When building the Agenda for Chapter Council, my goal is to provide Chapter representatives access to people, information, or organizations that have a direct impact on the important leadership work of our members. For the final day of meetings on Saturday, February 11, we were extremely fortunate to have three presentations from guests representing the government of British Columbia, beginning with the Honourable Rachna Singh, Minister of Education and Child Care.
Minister Singh expressed her appreciation to BC’S Principals and Vice-Principals for ensuring that schools and classrooms are safe, welcoming, and inclusive places for all learners. She underlined the government’s commitment to truth and reconciliation, spoke about the importance of the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan (and acknowledged the key role that Principals and Vice-Principals play in this work), and commented on the importance of expanded, inclusive, and affordable childcare, in some cases in partnership with school districts. The Minister acknowledged that the education sector, like many other sectors, is experiencing workforce shortages; she shared her appreciation for the work of Principals and Vice-Principals in keeping schools focused on, “supporting learner outcomes so students leave our system at the end of grade 12 with dignity, purpose, and options to set them up for a lifetime of success.”
During her visit, Minister Singh invited me to represent the BCPVPA at the Pink Shirt Day event at the Legislature in Victoria on February 22, and I am very honoured to attend.
Minister Singh with the BCPVPA Board Members
We next welcomed Assistant Deputy Minister, Jennifer McCrea, who led us through an interactive presentation highlighting the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan. Jennifer acknowledged the important role that Principals and Vice-Principals continue to play in this important work. She reinforced that anti-racism work is a long-term goal focused on raising awareness of racism in our schools and society, and that it is about “empowering the youngest British Columbians to be anti-racist… (to) ensure these collective efforts continue for generations to come.”
Jennifer McCrea
Jennifer also acknowledged the work that the BCPVPA, in partnership with the First Nation Education Steering Committee (FNESC) and Métis Nation BC (MNBC), is currently doing to create the provincial Anti-Racism Incident Response Guidelines. These guidelines will support Principals and Vice- Principals as leaders in the K-12 system.
For our final session, Linda Beddouche, Director of Workforce Development, Ministry of Education and Child Care, and Andrew Jang, Senior Manager, Strategic Talent Acquisition, BCPSEA, co-presented about the current BC labour market. They featured specifics of our K-12 situation, including hiring trends and data, and introduced Ministry initiatives that are underway to address the situation. Linda and Andrew structured their presentation with several opportunities for comments and feedback, while recognizing the ongoing staffing challenges we are facing in schools and districts.
While there are no ‘quick fixes’, Chapter Council members now have a better understanding of the scope of the problem. They had an opportunity to voice concerns about the challenges we face, the impact on our daily work, and how that will impact student learning. In closing, members heard about some steps being taken by the Ministry and BCPSEA to help address the situation; as system leaders, we recognize that this is a shared and collective responsibility.
Linda Beddouche and Andrew Jang
Whenever our members gather, in groups large or small, there is a dynamic energy that fills the room. This past weekend provided many opportunities for members to gather and share in that energy. Thank you to all of our attendees for your engagement and participation!
Next week, I am back on Vancouver Island for a Chapter visit to Nanaimo, and then south to Victoria for Pink Shirt Day at the Legislature!
Enjoy the weekend and the extra day off.
Happy Family Day!