1. What are your plans to engage parents more in schools, specifically fathers?
a) All parents should be engaged in their children’s schools. We need to provide more evenings like Literacy and Math nights to give parents the tools to work with their children. We should also be looking at learning from a different perspective, not just spending time at home reading a book, but, to play games, puzzles, crafts that interest the child and the parent to work together. Specifically, fathers the learning I am talking about is tailored made for fathers as well as mothers. Fathers can teach their children how to play chess, cards, painting, activity books etc. This will help develop a wonderful relationship that will go with each grade your child goes into. In addition, I will work with our libraries to recommend books about family relationships. I bought a book for my son and my husband to read together called “My Dad and Me” which was simple to read and promoted the positive relationship between a child and his Dad. Books like this are great because they often set out all kinds of different activites that Fathers or Mothers could do with “special time” with their children.
2) Some parents due to work constraints are not able to make parent teacher meetings; do you have any creative ideas as to how teachers can communicate to parents of their students?
a) The need for both parents to work full time is a reflection of todays economy and I pledge to work hard with families to be sure that they are welcomed into our schools and have the same opportunities as other families to have access to the teachers and principals of our schools. If I become your trustee you will also have full time access to me.
b) Usually, when the parent teacher meetings are held they are held for one afternoon and one evening so that all parents will have an opportunity to meet with the teacher. But, do remember that teachers and principals are available and responsible to you everyday. If you have a question or concern, please do not wait for a meet the teacher night to speak to the teacher/principal about the issue. Remembering that teachers are in class most of the day, you may have to leave a message for a return call, but, our teachers care about your children and should respond to your call quickly. If that does not happen, you should call the principal and if there is still not action you should then call your superintendent. Every parent should know the name of your superintendent at your school, should you require assistance. Failing all of that, I as a trustee would be happy to assist.
c) If there is a monthly newsletter, perhaps one teacher or two could contribute a column to parents about the happenings in their class, we have to start sharing some creative ideas of how to do better job in communicating with parents and I look forward to any parents bringing their ideas forward.
3) How important is it for you to work with the community/ parents to create change within our schools?
a) Absolutely, hands down the biggest thing we have to do is reach out to each school community and the parents to create change.We need to stand up and be proud of our schools. We need to hold town hall meetings where parents can express their opinions regarding things they are concerned about but also can share some of the great ideas that are out there which can make community learning evenings fun and involving for all. We need to get the media out to events and show them why it’s great to be in a Catholic schools. We need to allow our children to sing, play instruments, show art works and the like and be proud of their efforts and know that their parents are standing beside them just as proud as they are. To be creative, we need to look at all the opportunities that might be great for our kids to do that would add to their learning, ie. a tour of a factory that makes books that they read. Parents could get together in the evening and the classes that went could sit and tell the parents all about this great experience that they had.
d) Funding will only get tighter in Ontario as enrollment shrinks, it will be our role as parents that can keep our schools new, exciting and a place to be proud of in the future. I feel strongly about this issue and will look to donating the major part of my trustee honourarium back to the board to develop parent support.
4. Do you think the afro-centric school model is needed? And do you see the need of a similar model in this area?
While this is a major issue right now and I do not have all the statistics I would like to have at my hands to properly answer this question, I will answer it from my heart and my opinion. I believe as soon as you start separating a culture for any reason (not including specialties like art, music, athletics etc.) it is not a positive thing. I remember when I was young we had a high school that was known for a school where the lower learners went to when they left grade 8. You never wanted anyone to say you are going to ……… school. That is too bad. It set a negative tone, and many of the students there became aggressive and known to be bullies because they acted out the reputation they had been given by the community because of the school they went to. What I would like to know is if the students going there have been hand picked for there or is it filled because of the catchment area of the school.
Does the school have a positive safe school plan in action. I would need a lot more information than I have to be in a position to give a solid answer on this except to say that I hope we can open our schools to all students and that we can work with children having difficulties maintaining discipline with social workers, psychologists or outside professional help if the child needs it.
5) Some parents feel that compared to the west, the east schools board trustee has the olds man club; what progressive ideas will bring to schools in this area?
A. On many board committees that I sit on, there is some jesting going back and forth between trustees about what the west gets and the east gets, but, truly there is an effort to make sure things are fairly even. There is not much that I am aware of that is done for the west that is not done for the east.
B) What I am going to ask parents in Ward 8 to do is to stand up and SHOUT!! I have my own ideas about what needs to be done and I think with all the interviews and facebook etc. alot of you probably know some of the things that I would like to do. But the people who can make the big difference is YOU!!! Send your trustee (and I hope it.s me) all kinds of ideas even if you are not sure it would work we can put everything in a pot and out may come some extraordinary ideas that we can work on together. We have to be creative in ways to do things that don.t always involve budget because as you are aware (*it has been the main focus of this campaign) we can not exceed the balanced budget. But there are a thousand things we can do that might not cost alot to do.
3). Without a great deal of thought, maybe a parent or two could meet with the principal and suggest that they would like to take up a parent petition to request that the zoo provide free passes to the students at your school because of how much they can learn and do not be afraid to say that there are no extra funds in the school budget to pay for the admission. Parents, lets not sit back and ‘let the other guy do it “, you are the other guy, pick something small or big, but get involved, have a voice, MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR YOUR CHILD. PARENT INVOLVEMENT RESULTS IN INCREASED STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
6. Do you have any plans for after 3:30pm programming within your schools for the students and the community on a whole, is something like this needed in Malvern. Why or why not?
a). One of the greatest thing I have learned about the Malvern corridor itself is that in the past couple of years there has been increased community support. When I sat with the manager at the Malvern Community Centre and I saw the wonderful programs they offer there to our young people, the facilities that will serve our youth into organized sports and most of all what impressed me was the artwork from the young artists in our schools that adorn the walls at the community centre. Not only do we appreciate the atmosphere they give the centre, but, it may me think about how proud these artists must have been when they finished this work and left it for those of us who like to gaze at it and try to understand the spirit of our youth.
b). In addition, we have the Tamil Health Centre going in at the Town Centre and that is so exciting as it shows that the Ministry is responding to some of the needs of our diverse culture. We have the Malvern Family Resource Centre where Alex works hard with various groups to communicate and support each other. A true outreach to groups in our community who need to just talk to each other.
c) Do we need more - yes, not just in Malvern, but, throughout Ward 8. The full-day kindergarten issue is already in place in a couple of schools in our area and more schools are coming on line this year and even more the next. There are still issues being sorted out on this matter, ie. daycare before and after school etc. and I would like to be involved in this committee.
d) I would love to get together some school groups in some kind of physical activities with the families and a personal trainer at a community center where they can do an hour of physical fitness and keep families doing a positive example of good health.
e) In addition, we could create programs after 3:30pm where older students could create some projects for the kindergarten , grade 1, 2 ,3 to work on after school in care. We should also form mentoring programs for the grade 3.s working towards their EQAO and the grade 8.s working with the grade 6 who are studying for their EQAO tests.
7) If you were going to vote for someone else in this ward other than yourself, who would you vote for and why? (you have to answer this question)
a. I think that this is an unfair question to a candidate. You spend so much time self-focused during debates and interviews and answering email interviews it is difficult to really assess fully the other candidates. I won.t say who I would vote for for sure, but, I will express my opinion regarding people running for school trustees.
B. The one frustrating factor is that people can say anything they want and there has been very little opportunity to correct the information they are offering despite the fact that they are incorrect. It has been a campaign that has been based on two statements from the majority of candidates (not just in Ward 8, but in all Wards across the system) :
c) I will balance the budget – the budget is balanced and estimated to be so for three years. I can understand people saying they will adhere to the budget, but, I cannot count the number of times candidates have said the first they will do is balance the budget.
d) The second issue is to increase Catholicism within the system. Total agreement here, but, very repetitive here. We can.t all just say that, there are so many other issues that we can talk to that are not getting out there as part of the discussions we are having.
g) At the last debate the Ward 8 candidates took part in the moderate ended the evening by saying, ‘this is the best group of candidates I have ever worked with, when they got together before the debate it was like a group of friends liking and supporting each other in the Catholic way” I will take the higher Catholic road and not pick just one alternative, but, if it can.t be me I think Ward 8 could be well served by the candidates.