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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 30 ,2 02 2 | 24 Jennifer Fowler, a for- mer administrator with the Peel District School Board, will replace retir- ing superintendent of edu- cation Rob Eatough effec- tive Aug. 1. Fowler joins recently announced superinten- dents Nick Frankovich, Jennie Petko and Jona- than Shoss who will also start their new roles on Aug. 1. "The announcement of Rob Eatough's retirement after 30 years in education is an opportunity to thank him for his leadership and contributions to the board and the senior adminis- trative team," said Curtis Ennis, HDSB director of education. "I want to spe- cifically recognize Rob for the impact he has had on advancing our commit- ment to Indigenous rights and education, human rights, equity and inclu- sive education as he has led that work during the last few years." Fowler comes to Halton with teaching experience gained at Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board and admin- istrative experience in the PDSB. In her most recent role, she was the coordinating principal of caring and safe schools where she supported schools in the creation of welcoming, caring, safe and inclusive learning environments. PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD APPOINTS NEW SUPERINTENDENT Jennifer Fowler replaces superintendent Rob Eatough, who is retiring as of Aug. 1. HDSB photo The "richness" of data collected in a student cen- sus conducted last year is something the Halton Dis- trict School Board has nev- er seen before, according to its associate director. "There is a huge amount of information there. It's really helping us to provide a little bit of in- sight into who our stu- dents are, and what are their experiences like at school," said David Boag at the May 18 meeting of the HDSB. In March, trustees were given a demographic pro- file of students and staff of the board, as the "phased approach for release" of the data was launched. This time around, HDSB research specialist Rossana Bisceglia pre- sented a perceptual data overview, delving into stu- dents' sense of belonging and well-being at school. • In trying to determine students' assessments of their school climate, they were asked: if they are treated fairly and listened to by the adults at school; if teachers care about stu- dents; if school is a wel- coming place to learn and if extra help for learning is available. At both the ele- mentary and secondary school level, the vast ma- jority of students -- 92 per cent of elementary and 87 per cent of secondary -- agreed that their school of- fered a welcoming envi- ronment. • In terms of how happy and accepted students feel at school, 75 per cent of ele- mentary students said they felt this way often or all the time, compared to 61 per cent of secondary school students. • When students were asked how often they felt good about themselves, hopeful about the future, if they like the way they look, if they are lonely, nervous or worried, sad, or experiencing stress, a sim- ilar pattern emerged across elementary and secondary levels with 60 per cent and 62 per cent re- spectively, responding of- ten/all the time. • There was high en- dorsement from students at both levels in terms of having opportunities to learn about human rights and social justice issues, but a gap between elemen- tary (94 per cent) and sec- ondary (79 per cent) stu- dents when it came to op- portunities to learn about the history and present re- alities of Indigenous peo- ple. • Ninety per cent of ele- mentary students felt posi- tively represented at school in pictures, materi- als, topics and activities, while 82 per cent of second- ary students saw them- selves reflected positively. • Further breaking down the data revealed that Black, Indigenous, gender diverse, sexually diverse and IEP (Individu- al Education Plan) stu- dents were less likely to feel a sense of belonging or a welcoming school cli- mate, while Latinx stu- dents did not feel re- presented in pictures, ma- terials, topics or events. "Next steps for the sys- tem are to digest all this in- formation and identify pri- ority areas to target, to re- view interventions, and to further target ongoing strategies," said Bisceglia. A total of 64,613 stu- dents were invited to com- plete the voluntary cen- sus. The highest participa- tion rate was among Grade 4 to 8 students at 93 per cent, followed by 84 per cent for Grade 9 to 12 and 59 per cent for kindergarten to Grade 3 students. STUDENTS' WELL-BEING PROFILED IN HDSB CENSUS DATA KATHY YANCHUS kyanchus@metroland.com NEWS The Halton Distict School Board's student sensus was rich with data, says associate director David Boag. Graham Paine/Metroland