Submitted by Chair Amanda Amaral
December 13, 2023
School boards empower local decision making in response to local values. As members of the community themselves and through regular, face to face engagement with community groups, elected school board trustees better understand the needs of students, staff, families, and communities. It also goes beyond the engagement, elected trustees live in the community and so they are visible during the activities of daily life; at the grocery store, a sports game or community celebration. You may know them because your children are friends, you work with them or maybe you have known them all your life!
A great example of how school boards represent community is through the strategic plan. As we develop a new plan we are engaging with students, staff, families and communities during each phase of our work. So many voices of our learning community are reflected in our new vision, mission and values.
Vision
A thriving and inclusive community of lifelong learner.
Mission
Nurturing each learner’s academic, physical, social, and emotional growth,
inspiring joy in learning and strengthening their sense of personal and cultural identity,
dignity and purpose for their lifelong journey.
Values
Learning:
Growing through holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, relational and personalized learning.* (*As reflected in the First Peoples Principles of Learning)
Belonging:
Fostering inclusion and well-being through meaningful, compassionate, respectful connections with ourselves, each other and the land.
Integrity:
Practicing personal responsibility, respect and honesty.
Equity:
Committing to diversity as a strength and inclusion as a right.
Such rich guiding statements would not be possible in provinces without school boards. Further, an opportunity to participate in developing the guiding statements and values for your child’s district would simply not be possible in any meaningful way.
When we value the function of the Board, and the work of trustees, people want to be at the Board table and part of the team. We are committed to continuing to work for our community to ensure students have what they need now to prepare for their futures. We hope that you value this work too. What would your child’s education journey be without local representation? How would we change as a community if we surrendered local control over education?
As the days become shorter and the nights longer, we prepare for the winter season. Forest animals hibernate, and although we continue day to day, I hope that each member of our learning community has the opportunity for a slower pace, shared traditions and rituals and time with their favourite people. The Board looks forward to welcoming everyone back in 2024.
Amanda Amaral
Chair