2002/03 Annual Service Plan Report Ministry of Education

Message from the Deputy

We are changing education in BC and we have accomplished a lot together over the past year.

I have had the opportunity to meet and work with many dedicated education partners throughout the province. I would like to thank the staff of the Ministry of Education and all education partners for working so hard to bring policy into practice in our education reform.

Student achievement has been at the centre of all our decision-making. We have focused our efforts on improving student achievement by providing more autonomy for school boards, more choice and flexibility in the way we do business, more public accountability for performance, a less prescriptive funding formula and more meaningful involvement for parents.

It has been a busy agenda. Some of our accomplishments include the creation of School Planning Councils (SPC), the requirement for accountability contracts for all districts, improved standards for Distributed Electronic Learning (DEL), and the ability for school boards to create corporate entities so as to explore entrepreneurial opportunities.

As we move forward with our student achievement agenda, we will need to continue to work together. We will need innovative ideas and effective implementation of policies and practices to provide BC students with the best possible education system.

If we recognize the potential in all students, they will begin to see it in themselves.

Emery Dosdall
Deputy Minister of Education