CDDHS School Bullying Prevention Plan and Safe, Equitable and Inclusive School Strategy

The CDDHS GSA created this display to promote inclusion and acceptance.

The RCMP is the latest group to create a video in the “It Gets Better” theme — aimed primarily at youth. Championed by the Surrey RCMP Youth Unit, the 20 participants taped interviews in the summer of 2012. The video was finalized, by BC RCMP Multi-media services in the fall of 2012. Watch the video here.

The video features adults who share their stories of their struggles, with the aim of building a bridge of understanding for youth undergoing similar experiences. Each of the participants tell moving and candid stories of their doubts, fears, and struggles, and their eventual joy of knowing that life, indeed, does get better.

Support for the project was received from police officers and civilian employees across the Lower Mainland of British Columbia including Surrey, Burnaby, UBC, Richmond, the Integrated Homicide Investigations Team, BC RCMP Major Crime, and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit — BC (CFSEU-BC).

While their individual stories vary the messages are personal, powerful and inspiring.

• Bullying Ends Here

• The Trevor Project 1-866-488-7386

Kathleen Wynne (who was the Minister of Education when this was written in 2009), in her introduction, writes:

If we are to succeed, we must draw on our experience and on research that tells us that student achievement will improve when barriers to inclusion are identified and removed and when all students are respected and see themselves reflected in their learning and their environment.

Everyone in the school community benefits from a school environment that is safe, accepting, and respectful. As noted Canadian educator and antiracism and equity advocate George Dei (2006) explains,Inclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space, a better space for everyone.

Some key ideas

Diversity:

The presence of a wide range of human qualities and attributes within a group, organization, or society. The dimensions of diversity include, but are not limited to, ancestry, culture, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, language, physical and intellectual ability, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status.

Equity:

A condition or state of fair, inclusive, and respectful treatment of all people. Equity does not mean treating people the same without regard for individual differences.

Inclusive Education:

Education that is based on the principles of acceptance and inclusion of all students. Students see themselves reflected in their curriculum, their physical surroundings, and the broader environment, in which diversity is honoured and all individuals are respected.

Our government is committed both to raising the bar for student achievement and to reducing achievement gaps. Recent immigrants, children from low-income families, Aboriginal students, boys, and students with special education needs are just some of the groups that may be at risk of lower achievement.

To improve outcomes for students at risk, all partners must work to identify and remove barriers and must actively seek to create the conditions needed for student success. In an increasingly diverse Ontario, that means ensuring that all of our students are engaged, included, and respected, and that they see themselves reflected in their learning environment.
Equity and excellence, therefore, go hand in hand.

Guiding Principles of the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy

• Is a foundation of excellence;

• Meets individual needs;

• Identifies and eliminates barriers;

• Promotes a sense of belonging;

• Involves the broad community;

• Builds on and enhances previous and existing initiatives;

• Is demonstrated throughout the system.