In this Connecting Conversation, I had the pleasure of speaking with Rosemary LoFaso from the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board. Rosemary has served as their Superintendent of Education for 2 years, and advises Student Achievement for all grades (K-12) and she works closely with inclusivity and equity education. We talked about the changes made to the education system since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also had an important conversation about the issues surrounding systemic racism in the education system and what the school board is implementing in order to begin to address it.

Although there are still monumental changes that need to be made, the Catholic District School Board has made strides in its recognition of systemic racism and commitment to change. Throughout the past few years, the board has introduced more resources like textbooks and novels into the curriculum that reflect the cultural tapestry that Canada is built of. These resources include Black history, which in the past has been briefly skimmed over or completely omitted from education curriculum. As Rosemary states, “The texts and novels that we’ve purchased try to reflect a more diverse population and contain different lenses so that students who aren’t from those cultures learn about them and for students who are [from these cultures], they feel supported and feel that connection to their own lives”. Though not perfectly curated, this curriculum change hopes to provide students of colour and different cultures comfort and familiarity in their education. 

The Windsor Essex Catholic School Board has four initiatives/changes that they are implementing in order to begin to address the systemic racism present in the education system.  First, the Ministry of Education has acknowledged that streaming practices are biased against students of colour, especially Black students. Streaming occurs when a child is placed into applied or academic courses based on their perceived and tested skill level. Unfortunately, Black students are inaccurately streamed into applied courses at a far higher rate than their peers. In response, the Catholic School Board under the direction of the Ministry of Education, is beginning to “destream” in Grade 9 Math starting in September, meaning the streaming practices will no longer be conducted. Second, statistics show inequality in the Canadian education system can be found in disciplinary actions taken by educators. Statistics also show that Black students are suspended 2.5x more than their white counterparts, and face more disproportionate disciplinary measures for the same actions their white peers conduct. Rosemary asserts that the Catholic School Board is aware of this bias and has implemented a Ministry mandated legislation that deals with eliminating discretionary suspensions from K to 3. The Boards goal is to support children and keep them in school. Third, the School Board is looking to gain voluntary data collection from students to see how they are faring in the education system, their experiences, what areas need to be improved, and what is going well. Last but certainly not least, the Board is partnering with local organizations like Family Fuse, Black Women of Forward Action, and various Indigenous support groups. By partnering with the community, the WECDSB are committed to learning and initiating change in order to better the Windsor-Essex community. Rosemary explains that there is work that needs to be done, and the Board is more than ready and committed to work collaboratively to do so. 

The WEDSB also has strict policies in place for anti-Racism on school grounds. This is enforced by disciplinary measures, but also by creating learning opportunities for both the student who engages in discriminatory behavior and the student who is being harassed. The goal is to not only discipline the aggressor, but teach them about cultural diversity so that empathy is gained and future racist behavior is prevented; not out of fear of discipline but out of understanding of others. The Board also has policies in place for staff who are being harassed or discriminated against. 

Rosemary is passionate about education being the foundation of society, she insists that education is a key player in cultural education in the community, “It is a responsibility we wholeheartedly accept and embrace”. Schooling is where we, as children, spend most of our formative years. In educating children, Rosemary believes, we educate the community and the future. 

One of the changes where the School Board has seen positive trends is in the shift from traditional, standardized testing to a more creative and open-style of testing knowledge. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to hybrid online formats, the Board has had to use different methods including Google Classroom break-out groups, presentations, projects, and oral presentations in order to effectively test students’ knowledge. The shift to different testing methods had been started a few years ago, but according to Rosemary they have become successful alternatives to ease the stress of the pandemic on students. 

An area of change that Rosemary is hoping to see is in the relationship between the School Board and parents. She hopes to see more open, honest communication between the parents and the Board so that everyone, as a community, can build the future we want for our youth. “At the end of the day”, Rosemary concludes, “we all want the same things, parents and educators want children’s and students’ potentials to be reached and realized. As a system, we need to be able to support that”. 

Thank you Rosemary and the Board for speaking with us!

You can find the WECDSB here: https://www.wecdsb.on.ca/

And on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/WECDSB