PRIORITIES & GOALS
These priorities are a response to the thousands of community members who have engaged with me during this campaign.
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You'll also see a list of goals based on your feedback.
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If you'd like to contribute, please call/text/email me.
519-868-8538 or beth@maitrustee.ca
ENGAGED LEADERSHIP Our community deserves leaders that are fully engaged in the imporant work of leading the board. You deserve leaders committed to the accountability and transparency required of the role. You can see the level of engagement you can expect from me by looking at my experience or by simply looking at the degree to which I have been engaged just with my pro bono board work in TVDSB. Serving as your trustee will have my undivided attention because that's what I believe the TVDSB community needs and deserves. I am committed to public education, to the community, and to you.
PROACTIVE PLANNING Organizations are most effective when they engage in proactive planning rather than reactive behaviour. Sometimes, it is inevitable, such as when the global pandemic began. Most of the time, however, we can plan proactively in many areas. When we do this, we are more intentional with our choices and more effective with our resource distribution. There are many domains where I believe this could be improved in TVDSB that would result in direct, positive impacts for students and the TVDSB community at large. Ask me about it!
COMMUNITY SAFETY AND BELONGING I am a firm supporter of ensuring our learning spaces are safe and healthy for everyone physically, socially, and emotionally. Whether I'm volunteering my time to support parents in school meetings, running not-for-profit programs pro bono in the community to reach at-risk youth, advocating for special education on TVDSB's Special Education Advisory Committee, or engaging directly with kids and families in the community, my track record shows my commitment to ensuring that everyone belongs in TVDSB. Of course, we need to make sure we are planning so that there is physical space for everyone, too. This is part of PROACTIVE PLANNING.
CLASSROOM CONNECTION Words on paper in the board room make a real difference to those in the classroom. As leaders, we must be certain that decisions we make will have a positive impact on our community. It's critical that we are connecting with experts and using reliable evidence and data to guide our work in the board. I have extensive knowledge and experience in TVDSB. I was an employee (educator) for 18 years and I've been an advocate for families and students for 8 years. I've also been active at the board level as an advisor officially since February 2019 (though I attended meetings as a guest from 2016 to the time of my appointment to the committee). As a result, I can see clearly how decisions being considered will likely impact students and staff in schools and have made significant efforts to advise staff and trustees about what is clear when you have a wide and well-informed lens. Having done all of this work for many years, I am now ready to serve you as a strong voice at the board level as your trustee. I'm familiar with the realities of the school system and believe we can do better, together.
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MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT As partners in education, community members deserve the opportunity to engage meaningfully in board activity whenever it is appropriate and advisable. Speaking from direct observation, this simply does not happen with the frequency it should or to the degree that it should according to the board's own stated plans and policies. This can change with leadership that is well-aware of the board's policies and procedures (as I am as I have referred to them many times over the years). We need community engagement as we work through challenges and decisions, not as feedback once decisions have been essentially made. Meaningful communication also comes from having a trustee leader who is engaged with YOU. You may have noticed that I have a telephone number posted with an invitation to call/text. I've also been holding virtual meetings since July to engage with the community and knocking on doors throughout my wards. This kind of engagement isn't going to change once I am elected. I will keep you informed about what is going on so that you can engage as you see fit. I'll be available to listen, to respond, to advise, and to act.
GOALS
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Community engagement! I have been engaging for the past 4 months. For me, this is a job interview. The effort I'm putting in now is the effort to connect you will see later. Meetings and an e-newsletter will be the norm.
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Keep our schools open and functioning safely. I hear people do not want to go back online.
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Promote physically safe classrooms for all students and staff.
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Teacher and student support in classrooms and in schools. This is where direct and positive impacts on our kids will be seen.
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Better and earlier supports for students and their families. Acting earlier is more effective and usually costs less.
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Promote safe and active travel to school for students and staff (will work collaboratively with the municipalities on this as it requires partnership).
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Support students so that they can be both responsibly and successful during coursework so that credit attainment reflects learning. They need to be truly prepared for what comes after graduation.
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Promote diversity in our school and programming choices for students.
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Promote equitable opportunity to learning.
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More collaboration to use expertise in our community (both within TVDSB and between TVDSB and community groups).
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Work collaboratively with board members and administration while also ensuring transparency and accountability.
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Review budget and decision-making around spending to ensure effective use of taxpayer dollars in ways that are good for kids.
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Meaningful engagement much earlier in the decision-making process so that community members can be meaningfully consulted.
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Expect accountability through public responses to public engagement (ex programming changes, school closures, facility collaboration, budget, etc).
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If you have something your would like to see added to this list, please reach out. I am YOUR voice in education.