Kate Baggott's Blog: Cornfields of the Sea - Posts Tagged "election-2014"

Yes, this is a writer blog but I am a citizen with children in the District School Board of Niagara public school system. There has been a woeful lack of coverage of the school board election, so I am using my role as a general busybody and citizen to interview the 9 candidates competing for the 4 seats representing St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Jennifer Ajandi is the second of the 9 candidates to respond to my questions in full. Jennifer teaches at Brock and Ryerson.

Question 1. What in your background do you believe prepares you for this public office?

Jennifer's Reply:

I have served almost ten years on Board of Directors in the past. 4
years for the Ontario Association of Social Workers, Central Ontario
Branch and most recently as Vice-President of the Board at Gillian's
Place. I believe this commitment to community work in these roles
provides me with a foundation in strategic planning, policy and
programming, community engagement, and collaboration. I am also an
educator and have taught in universities for the past 6 years. My
daughter is a current student in the DSBN and I am passionate about
making the education system work and be accessible to all students. I also completed my PhD in Equity and
Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education,
University of Toronto.

Question 2. What has been your role in community volunteer work, educational activism and politics?

Jennifer's Reply:

I currently serve on the Board as Vice-President of Gillian's Place
and am dedicated to serving an organization that works to end violence
against women and children. I am also the Chair of the School Advisory
Council at my daughter's school. I believe in community outreach and
engagement and aim to make more links between the education system and
community organizations.


Question 3. While local elections are not party-driven, do you have any party affiliations that influence your political ambitions?

Jennifer's Reply:

I support a strong social safety net and collaboration with community
supports. I believe education and its services should remain publicly
funded. I support political parties that work to engage marginalized
populations and recognize the importance of social supports in the
education system (eg. increase in daycare, breakfast and snack
programs, mental health supports as well as an increase in Education
Assistants, Child and Youth Workers, and Social Workers).

Question 4. How would you describe the current relationship between elected trustees and hired superintendents? Or, how do you think that relationship should look?

Jennifer's Reply:


I believe the relationship between superintendents and trustees needs
to be collaborative and supportive of an open dialogue.

Question 5. The province offers trustees various forms of procedural guidance and training in legal and procedural responsibilities of trustees. Which of these forms of guidance and training will you use and/or participate in to prepare and undertake your role as trustee?

Jennifer's Reply:

I would participate in any and all training that is available to me.

Question 6. Where do you stand on the issue of amalgamation of school boards in Niagara and in Ontario as a whole?

Jennifer's Reply:

I do not support amalgamation of school boards. I believe we need to focus more on the local needs of areas instead of one "superboard". Diversity and inclusion is a strength and we need to provide more support in this area.

Question 7. Where do you stand on the issue of provincial oversight of school closure decisions and financial transparency of the DSBN?

Jennifer's Reply:

I support policies that increase transparency of the DSBN. Also, the ARC process in itself needs to be approached in a genuine way with real community involvement and power in decision making.

Question 8.

Among members of the public, there appears to be a problem with nepotism in the hiring of teachers in the board. Will you look into this issue and, if so, what would you do?

Jennifer's Reply:

Yes, definitely. I am interested in having conversations with all interested parties to think carefully about how to address this.

Question 9. The EQAO results in the DSBN are rather troubling, but standardized testing in general is a controversial issue. What do you think of our students' results on the EQAO and about the role of standardized testing overall?

Jennifer's Reply:

Standardized testing may offer a broad overview of results for particular learning objectives; however, I do not support them as the only tool or even main tool in how to evaluate students' success. There are many areas that cannot be empirically measured... character education, social and emotional skills, expression in the Arts, etc. Students learn and relay knowledge in diverse and multiple ways - one standardized way of evaluating this knowledge will not capture everything.


Question 10. Many members of the public are concerned about the level of support for students with special needs. They have also expressed concern about the continuity of staff assigned to particular individuals and the job security of those staff members. What is your position on how the DSBN is doing supporting students who have special needs and the role of Educational Assistants in providing that support?

Jennifer's Reply:

I believe Education Assistants and supportive staff such as social workers, child and youth counselors, and mental health supports in general should see an increase in funding. It is not enough to say we integrate those with various needs in the classroom and in separate classrooms - we need to make sure they experience real inclusion. If students are not experiencing real inclusion, it is still segregation. More staff is needed to ensure a better learning environment overall.

Question 11. What do you believe is the role of the trustee in supporting participatory democracy and the role of parents in school board operations?

Jennifer's Reply:

I believe trustees have a responsibility to represent community voices
and to provide spaces where these voices can be heard and respected.
We should not act in isolation and make decisions without the support
and inclusion of perspectives from all of those involved. Policies and
programs need to be established by those who are affected by them in
the first place. I hope to create an open dialogue where families and
community members feel at ease to discuss their concerns with me as
well as their celebrations!

Question 12. Additionally, please provide links to your web site and/or Facebook page and twitter handle.

Jennifer's Reply:

http://www.JenniferAjandi.com

This post reflects whom I've decided to endorse and this summary post explains why. As usual, here is a list of all the candidate information posts I wrote to cover the race:

Ajandi, Jennifer

Atamanyk, Gary

Bradnam, Alex

Campbell, Lora

Christie, Adam

Crouch, Linda

Fast, Jonathan

Longhurst, Eva

Sherwin, Al

Yes, this is a writer blog but I am a citizen with children in the District School Board of Niagara public school system. There has been a woeful lack of coverage of the school board election, so I am using my role as a general busybody and citizen to interview the 9 candidates competing for the 4 seats representing St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Al Sherwin is the third of the 9 candidates to respond to my questions in full.

Question 1. What in your background do you believe prepares you for this public office?

Al's Reply:

After graduation from Brock with a B.Ed degree, I found employment in Manitoba working for the Department of Native Affairs. Working within the government allowed me the opportunity to make radical changes in the way education was administered within the province. Public office is simply the same person trying to improve the application in the spotlight of the public eye. Working in the team environment allows one to express views blending into the best approach to education.

Question 2. What has been your role in community volunteer work, educational activism and politics?

Al's Reply:

As a member of this community, I contribute to several organizations including Rotary, the Community Breakfast Club, school liaisons while an employee of CAA, and my faith community.

Question 3. While local elections are not party-driven, do you have any party affiliations that influence your political ambitions?

Al's Reply:
The simple answer is NO. I have been approached by several groups wanting their commitment to a particular cause/direction, however I have declined because I prefer to be free to determine the best resolution for the DSBN vision.

Question 4. How would you describe the current relationship between elected trustees and hired superintendents? Or, how do you think that relationship should look?

Al's Reply:

Superintendents are there to facilitate the requirements of both the province and the will of the school board. They should have some freedom to make decisions without any encumbrances of the board.

Question 5. The province offers trustees various forms of procedural guidance and training in legal and procedural responsibilities of trustees. Which of these forms of guidance and training will you use and/or participate in to prepare and undertake your role as trustee?

Al's Reply:
As a novice trustee, I will be taking advantage of all the necessary instruction/training. Mindful of the public purse when courses are not available locally or on-line.

Question 6. Where do you stand on the issue of amalgamation of school boards in Niagara and in Ontario as a whole?

Al's Reply:
This would be a wonderful first step to increase the economy of scale in terms of buying services, however, achieving mutual connect will be the most difficult issue.

Question 7. Where do you stand on the issue of provincial oversight of school closure decisions and financial transparency of the DSBN?

Al's Reply:
Remembering that DSBN has a limited budget and can only lobby for more combined with the demographics of the area we as a group have to work within the guidelines dictated by the province. That being said someone from the DSBN has to take the leadership role to change those guidelines in order to maintain local neighbourhood schools.

Question 8.

Among members of the public, there appears to be a problem with nepotism in the hiring of teachers in the board. Will you look into this issue and, if so, what would you do?

Al's Reply:
This was reason I was forced to seek employment elsewhere. The scenario; "It's who you know, or who's related to you"; has to stop. Merit should be one of the determining factors.

Question 9. The EQAO results in the DSBN are rather troubling, but standardized testing in general is a controversial issue. What do you think of our students' results on the EQAO and about the role of standardized testing overall?

Al's Reply:
Standardizing testing should only be used a guideline for improvement as answered above.

Question 10. Many members of the public are concerned about the level of support for students with special needs. They have also expressed concern about the continuity of staff assigned to particular individuals and the job security of those staff members. What is your position on how the DSBN is doing supporting students who have special needs and the role of Educational Assistants in providing that support?

Al's Reply:

Students with special needs should be respected and at all costs supported by the DSBN in their endeavours. This matter will require more attention on my part to understand all that's involved in this issue.

Question 11. What do you believe is the role of the trustee in supporting participatory democracy and the role of parents in school board operations?

Al's Reply:

As parents you are one of the major stakeholders in the education system. This your concerns should be addressed at the committee level where "the rubber meets the road".

Question 12. Additionally, please provide links to your web site and/or Facebook page and twitter handle.

Al's Reply:

As an old school graduate and aware of the 21st century electronics Facebook/Twitter et al is not one of my strengths. Once elected a website to exchange ideas will certainly be a necessity.

This post reflects whom I've decided to endorse and this summary post explains why. As usual, here is a list of all the candidate information posts I wrote to cover the race:

Ajandi, Jennifer

Atamanyk, Gary

Bradnam, Alex

Campbell, Lora

Christie, Adam

Crouch, Linda

Fast, Jonathan

Longhurst, Eva

Sherwin, Al