Boardroom Briefs

Boardroom Briefs is intended to provide highlights of presentations, reports and decisions made at the regular meeting of the Limestone District School Board of Trustees. These briefs do not serve as the official record of the meeting. Please refer to Board minutes which are approved at the next regular meeting. Community members are also invited to follow along during live tweets of regular Board meetings using the hashtag #LDSBmtg.

You can view the entire Twitter/X thread here.

You can view the full Board Agenda Package here.

Each meeting, a different Trustee presents the Acknowledgement of Territory and includes their own personal reflections. This meeting began with an opening by the Traditional Mohawk Knowledge Keepers from Tyendinaga, Crystal Loft and Mandy Smart.

Barry C. O’Connor Excellence in Education Awards

The Barry C. O’Connor Awards recognizes excellence in education as provided by support staff throughout the district. This award was established to recognize support staff in the following categories: Clerical and Secretarial, Educational Services Staff, Educational Assistants, Central Office Support Staff, and Volunteers.

Recipients:

Sandra Sands - Clerical and Secretarial Support

Michele Miller - Educational Services Supports

Susanne Casement - Educational Assistant

Susan Bowles - Central Office Support

Barry Botham - Community Partner

J.C. McLeod Excellence in Teaching Awards

J.C. McLeod was the Director of Education for the former Lennox and Addington County Board of Education from 1969 to 1983. He recognized and rewarded excellence in teaching throughout his time as director and on his retirement, he established a fund to continue this focus.

This award recognizes the outstanding contributions of individual teachers to classroom instruction or the improvement of classroom instruction, over several years. This distinguished award is presented annually to one teacher in elementary and one teacher in secondary.

Recipients:

Angela Moslinger - Elementary

Kelly Pilgrim - Secondary

Barry C. O’Connor Excellence in Support Staff Award winners (from left): Barry Botham, Susan Bowles and Susanne Casement. Absent: Sandra Sands and Michele Miller.

J.C. McLeod Excellence in Teaching Award winners: Kelly Pilgrim (left) and Angela Moslinger

It is hard to believe that another school year is almost complete, and lots of celebrations are underway for our graduates, staff, and our partnerships within our communities. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, congratulations to all for the incredible efforts underway, everyday, that continue to support student learning within the safe and welcoming environments across Limestone.

June is a busy month across our district and includes both National Indigenous People’s Day on Friday (June 21) and Pride Month. We are honoured to have tonight’s meeting begin with an opening from the Traditional Mohawk Knowledge Keepers from Tyendinaga in advance of National Indigenous People’s Day on Friday.

As many of you know, Limestone participated in both the Greater Napanee Pride Parade in early June, and the Kingston Pride Parade this past Saturday. It was wonderful to see the number of Limestone students, staff, and families participating in both parades.

I would also like to highlight new information we just received yesterday regarding a couple of student awards from OPSBA:

• Ailia Syeda from Frontenac Secondary School was selected as the recipient of the 2024 Jack A. MacDonald Award of Merit. This award is given annually to an exceptional student for exemplary achievements in academics, leadership, and community service.

• Ella Rickard from Napanee District Secondary School was awarded an OPSBA Certificate of Recognition.

• Grace de Varennes From Sydenham High school was awarded an OPSBA Certificate of Recognition.

Congratulations to Ailia, Ella, and Grace. All three will be recognized in a couple of weeks at the OPSBA Annual General Meeting.

As we are marking the end of another academic year, I am filled with immense pride and gratitude. As a school board and community, when faced with any unprecedented challenges throughout the school year, we preserved, adapted, and thrived. Our students excelled academically and creatively. It has been wonderful over the past month to celebrate our students and staff including Student Achievers, the Skills Ontario and Skills Canada teams, as well as tonight’s Staff Awards winners. Their achievements reflect the dedication of our educators and the supportive environment we foster.

I express my heart-felt gratitude to the entire Limestone District School Board community. Together, we have navigated challenges and celebrated successes. May our shared commitment to education propel us toward a brighter future. I hope everyone has a safe and happy summer.

June is always a time of reflection as we complete one school year and continue preparations for the next school year. It is also a time of change as we see students graduate from secondary school, staff retire, and many staff and students prepare for transitions. It is also a time of celebration across the system as students graduate and enjoy end-of-year activities and celebrations. We were able to enjoy some celebrations this evening with the annual Limestone staff awards. We heard, and saw, some great examples of people focused on doing the very best they can to support students and learning in LDSB.

In recent weeks and months, many graduating Limestone students have received significant scholarships and admissions to universities, colleges, and apprenticeships or have developed work plans for next year. With secondary graduations just over a week away, I know Trustees and senior staff can look forward to hearing the plans of LDSB grads at those celebrations and honouring the graduates of 2024.

In reflecting on the 2023-2024 school year, or any other school year, I think it is important to again remember Kathy Freston’s wise words: “The goal is progress, not perfection.” In education, the stakes are always high for each learner, and there is always more we can do to serve each student. During this school year, two good examples that indicate progress is being made but that more work remains, are the current changes we are making to elementary special education service delivery based on the Special Education Review and the feedback we collected during that process, and the additional Student Census Sense of Belonging Report we released this past fall. Both engagements provide us with voice and direction for moving forward.

As Trustees are aware, further engagement occurred this year to finalize the new LDSB Strategic Plan and to ensure we collected voice from the communities we serve regarding budget priorities. These are just two examples.

Given June is National Indigenous History Month, and Friday is National Indigenous Peoples Day, Trustees should be aware that there are a range of activities supported by the Limestone Indigenous team, as well as Knowledge Keepers in schools providing a range of learning for students.

As just one example, the Indigenous Education team will be engaged in a wide range of activities scheduled to occur at City Park as part of the local Indigenous community’s celebration of this important date. The Indigenous team is supporting and facilitating many elementary LDSB classes visiting the park on Friday. You can look forward to hearing more about this in one of this evening’s reports.

June is also Pride month, and like the last couple of years, Limestone formally participated in the third annual Greater Napanee Pride Parade earlier this month, which was a great success, and we also had a very strong presence this past weekend for the Kingston Pride Parade. We must continue to take a strong stance in support of human rights, and against hate in the communities we serve.

In closing, I want to offer my congratulations to all students graduating from Limestone and to staff entering their last ten days of work with Limestone. There is much to be proud of in Limestone and I have a great deal of gratitude and humility in serving as its Director. Thank you also to the Board of Trustees for your continued collaboration, strong support of public education, and advocacy. While all of us around this table may not always agree on everything, I think we can all be proud of the way we conduct ourselves and work together for the betterment of Limestone students. Thank you, Chair Hutcheon; that concludes my report for this evening.

Chair Hutcheon acknowledged the service of this year’s Student Trustees, Emily Eckloff, Andrea Wang, and Ava Jean O’Keefe.

"All three Student Trustees are exceptional student leaders, as evidenced by their continued efforts to further develop student voice across our school district, as well as at the provincial level, bringing Limestone student voices to the Ontario Student Trustee Association."

Next year, Urban Student Trustee Wang will be attending the University of Toronto, St. George Campus, to study life sciences, and has signed with the women’s volleyball team.

Indigenous Student Trustee Eckloff will be attending Trent University, majoring in Indigenous Environmental Studies.

Rural Student Trustee O’Keefe will be attending McMaster University in social sciences.

Thank you for your leadership, strong advocacy, and dedication to your role as Student Trustees, and best of luck with your future endeavours!

Outgoing Student Trustees (from left): Rural Student Trustee Ava Jean O’Keefe, Urban Student Trustee Andrea Wang, and Indigenous Student Trustee Emily Eckloff.

Presented by Superintendent Gillam (Pages 30-33)

Purpose: To update Trustees on the Indigenous Education Board Action Plan (BAP), which is Ministry mandated, and how the BAP supports the goals of the LDSB Strategic Plan.

Background: Prior to 2023/24, Indigenous Education was funded by three primary sources: a) First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies Courses, b) Grants for Student Needs (GSNs) focused on Indigenous Education, and if applicable, c) Priority/Partnership Funding (PPF).

Historically, the funding received from the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies courses was used to staff Grade 11 English: Understanding Contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Voices or NBE. Surplus money from this source was enveloped to support Indigenous Education and was added to the BAP funding.

The BAP is created by the Indigenous Education team with input from various sources, including the Indigenous Education Committee or IEC. Financial information related to Ministry funding was shared with the IEC in the Fall of 2023 and IEC participated in building the BAP in November of 2023. The IEC has been kept up to date on the BAP and will receive final reports on the initiatives in June of 2024 and financial details in September of 2024.

Trustees will recall that at the May 3, 2023, Education, Policy and Operations Committee meeting, Trustees approved the following motions:

• Changes to Policy 11 (appendix B) incorporating the Indigenous Education Committee as a Standing Committee of the Board
• Changes to Article VI of the LDSB Procedural Bylaws that incorporate the Indigenous Education Committee as a Standing Committee of the Board.

In November 2023, expressions of interest were received from Indigenous Community members, organizations supporting Indigenous clients, and Indigenous parents/caregivers. The current iteration of IEC has recently confirmed several protocols related to Indigenous Education as well as their Terms of Reference for the 24/25 school year. The IEC has been a productive and well-attended Committee during this past school year.

Current Status: Funding in support of Indigenous Education changed this year. Funds from the GSNs or BAP have been maintained and if applicable, boards have received Responsive Education Program (REP) funding which replaces the previous PPF funding as supported by the Ministry. The funding that historically supported the ability to staff NBE is no longer available. To offset these funding changes, boards were provided a supplemental amount that allowed for LDSB to continue staffing NBE for this current school year.

Along with changes to the funding model, the Ministry also provided boards with direction on how funds allocated to Indigenous Education were to be prioritized on a go forward basis. These priorities are as follows:

• Student achievement and preparing students for the future
• Indigenous Language Revitalization
• Land-Based Learning
• Engagement and collaboration with local Indigenous partners, communities and organizations Improving/Expanding knowledge of all students and educators on Indigenous history, perspectives, contributions and ways of knowing
• Culturally responsive well-being supports

Based on the six priorities above, the Indigenous Team has been extremely active this year in providing supports for students/families, providing system supports through professional development opportunities and classroom/school supports, and the continuation of language revitalization as able. Key highlights of this work include:

• Allyship Café
• Educational Assistant support (Jordan’s Principle)
• Mohawk Language Instruction
• Student Leadership
• Indigenous Literacy/Numeracy Coach
• Multiple Professional Development opportunities

Funding information for Indigenous Education in 2024/25 was received when Core Funding was shared with Boards. Limestone received just over $2.2 million to support Indigenous education for the 2024/25 year. The majority of the funds are allocated to the BAP, with approximately $200,000 being allocated to the First Nations, Métis and Inuit Studies Component. Limestone also received Responsive Education Program (REP) funding of $150,000 to support the Indigenous elementary Bridge program running at Katarokwi Learning Centre for this past year and next year. This funding is to support staffing and cultural supports for the program.

Next Steps and Communication Plan: The IEC received an update on the budget and initial plans to support the 24/25 BAP at the May 28 meeting. The draft BAP will be worked on during IEC meetings in the Fall of 2024. IEC also received an update on the increased use of Jordan’s Principle throughout Limestone. Several Educational Assistants have been added to support Indigenous students through this funding source.

Presented by Associate Superintendent Hedderson (Pages 34-40)

Purpose: To update Trustees on the French as a Second Language Operational Plan, and how the operational plan supports the goals of the Limestone District School Board (LDSB) Strategic Plan.

Background: Since French is one of Canada’s two official languages, French is taught in Ontario’s English-language school boards. Students in Ontario's publicly funded English-language schools are required to:

• study French as a second language (FSL) from Grades 4 to 8
• earn at least one credit in FSL in secondary school to obtain the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD)

Three French as a Second Language program options are offered in the LDSB: Core, Extended and Immersion. Full information about what each program option looks like in LDSB is included in the Board Meeting agenda.

Current Status:

Improve student well-being/sense of belonging, participation/engagement in class time, and time

focused on learning:

FSL teachers continue to prioritize and create welcoming, inclusive, French-rich learning

environments across all FSL program types to ensure students feel safe and develop a sense of

belonging. This is an important first consideration so students can develop confidence over time to

learn to speak in French without fear of making mistakes.

Improve literacy learning and achievement for every student: Capacity building in all K-12 FSL

educators, including Core, Extended, and French Immersion. Some strategies are broad and are

focused on effective teaching and learning strategies in all classrooms (Tier 1), whereas others are

targeted to specific initiatives required to meet the needs of a specific group of students (Tier 2 & 3).

Improve graduation rates and preparedness for future success for all groups of students: Students in Extended French and French Immersion can earn a French certificate with their OSSD at the end of Grade 12 if they meet the requisite hours and credit types as outlined earlier; however, the certificate is not formally recognized by post-secondary institutions or employers.

With the introduction of the DELF (Diplôme d'Études en Langue Française), Grade 12 students have the opportunity to earn an official diploma awarded by the French Ministry of Education to certify their French language competency that is internationally recognized.

Next Steps and Communication Plan: Monitoring of the FSL Operational Plan happens in several ways: (a) monitoring of schools’ Student Achievement Plan and Key Performance Indicators, (b) feedback and data gathering through the FSL Steering Committee, (c) feedback from FSL educators, (d) monitoring visits to schools with School Supervisors and Administrative and/or School Leadership Teams, and (d) the recruitment and retention of FSL educators.

The Ministry of Education has been engaged in consultation this spring with boards and other FSL

education partners in preparation for the next Multi-Year Action Plan 2024-2028 to reflect the needs

and priorities of FSL education, which in turn will help inform next steps in the FSL Operational Plan.

Presented by Associate Superintendent Hedderson - (Pages 41-44)

Purpose: This report updates Trustees on the progress of Phase I and II of Limestone’s Math Achievement Action Plan (MAAP). The plan is aligned with the LDSB Strategic Plan goal of improving math learning and achievement for every student.

Background: A MAAP (working version) was developed in fall 2023 based on requirements provided by the Ministry. The rationale for the LDSB MAAP was shared, along with a vision for equity and excellence in all mathematics classrooms, and expectations for high levels of learning and achievement for every student, in every classroom, in every school.

The MAAP was endorsed by the Director of Education and the Board of Trustees in November 2023. The blueprint outlined the board’s concrete, visible, and measurable strategies, as well as key performance indicators (KPIs) under the following areas of focus:

• Fidelity of the Math Curriculum
• Ongoing learning of Math Content Knowledge for Teaching
• Knowing the Math Learner and ensuring mathematical tasks, interventions, and supports are relevant and responsive
• Measurable Results: Improvements in Math Achievement

Current Status: A new digital math tool, Knowledgehook, was introduced across the system for math educators to consider using to support student learning and practice in the classroom. Knowledgehook is also available for students to use for practice at home after they have been set up in a class by their teacher.

Since the beginning of May, some elementary schools have had access to targeted math tutoring

support for Grades 3 and 6 students currently achieving below provincial standard, closing gaps in

preparation for the EQAO assessments. There are also tutors who have been supporting Grades 7 and 8 students who are currently achieving below provincial standard, closing gaps to prepare for the transition to secondary school, and to de-streamed Grade 9 math.

The LDSB Math Team has remained engaged with the Provincial Math Team, collaborated with other boards, and continues to develop resources to support educators and students. It has also facilitated a variety of in-person and virtual professional learning sessions for educators and administrators.

School Math Facilitators continue to work alongside Grades 3, 6, and 9 math educators in 26 priority

schools to support students’ math learning, confidence, and achievement. In addition, the facilitators also support other educators teaching math in other grades in those schools.

KPIs have been monitored by school leadership teams, school administrators, and school

supervisors across schools during the implementation of Phase I and II of the MAAP. To view KPI snapshots, please visit the Board Meeting agenda.

Next Steps and Communication Plan: The Ministry Math Team visited Limestone on June 12 and 13 to learn more about our MAAP and how it is being implemented in schools. Phase III of the MAAP will be launched in September and is intended to reinforce and help refine the implementation of Phase I and II, while introducing a series of next steps to improve math outcomes for all students focused on using data for more responsive instruction.

The LDSB Math Team is preparing some advice for families about how to continue to help build

students’ mathematical literacy skills over the summer months to help maintain the progress that has been made this academic year.

The Board serves more than 19,000 elementary and secondary students in 60 schools and 8 education centres covering a geographic area of 7,719 square kilometres. To get in touch with your trustee, visit Meet Your Trustees.

Email: communications@limestone.on.ca
Website: www.limestone.on.ca
Location: 220 Portsmouth Avenue, Kingston, ON, Canada
Phone: 6135446920
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