Meetings

Committee of the Whole Board Meeting

Monday, April 4, 2022 – Meeting Agenda Package

Public Board Meeting

Monday, April 25, 2022 — Meeting Agenda Package

Highlights

East Kitchener Boundary Review

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) applied for Capital Priorities funding to address enrolment pressure at St. Mary’s High School and East Kitchener area elementary schools (Canadian Martyrs CES, Saint John Paul II CES, St. Anne (K) CES, and St. Daniel CES).

In July 2020, the Ministry of Education confirmed the capital funding of a new 1,400 pupil place school (400 elementary / 1,000 secondary) for grades 7-12 in East Kitchener.

Since this grade configuration is new to WCDSB, a Program Review was undertaken in 2020/2021 to examine how other boards in the province approach 7-12 schools and develop a series of key considerations for the approach to 7-12 learning environments in WCDSB.

The East Kitchener 7-12 Boundary Review approved by the Board of Trustees on April 4, 2022, is the next phase to establish the Grade 7/8 and 9-12 boundaries for the new school.

Given the historic and projected enrolment growth in the area, the board also applied to the Ministry of Education for funding to construct another elementary school. In January 2022, the Ministry of Education confirmed the capital funding of a new 527 pupil place elementary school on the board owned site that previously housed St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School.

The purpose of this boundary review is to establish the school boundaries for both new schools in advance of their opening and redraw the boundaries of existing schools in the area. Staff must also consider the key considerations of the 7-12 Program Review.

The Initial Staff Report presents the analysis of a series of boundary options including a staff identified preferred option. The preferred option creates contiguous boundaries and reduces enrolment pressure on the existing schools the most. Under this option, Canadian Martyrs CES, Saint John Paul II CES, St. Anne CES, and St. Daniel CES would all become JK to Grade 6 schools, with grades 7/8

being directed to the East Kitchener Grade 7-12 school. This would significantly reduce enrolment pressure in all schools.

The report is available beginning on page 77 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Response to Provincial Review of Incident at John Sweeney CES

On November 29, 2021, a 911 call was made from John Sweeney CES in response to an escalating and continuing situation involving a 4 year old child who was in crisis.

On Wednesday, February 23, 2022, in a meeting, a complaint to the school board about the incident was registered. Media were also notified by advocates who attended the meeting.

As a result of that meeting and the ensuing social media campaign, before 9;00 a.m. on February 25th, the WCDSB’s Chair of the Board requested a meeting with the Minister of Education

No reply was ever received to that request.

However, later in the day on Friday, February 25^th the Minister of Education ordered a review of the incidents in question.

Without any discussion or prior notice to the Board, the Chair or Director, a media release was issued by the Minister indicating that “under no scenario should police be called to remove a 4 year old.”

It is possible the review may have begun earlier, through discussion with the family, but the inquiry at the school took place from March 7th to March 11th, with some follow up inquiries thereafter.

The WCDSB received a report of the review on March 30^th and on March 31^st the Director of Education issued this STATEMENT.

On April 4, 2022, the Director presented a detailed report to the Board of Trustees, describing WCDSB’s previous and ongoing efforts to address systemic anti-Black racism, and outlined next steps regarding the recommendations contained in the review report.

The Director’s report is available beginning on page 31 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

School Travel Planning – Annual Report

Annually a report is provided to Trustees on the activities of the School Travel Planning (STP) team at Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region.

The 2020-21 school year started with goals set during the blurred circumstances of the pandemic, with the understanding that the work would likely be impacted by school closures. In that context, the following goals were set to deliver core activities and to leverage the disruption to focus on special projects during the 2020-21 school year:

• Motivate more schools to complete more action plan items
• Give parents more online resources
• Leverage Covid-19 interest in active transportation
• Inspire schools through a certification system
• Optimize Walking School Bus pilot project learnings

In the past year, STP delivered certificates of achievement to 49 participating schools, created online Trailblazer training, promoted the Discover Your Superpower campaign, created 30+ new Drive-to-5 maps, and completed many school-level action plan items.

In addition to completing work towards those goals, the STP team developed a Community Road Model Program, worked with the City of Cambridge on an Enhanced School Zone project, planned, scripted, casted, and scouted locations for a special video project, and secured grants and sponsorship funding totaling $106,500 for special projects intended to deepen and broaden active school travel work over the next two years.

The report is available beginning on page 30 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Update on Health and Safety Measures in Schools

On Wednesday March 9, 2022, the Ministry of Education provided all school boards with an update on the lifting of COVID-19 health and safety measures in schools. We continue to receive direction through the Ministry of Education, as well as our local Public Health department, while also continuing meetings with Region of Waterloo Public Health and the Waterloo Region District School Board to attain a measure of understanding and alignment regarding the most prudent courses of action.

There has been no significant change in direction to school boards since the March announcements.

We have continued to make updates to our Operational Guidelines, based on the most recent guidance we receive from local and provincial health authorities.

The report presented on April 25, 2022, provides detailed information concerning the following key issues:

• Vaccination Disclosure Policy
• Masking and Staff Personal Protective Equipment
• Lifting of Cohorting and Distancing
• Daily Screening
• Enhanced Cleaning and Disinfecting / Hand Hygiene
• Absence Reporting
• Staffing
• Update on Learning Choice for the 2022-2023 School Year
• Responding to Provincial Direction

The report is available beginning on page 100 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Student Trustees Update

Student Trustees Sarah Simoes and Sarah Wilson presented their monthly update – covering activities in WCDSB’s secondary schools. It is available beginning on page 104 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Board Chair’s Update

Each month, the Chair of the Board reports on the activities of the Board of Trustees. Chair Jeanne Gravelle’s report for April 2022 is available on page 107 via this link: Meeting Agenda Package

Upcoming Board Meetings

Committee of the Whole Board Meeting

Monday, May 9, 2022

Waterloo Region Catholic Education Centre

Regular Public Board Meeting

Monday, May 30, 2022

Waterloo Region Catholic Education Centre

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board, representing more than 96,000 Catholic school supporters, operates 48 schools and four adult education facilities, serving more than 40,000 elementary, secondary, and continuing education students in Waterloo Region – continuing a 186-year tradition of quality, inclusive, faith-based education. Follow us on Twitter: @WCDSBNewswire – #WCDSBAwesome.

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