Boardputsfaithinprogramme

Board puts faith in program
http://www.starphoenix.com
But Christian curriculum proposal raises red flags for public board's advisers
By Darren Bernhardt
Saskatoon's public school trustees will consider adding a Christian program to their curriculum, despite objections from their own administrators.
The Logos program is a relatively new way of teaching the provincial curriculum "in a Christian environment," according to a report to the board. Like French immersion, it would be an elective program that would also include "prayers, daily devotions, Bible readings and religious ceremonies."
The board passed a motion this week by a vote of 8-0 (two trustees were absent) to explore more ways to teach "spiritual values, ethics and character education" in schools.
Proponents of Logos have presented the option to the board several times. The board's administration researched the program and presented it to its lawyer, who advised against it.
Reynold Robertson, the lawyer, "is of the opinion that there is no legal basis for providing religious instruction in public schools," said Karen Anderson, deputy director of division services.
Robertson based his opinion on the June 1999 decision of retired Queen's Bench justice Kenneth Halvorson regarding the Lord's Prayer. Halvorson ruled that prayer discriminates against non-Christians. The board removed the prayer at the start of the academic year and replaced it with Policy 1030, which allows "personal reflection through a moment of silence, writing in a personal journal or sharing a thought for the day" instead.
Robertson said it would be unconstitutional for the board to deviate from those limitations.
But board chair Don Morgan said the door isn't closed on the program.
"Administration is saying it's not legally possible, but I think most of the board members want to see whether it is an option some other way," said Morgan, a lawyer himself.
Trustee Elaine Hnatyshyn noted she comes from a family of six lawyers and is aware that a single question can result in six different answers. She isn't accepting the initial No.
Morgan said he is happy with the way Policy 1030 has been working, but said the board may check into whether it could be "revamped" to allow Logos.
Ailsa Watkinson, a university professor and a human rights advocate, urged the board against such a move.
"We have set parameters around public education, one of which is that it is to be secular," she said, noting she is Christian, attends church and once taught Sunday school. "But I do not think that because Christianity is the majority faith it gets priority.
"That isn't fair to the other children from all sorts of different religious backgrounds."
Hnatyshyn says the program wouldn't discriminate because "only those interested will take it."
"But the point is, it is public money going into one particular religion," Watkinson said.
Suzanne Turanich, interim president of the newly formed Saskatoon Logos Society, called the program "the most equitable solution for public education.
"It brings unity into the school and encourages tolerance of other beliefs," she said. "Those who oppose it don't know it. It has the proven general overall satisfaction of parents, whether they are Christian or not."
It is used in some U.S. schools and in Canada by three Alberta divisions including Edmonton public, St. Albert Protestant and Elk Island public (Sherwood Park).
In all three, enrolments at the schools with the program have shot up. In Edmonton, enrolment at the school increased to 953 from 425 since 1996. In Sherwood Park, it grew 92 per cent in the last two years to 241 from 124, and in Elk Island, the program jumped to more than 400 this year from 125 last year.
The proposal comes as the Saskatoon board is dealing with a loss of 625 students from its system. Morgan said the board would look into whether the program will help recapture home-educated students and some of those that went to the Catholic system. But he also wants to know why the program was dropped in the Calgary system after four years.