The Coquitlam School District (SD43) has confirmed it spent $38,000 on a two-day professional development retreat for mentor teachers at Harrison Hot Springs on the evening of Friday, September 12 and during the day Saturday, September 13.
In response to questions from Tricity Local News, SD43 media relations manager Ken Hoff said 88 mentor teachers attended the event on the evening of Friday, September 12, and all day Saturday, September 13, volunteering their personal time.
No trustees, administrators, or support staff were in attendance, and the retreat was funded entirely through the district’s annual teacher mentoring program budget. “Only food, lodging, room rentals, and speaker/facilitator fees were paid by the district,” Hoff stated. “No further reimbursement or remuneration was paid to participants.”
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The district defended its choice of location, citing Harrison Hot Springs’ proximity and ability to accommodate both lodging and meeting space. “Harrison Hot Springs was chosen due to its ‘proximity, ability to host both accommodations and meeting spaces on-site, and limited suitable alternatives within the district,” he said.
“The district believes that an in-person, immersive setting is more effective for intensive professional development than virtual alternatives,” he said. According to Hoff, conducting the training during the school week would have been more expensive and disruptive, with daily costs for a Teacher Teaching on Call (TTOC) estimated at $450 to $500.
Hoff did not answer questions about previous such retreats, whether other options were considered, or the measurable outcomes for such retreats.
teachers deserve small and modest treats and support in development, to take the $38,000 and break that down to a per person per day cost. $38,000 / 88 people = 431.00 per person. that was for 2 days… so the per day cost per person was $215 to include food, lodging, room rentals and speakers. seems very reasonable
no they deserve and adaqute pay raise.. not a 3 day work retreat
big deal? – does not seem unreasonable….
In person workshops/retreats are indeed a valuable tool. The only thing that gets me out of all this is the “proximity” part. So now all the teachers that work in Coquitlam have to travel to Harrison, and stay over? seems to me Coquitlam has better proximity for people who work in Coquitlam….Also pretty sure we have a spot or two that can host 100 people and there are certainly enough caterers in the tri -cities.
it wasn’t for all teachers, it was for a small group who participate in a mentorship program
yes, it was available facility. what they didn’t say is that to get people and to work for free, you have to offer some sort of incentive. going to somewhere special like harrison is that incentive.
would you work for free on a saturday otherwise?
What is the point of this article? To again rub in the faces or teachers that they are underpaid? Or to say they “dont deserve” small tokens of appreciation for all their incredibly hard work, or the same types of learning and professional development retreats they’d get if they left their teaching jobs and worked for the private sector?
Seems reasonable to me, but people will always try to make something like this look worse than it is.
Doesn’t the SD have an abundance of settings for immersive learning? We may have a larger problem. They used to go to Whistler, I guess that got too expensive or they became tired of it. It’s just an excuse for teachers to get boozed up and high. A couple of years ago we ran into a bunch on Hwy 99 when the road was closed because of an accident, and that’s what the were doing, beer and edibles while travelling to the Whistler for the “learning conference”. Such a waste of money
Not begrudging anyone Professional Development, but do our schools not already host PD Days? Could this not have occurred during scheduled PD Days in space already owned by the school division? Appreciate that retreats and catered meals are a treat, but public money should be treated as the scarce resource it is.
Where is the rage bait news article saying that teachers are not getting paid for their training? Show me one other profession where employees go for unpaid training on their days off.
Wow, the problem is that not all teachers who work daily in the classroom attended the retreat. Those teachers were preparing lessons for the next week. The retreat in Harrison was for the chosen one. And of course, “it was cheaper than paying TTOC” because TTOCs are too expensive. The problem is that TTOCs are paid when they are working. They do not have any benefits or other jobs because they have to sign an agreement stating they will be available to the district. So once they signed the contract, let’s not give them the job. That is a joke. This is how the district cares about their TTOCs. They prefer to spend money on the retreat rather than give a workday to people who struggle to get any working day. SAD, whoever’s idea it was. Shame on you.
How about that. We were there that weekend and saw them. Looked like they were having lots of fun. Splashing around in 5 pools, enjoying hot tub, etc. and having a few drinks. Of course they probably attended a few meetings while they were there. I’d be happy to “work” for free for such a great weekend. Anyone would.