In celebration of Black excellence, equity, culture, and history, we are thrilled to share spotlights on our students and staff throughout the school year.
'I want to learn how to have big discussions': Durham Catholic students talk new anti-Black racism course
The course is being piloted at three DCDSB high schools this year. Click here to read the article.
Our DCDSB Student Spotlight highlights Trenyce, a Grade 10 student at Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School. Trenyce is actively involved in her school community and shares that she is excited for the future of Notre Dame and encourages her peers to make their voices heard and to be advocates for change.
This Student Spotlight segment features Alyssa, Grade 12 student from Archbishop Denis O'Connor Catholic High School. Alyssa is an incredibly active member in her school community and she shares initiatives that she has put forth as a member of the Student Council, Black History Committee and more. Thank you, Alyssa, for being an important voice in the Archbishop Denis O'Connor community!
How long have you worked with the DCDSB? |
I have been with DCDSB for 22 years. I teach Science and Biology at Archbishop Denis O’Connor Catholic High School in Ajax.
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How can DCDSB promote Black excellence, celebration, history, achievement, and culture in our schools all year round? What is your vision? |
DCDSB can promote Black excellence, history, and culture by integrating Black history throughout curriculum, providing resources and support to teachers in order to implement this successfully in our schools. Education must be done through a culturally relevant and responsive approach ensuring that our Black students are clearly represented in what they are learning, resources, staff, etc. DCDSB can bring storytellers, Canadian authors, professionals in STEM, medical, judiciary fields, alumni, and film industry to our schools. DCDSB can also establish mentorships in our schools, connecting our Black students with various Black professionals who work in industries that they are interested in. In addition, guest speakers at our schools would be able to share their experiences and ideas with students and staff so that they are not only aware of the impact of Anti-Black Racism, but also are given an opportunity to hear about the strength and success of Black Canadians. This would also provide a message of hope for our Black students.
My vision is to encourage the success of Black students so that all students are succeeding. This can work through allyship of all educators in our schools.
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What is one thing that you are proud of in your school or at the board that promotes Black excellence and achievement every day? |
At the school level, I am very proud of my school’s unique mural that reflects Black excellence and achievements. I was included in this mural which depicts inspirational and successful Black Canadians and African Americans. I am also proud of my school’s Edsby Home Page that displayed the “The Skin I’m In.” These were created by our school’s Black History Committee.
At the board level, I am proud of the work that is currently been done by the Anti-Black Racism & Equity Advisory Committee, which I am a part of.
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How are you adapting or changing your teaching and learning to be more inclusive? |
As a teacher, I establish high expectations for all students and provide them with the support that is required to meet those expectations. Ensuring that I am using various teaching strategies and create an environment that is safe and welcoming to all students is crucial to inclusivity. I work to create an environment that embraces all cultures and gives students opportunities to share their knowledge and life experiences.
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This year’s spiritual theme is Community of Faith. What does Community of Faith mean to you? |
Community of Faith means allyship, family, belonging, sharing, kindness, compassion, love, generosity, caring, peace, and joy. It also means sharing these attributes with my students and having faith in the capabilities of all my students.
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What are you most looking forward to, personally or professionally, in 2022? |
In 2022, I look forward to continuing my participation in DCDSB equity work (Anti-Black Racism and Black Excellence). I am anxious to see the progress we will make and what will come out of the work we are doing. I will also continue to effectively and consistently communicate high expectations with my students and promote students’ engagement. I will continue to learn, grow and adapt to a changing world.
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What is one aspect of Black culture (music, dance, art, food, etc.) that you encourage DCDSB staff to learn more about? Why? |
I encourage DCDSB staff to learn and understand all aspects of Black culture because it is holistic. They are all important. For this to be successful and achieved, it requires allyship of all educators in our schools and at the board level. Black culture teaches resilience, understanding, healing, unity, community, collaboration, spirituality, sharing, love, acceptance, compassion, respect, and justice. A popular African saying is, “It takes a village to raise a child.” We all must do our part.
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Was there a family member or Black public figure that inspired you growing up? Why? |
My mother was my role model growing up. She encouraged me to work hard and to never give up on my dreams. My mom was a teacher and always emphasized the importance of education as she used to say, “Education is the ticket out of poverty.” She helped to foster my love of education and is a major reason why I am a teacher today. I hope to inspire the next wave of Black teachers in DCDSB.
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Student Spotlight features Faith, a Grade 12 Student at St. Mary Catholic Secondary School |
This Student Spotlight segment features Faith, a Grade 12 Student at St. Mary Catholic Secondary School and one of the core leaders of the St. Mary's Unity/Black History Committee. Faith is an active member of her school community and encourages others to do the same so that the St. Mary student voice continues to be heard for many more years to come. Thank you, Faith, for sharing your team's initiatives to promote Black Excellence in your school community and for sharing your experience at St. Mary Catholic Secondary School! |
How long have you worked with the DCDSB? |
I have been working with the DCDSB for 18 years. I taught in the classroom for 16 years and for the past year and a half have been the Literacy and ESL/ELD consultant.
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How can DCDSB promote Black excellence, celebration, history, achievement, and culture in our schools all year round? What is your vision? |
Black excellence can be demonstrated in many ways. It does not have to be someone who has received accolades or awards. Black excellence recognizes growth, development, or determination to accomplish goals. We want students, not only Black but all students, to recognize and understand what makes them unique. This can be represented through their unique culture, history, family upbringing, and community experiences, which all bring value and richness to everyone’s learning. They all have excellence within themselves.
DCDSB staff can promote Black excellence by having students look at themselves. We often look at Black students as a deficit or assumptions are made about their abilities, their families, and their worth and we do not recognize that their differences can be seen as excellence because it is not part of the mainstream. For me, approaching equity within our schools and classroom is not just a checklist of things to do. It needs to be relevant and have a component where we take action, build relationships and advocate for our Black students. Our Black students can be change-makers even at an early age. We have the power to unlock, encourage and nurture a student’s true potential and guide them to become change-makers to which will demonstrate excellence.
When thinking about how we can celebrate Black history and culture year-round we need to ask ourselves, are our instructional practices and content culturally relevant to students? Is it going to be engaging for students? We are just starting to learn about CRRP (Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy) and equity. Everything has been through a European lens until now. To do better, educators need to educate themselves so they can integrate their learning and understanding into the curriculum seamlessly and recognize and accept the multiple ways of knowing and showing.
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What is one thing that you are proud of in your school or at the board that promotes Black excellence and achievement every day? |
I am proud to say through my work with my colleagues within Academic Services, and our ESL/ELD educators we have opened more opportunities to have honest and hard conversations with each other. We have had many courageous conversations and created opportunities for students to see themselves in their classrooms, the learning commons and through the curriculum. Equity and diversity have a place in everything that we do inside and outside of the classroom.
As a mom of two young girls in our school board it is important to me for the work within equity and CRRP is improved so they know they are valued, loved and just as important as everyone else. I am extremely proud that I have taken part in several initiatives that have occurred within the board that is representative of Black and racialized students as well as provide learning for all educators. My participation in board and province wide steering committees related to equity and CRRP has given me the opportunity to share my voice. Through these groups I can support educators system wide as well as experiencing my own personal growth.
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How are you adapting or changing your teaching and learning to be more inclusive? |
As I continue to the learn, I do better. As I develop resources for the board, I am ensuring that all students are reflected in the images as well as the content. Our learning and recognition should be all year and not just for Black students but all students and then we can celebrate their achievements and how they have shown excellence. We need to educate ourselves on our students’ cultural differences. Since we are living in a global community we can expand our circle of friends, explore diverse cultural events, and have conversations about our own lives, our success, and our struggles. We can always learn from each other.
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This year’s spiritual theme is Community of Faith. What does Community of Faith mean to you? |
A Community of Faith is inclusive and reflective of our entire community. Our Catholic Graduate Expectations reminds us that being a “Caring
Family member” is also reaching out to our wider community. Our Black and racialized students have been put on the outskirts. Our buildings and teaching practices have not reflected them. God calls us to love one another and that means we need to build those relationships, having conversations with people outside of our race, leaning into possible uncomfortable conversations. This is how we will learn to move forward together as a community.
This year’s theme Community of Faith is timely. As our global community continues to navigate mentally, socially, and physically through this pandemic, we have been shown the many inequities and divides within our country, communities, friendships, and families. Now is the time we need to come together and nurture those relationships, build empathy and compassion for everyone within our faith and global community.
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What are you most looking forward to, personally or professionally, in 2022? |
I am excited for Black and racialized students to see themselves reflected in their educational experience; in classrooms, hallways, books, videos as well as seeing more Black educators and administrators in our schools. It is my goal for educators to take a critical look at what images they are using in their teaching. Is every child’s, race and cultural background represented in a positive manner? Are we making assumptions about Black students based on what the media tells us? I hope this new learning in Equity and CRRP will become a larger part of our conscious thinking.
I am also excited about the Right to Read Inquiry that will be coming out and the changes that will be made in how we teach reading. The goal of this inquiry is for all educators to use a Structured Literacy approach which is based on the Science of Reading. The Structured Literacy approach will instruct all students, including students, with learning disabilities and Multilingual learners, which is an equity issue. Everyone deserves the right to read! I have been learning a tremendous amount on the Structured Literacy approach and have done multiple Sharing of Excellences for educators. I look forward to continuing the sharing and learning with educators on how they can implement Structured Literacy in their class and catch all readers.
Working with the ESL/ELD teachers, our educators, along with Multilingual Learners (ML) is another initiative I am looking forward to. Learning how we can all use the STEP continua to drive instruction and support our MLs in their language acquisition. We are also working on our own understanding of CRRP and building identity affirming teaching practices for our Multilingual learners. We want our MLs to feel empowered in their schools and classroom so they can succeed in their learning experiences socially, mentally, and academically.
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What is one aspect of Black culture (music, dance, art, food, etc.) that you encourage DCDSB staff to learn more about? Why? |
All those things are important, but it goes beyond that. Our biases, that have been ingrained through media, our education system, and the visual images we see around us, impact the way in which we interact with our students and their families. How are we communicating with our Black and racialized students? Do our biases have an impact on how we are assessing our students? I encourage DCDSB staff to really get to know and have more conversations with people of different races. The more we learn about each other the more we learn to appreciate each other’s ethnicity and build that empathic muscle.
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Was there a family member or Black public figure that inspired you growing up? Why? |
I was inspired by my parents who immigrated from Jamaica to Canada, and created a home for my sisters and I, a community which was filled with love, hard work, perseverance as well as the presence of God. I have had many people, specifically women, who inspired and supported me while growing up. My grandma was someone who had a love for literacy. She was an avid reader and the first female advertising manager for The Gleaner Company Limited, a newspaper in Jamaica.
I was also inspired by my cousin Stacey, who is a teacher and a former literacy consultant in TDSB. Stacey is someone who guided me when I started my teaching career and has supported my learning through many discussions and learning opportunities. She continually challenges me to push through difficult situations and to think critically about my own teaching practice.
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Learn more about the Equity Team at St. John Paul II Catholic School |
Our Student Spotlight shines a light on the Equity Team at St. John Paul II Catholic School. The Grade 8 students on the team are passionate about ensuring their school, as well as the Durham Catholic District School Board, practice being anti-racist and calling out racial injustices. They continue to implement their ideas and learning each day, inside and outside of school. Thank you to the Equity Team for sharing your initiatives with us!
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How long have you worked with the DCDSB? |
I have been with the DCDSB as a technology teacher for the last 10 years. I currently teach at Archbishop Denis O’Connor Catholic High School.
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What do you enjoy most about being a member of DCDSB's Equity Committee? |
I enjoy being a part of the Anti-Black Racism committee and sitting on the talent and recruitment subcommittee. I feel blessed to be able to share ideas and to be able to work with parents and other educators to better improve hiring practices to reflect a more diverse reflection of Black educators and administrators within the DCDSB. |
How can DCDSB promote Black excellence, celebration, history, achievement, and culture in our schools all year round? What's your vision? |
I would like to see various encouraging and inspiring initiatives for racialized students which can be embedded year-round. Black figures, such as authors, inventors, politicians, athletes, etc. should be the forefront of daily conversations. All students should be able to learn and understand about influential Black people and their successes. There also needs to be a bigger conversation around Black Canadian History. This is integral not only for Black students and their sense of identity, but to also promote understanding and ally ship amongst all students. |
What is one thing that you are proud of in your school or at the board that promotes Black excellence and achievement every day? |
I am proud of a mural that was done at DO’C, an initiative taken on by the Black History Committee. The mural highlights Black figures from the past and present. Representation matters, and sometimes it takes something visual like this to be able to spark important conversations. |
How are you adapting or changing your teaching and learning to be more inclusive? |
In terms of inclusion, I adapt my teaching and learning by ensuring my class is a safe space. Fostering a community of learners helps to develop unity in our class by enabling my students to understand that we are all human beings and feeling vulnerable is a way for growth and understanding. |
What are you most looking forward to, personally or professionally, in 2022? |
I look forward to building stronger relationships with peers, community members, and students. This pandemic has changed the way we are able to live life. We have become digital creatures and have lost a lot of sharing that happens in an organic way in authentic face to face interactions. |
What is one aspect of Black culture (music, dance, art, food, etc.) that you encourage DCDSB staff to learn more about? Why? |
I believe all aspects are important. It can be a slippery slope when the focus is only on one of these, as you cannot relegate Black culture to only one facet. Stereotypical responses to Black culture should be challenged and open dialogue should be respectful and ongoing. The DCDSB should work towards embodying the significance of the Black experience in Canada. |
Was there a family member or Black public figure that inspired you growing up? Why? |
My father was a strong influence on me growing up. He encouraged and instilled in me the importance of a solid work ethic. He made me realize that nothing is unattainable if you are willing to work hard enough. I was fortunate to have his support, but as a student I did not have any Black role models as teachers. My hope is that the DCDSB will continue to provide all students with the opportunities to see themselves reflected and represented in school communities. |
How long have you worked with the DCDSB? |
I have been a secondary school literature teacher at DCDSB for the past 18 years and presently teach at St. Mary Catholic Secondary School. |
What do you enjoy most about being a member of DCDSB's Equity Committee? |
As a member of DCDSB’s Equity Committee what is most significant about the work that my colleagues and I are involved in has been, to move beyond “conversations” about equity, inclusion and anti- black racism towards convictions for growth and change. The committee has taken to heart Bell Hooks’ sentiment that the souls of our students are sacred and that our job is not simply to provide intellectual but spiritual growth so that the necessary conditions where learning can most deeply and intimately begin is ensured. |
How can DCDSB promote Black excellence, celebration, history, achievement, and culture in our schools all year round? What's your vision? |
It is important to note that “Black Excellence” while a recent addition to the collective consciousness, originates in the triumphs of those who persevered and championed equity for pan-Africans, Afro- Canadians, African Americans during and since the era of reconstruction and the civil rights movement. The DCDSB can continue to support Black excellence, celebration, history, achievement, and culture by continuing to establish an ongoing dialogue with its employees about the significance of recognizing and supporting Black culture in tandem with developing resources that champion Black excellence, this not only supports Black students, but it also fosters skills of inclusion of all cultures that have been marginalized and objectified by hegemonic norms of patriarchy in Canada.
My personal engagement and vision of Black Excellence roots itself in an epistemic emotional perspective of learning and engagement, which when trailblazed is a powerful way of leading the recognition and celebration of various cultures of both employees and students.
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What is one thing that you are proud of in your school or at the board that promotes Black excellence and achievement every day? |
I admire and I am grateful that the DCDSB and many of its secondary schools are offering courses in Deconstructing Anti- Black Racism, Indigenous Literature and Peoples, Issues in a Global Context, Equity and Justice- Asian Canadian Focus, and the alike. Studies have shown that when we study with an approach to understanding our human history and the conscious and unconscious biases that affect us 93% of us will be more likely to recognize the dangers of racial or religious stereotyping. 83% of us are more likely to help if we see someone being bullied and more than 50% of us are more likely to get involved in our school community and in our world. |
How are you adapting or changing your teaching and learning to be more inclusive? |
With respect to inclusivity, I have adopted a reconceptualist approach in my pedagogy and learning. Additionally, I have embraced the power of vulnerability, the fallibility of curriculum, and the importance of being aware of how my conscious and unconscious biases affect my classroom. In so doing, my hope is that my discomfort with uncomfortable truths will serve as the impetus to personal change and growth, ultimately, creating a safe and inclusive space for students.
What are you most looking forward to, personally or professionally, in 2022?
I am looking forward to a post- pandemic world and continuing to work on restoring, repairing and redressing past inequities and injustices in education.
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What is one aspect of Black culture (music, dance, art, food, etc.) that you encourage DCDSB staff to learn more about? Why? |
I think it is impossible to pick one aspect of Black culture to encourage DCDSB staff to become more familiar with. The DCDSB staff must become familiar with the complexity of Black culture ontologically and epistemologically. Enabling the achievements of Black Academics, Artists, etc. to become the subject of learning rather than the object of learning. |
Was there a family member or Black public figure that inspired you growing up? Why? |
Without a doubt the person who inspired me when I was growing up was my grandmother, Cynthia. She taught me to believe in and to stand up for myself, and to challenge myself to the limits. Most importantly she instilled in me that certain basic principles could not be compromised, for example, I could be in complete disagreement with someone and not denigrate them as a consequence. |