Pascale Shaw, for trustee.
• Occupation:
Took a leave of absence as an education assistant with School District No. 42 to run for school board trustee and a wife and mother.
• Political experience/qualifications for running in this election:
I have been an education assistant in School District No. 42 for over seven years. I have lived and breathed the public school system from the inside out.
I am also a parent of children who attend public school, a PAC parent, have been a DPAC school representative and very involved in volunteering at school since my children entered school in 2006.
My recent education is in early childhood and special education assistant training, however, prior to that, I worked in a 100-year-old family business and was involved in purchasing, advertising and management.
• Reason for running:
I can no longer be silent about the state of our public education system and must speak up.
I can no longer watch as day in and day out so many children, who so desperately need and deserve our help at school, don’t get it.
It is time for me to stand up and fight for what I believe in, a better and safer education for all children
I want to be the voice that shares the realities of what is going on in schools today and to be involved in coming up with solutions.
• What do you consider to be the top two issues this election and how would you address them?
• Safety of our children and staff first.
• Lack of space and support for all children, including those with giftedness or special needs, to reach their full potential.
One: With regard to the safety of children and staff at school, every child, teacher, education assistant and other staff member working in the school has a right to be safe at school at all times. The child’s right to a safe learning environment and the staff’s right to be safe at school no longer exists.
This has to change.
We say that we practice inclusion, however we do not have enough space, support teachers, educational assistant or specialist, or enough time or programming to make school a success for all children.
As a result of the lack of support, some children act out as a form or communication, sadly, sometimes hurting themselves or others.
It is not the child’s fault that we have not provided the right learning environment for them, it is our fault for putting a child in a position to fail.
Two: We have so many children with needs today and our current system is simply not providing enough help, resulting in all children’s learning being compromised.
Not only do we have children with special needs that are visible, we also have those with less visible needs such as learning delays, ADHD, autism, dyslexia, FASD, mental health, giftedness, social and emotional challenges and many others, few of which are being adequately supported.
We need to implement a system where students can be evaluated, and their needs outlined and documented and extra supports that they need outlined.
The next step is costing this out and finding money in the budget to help bring some relief to these children.
Passing on the hard cost to the provincial government and advocating for more funding for children with needs will be the final step.
• Phone: 604-219-8859
• Email: pascaleshaw4sd42@gmail.com
• Website: www.pascaleshaw.ca
• Facebook: Pascale Shaw for School Trustee