qathet School District (qSD) board chair Jaclyn Miller opened the May 15 regular board meeting by acknowledging that it was this time last year that the school board completed its first draft of the 2023 to 2028 strategic plan.
"We had set out to create something bold and inspiring that focused on centering our students’ needs and shining a light on our work to build a culture of belonging and understanding," said Miller. "After leveraging input from parents, staff, students and the community, and then testing the priorities with principals and their staff, we landed on six core areas of focus."
Miller said the core concepts the district has adopted in order to improve student outcomes are: ethics of learning; curiosity; connection; truth and reconciliation; integrity and responsibility; and supporting self-determination.
"We are now almost one year into this new vision and with only six weeks left in session the teams will be convening soon to reflect on their accomplishments and learnings to forge a way forward for next year," said Miller. "As a trustee, I can say that this past year has been one that kept the momentum from previous good practices and saw us lean into what we said we were going to do."
qathet School District formed a justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) committee and has been offering sexual orientations and gender identities (SOGI) learning activities for students and staff.
"Our compassionate systems leadership learning sessions for our administrators have made great headway in cultivating an ethic of learning as well as connection," said Miller.
Earlier this month, qSD hosted its second annual grade seven health and wellness conference called Level Up. The conference is meant to prepare students for the transition to high school, which can seem daunting to many.
The day included keynote speakers, presentations by the Brooks Mental Health and Advocacy Club, and sessions covering wellness topics.
"The team at Brooks [Secondary School] has worked hard to strengthen partnerships with postsecondary institutions across the province and we are gearing up for our summer learning program, which will be for kindergarten to grade five with a focus on literacy and numeracy," said Miller.
The Province of BC has recently committed $16.5 million to expand capacity at Edgehill Elementary School.
"As board chair, I am confident that we are well on our way to establishing the foundation for our five-year ambition of greater outcomes for all students in our district," added Miller.
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