Ensuring Equity

equity ENSURING FAIRNESS AND INCLUSION THROUGHOUT OUR BOARD

Embracing inclusion and fairness throughout our Board, we continue to work and establish a variety of initiatives supporting equity.

• System administration established direction for our schools and monitored their progress closely. Teachers, support staff, parents and students partnered together to implement these initiatives such as: Natural Helpers, We Day Student Conference, Choices Programming, Student Advisory Council and Student Senates, Indigenous Educational art projects and an Indigenous Studies Course.

• The formation of many inclusive groups including, Gender and Sexuality Alliance, Positive Space and Rainbow Alliance create spaces for engagement in social justice work, inclusion, and celebrate diversity throughout the school communities.

• All system and school leaders are engaged in the School Improvement Planning, with a focus on student wellbeing. Principals are directed to establish and maintain a safe and accepting school committee and many of these groups assist with this improvement.

• Our Board has created a de-streaming team and participated in various Ministry workshops building capacity in our Board while preparing our schools to increase educator capacity, student engagement, achievement and well-being.

• As a Board, we are finding ways to make cultural shifts identifying and dismantle systemic discrimination and structural inequities.

- Trades, Entrepreneurship & Further Programming -

Through programming such as Ontario Youth Apprenticeship (OYAP) and Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM), Co-Operative Education (Coop), Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneurship Program (AYEP), Dual Credit, and Advanced Placement Programs, our students have amazing opportunities at their disposal.

• Conferences and programming aimed towards women and Indigenous students are becoming recurrent, with positive role models and entrepreneurs inspiring them to get involved in the career of trades.

• Growing partnerships with sector-specific employers provide students with the opportunity to build tradespecific skills and knowledge. This allows students to develop a direct connection between dual credit courses and their placement as a viable career pathway. It allows students to experience post-secondary education, while earning secondary school credit and college credit.

• We have 12 SHSM programs successfully running. We received enhanced funding to offer additional sections of manufacturing, hospitality and cooperative education to increase SHSM participation.

• These programs have seen an increase in student enrollment along with an increase in SHSM completion rates as they provide opportunities for students to participate in sector-specific experiential learning, reach ahead and industry applicable certification and training.

• Students graduating with an SHSM red seal on their diploma, transitioned to a post-secondary pathway with applicable skills, training, education and experience. We also received expansion funding to support the development of a TBCDSB SHSM Website. This innovative website design will allow students, teachers and families to track SHSM program progress.

• Continuing to strengthening our partnerships with post-secondary institutions provides increased opportunities for guided tours of various institutions, classrooms, and shops; along with presentations and workshops have been provided to students at both high schools and alternative education programs.