Is the necessary work being done to protect children of colour at the Peel District School Board?

BY PAUL JUNOR

It has been over two and half years since the Peel District School Board took control of the Ministry of Education after its refusal to tackle systemic racism, particularly anti-Black racism. The PDSB’s trustees were relinquished of their governance power and Bruce Rodrigues was appointed as Supervisor. There have been many changes implemented by the PDSB over the years as it seeks to address longstanding and deeply systemic and structural issues of racism, bias, undue influence, and impact.

It was on February 28^th, 2020, that reviewers Ena Chadha, Suzanne Herbert, and Shawn Richard revealed findings and made recommendations that focus on four specific areas with respect to systemic discrimination: anti-Black racism, human resources practices, board leadership, and governance issues. After the board refused to systematically follow through on these recommendations, the Ministry of Education initiated a review of the actions taken by the PDSB to fulfil this.

There were 27 Ministry Directives that the Ministry of Education issued on March 13^th, 2020, in response to the reviewers’ report and recommendations. Not happy with the progress of the Board in implementing the binding directives, Arleen Huggins was appointed on April 28^th, 2020, by Minister Leece to evaluate the board’s compliance. On May 15^th, 2020, her damning report paved the way for radical changes at the PDSB.

At their December 23^rd, 2022, board meeting it was revealed that 17 of the 27 Directives were fulfilled and that the end of 2023 would accomplish the rest. Supervisor Bruce Rodrigues submitted his final report to the board on January 3^rd, and he gave his final letter to Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Leece. It was only on Thursday, January 2^nd, that Peel residents were informed of the end of provincial supervision.

There was the election of six new Trustees and six incumbents were re-elected after the October 2022 Municipal election. Trustee Kathy McDonald who has been instrumental in promoting equity initiative and inclusive practices at the board is supportive of Trustees regaining governance. She states, “I too echo the sentiments of supervisor Rodrigues, that the senior administration team is adequately equipped to understand the policies and practices and ensure they are in place to make sure all students will be protected from discrimination. I look forward to working with all my colleagues as we uphold the principles of good governance. Director Swarup is committed to ensure the provincial directives are implemented and enforced and Kathryn Lockyear’s guidance over good governance fills me with optimism.”

Unfortunately, not many Black community members and advocacy groups shared her vote of confidence in the board. David Bosveld told The Pointer, “They removed the supervisor and then told us without consulting the community. I think that’s a sore spot. The reason the supervisor was imposed in the first place was because of poor relations with Black community members.”

In a press release Parents of Black Children (PoBC) expressed reservations about the end of provincial supervision without community consultation. In a press release on January 27^th, they stated, “The lack of consultation is dismissive of the legacy, humanity, and sacrifices that advocates have made to ensure change for our PDSB children. We are also extremely concerned that decision-making power and control for PDSB is back in the hands of some trustees, who have historically shown themselves to be lacking in understanding of the impact of anti-Black racism and systemic barriers for Black students, including the current Chair of the Board, who has previously called the police on Black advocates. There is no evidence that the same leaders who were at the root of the issues will continue to do the necessary work to protect Black children in education.”