Strategic Education Plan Refresh

Nechako Lakes Strategic Plan Refresh Update for January 2026

Thank you to everyone who shared feedback during the November engagement sessions and through the online surveys.

The district received over 800 survey and in-person responses from students, parents/guardians/caregivers, Rightsholders, stakeholders, community members, and of course, staff. Additional input from both in-person and online sessions has also been reviewed and processed by our Steering Committee. Comments received directly by Nechako Lakes Trustees or staff during the Strategic Plan Refresh in-person sessions are posted below.

Please note that some of the comments received will not be posted to our website.

Such comments would have us contravene or publicly disagree with standards found in documents such as the Canadian Constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, BC’s School Act, the BC Human Rights Code, Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report, and BCDRIPA legislation (BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act) as well as several Board policies.

Our District is firmly committed to upholding these standards and therefore, we will not post comments in contradiction thereof as our website is an extension of us and these comments will not be considered in the strategic plan refresh process.

Comments that apply directly to the Strategic Plan Refresh process

TABLE TOPIC	CATEGORY	COMMENT - These comments are determined to directly apply to the Strategic Refresh Process - Strategic Plan Development
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	some teachers are positive and have great attitude and that's influencing kids
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	connected to work, students, other staff
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	connected to other communities
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	no recognition of special skills
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	no opportunity for feedback to the district
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	teachers weren't receiving the support they needed, so they left
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	people retiring early, burned out, no resources to do the job
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	appreciation doesn't look like a pin
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	staff appreciation
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	opportunity for continuing education
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	staff should feed valued, not just a body in a chair - a chance to provide feedback
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	financial transparency
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	Indigenous programming is a bright light in culture of school - leading the way - staff engagement in land-based
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	noisy staffroom - everyone engaged with each other. Relationships - we want to talk, share ideas, how to support each other, troubleshoot
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	I don't feel welcomed at my child's school because the school doesn't want me there - mindset is that they can do it on their own and don't need parents evaluating them
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	lack of school spirit with school alignment
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	not friendly staff - student was labelled before school started
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	staff team building is very important - fishing derby, campouts - grassroots at school level, not district
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	the feeling in the environment sets the tone for the community
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	promote work done by staff - share successes
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	research-based staff education to help navigate these complex kids - will boost confidence
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	what should be obvious and what is missing - community engagement and creating welcoming spaces
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	school spirit - need more. Staff needs more - kids will connect to school so then families feel it too
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	encourage staff spirit by getting students involved. Student leadership feels that students are not engaged
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	people who stay develop relationships - community of learners
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	parents need to be viewed as partners
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	relationships matter - relationships with students, staff, families
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	communication and involvement - personal / online / in-person - sharing ideas, attending events
Engage Our Workforce	Additional	more options in schools to engage in school - shop, Careers projects
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	staff are supported to help students succeed
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	us vs them mindset - we're all in this community
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	take equality and focus on it - no special groups, honour everyone's background
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	us vs them mindset - we're all in this community
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	take equality and focus on it - no special groups, honour everyone's background
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	staff is lovely to work with
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	events building community between students (i.e. grade level events, bridging events between schools)
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	varied communication methods to reach wider audience and build engagement
Enhancing Connections	Additional	early year focus
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	staff appreciate community connections - having kids do work experience, helping kids learn about local area careers and education
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	a lot more one on one time for their kid allowed opportunities to individualize his education
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	Communications with Indigenous communities are hampered by reluctance to be involved with schools. It should stay informal rather than formal. You need someone from the community to connect with the community, relationship is important.
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	Math and Literacy is three years behind where it should be for all students. Times tables not being learned at the age they should. How do we work together to change this? We need to know that our kids are struggling, and what is being done to catch them up.
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	would like to see more dual credit programs happening in FSJ
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	People will only come out if they feel like their participation is valued. We need to build a sense of community.
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	ensure timely communication between schools and families, need to have different types of communication based on each person/family
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	Better ways of communicating and engaging with First Nations and Indigenous community members are needed. Informal events and relationship building is needed.
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	The district needs better ways of making parents feel like their participation is valued. This way the parents feel valued more and the teachers feel valued more, which results in better educational outcomes for students.
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	increase land based learning
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	"offering" educational excellence
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	Honouring People, Land and History - this is Indigenous, this is good
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	love the vision statement - exactly what I want for my kids! The global community is changing even faster now.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	educational excellence cannot be realized - false advertising in my mind
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	the statements are quite broad and hard to understand
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	numeracy scores are low and we need to focus on this area as it is a life skill
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	what does Honouring people, land and history mean? I think this is important but not understood.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	drop 'global' as this does not help students who want to stay local. What can we do to attract more young people here?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	create a visual or graphic
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	trust needs to be in the vision
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	remove the global part as we need youth to stay local
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	global community is in our backyard
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	develop our learners (students) to make positive contributions in our families, communities, and country - (vision statement)
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	mission statement - personalized thinking
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	educational excellence - change to every students achieves their goals they want
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	mission - excellence is not the right word. "Education Success" would be better
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	vision needs to be broken down into smaller bits - it's very broad
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	learning about Indigenous history
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	good history and learnings
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	need to look at adding AI or tech into our vision / mission
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	our mission/vision needs to be attractive to potential staff
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	good local history and language intros into our district
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	add to current vision and mission, base is good
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	success is different in every student
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	global community and educational excellence has changed since the last plan
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	personalized learning is lacking in our schools; homeschooling is more personalized
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	one curriculum does not work for personalized learning, without an IEP - not personalized
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	redo the value, Indigenous focused and not general / creating division
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	drop the word GLOBAL in the vision
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	honouring people, land and history needs to be better described so non-school people understand
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	mission is a bit grand - excellence is a tough word. Educational success is better - more universal
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	vision - design for learning and student success, get them excited
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	vision needs to be broken down into smaller bits - it's very broad
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	remove the word diversity from the mission statement
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	rewrite the mission to: offering excellent education in an environment that honours diversity, equity and personalized learning
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	we have similarities in life, but sometimes we focus on the differences… this does not bpring people together
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Mission = Achieve educational excellence in an environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	this appears to refer to and give special preference to Indigenous Land, People, and History. It must apply to ALL land, ALL people, and to ALL history
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	increase academic skills - particularly math and English
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	I like the vision statement for my kids
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	the vision statement works well
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	the vision encompasses what is done here - it works
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	Concise guiding principle that contains everything it needs to, but succinctly
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	Understanding land history and land-based learning.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	I am thankful that my kids got taught about Indigenous culture and knowledge. They are better for it today.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	I like the current strat plan - it works very well and only tweaks are needed.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	I don't think the district is meeting the vision and mission
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	If we continue on the path we are on, we are more divisive.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Use plain language that is clear and means what is says.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Honouring all people, respecting the land, do not ignore history because it was uncomfortable or inappropriate at the time.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	VIsion statement: Honour all People, Respect the Land, Educate the Children
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Everybody who makes up Canada should be the guiding principle of the district.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	we need to ensure we offer the programs. Educational excellence scares many students - they may think this is academics only or what about students that struggle and can't achieve excellence?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Honouring all people and the history of everyone who lives here.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	mission - very important to honour diversity and include equity. Indigenous education must continue, and this area has been suppressed for many years in this country and around the world. Equity is important as voices are not heard by all people.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	the mission is good, but diversity should be inclusive for everyone - honour inclusion but don't cause division with people
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	If you want true Reconciliation, you need to start with Truth.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	change mission last word to 'thinking' and this would be a good statement for me
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	develop 'responsible' learners should be in the statements
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	diversity should unite us and not divide the school
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Honouring people is good but not just certain groups of people.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	honour AND RESPECT diversity
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	respect diversity within our communities
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	recognition, celebration, and inclusion of Indigenous history, worldviews, and perspective
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	see different views of life
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	listen to others' beliefs
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	be inclusive and recognize others
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	be respectful
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	develop learners to make positive contributions in our evolving global community
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	evolving global community' - very large words. 'current world standards' - easier to digest
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	what's the standard for positive contributions?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	building a strong and inclusive community
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	make sure no one feels overlooked
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Big Ideas	Honouring all people, land, and all history. - the table seems to be in agreement about this.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Big Ideas	Honouring history is a good thing.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	excellence should be the goal. Mediocrity should never be the target. The statement could use a different work but the meaning should be there
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	global community - great to think globally but we have lots of jobs in Canada, lots of opportunity here
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	life skills should be taught to help society
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	why not 'students' instead of 'learners' - student is a term that is good for me
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	mission and vision statements are so flowery and broad - what do they really mean?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	vision statement - one of the problems with the strat plan is that many words have multiple meanings - what are evolving global communities?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	remove the word diversity from the mission statement
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	rewrite the mission to: offering excellent education in an environment that honours diversity, equity and personalized learning
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Big Ideas	focus on academics
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	clubs and activities make me feel included
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	kids need to feel like they would like to be here. That's the start. But then you need to have the excellence in education.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	communication needs to be improved
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	My third grader loves going to school. She was having bullying issues but I had been diagnosed with cancer. I didn’t know how to get her support with her anxieties and stuff. Maybe there could have been more guidance in how to access counselling and supports. She was so stressed and didn’t know who to ask or who to be with. Ideas for parents on how to access supports that are offered.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	We need mental health counsellors in the classrooms.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	Belonging and trust are connected.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	More help with connection to their home life. How is the connection between teacher, principal, home?
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	Sense of belonging is needed – more clubs.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	building relationships between school and home to build stronger support network
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	access to counselling support on a more casual / as needed basis
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	need to teach about diversity
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	we need to teach the kids to be kind to each other
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	Truth and Reconciliation needs to be ongoing work
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Big Ideas	sense of belonging
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Big Ideas	building relationships with adults in schools (especially teachers)
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Big Ideas	communication
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Big Ideas	consistent and timely responses from District
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	elementary schools - sense of security
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		have safe places
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		be inclusive
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		make sure students of all kinds feel safe everywhere
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Big Ideas	focus on academics
Student Success	Ideas	focus on essential skills of literacy, numeracy, and social emotional well-being
Student Success	Ideas	making sure children feel like they can come to teachers with their struggles and feel safe to ask for help in any situation
Student Success	Strengths	staff - students remember that (good teacher = good experience, bad teacher = bad experience)
Student Success	Strengths	staff stability - safe place to come - calm/consistent (even if staff changes, keep school consistent in policy/feeling)
Student Success	Barriers	staff stability - if you don't have it, students' learning changes
Student Success	Big Ideas	communication
Student Success	Strengths	child feels like she belongs and is represented in the environment - land-based, languages, curriculum
Student Success	Strengths	teachers are catalysts for belonging, especially for students that are high energy
Student Success	Strengths	clubs are full - leadership, student voice, Indigenous girls, GSA
Student Success	Strengths	student enquiry led by teacher engagement
Student Success	Strengths	CNC trades programs, dual credit
Student Success	Strengths	relationships with teachers to challenge and keep interested
Student Success	Strengths	land-based learning
Student Success	Strengths	good communication
Student Success	Barriers	communication can be a barrier - report card, portfolio showcasing activities (last year MME had more photos online)
Student Success	Barriers	gr. 11-12 girls not belonging at school - ongoing pro-active communication, family involvement in mental health supports
Student Success	Barriers	mental health, anxiety - programming supports (how do parents feel involved - class dojo; parent conference, look at parent aspect of mental health programming & communicate)
Student Success	Barriers	lack of academic rigor and providing different paths to careers, lack of understanding our students' trajectories sooner
Student Success	Ideas	mental health programs - involve parents to support
Student Success	Ideas	focus on the essential skills of numeracy and literacy. Support the use of effective teaching methods.
Student Success	Ideas	mental health programming for grade 11/12 female students to increase belonging and reduce disengagement
Student Success	Big Ideas	communication
Student Success	Big Ideas	boosting positive self image based on learners' strengths
Student Success	Big Ideas	communication is important
Student Success	Big Ideas	ongoing communication
Student Success	Ideas	address all students success and well-being
Student Success	Ideas	focus on students success in literacy, numeracy, social / emotional wellbeing
Student Success	Ideas	develop a culture of our schools being first and foremost places of learning
Student Success	Ideas	literacy is the key to success in life - nothing or no one should interfere with this
		Additional proposed Goal: 1. Promote unity Ø Work to strengthen families, and support open and meaningful dialogue with parents. Ø Respect those who hold to a different worldview than our own.

Comments that apply to the Strategic Plan Workplan

TABLE TOPIC	CATEGORY	COMMENT - The comments in this section are determined to apply to the development of the Strategic Plan Workplan due to their increased specificity.
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	vision - they feel heard - training opportunities/staff care
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	staff invited to Saik'uz for baseball, etc. - along with RCMP
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	being a part of the plans, meetings and being able to do my job
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	staffing willing to go the extra mile and feel they are supported to do so
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	the language of inclusion does not include inclusion of families
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	inclusion must include voice of parents
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	teachers wait outside the school and welcome us when we get off the bus - they always seem happy and seem glad that I am here
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	lack of textbooks/resources to lighten load for teachers
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	not a lot of help, lacking joy
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	teachers are overwhelmed and tired at end of day
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	staff wellbeing
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	exit interviews not happening - nobody asks them why they walked off the job
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	gatherings/BBQs to provide group recognition
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	increased opportunities for staff/parent engagement
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	more notice requested for community engagement
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	role models for Indigenous students (lawyers, judges, etc.)
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	good at communicating recruitment but we need to feature retention
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	focus on academics
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	schools need exit interviews - none happening (not only education staff - transportation, etc. too)
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	listen to each other's voices - listen and act, make sure there is some action once there is a conversation
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	transparency
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	training should be open to all categories of the workforce
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	I've been really impressed with the teachers. There is a disconnect between district and families but teachers communicate well with families - they work so hard
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	mentorship within schools (teacher to student, student to student) creates connection with students
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	rapport between administration and staff and students
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	issues are dealt with quickly with teachers
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	disconnect between parents and district - teachers are caught in the middle
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	need more transparent data - at provincial standards
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	clubs outside of school bond staff (i.e. in Fraser Lake there is a camping club, a fishing club, etc.)
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	spirit days
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	welcome to K / openhouse
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	personalized clubs at grass roots level
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	role of school staff - need to listen to community members
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	staff engagement - what does it look like in the physical space?
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	increase the visibility of senior staff in the schools
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	empower teachers to seek assistance when they need it, and back them
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	multiple connections for parents of children involved in multiple activities
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	family events
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	ready, set, learn - welcome to K - events begin building relationships before students even begin Kindergarten
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	communication is tough for parents
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	relying on students to communicate info to families often results in info gaps - better if it's student to caregiver AND teacher to caregiver
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	addressing concerns - policy not working, difficult to navigate
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	education for caregivers on school communication structure
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	work to bring students into municipal committees
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	keep increasing place based, outdoor and in community learning
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	increase parent engagement
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	communicate expectations for parents
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	collaborative communication
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	build relationships via communication
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	create trust in the early years that will follow families
Enhancing Connections	Additional	letter from the teacher - Kindergarten, focus on the first three years, before the first day of school
Enhancing Connections	Additional	communication as a circle - consult vs. collaboration
Enhancing Connections	Additional	sessions like this are great - everyone coming together at a round table
Enhancing Connections	Additional	Facebook is not being used as often - after the event, not before
Enhancing Connections	Additional	parents and families involved with sports are more involved in school and school culture
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	phone calls from teacher directly to parents works well for direction communication (but it is a drain on the teacher's time)
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	project heavy dute and other projects got kids involved with local contractors
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	had quite a few youth who came to work for him who took shop classes in senior years
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	teacher communication - don't leave it up to children to take information home to families
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	project heavy duty, hands on learning - successful students that meet expectations that lead to employment/entrepreneur/business owner, etc.
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	increase ability in students to manage conflict/adversity in the long term
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	increase parent engagement
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	increase supported transitions from grade 12 (complex learners), starting in grade 10
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	leadership opportunities for students in municipal government committees
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	increase parent involvment
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	can the school work towards encouraging parents to get involved?
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	enhanced communication between school district-school and parents - timely communication
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	communication via signs, etc.
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	timely, accessible, clear and transparent communication
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	timely, accessible, clear and transparent communication
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	timely, accessible, clear and transparent communication
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	timely, accessible, clear and transparent communication
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	timely, accessible, clear and transparent communication
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	diversity is causing issues between students
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	academics have slipped, not going to be competitive in the global community
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	too much emphasis on diversity
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	good work on Reconciliation in the district
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	students need to attend school to find success
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	homeschooling is an issue and lowering enrollment
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	literacy bars are low in this district, teachers accept work and do not push students to learn more
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	numeracy is very low. What is being taught in schools
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	I hire high school kids - some are good, som are not. Poor communication skills or missing basic skills
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	vision - good to have 'evolving global community' and 'positive contributions' - students need to be engaged to learn… how can we make students more eager to learn?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	good to have lots of options for students to explore
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	to be in the NHL takes a lot of planning and work from an early age - steps to success
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	basics in education need to be taught to have kids set
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	allowing cross enrollment or other means of alternate education that meet individual needs better than fulltime enrollment
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	more learning in history - take a look at what's happening in the US, we can help prevent this
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	a CLE course helps you think about your future - it should be in grade 10
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Vision = To teach and encourage students to be critical thinkers who will make positive contributions to our families, our communities, and our society as a whole.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	Knowing where food comes from is important.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	Understanding land and water history.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	my daughter wants to learn more about that Indigenous culture - there are lots of different people in our community
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	literacy rates are low here
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	less diversity stuff - it divides people
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	young people need to value all types of work, not just academics
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	We are fortunate to be where we are. Our population is diverse here but not dominated by outside cultures.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Honouring Canadian culture and part of that is Indigneous. Indigenous history is important. The Mennonites, the French, the English, the German, the Japanese, are also all part of the history.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	how will we develop learners?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	speaking out and supporting others
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	education on racism needs to be taken more seriously
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	a place where emotion and education are prioritized over the others
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	try to bring topic more into the light and have it spoken on more
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	always open your mind to learning then teaching, be open to teach people who don't understand (if they are willing to learn, you can teach them if you choose)
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	what could this look like? IEPs? Can students be involved in doing 'personalized learning' to their standards?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	teachers being more active in teaching consequences and learning more diversity
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	give/educate people on LGBT2+ history/politics
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	the idea of having a diverse and personalized experience in school is something everyone deserves and would lead to more attendance in the students
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	more classes on mental disorders and providing resources to check
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Big Ideas	Teaching children to think for themselves
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Big Ideas	Kids need to be able to be critical of media and critical thinkers.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Big Ideas	Land-based learning is a good thing.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Big Ideas	Hands-on learning.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Big Ideas	Personal land acknowledgments that aren’t canned statements.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Big Ideas	Learning about where students live and who they live near is a good thing.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	not flying special flags
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	it's always about positive relationships as the start to everything
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	Kids and grandkids haven’t felt unsafe at school. They are nervous on the first day but that one teacher who makes a connection
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	Sports kept them in the middle of everything. Athletic students seem to fair a little better because there aren’t as many other options here. I am very present and active, so it helps my kids feel safe. The cultural room helps some students feel like they have a safe space
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	bullies
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	bullying was a problem years ago, seems better now
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	Kids are coming to school less prepared to be at school. It is now the school’s job to do so many things, even feed the kids. Teachers have students who are lower ability and don’t have supportive homes in the first place, so it is harder
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	Kids don’t know each other’s names because there has been no community building coming up? Where is the warmth? The staff don’t have the time
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	it's hard to find a way to feel safe to speak up or to be an effective advodate
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	I might be fearful to bring an issue forward to the school that there would be retaliation on my child. It would be nice to have an anonymous system for that. Parents and caregivers need to feel welcomed and safe. It would be nice to have an option for
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	kids need a good group of friends and teachers they can relate to
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	Trust - if you say you're goint to do something, you have to do it.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	get every kid reading at grade level
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	collaboration vs. consultation
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	Great staff here. Great inclusion here. Switch focus to raising academic standards. As more social conservative people pull their children, be inclusive to them, too.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	advice from teachers to parents on engaging students in conversations about school and accessing supports
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	need to teach about compassion and what free speech looks like
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Big Ideas	every student has a choice - fired up to learn
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	hearing racist words in the hallways
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	physical barrier - ramps
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	more accessible language
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	unique student needs, education for other students, independence - building confidence for individual students, including students when they can
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	using plain language, write the plan to be very clear, define the terms
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	safety - overall safety is important
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	post the code of conduct in each classroom
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Big Ideas	safe reporting system - for drugs, for bullying, for sexual harassment
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Big Ideas	students to feel safe when using bathrooms
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	student safety - access into building
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	drugs coming into school - is there a safe mechanism for reporting drugs?
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	attendance - is it mandatory to pass? Does it count for grades?
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	paths for learners with disabilities - transitioning from school post graduation
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		school speakers diverse
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		community events
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		for students, staff or district officials - opportunities
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		more inclusive clubs/activities
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		make events more publicly accessible and open
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		participate in school activities
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		more events connecting multiple schools
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		more communication with students when planning said events
Student Success	Ideas	diverse social studies teaching and learning
Student Success	Ideas	have more literacy clubs
Student Success	Ideas	mental health awareness class
Student Success	Strengths	all kids need to be challenged
Student Success	Strengths	sports can equal success
Student Success	Strengths	academics can also equal success
Student Success	Strengths	place based learning
Student Success	Ideas	get family feedback when students leave SD91 schools
Student Success	Ideas	should have exit surveys for when families leave district or go to home school
Student Success	Ideas	engaging with students and coming to them - it can be hard for students to go up to the teacher
Student Success	Ideas	open and transparent communication between schools and families is vital
Student Success	Additional	exit survey for families when they leave the school and where they are going, follow up why (bullying?)
Student Success	Strengths	mentoring newer students
Student Success	Strengths	encourage the knowledge of the things that are specific to our community (i.e. skinning a moose)
Student Success	Big Ideas	focus on strengths
Student Success	Strengths	JIA program, community connections
Student Success	Strengths	social connections - playground time, making friends, etc.
Student Success	Strengths	district careers projects
Student Success	Strengths	community garden, food to school
Student Success	Strengths	field trips / place-based learning
Student Success	Strengths	careers projects and apprenticeship programs
Student Success	Ideas	community involvement
Student Success	Ideas	focus on trades career entry
Student Success	Ideas	developing personal character in students - work ethic, accountability

Comments that apply to District or School Operations

TABLE TOPIC	CATEGORY	COMMENT - The comments in this section are seen to apply to District or School Operations as they are quite specific and operational in nature.
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	teacher outside of school and waves at each student
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	love newsletters but they're realling missing information
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	sports/passion based projects - entrepreneur course
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	supported in being able to come to supervisor about the problem
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	classroom management challenges
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	not a lot of one on one
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	short staffed
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	not a lot of teachers are doing extra-curricular whereas they did more extra-curricular in the past
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	disconnect between the ranks (teachers/support staff)
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	disconnection between communities
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	staff are being asked to do more than what they should be
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	staff are being told they can be replaced by anyone else
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	talk about learning - 1st opportunity to have face to face, but it's too late
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	EBUS should have their own school
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	newsletters focus on hot lunch program, newsletters vary across schools
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	parent invite to come talk to teacher is limited to report card time
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	teachers have so many new roles - can't just teach
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	because of reduction or cuts, jobs are given to others to do - leads to burn-out
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	the job has changed so much that they don't have it anymore - no gas in the tank
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	short staffed, overwhelmed, burn out, not enough resources
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	PAC bought a staff jacket so everyone feels like they are part of a team
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	study forge - online program available for science and math (a tool for teachers)
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	create safe places/rooms for some students that can't function safely in whole classroom
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	greeting visitors to make them feel welcome
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	extracurriculars - motive community members and staff - band, sports
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	scavenger hunt during talk about learning time
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	prizes/gifts/staff BBQ
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	2.0 FTE Principal and Vice-Principal at school so leaders can be there for the staff instead of doing triage
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	need some messaging to parents to treat teachers better
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	how are we making sure teachers have enough resources
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	consistent messaging from the school community
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	ownership of communication
Engage Our Workforce	Additional	can there be a survey for former teachers about why they did more stuff
Engage Our Workforce	Additional	Funding model to allow PVP’s to allow them to do what they are there for. Not cleaning, bus duty, etc… They can be there for staff better if they did not teach or other duties which take them away from their real purpose
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	some long-standing traditions seem to be lost
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	teachers get interrupted with assemblies, etc.
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	teachers have to constantly work around social events, like Heart Groups
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	unanswered emails at district level
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	Fort Fraser closure was the moment when a parent stopped being involved
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	work load pressures / hours reduced at school office
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	having locked doors, perception of not being welcome
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	burn out and stress in environment, lack of support in classroom
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	protected learning time free from assemblies, activities
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	Monday morning check-in with whole staff - food/breakfast, shape of the week, games, etc.) - but not forced
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	give teachers time to do their jobs - they are asked to step out of their lanes, but need to get back to basics (literacy, numeracy, critical thinking)
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	informational staff Monday morning meetings with food and good conversations
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	leadership changes / staffing changes
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	open lines of communication
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	changing signage at the entry to be more inviting
Engage Our Workforce	Additional	bullying is an issue
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	look at the number of teachers who have taught in the middle years at NVSS and the extraordinary high turnover rate
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	having PVP meetings during school hours is not in the best interest of students
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	change the PVP meetings to after school hours, online, or Saturday mornings
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	texting app to communication with caregivers (protect privacy)
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	connecting CLBC into the schools to help with transitioning students to adult supports
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	exit interviews for teachers / support staff leaving the district
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	events that bring the community into schools more
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	open access for more school use outside of school hours to build community (i.e. user groups) with clear communication to different user groups to reduce scheduling conflicts
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	build more opportunities for community to engage with schools
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	parent expectations
Enhancing Connections	Additional	night school - better utilize bricks and mortar
Enhancing Connections	Additional	clearer and more honest communication from teachers, schools and district to parents
Enhancing Connections	Additional	PAC present - talk about learning lowest ever this year
Enhancing Connections	Additional	students not only messenger - include parent night
Enhancing Connections	Additional	draw community into the school (sports/concerts)
Enhancing Connections	Additional	email from Board - not seeing district posts
Enhancing Connections	Additional	parents not knowing the structure of how to complain or what they can bring
Enhancing Connections	Additional	connections between parents and teachers is great from the student perspective
Enhancing Connections	Additional	is the language IRP offered to all students?
Enhancing Connections	Additional	additional extracurriculars that are not sports
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	appreciate when teachers send emails home every week to say what is happening in classes
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	walking into classroom to talk with teachers is often helpful, but not everyone feels comfortable doing this
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	Craig supports students at FSJSS
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	school was good about letting families know of award presentations - good lead time
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	District announcements can be difficult to find.
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	Electronic newsletters don’t get to everyone.
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	Parents don’t tend to go to parent-teacher meetings, parents feel like they should only go if they are concerned about their kids.
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	Didn’t hear about parent-teacher conferences until the day before. Sign-ups for every parent with the teacher would be really appreciated and helpful. May need longer times so that there is enough time for real discussions.
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	Sent an email to superintendent and other administrators and got nothing back. Very frustrating.
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	Dependence on smart phones is a big problem, it’s an addiction that affects us all but especially young learners.
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	community BBQ - any opportunity to bring people in
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	staff needs to reach out to community members for involvement in trades projects
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	emails are better than parent-teacher interviews, hard to get to for parents who live out of town. School reporting system is poor, doesn't tell you what students are struggling with or can improve on. Kids who go to McLeod have an agenda book that goes back and forth - this is useful if it is being used.
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	App that one teacher uses is not helpful if your phone doesn’t support it or if you have a bad internet connection. It would be better to have notes sent home, homework sent home.
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	If there is urgent or important communication from a teacher or school for parents, it shouldn’t be a note given to the child, a phone call or email would be better. Notes an be lost or misplaced by the child (or deliberately not delivered). Time sensitive reminders should be emailed.
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	Multiple platforms are needed - Facebook works for some community members but not if people have poor internet connection. Some teachers find that Messenger works best, but you have to find out what works best for each parent, as some parents prefer texts. Each age group is different.
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	Sharing about School District events on community message boards like Facebook groups is helpful.
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	Calls to parents about parent/teacher meetings would be good, robo calls are ok for something like that.
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	Would love to hear more from high school teachers individually, including class updates. Not necessarily personalised communication but general notes about what is being covered in the curriculum.
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	time factor of meetings - maybe after dinner but before bedtime (pleased to see online sessions and other opportunities)
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	childcare at these types of meetings may help more parents come out
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	use community social media sites and physical signage opportunities to advertise
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	would be neat to involve parents in Capstone presentations
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	personalized communication with teachers or the school would be helpful using email. An agenda is helpful when it is used.
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	Parents need to know what is going on with their kids so they can help and partner with teachers, need to really understand when there are problems rather than being ignorant.
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	weekly school notices
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	trades education - project heavy duty - builds personal confidence
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	teacher/classroom communication through online spaces
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	attendance calls at end of day, find out too late
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	lack of communication re: IEPs
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	community user groups - policies for facility use are confusing, difficult to book space, some user groups seem to get priority, schools are community buildings?
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	lack of email communication for school and student information
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	community use of facilities could be more clear/easy
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	financial transparency
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	love weekly updates I receive directly from the school
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	timely communication re: IEPs @ NVSS in particular - stronger/quicker/improving caregiver-case manager communication so it is more clear sooner in the school year
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	students leaving with skills that fit outside needs in life (life skills, finances)
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	too many learning interruptions, assemblies and other non academic things at school
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	kids get labelled by staff and this is not right. Bias views when they walk into school.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	teach kindness and respect if all people cannot be included in programs, courses, intiatives, etc.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	IEPs, personal learning
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	Kids have no idea what a mortgage is and how to balance a bank account.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	Land-based learning seems like it is losing impact – my daughter skipped 100 days last year and still got straight As. There is no academic consequence for being absent. The land-based learning days aren’t graded.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	Input of settlers and what they did to build up this area is not taught enough.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	From what perspective and what language is history being taught?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	Are we being “diverse “in our system? There is more than just one or two cultures here in Vanderhoof. Look down south and see all the cultures…how is this being taught here? We can do more, but we need to expand this area beyond Indigenous
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	It should be taught in history class, not at the beginning of everything. It is important that we do not forget the mistakes of our past. Not swing the pendulum too far one way or the other.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	behaviour in classrooms is terrible and there is little learning because of this. I feel for the teachers - something should be done.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	Land acknowledgments seem hollow.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	History should include multiculturalism, the history of all the peoples.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Wise stewardship of the land. Learning about the watershed is honouring it.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	The school is a place of connection. It is a publicly funded community connector, but not to the point that it takes away from the school funds.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	The land learning that relates to water, biology,
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	more basic financial learning - taxes, mortgages, banking, interest rates, etc. We learn all about genders but grads don't know how to read a bank statement
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Academics because kids are missing out
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	you need to be educated? Knowing the basics - academics first. Computer chips fail, so human knowledge is important - we all need to know the basics and not rely on computers
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	community events
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	more speakers
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	encourage class discussions from a non-white perspective
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	talk about it more than in science, like in social studies
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	have a plan in case student cannot safely come to events like this
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	school clubs, fun community events, after school community
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	even if it's once a month, encouraging community interactions would go a very long way for this goal
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	field trips to go and see outside and learn physically
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	having multiple lesson plan options
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	food gatherings
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	more diverse clubs after school - community meet-ups
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Indigenous dancing
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	instead of students being expected to uphold 'excellence' the teachers and school should uphold it to start with
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	changing lessons to make it easier for people who are struggling
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	more than one day a week for counselling
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	make sure that everyone knows what to do for an assignment
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	more info on LGBTQ+ history
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	need more communication - our kids weren't comfortable, weren't being heard when they brought it up - if I had known, I could have dealt with it sooner
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	hard on teachers to accommodate all the different things, walking on egg shells to try not to offend people
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	vaping is a huge problem in all the schools, we need smoke detectors in there
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	Star of the Week - for kids who are nice
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	There used to be drama and band but there is not really a group that you would travel with or do things outside of school or feel a sense of cohesion. There are not lots of other opportunities for other types of involvement
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	Kitchen worker was removed. Someone who knows their name. Programs where people can show off their skills. A person being removed from the office – now there is no school newsletter. Everyone is running around like a chicken with their head cut off because there are not enough staff.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	I help a lot with the teams at LDSS and the kids look for the adult to be the safe person. At the end of the season, they still come to me. They all need an adult in the building that they can go to.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	The junior supervisors teaching the WITS program and helping supervisors – the kids love that mentorship from the older students.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	Last year I felt that safety was an issue and inclusion was an issue over share the love week. The fact that nobody reached out to me was very unprofessional and no one got back to any of us so I made the decision to keep our kids out.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	I see most of the trouble being student to student or student bullies.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	We don’t have counsellors in the high schools to help address those issues, such as alcohol and addiction and troubling home lives.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	Not consistency between what is ok and expected in different schools.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	not enough resources and support
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	students don't always know where and how and when to ask for help
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	lack of staffing, not enough adult supervision to prevent bullying, students can't attend due to their needs and lack of staffing
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	staffing - times when my daughter feels unsafe is when there is not an adult around to help facilitate
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	More guest presenters.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	how do we communicate about safety at school? Locked doors - why? Etc.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Big Ideas	stronger/more supports for students with challenges (designations, trauma, rough time, emotional dysregulation, poverty, etc.)
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	elementary - family effect, breaking down barriers, intergrade classes, younger and older kids helping each other
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	included in sports and band
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	district fosters a safe, welcoming, inclusive environment
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	parent/teacher/admin communication not the best at times, wasn't confident that he was going to be safe
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	barrier: room for all student interests - band, sports, arts, whatever it is - safe space for students
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	individual students are prevening teachers from teaching and students from learning
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	increased anxiety amongst young people and being in a class with volatile students who are not held responsible for their actions is compounding the problem
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	we are failing the students with behavioural issues when we allow/excuse poor behaviour
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	clear rules with enforcement
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	accessibility to people who make decisions and can support parents (e.g. as a volunteer in school extracurriculars)
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		talk about things equally instead of just sports
Student Success	Ideas	more clubs
Student Success	Ideas	sensory rooms
Student Success	Ideas	school clubs, activities
Student Success	Ideas	easier access to tutors/more accessibility for people with learning disabilities
Student Success	Ideas	calm down rooms
Student Success	Ideas	make philosophy available earlier on
Student Success	Ideas	One student expressed that she wants more learning because it's important to know about things so they can be successful.
Student Success	Ideas	Students would like more physical education including more intermediate playdays (for soccer, football, hockey, baseball, pickleball, rugby, and wrestling)
Student Success	Ideas	Students would like more computer time and playground equipment
Student Success	Ideas	kindness is important and adults and kids should be nice to each other.
Student Success	Ideas	it's important that adults and kids are helpful.
Student Success	Ideas	field trips like the train trip, swimming, and skating are important.
Student Success	Ideas	it's important to learn about the world, art, plants, science, social studies, and mechanics.
Student Success	Strengths	one on one time
Student Success	Strengths	extracurricular clubs allow kids to explore their interests and grow into good 'WHOLE' people
Student Success	Strengths	drama, band, library, chess club
Student Success	Barriers	bullying is not being addressed in a zero tolerance manner
Student Success	Barriers	vaping is a big issue in bathrooms
Student Success	Barriers	check in with everyone, not just one or two
Student Success	Barriers	one on one time with teacher
Student Success	Barriers	issues (vaping, bullying, cell phones) not being addressed creates anxiety for other students
Student Success	Ideas	pizza parties
Student Success	Ideas	really explain the lesson and do multiple examples on the board and keep it up
Student Success	Ideas	check in with students often to make sure they're keeping up
Student Success	Additional	don't cut arts/electives - they teach important life skills
Student Success	Additional	use plain language that is well defined
Student Success	Strengths	flexibility with the secondary program to allow for shop classes (metals & wood)
Student Success	Strengths	allowed learners the flexibility to choose electives to match their own strengths
Student Success	Barriers	parent communication and environment
Student Success	Barriers	Share the Love day - requested alternate activity but no answer, reduced sense of belonging, secular
Student Success	Barriers	transportation for extra-curricular activities
Student Success	Barriers	reduction in update of sports teams
Student Success	Barriers	need more movement and opportunities for movement in class
Student Success	Ideas	parent community meetings to inform and involve parents
Student Success	Additional	extra LSW support in middle years
Student Success	Strengths	band
Student Success	Strengths	extracurriculars - wrestling, theatre
Student Success	Strengths	sports and drama programs
Student Success	Strengths	band, drama
Student Success	Strengths	sports opportunities to help kids feel belonging
Student Success	Strengths	hands-on learning in the shops
Student Success	Strengths	drama starting young and available all the way through grade 12
Student Success	Ideas	focus on academics to prevent boredom with class
Student Success	Ideas	focus on math/numeracy, english - reading/writing
Student Success	Ideas	pool / swim programs
Student Success	Big Ideas	focus on the basics

Other Ideas that do not fall into any of the first three categories

TABLE TOPIC	CATEGORY	COMMENT - This section contains comments which were recorded and were deemed to fall outside of the Ministry priorities and expectations or BC legislation we must align to and work within: had an unclear meaning, or were not helpful in the specific process of developing a strategic plan.
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	not a lot of strengths
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	can't just focus on academics when they have to teach diversity, equity
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	toileting - our schools are becoming a swiss army knife being asked to do so much that they can't do well
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	financial obstacles from the government
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	things that are cut are things closest to child
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	the job has changed so much
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	the union element can make it hard to recognize individuals (comparisons made between employees of same job category, employees need to avoid being singled out)
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	nobody trusts a 'confidential' survey
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	cell phones
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	SOGI books negatively impact staff engagement
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	personalized job vacancies (e.g. a few hours a week)
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	two collective agreements
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	closed board meetings, limited to 4 spaces makes it feel closed
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	too many teachers are being told what to teach
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	union
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	union perspective - sometimes a barrier because they feel that they are not able to put in any extra compared to others - some say you are doing too much, feel pressured
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	more flexibility for teachers that want parttime, etc.
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	transparency is needed - it was lost during COVID and hasn't been restored
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	create community to feel welcome
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	more flexibility - job sharing
Engage Our Workforce	Additional	talk with teachers and find out what they need, can't keep adding rocks to a backpack, they need to feel valued, maybe more pay
Engage Our Workforce	Additional	tell the province to change the funding structure
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	smaller class sizes, more opportunities for staff to engage in students, 1 on 1 time
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	happy people in school
Engage Our Workforce	Strengths	doors are open to classrooms - they are open to visitors. Closed doors means staff having problems
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	hard now to get in to a school / through the doors without having a CRC as a parent volunteer
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	labelling kids
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	teachers are expected to be more than a teacher
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	signage in the entry of schools
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	distance to school has changed (Fort Fraser school closure affected the community feeling)
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	more difficult to get into schools to help and support - criminal record checks. Don't feel welcome coming to schools anymore
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	not sure how to engage staff
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	when there is no transparency, it looks like tension / stress / closed
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	overworked and not enough time (loss of hours)
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	food is important for staff meetings, etc.
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	smaller school staff means better connections between home and family.
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	first meeting with a parent should not involve asking them what their designation is
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	classroom doors are open
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	food is important - staff potlucks
Engage Our Workforce	Ideas	allow teachers to focus on academics, not be a counsellor / feed kids / teach Indigenous education
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	protected learning time
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	front desk /front facing person is incredibly important
Engage Our Workforce	Additional	Chief Wapanatak from Likely BC - Canadian history studies
Engage Our Workforce	Additional	where is SOGI coming from? (UN, global?)
Engage Our Workforce	Barriers	not all teachers with faith were supported by their supervisor
Engage Our Workforce	Big Ideas	diversity creates division and makes inclusion difficult
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	emails re: public feedback for policies, etc.
Enhancing Connections	Additional	Google classrooms
Enhancing Connections	Additional	text best app for teacher to parent, student
Enhancing Connections	Additional	communication is difficult, even as a parent (PAC president) to parents
Enhancing Connections	Additional	a lot of parents are checked out and not involved
Enhancing Connections	Additional	how can schools mandate parent involvement - change the narrative
Enhancing Connections	Additional	expectation from parents
Enhancing Connections	Additional	doctors come town adequate education - VOBL wants to support
Enhancing Connections	Additional	parent expection - trust
Enhancing Connections	Additional	I kind of miss my friends at Grassy Plains. At a small school, you get to know everybody because you are always all together.
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	lots of community connection happening in FSJ community
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	CNC and trades programs are great
Enhancing Connections	Strengths	good connection with Mr. Soles in shop classes, appreciated more personalized learning
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	COVID was a wakeup call that our kids were not getting the education that they needed (gr. 5 child didn't know multiplication, took 2.5 yrs to get him caught up, decided to homeschool)
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	Format like this community engagement session would be good for individual school meetings, would help to get to know the school and staff, not feel overwhelmed by a big group.
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	bureaucracy - biggest forestry sector in BC and our school doesn't have a forestry program
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	harder for kids to take CNC programs now that the local campus doesn't run trades courses anymore
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	Get Foods classes at each school to make refreshments for school / community events or parent teacher nights .
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	alumni doesn't feel connected , lack of opportunity to connect
Enhancing Connections	Barriers	not truly open board meetings and not voted on
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	accountability
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	radio spot for schools
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	path for IEP students in grade 9
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	parents must be kept in the loop when decisions are made (i.e. cancelling Mothers Day)
Enhancing Connections	Ideas	communication between parents and schools
Enhancing Connections	Big Ideas	supported transitions for complex learners post grad (starting in grade 10)
Enhancing Connections	Additional	well being vs. success, how do we teach children to make proper sacrifices and not abdicate responsibility for their future?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	honour what unites us and what we have in common, not what divides us!
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	Honouring Diversity is divisive! If we focus on common ground and not our differences will make a HUGE difference
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	kids don't want to attend
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	unmet expectation leads to mistrust - do what you say
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	the quality of education does not seem to be met here
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	we need to honour EVERYONE - very directed now and it's not inclusive of all backgrounds, cultures, and religions that need to be talked about
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	some kids feel like they can't be friends
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	share the love does not align with our family values and we should be able to opt out with different learning ativitises at school
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	diversity is a hard word for me - it is dividing people
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	in the 'big' schools, you cannot build relationships. Fort Fraser school was small and more personal.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	everyone gets a privilege perk, or no one gets a privilege perk. Everyone needs to be treated the same.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	no value statement in SD91?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	mission and vision is great, but it is not implemented
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	how are out kids going to compete globally? Does this matter?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	we have similarities in life, but sometimes we focus on the differences and this does not bring people together
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	student base successes
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Strengths	incorporate life-long learning somehow
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	not provided other activities during Share the Love day/week
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	diversity is dividing, certain groups getting special treatment
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	students get left behind
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	take the words and make them visual
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	not enough competition - ribbons for everyone do not help kids strive for greatness. Life is competitive, so teach them this
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	schools try to do too much and parents need to be part of the support. We are all part of raising kids.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	we don't need to teach to prepare for the future. Teach kids the basics, critical thinking, etc. and they will be fine
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	basics in education need to be taught to have kids set
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	better teaching on how to present yourself as an adult
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	I hire high school kids - some are good, some are not. Poor communication skills or missing basic skills.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	very valuable to learn the regional but larger emphasis on post-secondary preparedness
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	Even Canadians don’t know what a Canadian is.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	Kids know Indigenous history but don’t know their own history.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	We are losing our identity as Canadians. We are losing Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	I would like to see less land acknowledgment and less activism.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	Land acknowledgment seems like a slap in the face to those of us with Indigenous ancestry in my friend group. I felt less included, more excluded. The word “unceded” has always been problematic for me.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	We did own our own business and now with the land ownership questions in Cowichan, I worry about what this means for personal ownership.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	The fourth voice at the table is the one who considers land acknowledgment to be important.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	academics are declining - my one child is bored at school, the other is struggling. Too much Indigenous content and not enough academics
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	time is being taken away from academics because of the Indigenous stuff - every class has an Indigenous learning and that doesn't make sense
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	technology is not good for students. Employers are struggling to find critical thinkiners. Outside the basics, everything else is not worth teaching
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	inclusion and diversity are creating problems in the district
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	patriotism is low in schools - what is the high school doing about this? Is the national anthem sung each morning today, like when I was in school?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	There is nothing about learning in the statement. There is nothing about the core education topics.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	In many peoples’ versions of history, we are now teaching the TRUE history?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Very important but not if it means we only honour certain people or we present a distorted version of history.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	THere is a focus on Indigenous perspectives and exclusion of other perspectives.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	How do we trust oral history? It can’t be verified.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	We need to honour the people who built this country on Judao-Christian principles.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	There is a big gap in the many cultures who built Canada.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Kids feel hopeless about the financial prospects of the world.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	There is so much Aboriginal history and there should be a balanced amount of the history of other peoples.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	I would like to know when they started seeing the decline in our academics. In my workplace, kids have very little knowledge outside of anything outside of keyboards and computers.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	more focus on academics - some students are not prepared. Too much other stuff going on in schools today, get back to the basics - the 3 R's
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	School was started to teach the children math, reading and writing. Honouring people, land, and history was the main event.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	Advocacy, not activism.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	diversity is a catch word that means nothing now
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	always be open to learning but also to teaching. Help people to learn and understand instead of just assuming that everyone is against you
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	keep in mind that you can always learn more than you know
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	making connections with people
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	call people out on bad behaviour
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	try to help others
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	be paitent with those who aren't as quick
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	include everyone
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	be patient with others
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	be inclusive
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	more consequences for bad people
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Big Ideas	Land acknowledgments sometimes feel like they have been politicized.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	I don’t think we learned about historical figures properly. Such as Chief Wetonitok.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	What principles were our country founded on? What makes it distinct or unique?
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	What was our country founded on and what our ancestors did to make our country what it is. History seems to mean learning about the last 50 years now, not ancient history.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	diversity does not mean diversity in SD91. Indigenous culture is only taught - what about other cultures… Japanese, East Indian, etc.
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	teach: 'to think and now what to think'
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	the online survey for the strat plan is slanted away from academics
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Additional	survey questions are misleading - biased slate
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	diversity must be open to all. Some children are not attending public schools because of certain aspects of the curriculum
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	share the love does not include everyone's opinion
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Barriers	respect the diverse views on all topics - shaming does not bring people together
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	equality is better than equity
Mission/Vision/Honouring	Ideas	focus on a few things and do them well, tell the government no at times
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	prizes on my birthday make me feel included
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	LDSS - I like all my teachers and I like that they know what to do when there is an emergency
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	the terms 'racist, homophobic' seem like attacks on students
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	From a societal perspective, we see a lot more camps and people on the street. Society doesn’t feel safe. We have changed how we treat adults acting that way. Now society is shifting and starting to demand consequences. Every classroom is fully inclusive…everybody has a right to be in that classroom. What if the supports were in an area where students need it, not in the regular classroom? Kids are being removed all the time because they are disruptive, but they are always coming back in. When I was in school there were special places and schools for those kids
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	there is so much diversity of thought and conduct that it's tough to be comfortable at school
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	people don't know how to raise their kids - they want schools to do it
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	My older kids are in high school. They always feel safe.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	There is a good survey at FLESS asking students are there two people on staff who care about you?
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	addressing issues immediately and in context
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	leadership opportunities (i.e. older learners helping younger learners)
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	treat everyone with kindness
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	kids are excited to go to school - lots of classes that interest them, lots of fun
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	our son was comfortable - communication was clear and effective
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	School hasn’t changed much as far as the little cliquey groups and stuff. There is always exclusion.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	There is a lot of misinformation about SOGI and kids sharing about tension in the community or things their uncles or aunts say that are negative family traditions. These things then get brought to school. Racism, sexism. There is negative things around racism that swirl around our hallways.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	misconceptions/misunderstandings, tension in communities re: terminology and/or programs
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	lots of big issues in world - the world doesn't feel safe
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	outside pressures on schools to back off on the subject of SOGI is making school districts back off on the subject, whis is making students feel unsafe
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	highly policitized opinions that are loudly agains SOGI and it makes students feel that they aren't allowed to be non-straight, non-white
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	being a teenager is a lot of angst and pressures. The less confidence you have, the more pressure you are going to feel.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	access to technology may be exacerbating some of these pressures
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	celebration of commonalities
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	The teachers knowing the child one on one is an important way to make children feel safe. Then they should let the parent know. My grandchildren tell me the teacher has said, don’t tell your parents. That is not right. Each child has one person that makes them feel validated. Smaller schools and class sizes give students a better chance of being known by their teacher.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	More parenting advice from teachers or the district. Suggestions on how to talk to little kids to get through to them or communicate with them. We need a book or something for parents that is a manual.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	A lot of other cultures assimilating here also have discomfort with these same issues.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	All of our celebrations are non-denominational.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	The boys in our school have been asking for a boys’ club in our schools. There is toxic masculinity running rampant in the hallways.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	I would like girls’ club to be available to non-Indigenous people. The other kids are feeling excluded.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	smaller schools and class sizes for better relationships
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	every person is a person. We all have our own issues. Giving people the confidence to deal with problems instead of molly-coddling them. You can't cater to everybody.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	you can accept everybody - that is the difficult part
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	We do not need to use words like “diversity”, “inclusion” or “social emotional learning”. These are just code words to promote a certain ideology, and they do the opposite of what they are purported to do.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	if you treat people with respect, 9 times out of 10 things will work out
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	demand accountability and consequences for students breaking the code of conduct
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Big Ideas	what does inclusion mean?
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	need mentors, need boys club - toxic masculinity is rampant
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	girls club is only in cultural room, therefore viewed as only 1st Nations girls club (girls club is working well for those in it)
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	if children come from cultures where the sociological morals of present day Canadian culture are in collision with their home life, they may feel unsafe
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	Both my two kids love school.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	She sings to us the songs she learn to sing.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	thinking out the box, learning from other school districts
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	okay to be normal
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	routine was really important to him, had a process, assembly (had a small training to help others understand)
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	feels more like a community, older kids took on role of mentorship, smaller school
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Strengths	cross classrooms - felt more like a community
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	communication needs to be better about what is being taught and when
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	visible disabilities - adults, not students, hard to get staff
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	parents feel like they can't resolve issues
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	bullying was a problem years ago, seems better now
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	we are putting them in a box, suggesting that they are not capable of better
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	failure to address these issues results in other 'jumping on the band wagon'
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	staffing difficult for unique - how to make it feel safer? DPAC
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	IEPs followed and monitored for all students, not being dumped together, treat everyone how you would like to be treated, really creative partnerships
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	if you feel safe, you would feel included!
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	treat others how you would like to be treated - back to basics
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	clubs - bible study, SOGI, cooking - for every group so all kids feel safe
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	kindness taught at home, focus on academics
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	parents don't always know kids behaviour, peer pressure
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	enrollment - is it increasing or decreasing? More homeschooling or EBUS? Cause & effect - can it be identified?
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	are the standards dropping?
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	enforce dress code
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	FSA exemptions
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	space at board meetings
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	alternative options for share the love
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	if a student wants to change their gender, will the school relay that information to parents?
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		mandatory? Optional? Connections?
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		hatsune miku
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		have an open mind
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		enlighten others on other views of life
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		close-knit community
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		have others show up to school events or community events (Christmas concerts, plays, hockey games, sports events)
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		take the time to teach people instead of immediately assuming ill intent
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		be support of others
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		try and meet others
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools		until proven otherwise, it's safer to use they/them for others in LGBTQ+ spaces
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	Honouring Diversity - the way it's being presented doesn't honour all diversity. We are so focused in one direction that the kids feel wronged when they aren't part of that culture. If kids could share their own backgrounds and diversities, that would be helpful. Maybe in Foods class, kids are invited to bring a recipe from home and they investigate/compare food cultures. It might be doing genealogy. If you're discussing religion, let them choose a religion they want to learn about.
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	too much focus on Indigenous education
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	students not feeling safe to bring up different views/culture
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Barriers	feel we have lost our way - in catering to diverse learners, dysregulated behaviour has become accepted and the 'norm'
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Ideas	why do we have the education system? What is the focus of education? Historically - culture, religion
Safe, Welcoming & Inclusive Schools	Additional	no accountability, not being challenged, so much time spend on inclusion/religion, dealing with behaviours of kids, no time for academics, will get rude awakening
Student Success	Ideas	crying rooms
Student Success	Ideas	have a place for people with learning disabilities to get proper teaching methods for them
Student Success	Ideas	be patient with others
Student Success	Ideas	helping others when they need help
Student Success	Strengths	when I get things right in math (calculator helps)
Student Success	Barriers	cell phone policy - follow up
Student Success	Barriers	change management - as new things come out, we implement new changes constantly - has an impact on students
Student Success	Barriers	are they teaching to the lowest common denominator - lowering teacher ability (maybe provide different resources)
Student Success	Barriers	related to sports - participation ribbons
Student Success	Additional	survey monkey
Student Success	Additional	not enough time spent on academics and too much on diversity
Student Success	Strengths	pedal bikes - Spirit of the North program - bringing in opportunities to the community that they might not otherwise have access to
Student Success	Strengths	cost-saving programs - access to items, physical literacy
Student Success	Strengths	Cares leader programs (gr. 6s reach out and offer peer support to younger students) - good for belonging
Student Success	Strengths	junior supervisors - gives purpose
Student Success	Strengths	no cell phone' policy - happy about enforcement and health classes covering social media safety
Student Success	Strengths	life skills
Student Success	Strengths	building the boat
Student Success	Strengths	admin supported learners
Student Success	Barriers	if a student is not engaged in sport by grade 7, they are unlikely to engage
Student Success	Barriers	feeling isolated
Student Success	Barriers	social groupings can make it difficult
Student Success	Barriers	community dynamics can be difficult
Student Success	Big Ideas	opportunities to equitize programming - reduce financial barriers, access to things we may not have in smaller communities
Student Success	Big Ideas	recognize difficulties and then work on it
Student Success	Additional	metric & imperial measurements
Student Success	Additional	more emphasis on home cooking programs
Student Success	Additional	use the local natural vegetation
Student Success	Strengths	homeschool - EBUS programs
Student Success	Barriers	focus on sense of belonging takes away from learning academics
Student Success	Barriers	concerned about the basics - kids don't know how to write, all are behind in math - need more focus on the basics
Student Success	Barriers	too many ideologies taking away from kids learning the basic skills
Student Success	Ideas	more foundational skills - learning how to think and not be robots
Student Success	Ideas	good or bad, education has changeed to align with changing societal ideologies
Student Success	Ideas	more focus on actual equality
Student Success	Additional	what does inclusive learning mean?

Over the next few months, our plans include:

We will share out the first draft plan at a coming Board Meeting (February, March, or April).
The draft plan will then be shared publicly for feedback via survey.
We will host online engagement sessions to gather feedback as well.
We will present synthesized feedback and the final draft to the Board for additional feedback/guidance and/or adoption (April, May, or June).