As the Burnaby School District heads into the final stretch of its five-year strategic plan, a new report was released on progress made across the District.
The Burnaby Board of Education received the annual report at their September meeting. It provides a snapshot of new accomplishments made over the last school year toward the Board's priorities outlined in the Strategic Plan.
This year's How We're Doing Report includes achievements about everything from student excellence to system-wide accomplishments, such as supporting mental health, the path to Reconciliation, and work supporting diversity and inclusion. The report reflects that schools are critical places for the whole community, showcasing work with newcomers to Canada, as well as increasing access to high quality child care.
Board Chair Bill Brassington:
There's a lot of accomplishments to be proud of. I noticed in the child care space on the report, there was a 20% graduation increase in the District-run Burnaby Community and Continuing Education program for early childhood educators. If we don't have the people to care for our children, there's no sense in building child care spaces, so it's neat to see that not only are we building spaces, but we're filling them with the professionals needed to care for children."
When publicly presenting the report to the Board, Superintendent Karim Hachlaf shared some of the highlights, such as the District's commitment to the success of Indigenous students, learning from student voices, as well as engaging with and supporting families - including with summer programs.
Superintendent Hachlaf:
"Summer Session saw a massive student enrolment increase, which also included a 10% increase in participation by students with disabilities and diverse abilities. While we're proud of our accomplishments to date toward the District's priorities in many areas, we still recognize that we have ongoing work to do that will continue beyond this Strategic Plan and into the next five-year plan."
The Burnaby School District's current Strategic Plan was launched in 2019. It articulates the District's mission, vision, values, priorities, and sets out goals and objectives. Annually, the District releases a public report capturing new progress over the prior school year toward the Board's priorities outlined in the Strategic Plan; the priorities guide system-wide work happening across the District.
The Board is engaging in strategic plan renewal early this fall, with a view to releasing the next plan before the end of the 2024-25 school year.
Click here to read the report. To read the current Strategic Plan and previous How We're Doing reports, click here.
