Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board

Board Meeting Highlights, March 24, 2025

Posted on 03/24/2025

These are highlights from the public meeting of the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board held March 24, 2025.

Acknowledgement of Traditional Lands

Ron Speck, Trustee, North Hastings, offered a Land Acknowledgement. 

Presentation: A culture of learning at the new Easthill Elementary School

The presentation opened with remarks by student Beatrice Lewis; Principal Amy Woodland and Vice-principal Dean Goodman who each reflected on the sense of community at this new school. The positive culture of learning happens every day through the connectedness among staff, families, community partnerships like YMCA and Food for Learning. Every day is about students and their learning. The band flawlessly performed two pieces and a video was shown, showcasing key activities and achievements at the school.

 

The contributions of various departments was acknowledged for their expertise in coordinating the building project. Thank you to Facility Services, IT, Purchasing, as well as to custodians.

 

Thank you to the Easthill ES guests: Jennifer Curtis, Teacher and Band Conductor;  student band members: Leah Beals, Hailen Brunette, Josh Cowie, Molly Di Donato, Neil Dunleavy, Pearl Edwards, Ben Hudacin, Ray Hurley, Henry Lees, Beatrice Lewis, Harlow Lewis, Anthony Lloyd-Cicale, Amelia Moxam, Marcello Ponzo, Julia Raymond, Aiven Rajeshkumar and River Sezaki-Lightfoot.

Rise and report from Committee of the Whole

Two Human Resources matters were discussed with recommendations from Report 8b of the Closed Committee of the Whole agenda. Board members approved the recommendations in public session.

External committee reports

Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA)

Highlights from this report included the following:

• asked for the names of trustees who will be attending the upcoming Eastern Region Meeting and Annual General Meeting.

Food for Learning Committee: March 6, 2025

Highlights from this report included the following:

• Financial update: The school board moving to a new piece of software, FFL will not be participating in that software as it is too costly. Recommended to reduce the amount of grocery cards on hand.

• Program updates: Need more volunteers for programs within schools, creating a recruitment program to draw in new volunteers. Six schools are  enrolled in pilot program. How do we get more schools involved?

• National federal funding update.

Standing committee reports

Governance and Policy Committee: March 17, 2025

Highlights from this report are listed on page 19 of the agenda. At the same link, find out more about revisions to various policies approved by Board members. 

Physical Planning, Finance and Building Committee, February 10, 2025

Highlights from this report are listed on page 29 of the agenda. 

Statutory committee reports

Special Education Advisory Committee, February 27, 2025

Highlights from this report are listed on page 30 of the agenda.

Supervised Alternative Learning Committee, February 26, 2025

Highlights from this report are listed on page 31 of the agenda. 

Advisory committee reports

Accessibility Advisory Committee: March 20, 2025

Highlights from this report included the following:

• committee membership composition; update about an AODA audit; reviewed the annual accessibility plan.

Student Voice updates

Highlights from this report included the following:

• the Spring Student Voice Conference is set for April 30, 2025; provided updates about school initiatives; and will be sending a form to students this week for students to provide feedback about washroom safety.

Multi-year Strategic Planning Ad Hoc Committee

An extensive consultation process has taken place to inform the next multi-year strategic plan. Input has been received from staff, students, families and community.

The following key priorities were identified:

• Strengthening Foundational and Real-world Skills

• Fostering Critical Thinking, Adaptability and Innovation
• Promoting Citizenship, Well-Being, and Safe Environments
• Advancing Indigenous Education and Reconciliation  

Highlights from this report are listed on page 33 of the agenda. 

Invitation for trustee sharing

Highlights from this report included the following:

• recognition of the work done for the new strategic plan; the chair and director will participate on a panel about strategic planning at a session on May 2; the OPSBA Annual Meeting is in mid-June; the Quinte Regional Science Fair is April 5 at Loyalist College; anyone interested in being a judge can still sign up.
• Two student trustees represented HPEDSB at an event on International Women's Day in early March.
• York River PS will be going to the Canadian Canoe Museum; the YRPS Student Council has planned a free clothing swap for students K-Grade 6; the North Hastings HS competed at the Improv Games.
• expressed appreciation for being able to take a short leave to run for provincial office.

Director's report

Some highlights from this report included the following:

• appreciation to people who attended the in-person strategic plan meetings in Belleville and Bancroft; expressed concern about the delay in the provincial budget and how it will affect planning the school board budget; registration for JK is still on; public health is working through student suspensions if they are not up to date on their immunizations; hosted the Eastern Region Education Council (directors of education) last week and visited Prince Edward CI to see a K-12 school; part of the meeting agenda was about washroom safety as it is a concern throughout the province. 

Staff reports

Long-term Capital and Accommodation Plan

The Long-term Capital Accommodation Plan is a detailed, data-driven assessment of the current state of student accommodation across the district. By combining this assessment with projections and analysis of key indicators, the plan forms the foundation for the recommendations and implementation strategies it presents. This document is a crucial resource, guiding responsive and strategic student accommodation and capital planning for HPEDSB. 

Find out more starting on page 34 of the agenda. 

Early Reading update

As we continue to deepen data literacy among teachers and school leaders, we are fostering a culture of reflective practice and data-informed decision-making at schools. Through our data to action approach, early reading teams are actively engaging in the HPE Collaborative Inquiry and making instructional adjustments when current practices are not meeting the needs of specific students. 

Find out more starting on page 36 of the agenda. 

Student Achievement Plan update

Building on foundational work from the last school year, HPEDSB is deepening the focus on using data to refine instructional practices and system-wide strategies. School boards are required to share their Student Achievement Plans on their website and with the Ministry of Education by April 30, 2025.

Find out more starting on page 38 of the agenda. 

Continuous Improvement for Students with Complex Health/Medical Needs

In our commitment to a system-wide inquiry stance, we continuously evaluate the actions and practices necessary to support students who require differentiated learning experiences. Following the tragic sudden death of a student in a Life Skills Program (LSP) at Trenton High School in spring 2024, HPEDSB undertook a review of internal processes related to students with special education and medical needs within its programs and classrooms. The goal of the review was to ensure that staff have access to optimal resources, training and procedures to meet the physical and medical needs, along with the learning abilities and styles, of each student.