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Home My WebLink About'All the boats rise' — Public board's new director of education has background in equity - Ottawa Citizen - 10/03/2018 - Ottawa Citizen - 10/03/201810/4/2018 `All the boats rise'— Public board's new director of education has background in equity I Ottawa Citizen 'All the boats rise' - Public board's new director of education has background in equity JOANNE LAUCIUS (HTTPS://OTTAWACITIZEN.COM/AUTHOR/JLAUCIUS) Updated: October 3, 2018 Csl f III '6V/III I f I sJ P' I jr I I J SII r cif (""I t),(:, r..f ,�I f OTTWP The Ottawa -Carleton District School Board's new director of education has been involved in equity and diversity initiatives at her current board that https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/all-the-boats-rise-public-boards-new-director-of-education-has-background-in-equity 1/6 10/4/2018 `All the boats rise'— Public board's new director of education has background in equity I Ottawa Citizen have included its first teacher census that asked teachers about race, sexuality and religion. Another census scheduled to roll out next year at the Durham District School Board, where Camille Williams -Taylor is currently a superintendent of equity and inclusive education, will gather "identity data" from students. Gathering data helps to inform decisions about how to differentiate and target the board's programs, said Williams -Taylor, who has also been involved in measures to include different cultural perspectives on curriculum documents, such as one that focuses on Muslim perspectives, as well as an action plan to tackle systemic racism faced by black students. "We're trying to recognize that when we level the playing field, when the tide rises, all the boats rise as well," said Taylor -Williams this week in an interview from Ajax. She is to begin her duties at the Ottawa -Carleton board early in December. "When we want to see impact, we have to get a goal and measure it:' The census of teachers at the Durham board was an idea that came of conversations with its staff and community to get a clear picture of the workforce, she said. ADVERTISEMENT The board's approximately 10,000 employees were asked about 40 questions that touched not only on race, sexuality and religion but also https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/all-the-boats-rise-public-boards-new-director-of-education-has-background-in-equity 2/6 10/4/2018 `All the boats rise'— Public board's new director of education has background in equity I Ottawa Citizen questions of health and wellness, time spent commuting and career aspirations. (The survey found that staff was 89 per cent white and more than half were Christian.) "There is a capacity -building component to understanding the data," said Williams -Taylor. "This is not about counting people just to know, but to see the community." The Ottawa -Carleton District School Board is also preparing to collect identity -based data on students, with the help of the broader community, and has applied for funding for the initiative. The board has already committed to the project and plans to go ahead with it, whether it gets funding or not, said a spokeswoman. (The Durham board got a $175,000 grant from the Ministry of Education to conduct its student census.) The numbers have often helped to underline inequities in the school system. In 2013, for example, the Toronto District School Board released figures that showed black students were three times more likely to be suspended than white students in the 2006-07 school year. While black students make up only about 12 per cent of high school students at the Toronto board, they accounted for more than 31 per cent of all suspensions, according to the data. Indigenous students were even more likely to be disciplined. Many black students are successful, but many have different experiences in schools because of their racial identity, said Williams -Taylor. One of the issues that was identified by the Durham board was that black people are under -represented in science, technology, engineering and medicine. The board introduced a program called Tech Spark. The program, which offered session in coding and artificial intelligence, targeted not only schools, but also neighbourhoods with a higher proportion of black students. Meanwhile, enhancing the curriculum to illustrate how teachers reflect different perspectives allows students to bring their voices and their community's voice into the classroom, she said. In education circles, it's known as "culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy." There's a focus on essay -writing in the early years of high school, for example. While teaching about how to write an essay and make clear https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/all-the-boats-rise-public-boards-new-director-of-education-has-background-in-equity 3/6 10/4/2018 `All the boats rise'— Public board's new director of education has background in equity I Ottawa Citizen arguments, one teacher asked students to write an essay about who they thought was a genius. Essay subjects chosen by students included Bill Gates, Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson. "The teacher opened a space that allowed multiple perspectives," said Williams -Taylor. TRENDING STORIES o. Click to view the article in a new tab < Previous Next > This Week's Flyers https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/all-the-boats-rise-public-boards-new-director-of-education-has-background-in-equity 4/6 10/4/2018 `All the boats rise'— Public board's new director of education has background in equity i Ottawa Citizen NNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII J�III )AART WWI"NNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII P: 1PeM1NW, sa prp&Iffia c MRu' NNNNNNNIIIIII R iw N tti p��Wrx,� NUttN WY,Yl UA1 - �' ,ry �» k5"E �� s/ � I KIWI@ ii IIry I •w � Up Pr I � � iPollliiuJii�lllmomoll� s INY m a.:" W. "s 10 af, � y rrx I Ut. Jyn 1I lover for Ilf:lllyeir Comments ME Plow Alred by Grac �fxl We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page (http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/story.html?id=7195492) for more information. 1 Comment Add a comment... Beverley Bell Editor, maybe the article should have started with her background/interests/experience in real education, instead of starting out with sexuality, race and religion. Especially considering Ontario students' math scores. Like • Reply • 13h https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/all-the-boats-rise-public-boards-new-director-of-education-has-background-in-equity 5/6 10/4/2018 'All the boats rise'— Public board's new director of education has background in equity I Ottawa Citizen V 011 V V", 1, ffl", V", U 0 6,5 AM!", 3, GG I I 201 vJ r J t w 1, 1, 1 c, A11i, gj -i i, i, IJ I o1, z.'df i 'r i i , )v a i"i i o I r t c 'r i - ' ,)r c) h J, Jni I U j, r/', j https://ottawacitizen.com/news/Iocal-news/al1-the-boats-rise-public-boards-new-director-of-education-has-background-in-equity 6/6