The Upper Grand District School Board is holding a virtual meeting for racialized students and their families to give input on how the board can improve anti-racism and anti-oppression policies.
Discussions from the google meeting on June 24 at 2 p.m. will guide the planning of upcoming mandatory anti-racism and anti-oppression learning for UGDSB staff.
The meeting will be led by equity leader at the UGDSB Jessica Rowden, Indigenous education leader Colinda Clyne at the UGDSB and social worker Geer Harvey.
“We don’t know if we’re going to be responding directly to what the needs are within our community unless we ask,” said Clyne.
“We want to know what their experiences have been specifically within our school system,”
On May 31, chair of the board Martha MacNeil and director of education Martha Rogers at the UGDSB released a letter that stated the educational community's responsibility to identify, describe and work to dismantle racism.
“Change requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism and regular self-examination of our bias. We cannot remain comfortable with the status quo and deny that racism exists,” read the letter.
“Instead, we need to disrupt our own biases and stereotypes, model learning and vulnerability, and hold ourselves accountable.”
The UGDSB also said that it is continuing to work on moving its system into anti-racist practices and processes by having conversations, listening, and taking action.
“So of course as educators, we have ideas about how to do this work,” said Clyne, who is Anishinaabe and has lived experience with colonialism.
“What we will be doing is listening,”
“What do the community members have to tell us about their experiences that will guide the work that we need to do?” said Clyne about concrete action that community members would like to see the board implement in schools in regards to anti-racism and anti-oppression.
The meeting is not open for the community and is only limited to UGDSB students and their families.
