The New Westminster school board is renewing its commitment to working on inclusive education in School District 40.
The district recently wound up a three-year review of inclusive education in the district, which examined how well the district is meeting the needs of its diverse learners and set out a series of recommendations for improvement, with input from families and staff.
But school trustees say that work isn’t over.
At their June 6 education committee meeting, school trustees voted to have staff present an action plan for continuing the inclusive education work. That plan, including a parent survey to assess the district’s progress, will be brought to the January 2024 education committee meeting.
“The district is just getting more complex and more diverse as it continues to grow and expand, so it’s very important that we continue to do this work,” said trustee Marc Andres, who chairs the education committee.
He pointed out one of the district goals is to ensure students “thrive emotionally, socially and academically,” and this work is part of achieving that goal.
A backgrounder presented to trustees notes a big part of the work will be a “data-driven review” and an assessment of the outcomes of the previous three-year plan. The district will consult with families and staff to decide which elements should be renewed and which should be left behind, as well as coming up with ideas about what new elements should be incorporated into a new plan.
Trustee Maya Russell lauded the move to keep the work going.
“I think we can be very proud of the work of the team to implement the inclusive ed review recommendations over three years, but I think we also want to equally be determined to continue that progress and to listen, so I appreciate the inclusion of the parents’ survey,” she said.
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