Education Week is an annual event celebrated by public school boards and schools across Ontario. OPSBA’s member boards are highlighting the amazing activities and initiatives happening in schools, including the contributions of students, parents, teachers and education workers who promote and ensure student success and well-being at the local level.
OPSBA’s work to advocate for public education in Ontario is guided by five strategic priorities. For Education Week 2019, our Twitter account highlighted one of the five each day:
- The Whole Child and Student Well-Being for Today and Tomorrow (Monday)
- Advancing Reconciliation: First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education (Tuesday)
- Trustees as Leaders in Public Education (Wednesday)
- Labour Relations (Thursday)
- Education Funding (Friday)
Our education system is world-renowned and we have a remarkable record of successful outcomes for all students, with amazing things happening each and every day in public schools across the province. Our students are learning about Canadian and Indigenous culture and history, participating in robotics competitions, understanding the implications of multiplication and geometry, dissecting worms, painting masterpieces, creating original music, reading powerful novels, strengthening their independent and group work skills, realizing personal and team bests in sports events, getting critical on-the-job training via co-operative education and apprenticeships and so much more.
Ontario’s public schools accept each and every student who walks through their doors. Students are creating lasting friendships and memories with fellow classmates who come from diverse backgrounds. This is what makes our public school system so incredible and allows each child to reach their own success.
We know our public schools are among the very best in the world, and believe our members, democratically elected local school board trustees, make a significant and direct contribution to this through their leadership in directing the policies and priorities that promote continuous improvement.
Here’s how some OPSBA member boards observed Education Week:
- Bluewater DSB
- Grand Erie DSB
- Halton DSB
- Lambton Kent DSB
- Rainbow DSB
- Toronto DSB
- Upper Canada DSB
- Upper Grand DSB
This past Education Week, we thanked the educators, trustees and school staff who truly make a difference in the lives of our children and youth for their commitment to public education.
May 2 to 6 was also Children’s Mental Health Week, a time to increase awareness, eliminate stigma and recognize that help is available and treatment can work. Through our work co-leading the Ontario Coalition on Children and Youth Mental Health, we are uniting education, mental health, and the community and health sectors in a movement to promote the priority of social and emotional well-being as a part of healthy child development in Ontario and to make it a priority that drives integrated public policy in the province.
