School Board
The radical promise of equity now
Policy Goal
Ensure public schools are updated with the latest education, health and safety standards for students and staff; and that schools are a safe place to learn, free from dangerous pathogens, harassment, and bigotry.
Pathways to Change
Introduce Hul'qumi'num language training into the Vancouver curriculum; educate students in Indigenous geographies and oral histories of the original Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island and around the world;
Eliminate public city funding/subsidies to private (independent) schools; and eliminate city property land tax breaks for private (independent) schools - where city taxes go to educational resources (e.g. private schools) that most families in Vancouver cannot afford; and their children can face discrimination based on their sex, gender, sexual orientation, ability, religious and political beliefs, race and ancestry - as private (independent) schools are exempt from the BC Human Rights Code;
Equip students with the necessary tools to defend themselves against online fraud and disinformation, incorporating media literacy and critical thinking skills into the curriculum;
Ensure all public schools are updated to current seismic standards and are retrofitted for improved energy efficiency and comfort using improved HVAC, heat pumps, windows, and solar shading as appropriate;
Equip students with the necessary tools to defend themselves against online fraud and disinformation, incorporating media literacy and critical thinking skills into the curriculum;
Enact a Sanctuary School policy similar to the City of New Westminster, so that students and their families do not have their immigration status shared with immigration authorities;
Eliminate the Foundational Skills Assessment program in Grades 4, 7, and 10 - a program used by the neoliberal Fraser Institute to rank schools by test results that disparages schools in lower-income areas and with higher percentages of new immigrants;
Improve mental health supports, including more counsellors and faster referral processes, and counsellors dedicated to specific schools where social determinants of health clearly impact child educational outcomes;
Create an action plan, and increase funding, to address sexual harassment, homophobia, transphobia, racism, and other bigotry in the school system;
Demand reductions in class sizes and ensure that all students with additional needs are provided with adequate support to facilitate their full participation in-class activities, to the extent of their ability;
Develop strategies to support students with a variety of interests and diverse and neurodivergent learning needs, including self-directed learning, trades opportunities, arts, technology, physical activities, and science electives, hybrid home-school schedules, and enhanced outdoor learning opportunities;
Provide free and timely psychoeducational assessments for neurodivergent learners;
Continue to keep uniformed and un-uniformed Vancouver police officers and other law enforcement authorities out of schools.
Provide food security with free breakfast, lunch and healthy snacks to all students, financed by local taxes as is done in Sweden;
Create an independent complaints process for students who experience racialized, sexual, or gender-based violence;
Implement Indigenous educational autonomy;
Include students in our consultations with school communities, in addition to parents through the use of Parent Advisory Committees, unions, and employee groups;
Provide full time on-site public health nursing services to provide individual care and promote school wide health;
Bring school buses back under public ownership;
Eliminate all school fees, including for after-school activities;
Protect against airborne communicable
disease such as COVID-19
Mandate universal masking and provide FREE high quality masks, such as KN95 or better, to control COVID-19 at the source;
Improve ventilation to align with recently updated American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Epidemic Taskforce guidance to keep classroom air flowing so it is as clean, fresh and virus-free as possible, providing for better cognitive function and prevention of other airborne diseases; Monitor air quality with tools such as CO2 monitors, based on the advice of qualified professionals as per regulatory requirements;
Install HEPA filtration or Corsi-Rosenthal boxes in every classroom as an added layer to catch harmful particles within classroom air, from viral particles to wildfire smoke;
Introduce Test, Trace, and Isolate policies, that are based on airborne spread and include ‘test to exit’ strategies for those infected, to reduce the introduction of COVID-19 into schools in the first place;
Provide Classroom COVID-19 notifications to allow parents/ guardians to make fully informed risk assessments for their children and families;
Provide equitable remote options for children who are at high risk from communicable diseases such as COVID-19, or those who live with at-risk family members, to allow them to access education, a human right, without risking their health (which is also a human right);
Ensure adequate resources to support online learning for students who are isolating;
Mandate smaller class sizes to allow distancing to reduce the risk of close range aerosol transmission;
Provide support for parents/ guardians by addressing their concerns and making it easier for them to get their children vaccinated and boosted, to lower the risk of transmission, infection, and long-term illness.
Provide shaded, weather-protected outdoor eating and gathering areas for students and staff.
Resources
Note: The resources on each of our policy pages are a starting point for learning about various issues and organizations doing work in these areas. This is not a comprehensive list and VOTE Socialist is not affiliated with the organizations listed here. We hope that these resources will help you reflect on and consider community engagement with the pathways to change suggested. We organize and lead with courage not fear, with transformative vision not limits. Vote on October 15!
The Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council Issued 37 questions to all School Board Trustee Candidates. The document covered categories including Policy and Government, Facilities Planning, Student Learning & Well-being, Personnel, finance, Active Transportation, Sustainability, Child Care and Reconciliation & Indigenous Learning. Here are Dr. Karina Zeidler’s responses.
“We know how to accelerate implementing a 'mission': Spend the necessary money to do it. Hire the necessary staff. Buy the necessary equipment. This society needs to stop cheaping out on childhood!”
Do School Boards matter:
School Boards Matter: Report of the Pan-Canadian Study of School District Governance
Organizing with radical love: Towards equity and social justice education in Alberta
Learn more about the Vancouver School Board from the June 2022 Board meeting:
Say-no to sharing information with the federal immigration authorities - the New Westminster Sanctuary Schools Policy (New Westminster): https://newwestschools.ca/about-us/safe-and-caring-schools/access-for-all-sanctuary-schools-policy/
Learn more about how indoor air quality (IAQ) affects student performance in school: ASHRAE Supported Follow Up Report on IAQ In Schools Released
Review standards for ventilation and IAQ: Standards 62.1 & 62.2
Learn how to help stop virus outbreaks in schools: COVID-19 safe schools - Province of British Columbia.
CBC News August 2022 - B.C. health officials have said to prepare for a rise in COVID-19 cases this fall. But with the new school year just weeks away, what could that mean for teachers and students? David Yuill and Jennifer Heighton are two teachers in the Lower Mainland, and they join us to discuss.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-46/clip/15931656