Trustees with the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) met on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, for their first official meeting of the 2022-2026 term. Some of the items discussed in the public session are as follows.
We All Belong Student Survey Update
Superintendent of Schools Marsha McNair, Principal of Equity and Inclusion Dan McRae, and Research Officer Dr. Kathleen Moss presented an update on the UCDSB We all Belong Student Survey. The survey, which launched on Nov. 14, is open for Kindergarten to Grade 12 students.
Marsha explained that the survey results will help the school district better understand the needs of its students, allowing for the UCDSB to allocate resources and enhance programs in different ways to increase student success and more students feeling safe and accepted at school. This survey connects directly to the Director’s Work Plan for student culture and the Board Improvement and Equity Plan.
Dr. Moss shared that the survey is well underway and that it will close Dec. 12. After the survey closes, the data will be cleaned, validated and analyzed. A final report will then be presented in the spring.
Student Enrollment Update
Superintendent of Schools Bill Loshaw presented to the Board an update on student enrolment. Preliminary data in the spring initially showed an increase of approximately 584 students – 468 elementary students and 116 secondary students. Bill shared that the UCDSB takes a conservative approach when calculating student projections and as such the actual headcount is an increase of 714.
Bill also shared with trustees that for this school year, 3,245 students have been registered to attend a UCDSB school for the first time. This total represents students from all grades. Of that number, 1,683 are Junior Kindergarten students, representing the highest number of Junior Kindergarten students reported since 2017.
The elementary first-time UCDSB students, apart from Junior Kindergarten, have either moved and are now part of the UCDSB geographical area or have switched local school boards.
For secondary, it can be attributed to students coming from other countries as international students, refugees, having moved geographical areas, or having switched local school boards.
The UCDSB currently sits at 27,095 students.
