Cowichan Valley School District Trustee Candidate

Q1. Please tell us a bit about yourself and why you are running.

A: I have 20 years of leadership experience on national, provincial, regional and local boards. I was a full time Mom for 13 years and currently have a daughter attending school in the district. I offer both board experience and a parent’s on-the-ground perspective.

On the educational side, I taught in the Native Communication Program at Grant MacEwan University. While there, I founded the Eagle Feather Scholarship. It was designed so students set the criteria and selected the recipient. I’ve developed and delivered sessions on media literacy for Gr. 4 and Gr. 5 students, and conducted research on parental influence on children’s media viewing. I also worked with teachers at my daughter’s school to implement the Canadian Parents for French Peer Tutoring Program.

It was a joy to contribute to these things, and I am always on the lookout to make meaningful, substantive contributions to the community. Pursuing a School Trusteeship seems a natural step.

Q2. What is your vision for the school district, and how would getting elected help achieve it?

A: I believe we’re headed into a time of stability – the teachers have a 6-year contract, and the difficult work of restructuring is complete.  If elected, this is my commitment to the community:

Financial:
Access Cowichan’s share of the new $400 million education fund to hire more teachers and work with District management to:

a). Drive the number of over populated classrooms from 8 down to 0
b). Increase support for special needs students

Parental and Community engagement:
        a). Work for public engagement with the District Learning Team – the new
        District Think Tank on innovation, learning and student achievement
        b). Work to have public School Board meetings videotaped and posted

Teachers
        A lifelong learner myself, I fully support Learning Team Grants for teachers for research and professional development. I will work with interested teachers to publish and share their work with the community.

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