Local Government Week aims to increase youth and public awareness about the important role local government plays in our communities. Please join OPSBA, our member trustees and our education partners in raising civic awareness and promoting the role of trustees among Ontario students.
School board trustees are the oldest form of elected representation in Ontario. Since 1807, generations of community-minded citizens have made decisions on behalf of local, publicly funded schools, building the foundation of our system today. Boards of trustees set the vision, develop policies, allocate resources, and set the goals that lay the foundation driving programs and operations in Ontario’s district school boards. Collectively, they create multi-year strategic plans for student achievement and well-being and recruit and monitor the performance of Directors of Education to ensure progress in meeting district goals.
Local Government Week video messages:
OPSBA Western Region Chair Arlene Morell
OPSBA Northern Region Chair Sheryl Evans
OPSBA Eastern Region Chair Dave Shields
OPSBA Central East Region Chair Donna Edwards
OPSBA Central West Region Chair Donna Danielli
Local Government Week events in schools may include students observing school boards in session virtually or holding mock municipal elections.
OPSBA has created resources to facilitate your classroom sessions, including a Word document and a short PowerPoint presentation.
The documents have been created in a manner that allows users to modify them for use in either a Grade 5 or 10 classroom and to add local board information.
Be inspired about what you do locally and how it impacts your students and community.
Other useful resources include:
- OPSBA’s Guide to Good Governance
- Good Governance for School Boards: Trustee Professional Development Program
The social media hashtag for Local Government Week is #LocalGovWeek.
