Chilliwack Board of Education to consider two motions on academic performance from trustee Heather Maahs
CHILLIWACK — The Chilliwack Board of Education will consider two motions from trustee Heather Maahs at its meeting this week that call for detailed reports on academic, reading and math skills of Chilliwack elementary and middle school students.
According to the text of two motions that appear on page 41 of the 44-page board package for Tuesday’s school board meeting, Maahs is asking Superintendent Rohan Arul-pragasam to provide two information reports to the board that offer greater insight and understanding around student performance metrics.
The first motion seeks a detailed report on academic, reading and math skills of middle school students since the grade reconfiguration was implemented in Chilliwack School District.
“This should include cohorts from before and after the grade reconfiguration was implemented,” the motion from Maahs explicitly states. “The Chance Alternate middle school’s student population should be included in this data (as the school was closed at the same time grade reconfiguration took place). Please provide a timeline for when the Board will receive this report.”
Maahs says several fundamental changes to the delivery of educational services to students have taken place over the years that provide the school district with a differentiated approach to the acquisition of fundamental reading and math skills for different age groups in our district.
“It is important for the Board to understand how the changes have affected reading and math skills in our students. Each year, the Board contemplates budget priorities and spending allocations. It is essential that the Board is updated on the affect these decisions and priorities are having on student progress. It would be of great benefit to the Board if these reports could be provided before we contemplate budget allocations,” Maahs said.
The second motion from Maahs asks Arul-pragasam to provide a detailed report on the academic, reading and math acquisition skills in elementary school students since the closure of what she calls the “pull-out programs at Bernard Elementary and McCammon Elementary.”
“This report will be for all elementary students and should include all cohorts,” Maahs wrote in her stated motion. “Please provide a timeline for when the Board will receive this report.”
In her statement of rationale, Maahs reports several fundamental changes to the delivery of educational services to students have taken place over the years that provide educators with a differentiated approach to the acquisition of fundamental reading and math skills for different age groups in our district.
“It is important for the Board to understand how the changes have affected reading and math skills in our students,” Maahs said. “Each year, the Board contemplates budget priorities and spending allocations. It is essential that the Board is updated on the affect these decisions and priorities are having on student progress. It would be of great benefit to the Board if these reports could be provided before we contemplate budget allocations.”
These two motions from Maahs only appeared in the trustee report section of the February 2024 meeting, so they were not placed as an actionable items at that meeting. These two motions now appear as items 5.4 and 5.5, respectively, on Tuesday’s school board agenda.