News Release
3/7/2017
Aurora, ON – The York Region District School Board welcomes the announcement of the province’s three-year Anti-Racism strategic plan.
“Equity is one of our foundational practices as a school board,” said Director of Education J. Philip Parappally. “We look forward to working with the Province and our communities to continue identifying and removing barriers, and providing opportunities for all of our students to reach their full potential.”
“This is an important step to ensure we root out racism in our public institutions and society,” said Chair of the Board, Loralea Carruthers. “It’s incredibly important to us that all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, skin colour, religion or sexual orientation, have the chance to succeed.”
As a Board, we are committed to creating learning and working environments that promote student achievement and well-being and processes that are fair and transparent.”
To support the goal of creating safe, welcome and inclusive learning and working environments that enable all students to reach their full potential, the Board is:
- Collecting racial/ethnic background data through upcoming student and parent surveys. The survey results will help develop a better understanding of our student community and monitor progress toward the Board’s goals for improvement in equity and inclusivity.
- Commissioning an independent, third-party equity audit that would help to identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement.
- Requiring all schools and departments within the Board to have Equity Designates who champion and support the equity work happening in the system. The Board also holds an annual Equity Symposium that provides learning opportunities for staff members.
- In addition to equity and anti-racism work, the Board will continue to work to increase accurate understandings of Indigenous cultures, histories and contemporary perspectives among students and staff members. Self-identified First Nation, Métis and Inuit students have led workshops for students and educators to share cultural teachings, and many staff members have attended cultural learning sessions led by Indigenous partners.
York Region District School Board is the third largest school district in Ontario with over 123,000 students in 176 elementary schools and 32 secondary schools. York Region students consistently perform above average in provincial testing and the Board is one of the top achievers in Ontario. For more information about the York Region District School Board, please visit the Board website and follow @YRDSB on Twitter.
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