✅ ADAM HARROD | STRONG EDUCATION: KEEPING STUDENT LEARNING AT THE CENTRE

Over the past several weeks, I have written about two of my three campaign priorities: Safe Schools and Responsible Leadership. The third is Strong Education.

For me, strong public education begins with a simple principle: every student should have the opportunity to learn, grow and reach their full potential, but providing that opportunity requires more than curriculum alone.

Students learn best when classrooms are well supported, education workers have the resources they need, students requiring additional assistance can access appropriate supports, and schools are able to focus on teaching and learning.

As a father of two daughters attending local public schools, these issues are important to me personally. They are also issues I have been hearing about from parents, education workers and members of our community.

A School Board Trustee does not decide how an individual teacher runs a classroom or manage the day-to-day operation of a school.

Trustees do, however, have an important role in establishing policy direction, approving budgets, considering how resources are allocated, representing community concerns and monitoring whether Board decisions are achieving their intended results.

If elected, those responsibilities would lead me to ask questions such as:

• Are students receiving the supports they need to be successful?
• Are resources reaching classrooms and students where they can have the greatest impact?
• Are teachers, Educational Assistants, Early Childhood Educators and other education workers being provided with the tools and supports they need?
• Are students requiring additional learning, behavioural or special education supports receiving appropriate assistance?
• Are we identifying areas where students are struggling and examining what can be done differently?
• And are we listening to students, families and the people working directly in our schools when making decisions about education?

Strong education also means recognizing that students do not all learn in the same way. Some students will require additional academic support. Others may require special education services, mental-health or behavioural supports, different learning strategies or other resources to help them succeed. Those needs can also vary considerably from one school community to another.

That is one reason I believe it is important for a trustee to remain connected to the schools they represent.

Board reports, budgets and data are important, but they are only part of the picture. Trustees should also be listening to parents, students, educators and education workers to better understand what is happening in schools and where additional attention may be required.

When concerns are raised, I believe trustees should be prepared to ask questions, examine the information available and determine whether Board policies and resources are producing the results they were intended to achieve.

Public education has an enormous impact on our communities. Our schools are helping prepare the next generation of tradespeople, health-care professionals, educators, entrepreneurs, public servants, community leaders and neighbours.

Providing students with a strong education benefits not only the students sitting in classrooms today, but the communities they will help build tomorrow.

If elected as School Board Trustee for Collingwood and Wasaga Beach, I intend to keep student learning and well-being at the centre of the decisions I make at the Board table.

That means listening. It means asking questions. It means examining how resources are being used. And it means continuing to focus on whether our decisions are helping students succeed.

Safe Schools • Strong Education • Responsible Leadership

Adam Harrod

Candidate for School Board Trustee – Collingwood & Wasaga Beach

Facebook: www.facebook.com/adamharrodtrustee

Email: adamharrodtrustee@gmail.com

Phone: (705) 429-4150