Trustees met on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, for a regular Board Meeting.
The November Kids Come First presentation titled Legacy School Project' was received by Trustees. Crolancia Public School Principal Holly Szumowski, along with Crolancia students, shared their experiences to date as a Downie Wenjack Legacy School. In November 2018, it was announced that Crolancia Public School in Pickle Lake would become the first Downie Wenjack Legacy School in the country (all KPDSB schools have since been registered as Legacy Schools). The legacy school program is an opportunity for classrooms/schools to lead the movement in awareness of the history and impact of the Residential School System on Indigenous Peoples. Legacy Schools are provided with a Secret Path Toolkit and educational support resources to engage students, staff and school communities as a catalyst for reconciliation in Canada. Students and staff have accomplished many of their goals only a year after the announcement, including creating an outdoor learning area for everyone in the school. Students worked together to build and install benches and a fire pit for the new space. To learn more about Crolancia's Downie Wenjack Legacy School journey, please click here to view a video created by the students.
Trustees welcomed Shannon Bailey to the position of Interim Superintendent of Education and Student Success. Bailey was appointed to the position beginning November 12, 2019, following 21 years with the Board. During that time, she has worked in both the elementary and secondary panels and has held positions as a special education teacher, intervention teacher, vice-principal and most recently, principal at Evergreen Public School in Kenora. Areas of focus for Bailey include holding high expectations for students, providing equal opportunities, using strategies of self-regulation and incorporating Reconciliation in schools and classrooms across the Board.
Bailey stated, "I am looking forward to being a part of the Senior Administration Team to support the incredible staff of the KPDSB who work tirelessly to support the academic and non-academic needs of the students in our schools."
Caryl Hron, Interim Director of Education, Joan Kantola, Superintendent of Education, Shannon Bailey, Interim Superintendent of Education, and Richard Findlay, Superintendent of Business, presented the 2019-2020 Board Continuous Improvement Plan (BCIP). The annual BCIP guides the work of the Board and focuses on four priority areas as set out by our 2019-2024 Strategic Plan:
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Student Achievement: Ensure the necessary resources are provided to all students to increase their individual achievement.
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Safe and Supportive Schools: Ensure all students have safe learning and working environments, where the academic and mental health needs of the child are met.
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Innovative Practice: Demonstrate effective change-ready leadership.
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Reconciliation: Ensure all schools and staff are actively engaged in responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action.
Joan Kantola and Terri Forster, Regional Teacher Diagnostician and Special Education Leader, presented the 2019-2020 Special Education Plan. The plan guides the work of schools and the Board in terms of supporting and enhancing special education services. Areas of focus include providing programs and services in the student's home school wherever possible (including appropriate accommodations and modifications), promoting a focus on inclusive practices in schools and respect for differences and diversity, providing a range of placement options for students, and collaboration with curriculum central support staff to ensure support for the development of quality programs and provision of services for all students. For more information, please click here to view the 2019-2020 Special Education Plan or click here for the Parents' Guide to Special Education.
Richard Findlay presented the 2019-2020 Enrolment Report. Overall, enrolment at the KPDSB continues to be stable. As of October 31, 2019, a total of 2,935 elementary students were enrolled in KPDSB schools, 72 more students than one year ago and 75 students above budget projections for the 2019-2020 school year. For secondary, a total of 1,893 students were enrolled at a KPDSB secondary school on October 31, 2019, 75 fewer students than October 2018 and 35 students lower than budget projections.
