Halton DSB Trustee Wards 3 & 6 Burlington since 2014, Chair 2017-21, Mother, IT Educator, Entrepreneur. R/T not an endorsement (she/her) (On-dray-ya Gruh-bence)
Jan 13, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
🧵#Onted#onpoli 1/5
FACT:
On Monday morning, the media reported UNOFFICIALLY that students were going back on the 17th.
FACT:
Parents immediately started contacting Trustees and Board staff for information.
2/5 FACT:
School boards can only move forward to plan (allocate resources, etc.) when there is an OFFICIAL announcement & directives from the Ministry of Education. Boards don't have staff time to make plans for 10s of thousands of students based on hear-say.
Jul 31, 2021 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
"It's my life, so if I choose not to get a #COVID vaccination what is it to you?"
A lot, actually... 1/8 #GetVaccinated#GetVaccinatedNow
By you not getting a vaccination, you are much much more likely to be symptomatic when you get COVID which makes you a bigger spreader through coughing, etc., and you are vastly more likely to need to be hospitalized if you get sick.
2/8
Oct 3, 2020 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
What is the purpose of publishing COVID case numbers for publicly funded schools & private childcare centres but not private schools? Private schools are embedded in our neighbourhoods. The community has the right to know. #flyingundertheradar#onted
I am aware of a private school in Halton that has had 3 cases. It has not been posted regionally or provincially. There may be more, but we do not know. #onted
@HaltonDSB starts its first optional day today for elementary students as part of a staggered start. The regular excitement and anxiety of the first day of school will be heightened. Compassion, understanding & empathy will help us all navigate it successfully.
As we enter the school year, I want to thank all of the @HaltonDSB staff that have put a ton of hard work into planning for reopening over the past 5 months. Not only were whole new protocols and timetables built and implemented, but...
Jul 25, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Great to see funding of #Oakville HS and #Milton PS. Now we need the MOE to update their benchmarks so the building process is efficient. Waiting 6 months for ATP for Milton #11! Can't start build without it. Taxpayers deserve appropriate school facilities for kids. #onted
Delays increase building costs. Delays increase # portables and transportation costs. Delays can split neighbourhoods and even families into various holding schools.
Fact:
Confirmed by @HaltonDSB Senior Staff:
Directive to move to 28:1 and 4 mandatory online classes HAS NOT CHANGED from the Ministry. Option sheets are currently being collected by schools and planning for next year will move forward under these parameters. #Onpoli#Onted
Fact: @HaltonDSB is a growth board. In one year it has moved from 22:1 to 24.85:1 resulting in many lost courses(trades and specialized) and jammed classes – many in the 35-40 range. #Onpoli#Onted
Jan 21, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Fact:
Trustee mandate: to maintain focus on student achievement and well-being, to assist the board in delivering effective and appropriate education programs to its pupils and to bring concerns of parents, students and supporters of the board to the attention of the board.
Fact:
We have seen no evidence that the introduction of MANDATORY elearning improves student achievement and well-being and in fact, there is mounting evidence is that it does the opposite. shorturl.at/fgotA
Dec 16, 2019 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Good Monday morning #BurlOn . Tonight I delegate at 6:30 pm on behalf of @HaltonDSB Trustees to #Burlington Council on continuing talks b/t boards and the City to get free transit for high-school students. Please attend or email councillors to show support. Emails in thread.
mayor@burlington.ca; kelvin.galbraith@burlington.ca; lisa.kearns@burlington.ca; rory.nisan@burlington.ca; shawna.stolte@burlington.ca; paul.sharman@burlington.ca; angelo.bentivegna@burlington.ca
Sep 19, 2019 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Last night I felt like I was punched in the gut. Today I'm listening closely. I know that as a white, cis, middle-class woman, I have privilege in our society. We have to stop the mascarade & denial of privilege & recognize the systemic racism in Canadian society. Sharing:
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1174516… @RitikaGoelTO
Consultation results (6853 Halton community members) show that less than 4% of question respondents were in favour of mandatory e-learning. Full report at HaltonEducationAction.ca #onted#onpoli@LisaThompsonMPP
Less than 20% of respondents thought e-learning classes should be larger than regular-33% thought they should be smaller #nosavings Concerned about loss of: engagement, IEP adherence, differentiated learning, relationships with caring adults #onpoli#ontedHaltonEducationAction.ca
May 18, 2019 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
We have a comparison document that takes a representative sampling of our secondary schools and compares this year to next year. drive.google.com/a/hdsb.ca/file… In an attempt to preserve some smaller enrollment courses, you can see the growing number of large enrollment courses.
Due to Attrition Protection, the average is moving next year from 22 to 24.85 to 1. We will see more classes disappear and even more larger classes each year until we reach the 28:1 ratio on or before year 4. The key is, when a person retires, their position is gone.
