Hamilton school board to add new Indigenous student trustee position
- Bennett Swan
- 27 Sep 2019
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Boards are adding a third student trustee to the board’s governance table, this time as a representative for Indigenous students.
This new position was unanimously recommended by the board trustees and will be implemented in September 2020.
The student trustee position would be voted on by all students from grades 7 to 12 and would be occupied by a student who self-identified as Indigenous.
A trustee position that represented the Indigenous student community had originally been recommended by the board’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FMNI) advisory committee in May.
Although it has been unanimously recommended, it must still get approval from the full board of trustees.
The FMNI has identified this position as a critical for the board, as it will help to bridge the gap between the board and the indigenous student community.
A thoughtful transition as Parkdale shifts from being a school with a West Coast-inspired totem pole at its door to one that welcomes everyone with a white pine native to this area @ACLJolene @SStephanian @denommepaul pic.twitter.com/Y8jKuEsqK3
— HWDSB (@HWDSB) September 25, 2019
Overall, for a population that represents up to 3% of Hamilton’s population and 2% of their student population, the addition of a student trustee position will help to bring awareness to a community that is often denied a voice.
The key goal for this trustee position is to be more proactive about changes in the current system, as opposed to the current reactive adaptability that has existed since the colonial period.
They believe that this trustee position help bring equity to the system, and slowly continue to break down the societal barriers that hinder indigenous students and adults alike.
Student trustee’s will be granted a $2500 honorarium, phone and travel expenses, and trips to provincial trustee conferences, costing the board of trustee’s up to $9150.
The provincial government requires every board to have at least one Indigenous student trustee but allows up to three.
Comments 0
There are no comments
Add comment