Dear CESBA members and friends,
As you know we continue to work during an international health crisis that is moving into a second wave. The social, emotional, financial, physical, environmental effects of this crisis will be felt for years to come.
During this difficult time, staff, board and ministry representatives have been very impressed with our sector’s ability to move quickly from face-to-face learning to virtual classrooms. A&CE staff are demonstrating their incredible resilience by using every tool possible to try to ensure the learning continues during this crisis – and including as many of our students as possible.
Our recent hybrid learning pilots in adult credit, supported by the Ministry of Education (MOE), certainly paid off as many boards were already using online tools to help students achieve their goals. Those tools and learning were transferred to other programs such as ESL and LBS.
CESBA is committed to listen to your concerns as we move into the fall and winter months. We are holding regular regional meetings with our ministry partners (MCCSS, MOE, MLTSD). During these sessions, we inform them of the issues you are experiencing and ask them to make changes and move in new directions to accommodate adult students’ needs. Our ministry partners are also committed to participating in our regional meetings so that they can hear directly from members themselves.
Our annual conference (virtual), “Inclusion 2020: Moving Forward Together” is also an opportunity where members can improve knowledge of new learning/teaching strategies, as well as learn about ways to make our school communities more diverse, inclusive and equitable to Black, Indigenous and People of Colour, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ2SIA+.
We wish everyone the best as we continue to adapt in this ever-evolving environment. We hope to see all of you at our upcoming meetings and our November 25-26 conference!
Stay healthy and safe!
Bernadette Beaupre
Executive Director