Skip to content

IN THE MAPLE RIDGE SCHOOL TRUSTEE RACE: Gladys Hewson

Ahead of Oct. 15, The News offers a profile and Q&A opportunity to each candidate
30611624_web1_221005-MRN-RH-CandidateHewson-Gladys_1
Gladys Hewson is running for school trustee in Maple Ridge. (Special to The News)

Gladys Hewson

RUNNING AS INDEPENDENT FOR MAPLE RIDGE TRUSTEE

Retired SD42 secretary, age 68

Resident of Maple Ridge for 65 years

I was raised in Maple Ridge. Worked for 34 years with the school district, the last 22 years at Blue Mountain Elementary.

I was on the CUPE 703 executive for 20 years.

I retired from the district last year.

Working within the school system, I have seen the decline in the way we offer education to our students.

COVID-19 showed us we are not keeping up the health within our buildings.

Behaviour students are taking priority over time that is needed to support students.

Non enrolling teachers are being pulled to cover classes due to shortages of TOC. This practice is stealing time from students.

There is a lack of trades and maintenance workers to maintain the school buildings and grounds.

Frustrated staff, students, and parents do not make a good learning environment.

We need to do better.

I will work to do better for the staff, students, and parents.

Phone: 604-202-0556

.

Have you held office in past? If so, please specify: unanswered

.

CLICK TO CHECK OUT OUR FULL ELECTION GUIDE ONLINE

Questions:

(These answers are presented as the candidates submitted them)

.

1. Do you agree with how SOGI material and other sex education is currently taught in the classroom, including LGBTQ2S content and sexual consent?

Yes, I support the teaching of age-appropriate material.

2. Are class sizes too big?

Yes, in some cases. Classroom dynamics & composition plays a big role in the classroom culture, and this should be taken into consideration.

3. Should students with diverse abilities or special needs be taught in regular classrooms?

Yes.

4. Is the provincial government providing enough funding for public schools?

No. We need to do better with the funding that we receive.

5. Should students be taught how to administer Naloxone in school?

No.

6. Should there be more emphasis on STEM courses in schools?

Yes, STEM literacy will help kids’ gain skills for the workplaces of the future. It encourages creatively and problem solving. Let’s not forget about the basics and that all children learn differently.

7. Do we need a post-secondary institution/campus in Pitt Meadows or Maple Ridge?

Yes.

8. Is bullying a problem in local schools?

Yes. More supervision in needed on the playground to support children who feel bullied.

Why has this district not been able to hire lunch-hour supervisors to adequately supervise and support positive play culture?

9. Should there be more emphasis on Indigenous-based history and culture courses?

Yes.

10. Should the district have a strategy to reduce the use of portables?

Yes.

.

CLICK ON OUR ELECTIONS 2022 TAB TO FIND A WIDE VARIETY OF RELEVANT STORIES

.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

How the questions were presented to each candidate

Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows news readers have told us how much they value this important, straight-forward reference guide that helps orient them with the range of choices on the ballots – both at the council and school board levels.

Towards that end, we have attempted to make this package available (along with the following instructions) to each of the candidates in a timely fashion ahead of the Oct. 15 election.

Please read carefully before you start to fill this out.

To help voters in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows make their choices on election day, The News is asking local candidates 10 issue-based questions.

You must provide a ‘yes,’ a ‘no,’ or a ‘don’t know’ (Y, N, D) response to EACH of these questions.

Each question MUST be answered with yes (Y), no (N), or Don’t Know (D). This will be published in a grid in the Oct. 6 edition. Any questions not answered will be LEFT BLANK.

Candidates may also expand on ANY OR ALL of these questions (to a maximum of 200 words each). Please note any responses longer than that will be cut off at the 201-word mark.

Due to space limitations, we can only guarantee to run one of these answers in The News print edition ahead of the election. You must CLEARLY indicate which expanded answer you want to see published in print. If you do not specify, we will choose. Any and all expanded answers provided will be published online at www.mapleridgenews.com.

.


Have a story tip? Email: editor@mapleridgenews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.