Thread by @riarenouf

At the debate this evening for school trustees. Looks like everyone running for school board is in attendance. (Cheryl Sluis, Elliot Slinn, Danielle Connelly, Marc Andres, Maya Russel, Kathleen Carlsen, Dee Beattie, Gurveen Dhaliwal, Teo Dobre) #newwestelxn

Also this!! 🥰

https://twitter.com/juliemaclellan/status/1576752079099789313

Juuuuust getting things all set up...attendees are filing in. #newwest #newwestminster #bced

And we're off. Reminder that New West Student Voice also helped to put this debate together. The group has submitted three questions for this evening.

FORMAT:
-Opening statements from each candidate (90 sec)
-1st of 3 student voice questions (not provided ahead of time, 90 seconds to answer)
-1st of 2 rounds of numbered q's, submitted by parents, caregivers, PACs, (provided ahead of time)
cont'd

^90 sec to answer the numbered q
-2nd student voice q
-Another round of numbered q's
-Last student voice question
-Then ~fin~

If you can't keep up with the thread in real-time we'll have the recap in Tuesday's edition of @newwestanchor #bcpoli

OH THERE ARE CARDS
-Yellow paper means 15 seconds
-Red card means time is up.

First up is Marc Andres (Community First)

Andres: as a teacher from a family of teachers he cares about the success of all students, looks forward to listening to the community. Wants to expand the safe and caring schools policy, if elected. Also a carpenter. Wants to expand/prioritize trades training and opportunities.

Andres: success of the board contingent on listening to the community. Pledges to listen.

Next is Dee Beattie (Community First, incumbent)
25 years as an ed. assistant, seen first-hand what happens to vulnerable students. Schools=hub of communities, support...

Beattie says New West is a leader in education. Asks everyone to look at the Community First platform, including plans for child care, other education plans, etc.

Next is Kathleen Carlsen. Thanks DPAC and student voice for putting the event on.

Carlsen lives in Massey Victory Heights, lives with her husband, son, dog. Former highland dancer. Spends her days w/kids, works as a dance instructor for the city. First and foremost a parent, running b/c she wants everyone to work together while learning and understanding...

...what is needed for one another. Advocating for safety, mental health of those who work w/children. Listening and learning are also priorities. Believes in the great accomplishments in this district. Wants to work with and for all students and staff. (Barely made it to time!)

Carlsen running w/New Westminster Progressives.

Next is Danielle Connelly, also with New Westminster Progressives. Says she's spent nearly 4 years working hard to focus on 3 things: advocacy, planning, collaboration. (Connelly is an incumbent)

Wants to continue planning for the future, says we need to work together in the best interests of our students. Hopes to serve students again for next four years. Says students "give so much," wants to bring more opportunities to engage students and families.

Gurveen Dhaliwal (Community First) served as board chair this most recent term, also prev. vice chair. Wants to build on previous successes. Personal priority is to increase mental health supports for students, families.

Part of the group that worked together for the Wellness Centre, also passionate and excited to keep that work going.

Next is Teo Dobre (New West Progressives) he lives in DT w/his wife and son. Born in Romania. Given the chance to have a better life, education here.

Inspired to give his son what he can. Says there are plenty of things to improve on in the school district (says he won't be listing those off) but he is running because he wants to give kids the best opportunities that they can have.

Maya Russel (Community First, running for re-election). Previous term was her first. Says she was concerned re: whether there were enough supports for every child to succeed. Proud of the achievements in her 1st term, citing truth & reconciliation, inclusive education review...

Skwo:wech, staffing supports and training. There is more to do, but adds the report is helping. Stigma-free access to menstrual products. Russel is out of time.

Next is Elliot Slinn (Community First) who says it's an exciting time in the community for the common...

...love of children and youth. Believes the community has equity, diversity at the forefront of its mind. Slinn grew up in New Westminster. Wants to increase art programs, wants to see an expansion of the food program.

Cheryl Sluis (Community First); Cheryl cites the climate crisis, says we need to act, think w/partners to solve problems. Committed to addressing school infrastructure needs, celebrate success and identify places for improvement...

That's pretty much it for opening statements. Now we'll move on to the 1st student voice question.

Technology: essential for teaching...there are concerns that students don't necessarily have access to technology (plus they can be distracting). How will you support...

...laptops, better internet connections in the district. Teo Dobre up first. Has 90 seconds. Dobre says this is a fantastic question, adds he's a librarian, access to tech is a priority for him and his slate (NWP). It's not right that kids bring their own devices to school.

Dobre says bringing one's own device suggests that #bcgov doesn't really care about the students.

Gurveen Dhaliwal (Community First) something that we learned during the pandemic was re: the inequities. Many families struggled to buy tech for their homes. Not for...

...families to purchase said tech on our own. PCs give us coding, graphic design, many critical things. We need to back that up with investments. 3 year projection for an investment ($850K I believe was the number). Calls it a critical piece.

Beattie: hard to talk after Gurveen, brought up all the points I wanted to say. Talks about the incredible team the school district has re: technology. Says a priority is to expand STEM-related opportunities into class curricula and clubs. Refreshing tech on a regular basis.

Carlsen (NWP): As Teo mentioned, NWP has this on the platform, I don't think it's right for families to have to supply tech (bit of a pause), really divides families. Families and kids shouldn't bring these costs home.

Russel: (Community First) technology is a tool. Bring your own device policy not meant to be mandatory, was an option to send a device. Concerned when I hear a student/family had to send one or buy one, I worry for families w/many children. Communication is important, wants to...

...hear from the student who asked the question after the event. Russel says this is also in the CF platform.

Marc Andres (Community First): "I think my colleagues have spoken really well" on this. Andres cites his experience as an English teacher...

Agrees that phones can be a distraction, wants to be able to empower students to go into silent mode, using apps, apps maybe that grow a tree when you're focused. Long-term is good education around over-use of phones.

Danielle Connelly: (NWP) Distict shouldn't have to be forced about feeding students or having better devices. We just need better funding. District has an ongoing refresh program, but a lot of this all boils down to funding, how we choose to spend the $ we're given.

Teachers' Union also talked about the inequities, things need to be looked at via an inequity lens. Big piece of an inclusive education environment. Lots of work to do, all does come down to funding. "We need to continue advocating for funding" so we can provide these tools.

Elliot Slinn (Community First) at the school he worked at he noticed bringing your own device did result in some issues around inclusion. Slinn sharing anecdote about his sister who is 10 years younger, able to explore diff. opportunities and is now in graphic design.

Slinn: We need to accept technology is here.

Cheryl Sluis (Community First) technology is a vital tool, we're not getting away from it, equitable solution is to offer students technology. Need to have students learning on current tech, also mentions STEM (like Beattie did)

What about faster reliable internet? Sluis says it comes down to advocacy, need to make sure that we are working with those folks.

End of this round of questions. Next is the first round of numbered questions. We'll start from the other end of the table and work down.

Question for Sluis: what would you do for students who may be marginalized re: opportunities.
Sluis: "I'm an experienced project manager w/an organization that supports people w/disabilities." Also has lived experience challenging systems, committed to SOGI supports...

...and improving those, protecting Indigenous students, etc. There's a need to feel we belong, but also need to be able to ensure students feel safe. Inclusive sexual health education, educating educators re: de-escalation tactics.

Slinn: What is your strategy or approach to retention for teachers teaching on call?
Slinn: supporting curriculum, continue to find new strategies and creative ways to bring teachers to the district. Unique offerings=unique talent.

Also just having a new facility that creates a learning environment (I think he's referring to New West Secondary?) acknowledges there's a shortage all over.

Next is Connelly: city & school district need to work closely together. What ideas should be considered?

Connelly: "oh gosh. Only 90 seconds?" Answer: formalize a relationship between the city and the school board. We're in a crisis situation, can't bury our heads in the sand re: where we're at. Need to make space for schools in the district, do that by working w/city partners.

Need to build schools for future need, not current need. Also need to advocate, ensure that the school site acquisition charge actually reflects the current cost of land (right now it's not enough money). We have no more land.

Andres: what should take the school liaison officer program's place? Andres: notes that he teaches in Surrey, wants to draw on what he's seen in Surrey. Wants specialized staff in schools, mentorship, early education, de-escalation.

People also working directly w/administration to develop a school safety plan. Wants to see an assessment. Hearing different things; some say they're unsafe, others not. Wants to work from data. Direct instruction also really important. Also health education is important.

He almost ran out of time!
Russel: how will you support students not feeling safe/experienced bullying or harassment?
Russel: you can't learn when you don't feel safe. Most of the time schools do an exceptional job providing a safe, welcoming, comfortable environment...

Bullying and sometimes even worse does occur. If something is wrong, families and students should be using the ERASE reporting tool. Need to know when a family and/or student is having a problem at school. Need that data, need to be accountable. Safe schools coordinator in place.

Carlsen: how will you ensure all children, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity feel supported.
Carlsen: respect needs to come from the top, needs to come from every student, staff member, etc. Need to meet people where they are. Rainbow crosswalks do not...

...stop the bullying. Needs to be education on acceptance, safety, etc. We need to show up and be role models. Need to have adults be respectful in meetings (this seems to be a nod to school board meetings). Has supported a number of pride groups, including New West Pride.

Beattie: what does good consultation look like to you, how'll you ensure feedback has been heard.
Beattie: past couple years tried different models to engage w/families. Includes thought exchange. Thousands of thousands of messages that have come to the group. Asking...

...open-ended questions was NOT effective. Beattie says she wants to hear from people directly. Trustee email addresses should be right on the website if we are the liaison for their school. People can't always get in touch with us.

Budget consultation has also been useful for seeing how people want us to focus spending.

Next is Dhaliwal: given that COVID-19 pandemic is still in our midst, should the district do more to prevent transmission. Dhaliwal calls this a "million dollar question"

Dhaliwal says we should be taking direction from the scientists, experts, those who know the science. Stay home when you're sick, funding TOCs. Says we're still moving through the pandemic.

Dobre: what does effective advocacy look like to you? As a school board trustee, how would it get done?
Dobre: we need to know and learn about our students' and parents' needs. How can we handle pretense to be taken seriously by the province if we don't know what the needs are?

Need to convey their needs to the government. Good advocacy means direct communication with the province, without fear.

End of this round. Second round of student voice questions.

Student q: our school counsellors are really busy...how would you address the need for academic advising at NWSS? More support for trades and apprenticeship, seems like less for post-secondary.

Russel answering first.

Russel: the provincial gov't has a number of how many students can be served by one counsellor. That number is absurd. Russel thinks that number is in the 600's. Allocated extra money for a counsellor. Something to look at: mental health, scheduling pieces.

Andres: counsellors are one of the most integral parts of our school...integral to having conversations with us. Part of this is thinking about the role of counsellors in schools. What kind of tasks are the most important ones, which ones can be prioritized. Clerical work...

...also takes away from the one-on-one time. Also pointing to how great the wellness centre is when students are having issues.

Connelly: I agree with Marc, there are two pieces here, Maya touched on it as well. Ratio of 1 to 693 is a huge workload. New West is closer to

...1 to 450. Also student voice had asked for a review of one of the classes, which would have been better to have in grade 11 vs grade 12. Thinks advocating for funding is good, strategic partnerships, creative learning.

Can we have a career forum? Maybe some opportunities like that as well.

Slinn: lot of people have said the numbers, I agree w/what's been said, need to get creative. When I was a student at Douglas, academic scheduling was hard. I believe in the need for counsellors...

...supporting them, and for students not just telling them where to go. Give them the tools to chart their course. When you do that, that allows students to be the masters of their own destiny.

Sluis: is a system-based thinker, makes decisions based on info...

...what are the counsellors currently doing? What are the skill-set? Are there staff that can take the less education-specific tasks that can take this on? Do we need counsellors to do the work or can it be redistributed? While we can advocate for more $$ we should...

...also consider creative solutions.

Dobre: counsellors are a bit overworked, are we asking much of them, I was thinking about how disoriented I was when I was in university. Wishing I had seen some of a university presence in my high school. So more involvement from...

...outside partners, like universities. Student potential/talent can be seen BEFORE grad.

Dhaliwal: I think what Maya said is very important, those are very different skill-sets. Mental health care, course planning...just b/c that's the way it's always been done...

...doesn't mean that's the way it needs to happen. Reimagine how we support our staff and students.

Beattie: lot of the points have been covered, but as trustees we haven't had a lot of conversations w/counsellors. But we've prioritized at the high school re: extra supports.

Aboriginal students currently have a counsellor/someone they can lean on. Having someone to help where there were missing credits (Beattie says she has Aboriginal children in her home) really helped.

Carlsen: we are expecting way too much from counsellors. This is something that should not be put on their plate. Idea of bringing in special career counsellors is a good idea. Likes bringing in partnerships and a career fair.

We're drawing questions again. Starting with Dhaliwal. Question: what creative ideas should be considered to build enough schools in our city. Refers to capital plans, building for the future. We need adequate and timely...

...funding. It's NOT the city's responsibility. Listing off all the schools that are in progress of being built. We need to build schools faster, looking at height restrictions, etc. "The not-so glamorous life of permitting."

Beattie: how will you support students who do not feel safe/experienced bullying or harassment. Beattie: students need to be safe, feel well-supported, committed to addressing safety concerns. Heard loud and clear we needed to do more, points to walk-out at NWSS.

We now have a safe and caring school VP to increase capacity, help with professional development, also have a diversity/inclusion VP. Also have SOGI leads, will continue to support them when they need to support those students. Make recommendations when...

...we need to make improvements. Asks everyone to use the ERASE reporting tool. I plan to work hard on the student safety issue in the upcoming years.

Carlsen: given that the school liaison officer program has been removed from schools, what should be taking its place.

Carlsen says she voted to keep the officers in schools. Could there have been changes? Absolutely? Changes and discussion? There should have been. Says the decision was made in-camera. "That service was free." Will need to take whatever out of overfunded budget.

(I think she means going over budget.)

Also says it shouldn't mean teachers learning self-defence. We need safety supports for our students and we need it now.

Russel: approach/strategy for teachers teaching on call?
Russel: feeling absences is incredibly important...

...someone ends up getting pulled from important work when a teacher is sick. I am proud of our priority TTOC program. Decided to create full-time positions. Someone hired into FT job, they have benefits, can count on that, then deployed to diff. schools. Made a huge difference.

Recruitment has been a challenge when we are such a small player.

Andres: how will you ensure all children...feel supported in our schools?
Andres: continued implementation of SOGI 123 in New West? How are we doing when it comes to this? I'm a newcomer, I don't know...

...also interested in the way we resource our schools. What about our libraries? Representation in the choices of what children get to read. Gay-straight alliances in New West, that visibility is important (sticker, button, flag) I think...

...safe harbours are important. And we also need to address non-inclusive language. It's hard, but it's important, too.

Connelly: what would you do to increase inclusion of marginalized populations?
Connelly: re: disabilities, wants to see an accessibilities audit.

We need to continue to support SOGI work, review policies annually, ensure they're adequate. Also need to support additional training and resources, ensure safe spaces to be able to share what it is they need.

Slinn: what does good consultation look like to you? Slinn: "it's a repeat of my closing statement," says it's open and honest dialogue. Listening vs. ACTIVE listening. I was a student here. I wish I was able to speak to somebody and voice my concerns, then I want to...

then I'd* want to take action on them. Having equity at the table; again good dialogue and active listening.

Sluis: what does effective advocacy look like to you?
Sluis: advocate for funding AND funding models that are equitable. Funding for growth, cost increases...

...upkeep of schools, funding for diversity and inclusion. BC School Trustees Association has advocated for a number of costs (per pupil funding, as an example) BCTF also advocated for other kinds of funding. We need to work in a coordinated way b/c our voices will be amplified.

Dobre: given that COVID is still in our midst, should the district do more to prevent transmission?
Dobre: has it been two years already? It looks like it might be over soon. I would say our district has done a good job of following guidelines. We've had low child infection...

...rates, but more can be done. Two v's are most important: vaccination and ventilation. Ventilation on the school website is there for prevention. But let's take it a step further: check these systems, follow up on older systems.

End of 2nd round of numbered q's.

Last student voice question: eco-friendly ideas?
Starting with Elliot: climate crisis is real, supporting climate curriculum and developing new curriculum is very important. Schools need to be built to the highest ratings...we have to address this now. We have to do the work now.

Connelly: you'll find agreement across the board here that we are in a crisis. We need to do all we can to ensure our schools are prepared for that, make sure the message is getting out there. More training that should funnel down from the province, but that should also...

...come from the district. And from the student voices. Having them at the table has been important. We need to work on your behalf, advocate on your behalf. Also need to focus on the optimism. Can't be all doom and gloom. Builds a lot of anxiety when we hear this.

Plus simple things: no idling, recycling options...Danielle is out of time.

Andres: as the father of a 2-year-old I really felt this, especially during the pandemic. We need more climate-focused curriculum, going to the parks, the Fraser River Discovery Centre. Something else I think about is how much schools use. We use paper, disposable cutlery...

...I want to see climate-friendly things, I think that's part of the question as well. Good to see that our new schools are being built to a high standard. As a teacher, education to me is always the answer.

Russel: I share the motivation as a parent. I don't think it's possible to be a parent who is paying attention and not be seized by the current reality. Restoring biodiversity, recycling options, planting indigenous plants, plant-based food...time's up.

Carlsen: I believe the district has been doing a good job. With the new schools we're seeing that. Air source heat pumps, LED lighting, here and being advocated for at the provincial levels. Automatic faucets. I'd like to see more incentives for using proper transportation...

IE: reduced bus fares maybe?

Beattie: so much has already been said, but I want to read what exactly is on the community first platform: meaningful action, we support climate curriculum development, making sure schools are built to the highest climate ratings.

Dhaliwal: we're in a climate crisis, no doubt. Thank you Dee for sharing what's on our platform. In 2019 working w/the parents and students to move that climate action motion, a lot of action has happened in our district b/c of the motion.

We have a section in our budget that's just climate action. Pointing to leaf blowers, other equipment. One of the best things was to hire a climate facilitator for the high school. We can't absolve our responsibility of this. Everyone at every level has a job to play.

Dobre: I think it's telling your generation's concern is climate. The way I see it as an outsider, two things can be done: better food options, no more plastic bottles, but also the school district relationship w/the provincial government.

Making sure that we're really advocating for what students needs. This also means prepping students for better environmental action, better retrofitting, building of newer schools.

Sluis: I don't ever think we can rest when it comes to climate action, Community First is committed to meaningful action: raise the standard for new builds, adopt procurement policy, support climate curriculum development, capturing storm water.

And that's the end of the all-candidates meeting! Again, if you missed the live-tweeting, I'll link to this in the Tuesday @newwestanchor newsletter! See you then!