Full details on presentations, reports, and discussions can be found in the agenda or reviewed in the recorded broadcast. Video segments are linked in the subhead for each item below.
June 13, 2023 – Trustees with the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) met on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Some of the items discussed in the public session are as follows.
Director’s Red Apple Awards
Director of Education Ron Ferguson announced the spring Red Apple Award Recipients. This award is given by Director Ferguson to individuals that stand out for their deeply-rooted dedication to our school board’s top priority – our students. Their day-to-day impact on those around them branches far and wide, planting seeds of inspiration for us all.
The recipients are as follows:
Tammy Kleiboer, Teacher at Naismith Memorial Public School
Tammy Kleiboer is receiving the award for leading the way with Real-World Learning, literacy and her years of dedication. A recent project that Kleiboer brought to her students was the creation of story boxes for children who are blind or have low vision.
Tony Hodder, Building Systems Specialist at North Grenville District High School
Tony Hodder is receiving this award for his dedication to his colleagues and the school board. Hodder also presents to up-and-coming principals and vice-principals during their training course on the relationship with custodians and helps administrators understand the important relationship they have in schools.
Casey Nelson, Principal at Carleton Place High School and President of Champions 4 Kids Foundation.
Casey Nelson is receiving this award for his role of being the president of UCDSB Champions 4 Kids Foundation. Nelson has been in this voluntary position for several years and has led the foundation to help students and families within the school district.
Board Action Plan for Indigenous Education
Executive Superintendent Eric Hardie along with Principal of Indigenous Education Kelty Grant presented Trustees with an update on the Board Action Plan for Indigenous Education (BAPIE).
Since 2010, the Ministry of Education has required all school districts to create and submit a Board Action Plan for Indigenous Education, and to report on the plan annually. The BAPIE is designed to improve opportunities for Indigenous students, and to increase knowledge and awareness of all students about Indigenous histories, cultures, and perspectives. The plan closes gaps and removes barriers for our Indigenous students, and it supports Indigenous culture by building our reconciliation literacy. It creates opportunities to collaborate with Indigenous partners and take active steps to apply the model of reconciliation within our schools and classrooms.
View the full release on Indigenous Education in the UCDSB and its impact here.
Director’s Work Plan Status Update
Director of Education Ron Ferguson presented Trustees with the final status update for the 2022-2023 Director’s Work Plan, indicating that all specific actions are either completed or progressing.
For goal number one, graduation rate/student success, highlighted that the number of four and five-year off-roll students has dropped from 235 to 185, nine Grade 10 Civics and Careers classes are participating in Skills for Life, a second Grade 10 Mohawk language course was added this year and a second land-based learning credit at Thompson Island for students was added this year as well.
Student culture is the second goal. Director Ferguson shared that the We All Belong Survey and Intermediate Student Voice Survey is complete, schools assisted with building student-centred School Improvement and Equity Plans, the UCDSB Equity and Inclusion committee has completed the draft Equity and Inclusion Guide for School Leaders, the Principal of Equity and Inclusion has visited 66 schools and over 7,000 students, equity work continues to be a full year focus with specific attention to text selection, expanding community partnerships, normalizing inclusion, and data collection to support our School Improvement and Equity goals.
The third goal is Real-World Learning. Professional Development has been completed for all secondary and elementary schools. Eighteen full-day sessions on Real-World Learning have been provided in the last 12 months to almost 500 staff. The Hill 70 project is doing amazing work with our students to honour fallen soldiers and community partner-based projects in the board have grown exponentially. Over 3,500 new devices have been deployed for student and staff use, an additional $1.6 million investment in shop equipment and approximately $800,000 in new furniture for 64 classrooms has been rolled out.
Goal number four is staff culture. Director Ferguson shared that service desk improvements have created a 44 per cent reduction in response time to staff-based requests, the UCDSB was the highest ranked school board in Canada by Forbes 2023 Canada's Best Employers survey, opportunities for staff to engage in professional development around the Science of Reading, human resources “Diversity in Hiring” training, updating staffing processes to enhance diversity in UCDSB staff demographics and Board Leadership Development Strategy for aspiring leaders sessions provided informal mentorship and networking for educators.
For the goal centred on reading, 19 additional Special Education teachers were added mid-year, over $500,000 in reading resources have been purchased so far, and professional development has been offered to staff.
Moving forward, Director Ferguson explained that the 2023-2024 Director’s Work Plan, which has been approved by Trustees, has the same goals, but new initiatives.
Trustee Seat Vacancy Update
Chair of the Board John McAllister advised that there were four applications submitted for the Trustee Ward 7 vacancy. The posting closed on June 6. The next step is for the candidates to be interviewed at the June 21 board meeting. The successful candidate will be sworn in at the same meeting. The candidates are John Danaher, Edmond Marc du Rogoff, Ryan MacKay, and Bill MacPherson.
For media inquiries, please contact:
April Scott-Clarke
Manager of Communications
Upper Canada District School Board
[email protected]