Did You Know Campaign

In the summer, while we were engaged in negotiations, part of our advocacy was to raise issues that were most topical in schools. We incorporated the feedback collected from Members in an October 2023 survey, so that our messages included real-time data. To date, we’ve released 5 of these posts under the Did You Know banner, highlighting staff shortages, violence, well-being and workload. We’ll be continuing this campaign throughout the school year as Districts engage in local negotiations, and to continue our advocacy efforts with MPPs in the lead up to the next provincial election. The posts are available on our X and LinkedIn social media accounts and are available on our website, accessible to Members and the public. We encourage you to share these posts with your school community and school board, as you see fit.

Trauma-informed Leadership – Free Resources!

Trauma-informed practices help support caring learning environments by recognizing and responding to the impact of trauma on individuals and promoting positive outcomes. The Center for Trauma-informed Practices (CTIP) offers free resources that aim to help systems and leaders better comprehend and address trauma and violence in their communities through evidence-informed and trauma-informed approaches. 

Most recently, CTIP has released a resource to support the use of personal mobile devices in schools – Trauma-informed Systems-oriented Guidelines and Resources for Implementation. Check out more free resources on the CTIP site!

Provincial Council Meeting

Thank you to all our Provincial Councillors and Local leaders who took part in our first meeting last week. We accomplished a lot of work around governance, reviewed our Strategic Plan and planned for upcoming local negotiations. At our Annual Awards Dinner, we bestowed the Honorary Life Membership on Ralph Nigro, our 2023–24 provincial president, and presented the Outstanding Contribution to Education Award to Egale Canada. Members will receive highlights from the meeting later this week.

Quote to Ponder

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” – Albert Einstein

Media

• Minister won’t rule out changes to way boards are run (subscription needed)
• Opposition gears up for return to legislature at Queen’s Park
• School trustee travel should be rare
• Thousands of college students miss semester due to visa delays
• First Nations community uses Minecraft to connect kids with ancestral traditions
• It’s time to start paying student teachers
• Creation of triple split classes not business as usual
• How this principal manages behaviour without too many rules 

Queen’s Park Update

The House resumed sitting last week.

There were questions in the House about the skilled trade shortage, school bus transportation, capital needs of schools, children and youth in care, NDP emergency plan to end violence in schools and $10 per day child care.