Inside Our Schools

Okanagan Life probes the public education system

In this issue we talk with students and parents, teachers and administrators to discover whether or not we're getting our money's worth. Plus, we explore the value of selling the system to foreign students. Also in this issue, you'll meet a singer-songwriter, an amateur historian, a friend to cute kitties, a madcap biker and some brainy professors. All this and more ...

Pass? Fail? (bleeped!) if I know ...
All levity aside, the question of whether the Okanagan's public schools are meeting the expectations of parents, students and taxpayers is very serious – and complicated.

Desperate Stopgap or Cultural Windfall
Okanaganites aren't having enough babies to maintain steady numbers in the Valley's public schools ... or it's just too expensive for young families to live here. Either way, the region's school districts face an enrolment problem, and increasingly they're turning to the kids of foreign families to help make up the difference – with some unexpected results.

OK Archive
Amateur historian Ron Taylor thought he'd written the book on the lost Okanagan settlement of Fir Valley – until he tried some high-tech detection.

Add Some Sparkle to Your Cellar
Champagne – the real thing – is tough to make and expensive to buy, but there's still plenty of cheer in less exalted bubblies.

Couch Neglecter
Park your chubby-tired mountain bike and take up with something sleek and speed worthy. The Okanagan offers countless long, scenic road rides far from the madding traffic.

Who Among Us
Abandoned, abused and unwanted animals would needlessly suffer without the care provided by local SPCAs. And these shelters just couldn't handle the load without volunteers like Sue MacDonald.

Rear View
Poison-pen pusher challenges closet complainers.

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