I am pleased to be writing my first Message from the President for the CSBA President’s Bulletin. Thank you for your confidence in me to serve in this role for 2022-2023. I would like to thank Laurie French for her many years of dedicated service as President.
She, along with the Board of Directors, made tremendous advances in multiple portfolios, including Indigenous Education, anti-racism, mental health, and advocacy for local democratic voice.
It will be very nice to work with Carolyn Broady as Vice President. Having a returning member of the executive provides a level of continuity that benefits the Association. I am looking forward to working with our Board of Directors to support public education throughout Canada.
Since being elected in July, I have worked with Carolyn and Nancy Pynch- Worthylake, our Executive Director, to become more familiar with the business of the association. I greatly appreciate the work and ongoing leadership both Carolyn and Nancy provide.
Earlier in November we had the opportunity to come together as a board for meetings in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Fredericton, New Brunswick. While in Atlantic Canada we met with various groups and government officials to discuss public education and democratic representation. When in Nova Scotia I was very pleased to meet with representatives of the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, the Delmore Buddy Daye Learning Institute, Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey, and the Deputy Minister and Associate Deputy Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. In New Brunswick we had meetings with the Minister and Deputy Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, the Three Nations Education Group, Inc., and la Fédération des conseils d’éducation du Nouveau-Brunswick. Learning about and from the incredible work of Indigenous leaders is an important aspect of CSBA’s Indigenous Education priority. We very much appreciate the opportunity to discuss common concerns and areas for collaboration.
Member associations have extended invitations to attend Annual General Meetings across the country, and we look forward to having a presence at your events. Either myself or Carolyn will attend, or we will provide written and video remarks if we are unable to be there in person. It will be an honour to represent the Board of Directors and membership at the events. I am looking forward to meeting more of you and learning about the priorities of our member organizations.
As a board member with CSBA, I have served on various committees and very much enjoyed the work and progress made. Committee updates are found within this bulletin, and I would like to thank all of the committee members for their work. We are fortunate to collaborate with professionals and partners to support public education.
Committees and work teams have identified goals, actions and measures for each of the key priority areas for the Strategic Plan 2022-2025. Thank you to Cathy Abraham and the Strategic Planning Committee for pulling the plan together and for the regular monitoring of progress.
There have been trustee elections recently in multiple provinces, and some are coming within the year. The CSBA continues to encourage diversity and inclusion and will support provinces with outreach and engagement. It is important that the governing bodies for public education reflect the communities they serve.
The next few weeks will be busy as we head into 2023. I am looking forward to the work and continuing to support students through public education governance.
I hope you enjoy this issue of the President’s Bulletin.
Regards
Alan Campbell, President