What is a Student Trustee?

Student trustees represent over 127,000 students in the York Region District School Board. They network with students, staff and the Board of Trustees to share information that gives students a meaningful voice.
 

What​ do Student Trustees do?

Student trustees are responsible for:

• attending monthly Board meetings;

• providing a Student Trustee Report at the monthly Board meeting;

• sharing information from staff and the Board of Trustees ​with members of the student community, where appropriate;

• attending meetings with the Director of Education;

• hosting the Board’s Annual Celebrating Student Success evening;

• speaking at and hosting special events;

• being an active member of the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association;

• maintaining the Student Trustee Website;

• participating in York Region Presidents’ Council meetings and fulfilling expectations and job requirements as an executive member;

• listening to and addressing questions and concerns raised by the student community through face-to-face interactions, forums or electronic communications;​

• preparing for, with the other members of the executive and logistics team, and attending the Annual York Region Presidents’ Council Leadership Conference; and

• coordinating and conducting elections for the position of student trustee.

Student trustees may also choose to participate in several other regular Board, Advisory and staff committees where they are encouraged to provide input and feedback on the items being discussed. These meetings are generally held at the Education Centre Aurora between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

In addition to regular Board committees, student trustees may be asked to attend other meetings to provided input into events or issues affecting students in York Region.  

How are Student Trustees supported in their role?

Each student trustee will be provided with appropriate communication tools so that they are accessible to members of the student community, staff and trustees. 

Trustee Services staff are available to support student trustees in a variety of ways, such as, distributing materials to elementary and secondary schools, proofreading student trustee documents, answering questions, addressing concerns and assisting with conference registration. 

Student trustees may attend conferences and events hosted by the York Region District School Board and the York Region Presidents’ Council and other educational organizations, such as the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association and the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association in accordance with Policy and Procedure #221.0, Student Trustees and Policy #223.0, Indigenous Student Trustee. These events give student trustees opportunities to participate in discussions with other student trustees, trustees and staff from school boards across the Province and learn more about the education system. 

Each student trustee is given a budget for communication and professional development expenses. Information about items that are eligible for reimbursement are outlined in:

• Policy and Procedure #221.0, Student Trustees 
• Policy #223.0, Indigenous Student Trustee
• Policy and Procedure #131.0, Expenses

How will I get to and/or from Board, Advisory and Committee meetings?

Student trustees must arrange their own transportation to and/or from meetings and events they attend in their official role.  Student trustees are responsible for reviewing the demands of the position with their parents/guardians and wherever possible arranging for their own transportation to and/or from meetings, events and other official obligations. If a student trustee is required to attend an event and is unable to arrange their own transportation they may be eligible for reimbursement for transportation costs if they meet the requirements outlined in:

• Policy and Procedure #221.0, Student Trustees 
• Policy #223.0, Indigenous Student Trustee
• Policy and Procedure #131.0, Expenses

Student trustees are encouraged to minimize transportation costs wherever possible. This includes participating in meetings via audio conference, choosing the most cost-effective method of transportation and sharing costs, whenever appropriate. In exceptional circumstances, where time or safety concerns are a factor, student trustees are authorized to use a pre-approved Board-provisioned taxi or ride-side service up to a maximum of $150.00 per month. 

I have questions, who do I contact?

The current student trustees are always available to address your concerns and/or answer your questions. Please do not hesitate to contact us at student.trustees@yrdsb.ca​.

If you have questions about Board policies and/or procedures or student trustee participation in Board and/or Committee meetings, you can contact Trustee Services, trustee.services@yrdsb.ca or policy.committee@yrdsb.ca​​.

Relevant York Region District School Board Policies & Procedures:

• Assessment and Evaluation
• Environmental Responsibility
• Field Trips
• Healthy Schools and Workplaces
• Homework
• Indigenous Student Trustee
• Appropriate Use of Technology
• Accessibility
• Student Health Supports​
• Caring and Safe Schools
• Student Dress Code
• Student Leadership and Student Voice
• Student Transportation
• Student Trustees

View the complete list of all Board Policies and Procedures.

Prisha: Mr. Chair, Director, Fellow Trustees, Staff, Members of the Audience. We will be presenting our February Student Trustee Report.

Prisha: February was a productive month with gathering input and planning logistics for events. We are currently working on a conference for elementary school students. The reasoning behind this is that Grade 5-8 students are a part of the group we represent, but there are no means of currently reaching them. It allows elementary students to embark on a journey of student leadership early on and makes them more likely to get involved in their later years. It also allows us to gain data points on the concerns and ideas for the school system. As of right now, the two major themes we are planning are mental health and social justice.

We are also currently working on an opportunity database for students by students. Students are saying that they do not have equal access to opportunities and they are not aware of various opportunities. We are working on an initiative where students will receive a monthly email with opportunities such as (conferences, volunteering, etc.) compiled onto a spreadsheet. We are currently in the process of getting this approved.

Moreover, we hosted our February General Assembly (GA) alongside the York Region Presidents’ Council (YRPC) and focused on specialized programs and post-secondary planning. From accessibility of secondary programs, to the transition to post-secondary programs, and more - this was effective in gathering student input! We learnt about student concerns in this topic, especially around lack of accessibility, improvements and barriers to attending specialized programs offered in the Board, and more!

Teerka: This month we also concluded our Student Trustee Elections, and we are excited to announce that Meilun Yu and Anita Vasserman, will be the York Region District School Board (YRDSB) Student Trustees for the 2023-2024 term. We are excited to work with them in the coming months to help them transition into this role. Given we had a new election process this year, we will be reflecting on this process in the coming weeks.

Holly: A new social media page has been created for the Indigenous Student Council (ISC). Indigenous students and their families can find information about upcoming events and opportunities, as well as on upcoming ISC meetings. This can be found on @isc.yrdsb on Instagram.

Holly: ISC membership has increased this month and the Indigenous Student Trustee election will be occurring in March. The selected Indigenous Student Trustee for the 2023-2024 will work alongside the recently elected Student Trustees, Anita Vasserman and Meilun Yu.

Overall, February has been an exciting month full of new opportunities and new people. This concludes our Student Trustee Report; we welcome any questions or comments. Maarsi, miigwech and thank you for your time.

Mr. Chair, Director, Fellow Trustees, Staff, Members of the Audience. We will be presenting our February Student Trustee Report.

Holly: The Indigenous Student Council began discussing a creative project involving all council members. We are working towards building a social media platform as well as a website that Indigenous students and their families can get information from. We are beginning to create and distribute posters advertising the Indigenous Student Council in order to increase membership.

Prisha: We hosted a virtual culminating exam workshop and received over 600+ registrations. The workshop consisted of four speakers, all previous York Region District School Board (YRDSB) student trustees, from various post-secondary pathways that provided tips for culminating projects and exam preparation. Their discussions included tips for numerous subjects including the sciences, math, humanities, and more. Students were also able to ask questions and had a meaningful discussion with the panelists. This showed us the potential to host future events in a similar manner connecting students all across the Board. We would like to thank all the York Region Presidents’ Council (YRPC) advisors; Dr. T. Sterling, Ms. Diakiw, social workers, and Ms. S. Dontigny, alumni, and the technology team for your support.

Teerka: Additionally, the YRDSB Student Trustee Election for the 2023 - 2024 school year has begun. This year candidates participated in a different election process from prior years with all candidates participating in an area election and then the top candidate from each region moving to the final four. The area election for each region just concluded on January 30 and elections for the final four will start shortly on February 8, 2023. Furthermore, we will be hosting the second General Assembly of the school year on February 8 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Richmond Hill High School. The focus will be on discussing post-secondary admissions and specialized programs including IB, AP, Arts, SHSM, HPA and Dual Enrollment.

Holly: Overall, January has been a productive month of working towards our goals. Happy New Year and happy Lunar New Year to everyone. Maarsi, miigwech and thank you for your time.

Mr. Chair, Director, Fellow Trustees, Staff, Members of the Audience. We will be presenting our December Student Trustee Report. 

This month, we welcomed our new, York Region President’s Council (YRPC) Executive Cabinet, with students from a wider variety of schools than ever before and the highest voter turnout ever. We have worked with the York Region Presidents’ Council Executive to plan a December General Assembly occurring on December 15, 2022 at Richmond Green Secondary School. A return to an in-person General Assembly, one after many years, is exciting and will be a great opportunity for students from across the school board to connect.

During the General Assembly, students are welcomed to give input and evaluate questions on the approaching York Region District School Board (YRDSB) Every Student Matters Survey. It is immensely important to the YRDSB to gather student voices and assure that every individual is included. We will also be gathering feedback regarding exam stressors. Students have expressed concerns as many have not written an exam before following exam cancellations during the pandemic. We’ve been planning for an exam workshop in collaboration with the Mental Health Team for early January using the feedback we get from the December General Assembly. We are currently in the process of reviewing this idea with staff.

In the next few days, the First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education Team and Indigenous students will be having an in-person learning session with an elder from the Chippewas of Georgina Island. This session will focus on clan systems, naming ceremonies, and ceremonial protocols.

Additionally, we released our first monthly recap video informing students about what we have been working on and important events happening at the Board on our social media.

In all, November has been a month full of new opportunities. This concludes our Student Trustee Report. We welcome any questions or comments. Maarsi, miigwech and thank you for your time.

Mr. Chair, Director, Fellow Trustees, Staff, Members of the Audience. We will be presenting our November Student Trustee Report.

This month, we have had our York Region Presidents’ Council (YPRC) Elections where we have received more than 70 candidates and over 1100 voting responses. We will have our council finalized by November 1, 2022, and hope to have a minimum of four meetings every month.
With our new executive cabinet, we hope to begin hosting monthly General Assemblies to collect student input on the policies being discussed at that time.

We have continued receiving web and social media training from the York Region District School Board (YRDSB) Corporate Communications Team. We are working towards efficient communication with the student body, as well as being able to manage our Student Trustee website and social media to the best of our abilities.

We have finalized a plan for our monthly video and will have a video published on our Instagram for October, with the work we have been doing. Thank you Superintendent Sterling, D. Brusselers and the Communications team for your support.

Prisha and I were interviewed by the Parent Advisory Council for their winter newsletter. We discussed our role as student trustees, our goals and ambitions for the term, as well as how to encourage students to get involved in their own school communities.

Teerka and I have had the opportunity to give feedback to our mental health team regarding the development of a K-12 classroom activity for students.

Moreover, the YRDSB Indigenous Student Council (IST) will be having their first in-person event in November. This event will be a combination of a social event to bring Indigenous students and their families together, as well as an opportunity to participate in an IST council meeting.

We also attended the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association (OSTA-AECO) conference in downtown Toronto, where we learned and networked with other student trustees across Ontario. We heard from Minister of Education Stephen Lecce and the Ontario Education Plan, including items about actions to combat the effects the pandemic has made on our education system. Additionally, we learned how we can improve Ontario’s Sex Ed Curriculum from talks from, community organizations like, Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (OPHEA). We also had a presentation from the chair of the Ontario School Board Association.

The conference has also given us direction with our mental health initiatives. We are currently exploring options, like a mental health module that teaches students how to live a healthy lifestyle and will have specific steps done by next month.

We have also been discussing ways to better represent our students in Grade 6-8 through an Elementary Senate or other opportunities. It was great to hear about how student trustees at other boards were able to run similar structures in their boards.

Furthermore, as a part of the OSTA Public Board Council, I worked to connect school boards to OSTA leading up to Fall General Meeting (FGM), as well as leading regional breakouts during the conference. It was great to discuss with fellow student trustees in the Golden Horseshoe about the different initiatives and issues they are addressing at their board. I also had the opportunity to connect with the Ontario Principals’ Council (OPC) through being invited and attending their Annual OPC Dinner alongside members of the OSTA Executive Council.

I had the opportunity to spearhead a Mental Health Working Group with Student Trustees across Ontario. This year, we will be focusing on the wellbeing inside OSTA, school boards across Ontario, and through social media. One of our first projects will be a podcast episode that brings light to the resources available for wellbeing. In the future, we will be giving feedback to the Ministry of Health regarding wellness.

Furthermore, we have also have the amazing opportunity to speak at the Board’s upcoming QUEST Conference. I have also had the privilege of speaking about the importance of student voice and ethical leadership on a panel at QUEST.

In all, October has been an engaging month full of new opportunities and projects. This concludes our Student Trustee Report. We welcome any questions or comments. Thank you for your time.

Mr. Chair, Madam Director, Fellow Trustees, Staff, Members of the Audience. We will be presenting our October Student Trustee Report.

We worked with the York Region Presidents’ Council (YRPC) advisors to execute final details for the York Region Presidents’ Council Election. An email will be sent out to staff and students soon with information and nomination details. We hope to have a finalized council by the beginning of November.

Moreover, we met with the Mental Health Team Leads to learn about what is currently happening regarding mental health and opportunities to get involved. We learnt about the Youth Space project, which will be an advisory group across different schools and the Board to spearhead and advocate for mental health related initiatives. There will be a pilot program this year in approximately eight schools. We are in the process of brainstorming ways to get involved, and exploring ideas like a handbook schools can use to implement mental health activities. Moreover, we were given the privilege to give feedback about the development of a K-12 classroom activity for students. The activity will focus on the Student Mental Health Strategy. We would like to extend a great thank you out to H. Calliste, P. Marra-Stapleton, and the mental health team for organizing this.

To mark Powley Day this year, I was a part of creating two videos with the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education Teacher Advisor. These videos showcased Métis culture and identity, as well as the history behind Powley Day.

Additionally, we received social media training from L. Miguelo, D. Clayden, and C. Choo-Hum on the York Region District School Board (YRDSB) Corporate Communications Team. In the coming weeks we will be going through website training as we explore options to effectively use the student trustee website. We are exploring ways to successfully and efficiently communicate with students to best raise their concerns.

Alongside L. Diakiw, we hosted a policy review drop in session on September 21 and 22 where more than 100 classes joined. Policy #672.0, Student Leadership and Student Voice and Policy #635.0, Student Dress Code were discussed. We are in the process of creating an opportunity alongside staff where students can share their opinions and concerns for an array of issues, as it is the basis of our goals.

We are exploring options to be transparent about our work in advocating for students as well as informing them about public Board discussions and decisions, through monthly videos for our social media. These videos would keep students well informed, as well as allowing for more interaction between the student trustees and the YRDSB student body to provide feedback. We are looking into making short monthly videos which would be available in our social media.

In conclusion, October was full of learning and we are excited for opportunities that lie ahead. This concludes our student report. We welcome any questions or comments. Thank you for listening.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Acting-Director, Fellow Trustees, Staff, Members of the Audience

It is an honour to be attending our first regular Board meeting as our predecessors, Munira Chakera, Bruce Yu, and Chelbylynn Milton have. We are privileged to carry the torch forward and would like to extend our gratitude to our trustee mentors, Trustee Services, Superintendent T. Sterling, and staff members for your support through this transition. We are excited to serve as the representatives of over 128,000 students of York Region District School Board (YRDSB).

Before our term started, from May 26-29 2022, we attended the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association (OSTA) Annual General Meeting. It was a weekend of professional development where we learned about how to best elevate student voice, as well as networked with organizations that support student success (e.g. High School Too) and student trustees from across Ontario. We learned about best practices to communicate during Board and Committee meetings which will help us better serve our students.

Additionally, OSTA serves as a vessel all year round to connect student trustees. I am happy to join the Public Board Executive Council on OSTA where I will have the chance to discuss and work together on student matters with all the Ontario public school student trustees.

I am excited to join as Co-Chair of the Well-Being Working Group, where I will lead a team of student trustees to collaborate on mental health affairs and spearhead initiatives across Ontario.

On August 31st, Prisha and I had the privilege of participating as the MCs for Compass Points where Director Sirisko set direction for this year. YRDSB’s Indigenous Student Council will be having our first meeting of this school year in the coming weeks. We will be beginning to plan our projects and initiatives for the new year and discussing our major goals.

Moreover, we have planned for a drop in session on September 21 and 22nd where students can join in to give input, ask questions and learn further about the policy review currently happening for Policy #672.0, Student Leadership and Student Voice and Policy #635.0, Student Dress Code. We filmed a video to share with students through the Safe and Caring Schools Presentation.

Additionally, we have been working with the York Region President’s Council (YRPC) Advisors to execute an election for the new executive cabinet in the coming weeks. We have an exciting new addition to the council this year of regional representatives - two students from each of the four regions. Regional representatives are responsible for supporting the YRPC Executive Cabinet in reaching students from all regions and all schools in the YRDSB, especially historically underrepresented schools at YRPC General Assemblies.

As we start our term, we are also in the process of collecting student input and having conversations with mentors on the school board to better understand student priorities for this year.

In all, August has been an exciting month as we transition into our new roles. We feel utmost privileged to have our voices and the voices of the 128,000 students in the YRDSB be brought to the table. Thank you again to all our trustee mentors, members of the Trustee Services team, Superintendent T. Sterling and other staff members for your support thus far.

Thank you!

2020-21 School Year

• October 21, 2021 (PDF)

2019-20 School Year

• September 13, 2019
• October 2, 2019
• November 5, 2019
• December 2, 2019 (Invocation)
• December 10, 2019
• February 4, 2020
• March 3, 2020
• April 7, 2020
• May 5, 2020
• June 2, 2020
• June 30, 2020

2017-18 School Year

• September 6, ​2017​​

2016-17 School​ Year 

• September 6
• October 6
• November 1
• December 13
• February 13
• Statement - Febuary 13
• What it means to be a Student Trustee (PPT) - March 23

2015-16 School Year 

• June 21 
• June
• April
• March
• February​
• December
• November
• October
• ​September
• Letter to Students

2013-14 School Year

• February
• December
• November
• October
• September