GUELPH – Parents and guardians can share concerns they have about human rights at the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) during a series of parent/community engagement sessions.
The first sessions took place at Centre Wellington and Centre Dufferin District high schools on June 16 and 17. Three more are set for 7pm on:
- June 19 at Norwell District High School in Palmerston;
- June 20 at John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute in Guelph; and
- June 23 at Erin District High School.
Parents can attend whichever session is most convenient for them.
According to the UGDSB website, the goal of the sessions is to hear “directly from parents and guardians about their human rights-related concerns and experiences.”
The sessions are part of a third-party human rights review currently underway at the board, led by Patrick Case and Julie Lassonde.
According to board officials, the review “will identify systemic barriers with the goal of promoting human rights-centred actions.”
The reviewers did not respond to the Advertiser’s questions about the sessions in time for publication.
UGDSB communications lead Heather Loney said information about the sessions was given to parents and guardians in a variety of forms, including on the board website, school websites, through the UGDSB mobile app UG connect, and through school administrators who were asked to forward information along to families.
However, many parents reported not knowing about the sessions until after the first one had passed.
Loney initially said the board sent out an email to all parents and guardians.
When Advertiser staff informed her many parents reported not receiving that email, she said she was mistaken and no such email had yet been sent.
“We regret the error,” Loney said.
A board-wide email about the sessions was sent five minutes after the conversation between the Advertiser and the board.
Ana Maria Rajcan, a parent who went to the CWDHS session, said there were five parents in attendance.
She said Case led the session, introducing himself and guiding the discussion by asking parents three questions:
- What would you say human rights in education do and do not include?;
- What is the UGDSB doing right when it comes to promoting/advancing human rights?; and
- What would you do to further enhance human rights in our schools?
From Rajcan’s perspective, Case seems to understand the challenges faced and paths to improvement.
He was also “really good at listening to parents’ concerns,” she said.
She said parents’ general consensus at the meeting was that “the board is doing a good job in terms of formal acknowledgment of different groups that might be marginalized,” but that teachers need more training, resources and funding, and parents and students are unclear on paths available to address issues.
“Parents feel like they have to make themselves a problem in order to be heard rather than there being some kind of system that can help you navigate having this issue,” she said.
“It’s an organizational issue, not a teacher issue,” Rajcan added, and parents in the meeting seemed to agree teachers have a lot to deal with.
Parents’ concerns ranged from accessibility accommodations to trans children struggling in elementary schools, Rajcan said
Racism was not a big focus of the meeting, she said, “though I think the meeting was spurred on by the Black Parents Council.”
Each session is likely to have different themes, based on which issues are raised by the parents in attendance.
Rajcan said there were some concerns at the CWDHS meeting that Wellington and Dufferin schools are often left out of the equation, with more focus and resources directed at Guelph schools.
For more information about the review, click here.
To submit written comments, click here by June 30.
