School Board Trustee - New Westminster, BC. #NewWest #PublicEducation #bced [email protected]
New Westminster, BC Canada
Joined March 2013
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Lots of really, really great things are happening in our school district, imagine how much better it could be if students didn’t have to learn in portables and if the ministry compensated districts for the costs associated with meeting capacity challenges! #bced
Back to school means back to my Trustee liaison role, a great opportunity to connect with parents and caregivers at our schools and bring updates from the board for them. #bced
A new report released by Children First Canada finds bullying, poverty and mental illness are on the rise among Canadian youth and urges action from policy-makers to improve the lives of children.
Currently the BC NDP only provides funding to school districts for a counsellor to
the task of providing an increasing number of front-line services, including mental health supports, food security initiatives and developmental therapies, but the funding has not kept up.
The province is trending in the wrong direction to support our most vulnerable, the BC NDP
must act urgently to support student mental health and well-being.
childrenfirstcanada.org/camp…
School's out for summer and the only sound we're hearing from Victoria is CRICKETS! No murmer of a funding announcement for a critically needed elementary school in downtown New Westminster that I am aware of. The district's package has
been sitting with TB for a year now ... meanwhile, 1 out of every 4 students in New West schools is now learning in a portable, that's shameful and the province is doing nothing to help get our students in to actual buildings. #Shameful #bced #BuildSchools #StudentsDeserveBetter
It's been 2.5 weeks since Minister Beare, the Minister of Education and Child Care visited the most densely populated school in New Westminster - Ecole Qayqayt Elementary School and still crickets on a funding announcement for a desperately needed elementary school in the
already stretched operating grants (fund that should be going towards student learning, not student portables!). The legislature has no more sessions on the calendar and Treasury Board will be breaking for summer soon ... WHAT IS THE HOLD UP?!!!
At this point, the new school will likely be full before the doors even open. Shameful!! #bced
Was interviewed yesterday with regard to my statement that no mental health discussions should be happening in our province right now without including schools which are at the forefront of this crisis and proper investments could have positive longterm affects. #bced
As B.C. prepares for a sweeping review of its Mental Health Act, one local school trustee says a crucial voice is missing from the conversation: education. vancouver.citynews.ca/2025/0…
Of the 5 yr $5 million mental health commitment made by NDP government in 2021, New West gets $52,000 / yr ($122,845 in 2021/22 for pandemic recovery). This funding ends in 2025/26 with no commitment on the table for further funding. When will NDP make a meaningful commitment?
2 months later and STILL WAITING for funding announcement! We've been told funds are "earmarked" but have no idea what that actually means - meanwhile, another portable has been set up at Qayqayt. We are at a crisis point the NDP need to release the funds! #bced @JasJohalBC
City of New Westminster Red Dress Day Reflection
When: Monday, May 5, 2025, 3:15 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Where: 620 8th St.
mental health conditions extend to adulthood, imparting both physical and mental health and limiting opportunities to lead fulfilling lives as adults". Our education system has reached a crisis point and the effects of years of systemic underfunding is playing out in tragedy
after tragedy before our eyes.
It's time for the provincial government to make a real and lasting investment in mental health supports in our schools. This investment will mean
better and more fulfilling lives for today's students and will undoubtedly reduce the need for costly band-aid approaches down the road. who.int/.../detail/adolescen… #bced #bcpoli #BCMentalHealth #FundPublicEducationNow