ontario's students have the skills they will need, the government will require that schools pro- mote only those students who achieve at an accept- able level," said the minis- ter, also MPP for the : ; | -- EB 1S wiv] [ Qf | | § . ---- aK ~. 0) Uxbridge area. Ms Freedman said the minister's announcement is yet another vague hint of what's to come from the province. "We don't know what the government means by acceptable, so we don't know how much pressure will be put on students to perform," she said. Ms Freedman sees one / f Vay area where the new pro- posals could have a severe impact on students: spe- cial education. "With students who have special needs and modified school programs, we are simply not going to begin failing those stu- dents out of hand," said the superintendent. "It is a far more complex issue for 'these students." Ms Freedman fears an increase in the drop-out rate if strict guidelines for passing or failing grades are implemented. One thing we know from | days gone by: the idea is to- keep kids in school," said Ms Freedman "And when we failed more kids, more kids dropped out. Itiis that sim- ple. " LF a AND TINO he COMBI HAL S A T S0T00 STA Aa SAING Qhp Hoi NA oa