a history of curriculum services canada

amongst teachers, schools, and boards and with sectors outside the education field. Despite this
initial positive feedback, it was recommended that another presentation be made again following
the departure of the ADM, Jill Hutcheon, in March.
Early feedback on the new business plan was also received from OPSBA. A suggestion was
made that if the Board was to be expanded to include representatives from the private sector,
member organizations would need to be informed.
The month of February ended with the first review of OCC’s 640 materials completed. Cathy
Telfer, a consultant from Kent County, not only reduced the inventory to approximately 200
materials, but also established and trained a review team of teachers from Kent and Essex, with
plans for the team to review the new inventory in the March break. This was to be the first of
many such training sessions.
Revisions of OCC policies continued in February with an emphasis on those related to human
resources and the conflict of interest and indemnity clauses. Outside consultation specific to
non-profit organizations was solicited and the rewriting of the by-laws resumed.
Similarly, ongoing revisions of the database continued, with the goal of training OCC staff in the
management of the database, as co-partners with OISE. During this process it became apparent
that OCC would have to update their computer systems to keep up with modern technology.
Preliminary analysis of needs and pricing options thus began in conjunction with OPSBA.
The Evaluator was finally ready for distribution on February 21, after in-depth consultation with
education design consultant Shelley Smith, on content, layout, design, print-runs, and pricing
policies. Arrangements for handling orders were finalized with a firm in Oakville in March;
advertising and promotional pieces, including the distribution of complimentary packages, were
also completed. A complimentary Evaluator package was given to all OCC directors, guests,
and development team members in an attempt to promote sales.
With respect to the ongoing pursuit of new client groups, an encouraging yet tentative link was
made with a consortia of 11 major Canadian church groups working on Native curriculum.
Another link was made with two independent educational television producers, who requested
OCC’s involvement in the management, sales, and distribution of their videos, subject to a
preliminary evaluation.
Other promotional activities included presentations of the CD-ROM and The Evaluator to
Plumtree Park Junior School and participation in a Private School conference and an OLA
superconference. A presentation of The Evaluator was also made to a New Horizon’s Principals’
two-day conference in London, Ontario in April. Such activities resulted in discussions of new
ways of expanding and promoting the creative possibilities of the CD-ROM.
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