Since becoming president last July, there has been a lot of activity at the Canadian School Boards’ Association. In September the CSBA Board of Directors met in St. John’s, hosted by the Newfoundland and Labrador School Boards Association.
Mostrecently we met in Vancouver, hosted by the British Columbia School Trustees Association.
A national search for an Executive Director was undertaken, and we are very pleased to welcome Nancy Pynch- Worthylake to take on operation of the Association. Many of you will remember Nancy from her work in Nova Scotia, most recently with the Nova Scotia School Boards Association. Nancy has extensive experience, both academic and professional, in governance and education. We look forward to working with her to grow the association and advance the work in support of our Provincial members.
The fall flew by with a number of school board elections, quickly moving into the holiday season. The level of provincial government interest in governing school boards has picked up in several provinces, encouraging trustees everywhere to engage with their communities. The concerns surrounding the erosion of democratic voice in public education spans provincial boarders and languages. Any reduction of democratic representation in the governance of public education must be a concern to all Canadians, regardless of whether their first language is French or English, and whether or not they have school-aged children. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right of minority language parents to govern the education of their children. However, we should all be concerned when majority French and English parents are losing their right to have a local democratic voice in the education of their children.
So how do we tackle this? While the answer is not simple, the approach is – we tackle it together. Trustees from all provinces with governing school boards need to work together to ensure the public, municipal and provincial governments, understand the roles and responsibilities we all play. CSBA on a national level will continue to advocate for democratically elected governing school boards, but we need your help on the ground.
The CSBA continues to focus on Indigenous Education through committee work. The newsletter features a committee update, but I want to take a moment to thank and recognize the work of Darren McKee on this committee, and welcome new members Rusty Hick and Sean Monteith from Ontario, Josh Watt, Gordon Swan, and Janice Ciavaglia from the Assembly of First Nations.
And of course, planning is well underway for the 2019 National Trustee Gathering on Indigenous Education and CSBA Congress in Toronto, Ontario July 4th-7th, hosted by the Ontario Public School Boards Association. Over the years the combination of the Trustee Gathering on Indigenous Education and the Congress has proven to be very successful, and I recommend you register for both. The professional development, networking and presentations are second to none! Registration will open soon.
Over the coming months the CSBA will renew our strategic plan. We will be sharing ways for members to give us feedback, send us ideas, and let us know what your priorities are. I hope to hear from you!
Yours in education,
Laurie French