Early engagement was conducted during October 22 – November 1, 2024. The aim of this early phase was to gain an understanding of community sentiment and provide valuable insights to the Education Plan Committee ahead of broader public engagement. 

Staff facilitated six focus groups with MYP educators and Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) executives from schools offering MYP— Lord Roberts Elementary, Elsie Roy Elementary, and King George Secondary. The purpose was to collect their perspectives and inform the planning of subsequent engagement activities. Input gathered during this stage not only reflects the community’s initial reactions but also serves as a foundation for the broader engagement process, ensuring the needs and expectations of key community members are reflected in the engagement process. 

Feedback showed most educators were in favour of discontinuing MYP, citing overlap with the BC curriculum, an increased workload, high staff turnover, conflict with VSB’s equity statement (specifically in how they were able to ensure inclusive learning environments), lack of collaborative time and disconnection between MYP schools. Of participating educators, 65 per cent had no interest in being IB certified. A few educators noted benefits of MYP such as developing service minded students, the potential to engage in meaningful collaboration amongst colleagues, standardized assessment and the potential for high student achievement. Of participating educators, 27 per cent were interested in becoming IB certified, while 8 per cent were neutral.   

PAC executives found both benefits and drawbacks around MYP. Families appreciated that MYP provided project and community service opportunities for their children but found report cards to be confusing and questioned the cost of maintaining the IB brand given the overlap present with the BC curriculum. Although they were pleased that their catchment school offered IB, IB was not a factor in their decision to enrol their child(ren) at their catchment school.   

Read the MYP Early Engagement Report.