The open door philosophy at Westcot elementary swings both ways, says principal Cathie Ratz.
It’s about welcoming people in to the school who have passions and knowledge to share with students but also about encouraging families to get involved in West Vancouver’s wider community.
Whether that’s high school kids from Sentinel helping students with storytelling or getting students involved in a science project to launch worms into outer space, it’s obviously working.
Westcot, a school of about 360 students at the base of the British Properties, is one of only two public schools in the province – along with West Vancouver’s West Bay elementary – to gain top marks in B.C., along with 20 private schools, in the Fraser Institute’s annual report card on academic performance. Both Westcot and West Bay earned a 10 out of 10 score on the controversial report card, which bases its rankings on grade 4 and 7 scores on the Ministry of Education’s standardized Foundation Skills Assessment tests in math, reading and writing.
Word of mouth about the school’s academic achievements is spreading. A number of students come to the school from homes outside of the West Vancouver school district. When registration for next year’s kindergarten class opens on Oct. 15, Ratz knows her phone will start ringing.
Unlike the top-ranked private schools in the province, Westcot has a significant number of English language learners among its student population – almost 28 per cent, according to ministry data.
“That’s the nature of all of our schools,” said Ratz. “The face of our community is a multicultural face.”
The school makes it a priority to invite families in, through events like its annual ELL parent tea – and to encourage them to get involved in the larger community.
“We see that as critical to success – being on the soccer team or the field hockey team or going to our West Vancouver library,” said Ratz. “We know if our students are involved in the community …they’re going to do better.”
Academic achievement is also a focus. Professional development has centred on math teaching, and students who are keen are supported through participation in Caribou Math Club, an online contest run by Brock University. Students can also log on to the online tool Math IXL to practise.
The school tracks students’ literacy progress formally twice a year “to see if we hit the mark,” said Ratz. “We are constantly reflective of our practice and looking at ways we can improve.”
Westcot and West Bay aren’t the only schools that scored at the top of the annual report card. Other elementary schools that score at or near the top of the academic list included Cedardale, Chartwell, Pauline Johnson, Caulfeild and Ridgeview public schools in West Vancouver, Collingwood and Mulgrave private schools in West Vancouver, and Cousteau, Holy Trinity, St. Pius X and Brockton Preparatory schools in North Vancouver.
North Vancouver’s Upper Lynn elementary was also acknowledged in the report as the third fastest-improving school in the province, as measured by the FSA test scores. Student scores in Grade 4 math and reading, Grade 7 math and the overall percentage of students whose results met provincial expectations for their grade level improved dramatically at the school over the past five years.
Both the Fraser Institute’s annual report cards and the provincial FSA tests on which those are based remain controversial, with many educators arguing the rankings give preferential treatment to private schools, only represent a snapshot of academic achievement and ignore other skills being measured by classroom teachers all the time.
