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Board Highlights – January 27, 2025

January 27, 2024 - Board Highlights

With guests in attendance, including students of Langara College’s journalism department, the Board held its first meeting of the calendar year. Watch the meeting or view the full the agenda package. 

Superintendent’s Update

At each Board meeting, superintendent McGregor begins her update with the Superintendent’s Tribute, recognizing the contributions of staff, volunteers, and partners. This month, she honoured Irina Knyzayeva from the learning Information Technology department for her 20+ years of service and key role in automating VSB’s library system. McGregor also recognized Backpack Buddies for providing 550 bags of nutritious snacks and meals weekly to 28 VSB sites – and their efforts supporting additional school-aged children across B.C.

McGregor shared updates about recent District activities, including the VSB Gives Back fundraising campaign, a family information night on elementary report cards with nearly 1,000 attendees and numerous professional learning sessions for staff. She highlighted the Try a Trade event, a partnership with BCIT, VSB career programs, and the Indigenous education department, where 16 Indigenous students explored trades like bricklaying and carpentry. Additionally, she shared details about a special visit by Olympic gold medalist Phil Wizard at Gladstone Secondary School, engaging nearly 1,000 students in a hybrid event. She also detailed many professional learning sessions that staff throughout the District participated in, broadening and deepening their skills sets to support student learning.

Student Trustee Report

VDSC initiatives and highlight discussions CANley Cup. Collectively, secondary schools across the district raised the equivalent of nearly 200,000 cans to support the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and other local charities, showcasing the incredible generosity, creativity, and commitment of students working towards a shared goal. The Board was informed that the next highlight on the VDSC calendar will see Sister School Switch. Under the theme “Generations in the Making " participating students will learn about school histories and current contexts, the land we share, and ways to create future-focused learning environments.

Board Business

The Board received a report from the Education Plan committee and the meeting of the facilities planning committee held in January. As a matter arising from the facilities planning committee, the Board passed a lease acquisition bylaw for the elementary school at Coal Harbour. The Board also approved trustee appointments to committees and external organizations and agencies for the 2025-2026 term, as well as the school assignments for trustees.

The Board also considered an information report about factors to implement Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in VSB schools and facilities. Related to this, the Board adopted three motions: 

  1. BC School Trustee Association (BCSTA) Annual General Meeting Motion: That the Vancouver Board of Education submit the following motion to the 2025 BCSTA Annual General Meeting and the motion be “That the BCSTA advocate to the Minister of Education and Child Care and the Minister of Health that the Provincial Government fully fund the purchase, installation, maintenance and training for the deployment of AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) in all public school and district buildings.”
  2. Advocacy Motion: That the Vancouver Board of Education advocate to the Minister of Education and Child Care, the Minister of Health, and Vancouver MLAs that the Provincial Government fully fund the purchase, installation, maintenance and training for the deployment of AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) in all public school and district buildings.
  3. AED Implementation Plan: That the Board direct staff to finalize a comprehensive plan for the installation of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in VSB schools and district facilities beginning September 2025, including the timeline for implementation, a cost analysis and potential options for funding the AED installation, ongoing maintenance, and training. And Further, that if provincial funding is not provided or committed by April 30, 2025, that the Board allocate $250,000 from the contingency reserve for local capital to fund the implementation of AEDs. And Further, that the Board refer the ongoing AED funding consideration to the Finance and Personnel Committee to be considered as part of the 2025-2026 Financial Planning process.

Also under new business, the Board approved a second motion for submission to the BCSTA’s AGM, encouraging the provincial association to seek Ministry of Education and Child Care to fund the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) for all B.C. school districts. The MDI is a valuable tool that measures the social and emotional health and well-being of children in grades 4 and 7. It provides critical data that helps educators understand and support the development of the whole child.

Question Period

At each regular public meeting, the Board provides an opportunity to members of the public to submit questions about Board governance matters and agenda items. The submission form is open from 12:00 p.m. the day of Board meeting and closes after the Board receives committee reports during its meeting. This month, one question was submitted, inquiring about what steps the Board is taking to align its decision with reliable enrolment projections. The Board chair responded, noting long term enrolment projection review is underway. This review will consider Ministry of Education and Child Care population projections and the impact of evolving City and Provincial housing initiatives on VSB enrolment projections. 

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