This is where you will find information on PAC meetings, fundraising, events, contacts, volunteer opportunities, and parent resources.
BYNG ARTS RESTRUCTURING
This page details in reverse chronological order the announcement that four Byng Arts cohort classes (50% of the cohort classes) were being removed from the Byng Arts curriculum and the massive parent response that ensued.
March 1 2024 Update (link to BA main page)
The PAC Byng Arts Subcommittee was invited to a meeting with Admin on Wednesday, Feb. 28. At this meeting the committee was informed that Byng would be reinstating Byng Arts English 10. The other three full-cohort Byng Arts courses that were cut (Byng Arts English 11, Byng Arts English 12, and Byng Arts Socials 10) would not be reinstated. Additionally, Admin said that they would create a Byng Arts-enriched version of Career Life Education 10, Career Life Connections 11, and Capstone 12. These classes are currently off-timetable but presumably, some components of these classes will be moved to regular school hours. Admin also informed the committee that they were restructuring FIT (Flexible Instructional Time) time for the whole school for 2024 and that they envisioned this new BA-flavoured CLE/CLC/Capstone class could sometimes take place during FIT. The subcommittee has emailed a more detailed summary of this latest meeting to the Byng Arts Parents email list. If you are a current Byng Arts parent and would like to receive the meeting summary or other updates, please fill out this Google form with your contact information.
The subcommittee would like to thank all parents who reached out to share their thoughts. We were grateful for the feedback from parents who were against the cuts, as well as from parents who were for the cuts. We also received feedback from non-Byng Arts parents as well as from parents whose kids are hoping to apply to Byng Arts. It is clear that the Byng Arts mini-school is a cherished and much-needed arts program and the committee will continue to advocate for a learning environment that supports all learners.
This graphic shows the number of cohort classes offered at each of the mini-programs in Vancouver. For Byng Arts, we averaged the number of cohort classes among the 6 streams (Band, Choir, Drama, Media Arts, Visual Arts)
Feb 27, 2024 Update
The PAC Byng Arts Subcommittee hosted an all-BA parents Zoom meeting on Feb 25 and met with Byng admin on Monday, February 26. The meeting was productive and admin will be providing the committee with an update sometime this week. In the meantime, the deadline for course selections for 2024 is now March 4, 2024. The Subcommittee is grateful to have had the opportunity to share parents' concerns with admin. A more in-depth summary of the meeting, as well as the slide deck of the presentation made by the Byng Arts Subcommittee, have been shared with the Byng Arts Parents email list. If you are a current Byng Arts parent and would like to receive the summary or slide deck (or other updates), please fill out this Google form with your contact information.
Feb 22, 2024 Update
On February 15, 2024, Byng Admin hosted a Byng Arts information session on MS Teams. 186 Byng Arts parents/guardians attended. The purpose of this session was for Admin to provide additional explanation for why the full-cohort Byng Arts courses from grades 10 and up had been removed from the program.
At this session, Admin also announced that they were postponing the deadline for course selections so that they could reflect on the feedback given to them regarding the proposed changes to the Byng Arts mini-school course offerings.
Over the Family Day weekend, the PAC Byng Arts Subcommittee wrote an open letter to Admin asking that the classes that were removed from the 2024 Course Planning Guide be reinstated. The letter also asked that Admin begin an engagement process with teachers, parents, and students to determine how ongoing capacity and scheduling issues may be addressed without removing courses and programs integral to the Byng Arts mini-school. The letter has been signed by ~150 families and was given to Admin on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The committee welcomes additional signatures! If you are a current Byng Arts family and would like to view and sign the letter, please email the Byng Arts Parents group (byngartsparents@gmail.com) for the link.
The committee has also been working on:
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Compiling data related to enrollment and capacity of all VSB secondary schools (data from VSB, Ministry of Education)
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Consulting with the District PAC regarding best practices for engaging with VSB staff and trustees on this issue (via attendance at the DPAC exec meeting Feb 15, 2024)
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Consulting with Byng Arts teachers regarding the proposed changes (via phone, email, Zoom)
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Consulting with Byng Arts families about how the proposed changes might affect them (Feb 15 Zoom, 80+ families, via WhatsApp);
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Consulting with the broader Byng community about their perceptions of the Byng Arts mini-school;
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Compiling data related to how the Byng Arts mini-school course offerings compare with all other VSB mini-schools (data from VSB)
Feb. 14, 2024 Update
On February 7, 2024, Byng Administration announced a restructuring of the Byng Arts Mini Program for Grades 10 and above effective September 2024. The program remains the same for grades 8 and 9. Byng Arts English 10 and Byng Arts Socials 10 will no longer be offered. Byng Arts English classes for grades 11 and above are no longer offered.
This is a major change to the Byng Arts Mini School and PAC has formed a Byng Arts Parents Subcommittee to help with communications between Admin and Byng Arts families. Please email the PAC (lordbyngschoolpac@gmail.com) OR the Byng Arts Parent Group (email below) to get involved. The PAC subcommittee will be working closely with the Byng Arts Parents Group and the Byng Administration.
The infographics on this page were created by Byng Arts parents. These images showcase the importance of this program to the entire Lord Byng Secondary Community and reflect the gradual decline in Byng Arts Mini School cohort course offerings over the last 10 years.
