Over forty people attended the event , at least ten of whom are running to be trustees for either the Ottawa Carleton District School Board or the Ottawa Catholic School Board. Five current trustees, were among those present.
Most of the time was spent in groups working to determine common views about how our schools can best serve students and their families. Lindsey Barr, founder of World Changing Kids, provided the following three “takeaways” that she got from the event.
(1) I was so happy with the diversity of the participants – we had parents, educators, school board trustees and candidates, and concerned adults who don’t have children but who pay taxes to the public education system and want to have a voice. We had participants from the OCDSB, the OCSB, the homeschooling community and private/alternative schools. And I was impressed with the diversity in participants as the term is more commonly used – we had people from different races, cultures, religions, first languages, ages, and countries of birth. We need to hear from a diverse group of people, who have had diverse experiences with the school system, in order to ensure that we are making changes to the education system that will benefit all children.
(2) People feel that the OCDSB has not really listened or been transparent in the past, especially in relation to the consultations for the changes made to the French Immersion program, full day Kindergarten and the closing of Rideau High School. Parents want more of a voice when it comes to the decisions made by the board. Communities want to be truly consulted. And information needs to go out in more languages than just English in order to reach all the parents. There was a strong sense of being responsible for all the kids in Ottawa and needing to make decisions that benefit everyone, especially the more vulnerable populations. This made me very happy!