Steve Payne, Chief Information Officer, and Chris Stewart, Technology Enabled Learning Teacher Contact, shared information on Board initiatives for Cyber Safety Awareness Month, which was held in October in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Educational Collaborative Network of Ontario (ECNO). The month-long campaign for students in Kindergarten through grade 12 included weekly themes such as online safety and phishing, risks of using Generative AI, online gaming, and the importance of disconnecting.
“You have certainly captured the activities that took place throughout this very special month, and it has been wonderful to see the ways that schools have adapted the different themes. Thank you for sharing details of how this week came to life within our schools,” concluded Chair Wilson.
Supporting Multilingual Language Learners (MLL)
Brenda Reil, Principal of Curriculum and Denise McCabe, MLL Consultant, presented information and data on how the Board is supporting and building capacity for multilingual language learners. Multilingual Language Learners are students whose first language is a language other than English or is a variety of English that is significantly different from the variety of English used for instruction in Ontario’s schools.
As of mid-December, there were a total of 1260 students classified as Multilingual Language Learners in the CDSBEO, and our MLL students come from 94 distinct birth countries outside of Canada. The Board’s MLL programming follows the Integrated Support Model, which has students immersed directly into mainstream classes at the age-appropriate grade level, and teachers successfully differentiate instruction to support student acquisition of English, but also student learning of subject matter. In addition, targeted high schools also provide students with ESL class sections. The Board is also supporting MLL students through various tools such as step assessments to collect proficiency data, integrated technology tools, small scale targeted professional development, and through the provision of quality professional development through ERGO (the provincial organization of system MLL leads).
