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3 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,N ovem ber 7,2019 theifp.ca WITH OUR PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE PLAN SAVE 20% ON ALL REPAIRS 905-877-0596 330 GUELPH ST.,GEORGETOWN (opposite Canadian Tire)www.millersscottishbakery.com MILLER'S ScottISh BakERy MILLER'S ScottISh BakERy British Style Meats,Groceries, Sweets & More! Christmas stock arriving weekly! Selection boxes, annuals, jewellery and British gifts are already here. Imported British Cheeses & Publications Depending on how you look at it, the Catholic school board either needs improvement or is exem- plary. The 2018-2019 EQAO and OSSLT results of the Halton Catholic District School Board were presented to trustees on Oct. 15 who had a mixed response. The provincewide tests mea- sure Grade 3, Grade 6 and Grade 9 students in read- ing, writing and mathemat- ics skills, against the Onta- rio curriculum. The board saw worse student results in a number of categories, but it still con- sistently performed above the provincial average. Board staff said it's im- portant to look at the re- sults as merely a snapshot, and it's more valuable to look at the numbers for a single group of students over time as they take the tests at the different grade levels. Trustee Vincent Ianto- masi wanted to know what was being done to reverse the trend. "Our downward spiral has started for the last four years, into 2019. So, if you're referring to a snapshot, then that snapshot holds true for the last four years. I guess, really, what I'm ask- ing is, 'What do we have in place to ameliorate the scores we're getting?'" said Iantomasi The board laid out a number of planned and on- going initiatives that they argue will support student success into the future. Initiatives include a fo- cus on guided literacy, an early-years numeracy pro- ject and new student-cen- tred coaching. Anna Prkacin, superin- tendent of education, cur- riculum services, said re- cent education cuts may make supporting teachers and students more difficult. "Fundamentally, we look at almost all the bud- get and funding for the cur- riculum department to be less than what it has been and up to half what it has been in previous years. So, definitely a challenge, but we want to be positive and ensure that we're giving teachers and students the support they need, to the best of our abilities," said Prkacin. For a complete break- down of the board's results for the 2018-2019 EQAO and OSSLT including how indi- vidual schools performed, visit https://eqao- web.eqao.com CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD FACES SAGGING TEST SCORES ROLAND CILLIERS rcilliers@metroland.com Halton Catholic District School Board trustee Vincent Iantomasi wants to know what the board is doing to improve the standardized test scores. Roland Cilliers / Torstar NEWS STAFF ADDRESS LATEST EQAO AND OSSLT RESULTS AND UPCOMING CHALLENGES POSED BY BUDGET CUTS