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An almost entirely new Edmonton Public Schools Board of Trustees has a challenging time ahead, prioritizing the draft provincial curriculum and fair funding for the boards, says the board chairman.
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Trisha Estabrooks is one of two elected trustees to the Edmonton Public Schools Board, and on Thursday, during an organizational meeting, she was named chair of the board. She says the board has “a lot of work to do” in its new term.
“Edmontons elected public school board members who clearly have a passion for children in public education,” Estabrooks said in a recent interview. “Edmontons should feel confident that they have elected a board of trustees that will continue to speak on their behalf.”
Estabrooks said that with 40 people submitting their name to run as trustees this year, he talks about how the profile and role of what a trustee does has been enhanced, as well as how important it is to choose strong trustees.
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“Seven of the nine trustees are new, but I think it is incredibly important to have new ideas, new perspectives,” he said.
“I believe that the trustees who submitted their names and were successfully elected are taking on this important role at a challenging time when we need strong voices to defend public education.”
One of the new board’s urgent and top priorities is to advocate against the use of the province’s controversial draft curriculum, which the previous board chose not to test in classrooms.
“I can confidently say that this is a board of trustees that will do everything possible to keep this draft curriculum out of our classrooms,” Estabrooks said.
“This was a platform that many of the people that I now have the pleasure to serve with drew on this, and this topic has already come up in our informal conversations. And indeed, some of the reasons these amazing folks ran for the position of trustee are due to the draft of the curriculum and the desire to represent the interests of families and parents to ensure that this curriculum don’t see the light of day in our classrooms. “
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Other priorities for the board, Estabrooks said, include writing a new strategic plan to set the vision and direction for Edmonton Public Schools for the next four years, and implementing the equity and anti-racism policy and collecting data. based on race.
Estabrooks said the board will work to make sure the schools are as inclusive as possible and are an “actively anti-racist school division.”
“Those are words that we have to act on and do that great job and work with the community to make that a reality for the children in our school at this time,” he said.
As one of the fastest growing school divisions in Alberta, Estabrooks said another main area of focus will continue to fight for a fair funding formula.
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On top of all that, the board will also be navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and what a post-pandemic looks like.
“How do we take some of the learnings from the last two years, how do we grow in the school division based on what we just went through? And then how do we continue to find ways to support children and families? “
She said the pandemic has affected everyone in different ways, and some of the division’s most vulnerable families have experienced it in ways others have not.
“I continue to think and believe that the teachers and staff in our schools are the front line of this pandemic,” he said.
“They are seeing those gaps in poverty, in particular for some of our families. Therefore, supporting those families in a meaningful way after the pandemic will also become a priority for this board of trustees. ”
Reference-edmontonjournal.com