Regular Board Meeting: January 27, 2026
The Regular Meeting of the Langley Board of Education was held in-person and streamed online.
To view the agenda, visit the Board Meeting webpage here.
Superintendent’s Reports
Alternate and Alternative Programming
Assistant Superintendent Marcello Moino, Director of Learning Support Services, Michael Morgan, and Vanguard Principal Mike Palichuk, and Vice-Principal Brittany Reid provided an overview of the Alternate and Alternative Programs in the District and the direction that the District is moving forward with. As Moino explained, these programs are engrained in the District’s Ensouling our Schools initiative, which is the philosophy that it is up to the institution to provide flexibility and provide students’ with their needs instead of having the students adjust to the system. Moino reminded the Board of the District’s mission “To inspire all learners to reach their full potential and create a positive legacy for the future.” Moino also introduced the alternate program’s vision which is for all student to “have guaranteed access to tier three academic and social emotional interventions in alternative environment at their home school.” Moino explained that an alternative program is an alternate program that is in a comprehensive school, with the goal for students to stay connected to their local community and supports. He then described an alternate program, which is a separate school as defined by the Ministry of Education and Child Care that provides tier four and tier five interventions.
Director of Student Support Services Michael Morgan provided the requirements of an alternate program which includes the following:
- An intake process to facilitate self-referrals and district referrals
- An annually reviewed Student Support Plan for each learner
- Additional services required by the student population
- An exit strategy for each student that facilitates a transition to either
He added that in in Langley there are four alternative programs and two alternate schools.
He said the District’s alternative vision for alternate programs is to have fewer alternate programs and more alternative spaces, to support research and student feedback, to support the role of district based team and extended based team, and to fulfill the goal of having alternative programs in all comprehensive Secondary schools for September 2026.
Administrators of Vanguard Secondary Mike Palichuk (principal) and Brittany Reid (vice-principal) presented to the Board some student success stories. Palichuk told trustees that “there is a reality that a school can exhaust all resources for schools” and staff do what they can to support students. One of the school’s main goals is to maintain the dignity of the students and the families and help get back on their path. As he said, every story is complex and the school works to build a foundation of trust and honesty with students. Vice-principal Brittany Reid explained the school’s use of the Circle of Courage and the Seven Sacred Traditional Laws. They are important for the student to “be” (who they are) and they are important for staff to understand students and how they relate to their stories and what staff need to so to help with interventions.
Reid shared the story of a student that came to the school. They have been struggling with a single traumatic event related to their family which has impacted their physical and mental health and their ability to experience joy. The student was not meeting the baseline behaviour and was disengaged with staff and school. The biggest thing was getting to know the student and through time and connecting and building trust through counselling. In one term of working with the school team, they were ready to go back to their catchment school. The student had to show a level of independence in order for the student to go back. The transition back to the school was slow and intentional but in they end they found success.
Reid shared another story about a student that came to the school with multiple trauma events that they had experienced over time. The student struggled at first but was able to navigate things with the help of the school team and they are now in a District trades program. Reid noted that the school does check-ins with the students when they leave. The school hopes that they can graduate at Vanguard but they also have a chance to graduate at the District trades program school or their catchment school.
Palichuk shared the story of a student who was at the school for 3 years. They struggled to find a place on the Circle of Courage. But after time, they were able to feel a sense of “belonging” and were able to give back to the community. The school reached out to community mental health supports for further assistance and now the student is back at the school. The student is attending full-time and they are artistic and performed for the whole school. The school is working on post-secondary options for the student and is currently exploring exploring options for District trades programs.
Reid closed the presentation saying that understanding the student’s “why” is important in knowing the interventions that are needed. Staff collaborate and work hard to ensure students know they belong and can have success.
Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the report on Alternative and Alternate Programming for information, as presented.
The Board approved the report as presented. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
K-12 Professional Learning Communities
Lisa Lainchbury Assistant Superintendent and Principal Christine Thygesen outlined the District’s adoption of K-12 Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Lainchbury talked about the collaborative learning intentions for Ensouling our Souls and the District’s belief in Every Child Matters. She talked about all the guiding documents to support PLCs including the District’s Strategic Plan, the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning (FESL), Action Plan for Learning (APFL), growth plans, and others. The District is also guided by the Aborignal Education Enhancement Agreement. She said that staff work with these guides to ensure alignment, and staff working together to ensure success for all learners. She explained the definition of a District Professional Learning Community, which are “learning communities that are committed to an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve.”
She shared that PLCs are the formal mechanism for:
- Common assessments
- Collaborative data analysis
- Identifying learning gaps
- Aligning interventions and supports
Response to Intervention (RTI) and Professional Learning Communities (PLC) are district resources. She explained the zones of impact for students as adapted by Jon Hattie. She mentioned that there are strategies that have high impact on students which include collective efficacy, teaching strategies that promote teacher-student relationship, well-structured professional development, response to intervention (RTI). The results of using RTI results in equity and collaborative culture.
She talked about the First People’s Principles of Learning and that “learning involves patience and time.” She mentioned that when it comes to PLCs in schools, it will take time at least 3-7 years, to be fully implemented in schools successfully. The District has a District Guiding Coalition and its purpose is for administrators to help support teachers and a way to look at how do we use PLC time effectively. For it to be used effectively, an administrator needs to model, organize, and monitor PLCs in schools.
Principal Christine Thygesen of Alice Brown Elementary shared with trustees how she models, organizes and monitors PLCs in schools. As she described, principal’s model by supporting teachers to select or create then administer common assessments, then they collect and analyse the data from the assessments, and lastly, they participate in District PLCs, through networking and guiding coalition meetings.
Thygesen shared that Principals organize create, and protect a schedule that provides classrooms and non-enrolling teachers time to meet, they establish a building coalition of a team of teacher leaders, and then provide weekly communication that outlines the specific PLC activity for each collaboration sessions.
Principals monitor by either attend the meetings, or review the fillable documents teachers have completed during collaboration session. They then will use staff meetings, or Design and Assessment Days to share information.
She closed the presentation by saying the purpose of why we have PLCs is to fulfill the actions to support Every Child Matters. By engaging in PLCs we determine strategies and ensure that everyone is working together.
Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the report on K-12 Professional Learning Communities in the Langley School District for information, as presented.
The Board approved the report as presented. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
Secretary-Treasurer’s Reports
Annual Review of Trustee Remuneration
Secretary-Treasurer Brian Iseli provided some background information on the Trustee Remuneration policy. As per policy, the Board needs to review and approve the adjustment of trustee salaries in January of each year.
Recommendation: That the Board of Education approves the increase of 2.4% effective January 1, 2026 based on the 12 month change in Canada Consumer Price Index (CPI) in accordance with Board Policy 7: Board Operations, section 11 and to update the salaries in Policy 7: Board Operation, section 11.1 with the new salaries.
The Board approves the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
Policy Committee
Notice of Motion Return: Policy 9: Board Representatives
Recommendation: That the Board of Education approves Policy 9: Board Representatives, as presented.
The Board approves the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
New Business
BCSTA Motions
The Board approves the BCSTA motions. The video above will begin on this agenda item.
Project Black Feather Motion
The Board approves the Project Black Feather motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.