Youth Development
2018 ….T’was A Good Year
BY: KATHY MCDONALD
2018 was filled with many significant personal and professional achievements and ended on a high. The week of December 17th began with one successful meeting or event after another. The evening of the 17th ended with a very positive Human Resources meeting. I had two motions that were referred to this committee and while I can’t discuss the details of the meeting I will say that I left feeling a sense of hope, that equity and inclusion for all students could be a reality at the Peel District School Board (PDSB).
On the 18th the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) meeting was very productive. The PDSB staff updated Trustees and SEAC members about supports and resources for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, both the presentation and the feedback were invaluable.
On Wednesday the Poverty Report and the PDSB Action Plan was unveiled. A well thought out logic model was presented as well as clear targets and goals. This was discussed at length during the December 27th edition of my column.
On Thursday night we had the We Rise Together Community Advisory (WRTCA) meeting. The WRTCA is an advisory body of the PDSB that provides input into the We Rise Together Action Plan (WRTAP), the PDSB action plan to support black students. The Board wants to ensure that the PDSB mission “to inspire success confidence and hope in all students” really means all students. At this meeting Dr. Carl James, the Jean Augustine Chair in education at York University presented some findings of research being conducted. Dr. James’ research and the findings as well as the PDSB response to his research will be discussed in depth in a future article.
June’s provincial election was full of surprises. While the writing was on the wall for the Liberals very few expected a Progressive Conservative majority government and the Liberals would lose their official party status. Mitzie Hunter and Michael Coteau both retained their seats. Education 2019 is on course for an eventful year.
On October 2nd the Trustees of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) appointed Camille Williams-Taylor as their Director of Education. Ms. Williams-Taylor will be responsible for the operational aspect of the OCDSB. She will oversee approximately 1 billion dollars annually and will lead 143 schools, 73,000 students 10,000 educators and thousands of parents and community partners to provide an outstanding educational experience for all. Ms.Taylor is Canada’s third black Director of Education and OCDSB’s first.
Municipalities across Ontario held elections. In Brampton we had a lot to celebrate as we elected Charmaine Williams as the city councilor for wards 7 and 8. This energetic mother of five won the election the old fashioned way. She pounded the pavement and shared her ambitious and practical vision for the city. I was also re-elected to the PDSB as well as David Green. PDSB retired superintendent of Education and tireless advocate for equity, Dr. Elizabeth Sinclair-Artwell was elected as a trustee for the York Regional District School Board. Durham District School Board re-elected Patrice Barnes from North Ajax.
Kangaroo Court was in session on December 4th as community advocate and judge, Donald Mcleod had to defend his actions over his role in an organization he founded, the Federation of Black Canadians. Justice McLeod is a man who is currently enjoying a relatively comfortable existence but is willing to share his experiences growing up in Regent Park and being raised by a single mother. The trumped up charges and accusations were made in my humble opinion to derail and to silence a black man that has made it by the sweat of his brow and was “getting too big for his britches”. He’s a family man, a man with an attractive salary that really doesn’t need the headache, exhaustion and often thankless job of advocating for the voiceless, but he does it anyway.
In a classic textbook “Willie Lynch Letter” style attack, our own people helped lead the charge to discredit this honorable man who merely wants to ensure that less brothers are dying on the streets, that more sisters graduate, more black men step up and be present for their children and most importantly that the systemic barriers that are contributing to the predicament of the black community are dismantled. Instead of celebrating the fact the Justice Mcleod did not forget his roots when he “arrived” and celebrating that he is still deeply connected to the community and can still be an impartial, compassionate and just judge, some try to defame him. Complaint dismissed, to the delight of many he was vindicated on December 20th.
December 21st ended with a spectacular event. PARANG. I would encourage anyone that has never experienced this to try something new Christmas 2019. On Friday evening I ushered in the holidays with a Parang lime at a friend’s house. For me Christmas was quiet; filled with church, and hanging out at home doing puzzles, building Lego, watching Sanford and Sons reruns and playing Risk, Trouble, Balderdash, Scrabble and Spot It. The laughter and sheer joy of watching my four children laughing and having fun together was priceless. So journey with me in 2019 as we strive to continue to make gains in the educational arena so the all children including African Canadians, Black and Caribbean children will be the best versions of themselves. Walk Good! Belle Marché.