Focus Area 1: Leadership and Human Resource Initiatives
Effective and responsive leadership embraces equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) as foundational principles that cultivate cultures where everyone feels valued and respected, and identities are affirmed. At PVNC Catholic, equity in leadership is essential to ensure trust and confidence in our systems is not eroded. It calls for proactive removal of systemic barriers, addressing biases and prejudices related to representation, and reviewing existing structures, policies, programs and practices, at all levels, that may unintentionally disadvantage identifiable groups.
| Priority 2: Changing Practice 2025-2026 | |
| Goals | Specific Actions |
| Establish formal structures to promote and ensure compliance with principles of human rights and equity. | Review the Catholic Board Improvement Plan For Student Achievement & Well Being (CBIPSAW) to identify any discriminatory biases and systemic barriers that may have a negative impact on student learning, and provide advice to senior leaders and managers on steps to be taken. Develop and implement system-level plans using an intersectional approach to bullying prevention and intervention so they reflect the co-occurrence of bullying and discrimination in its many forms. Align plans with student well-being activities at the school-level, including Indigenous Education and Indigenous Cultural Safety, mental health, special education and other safe schools’ initiatives. Develop criteria and processes at a system and school level for the review of teaching and learning materials and activities, including resources in library collections, extracurricular activities and field trips, to ensure that they are accessible and reflective of diverse local and global communities. Schools and Board improvement planning includes plans to close achievement gaps between sub-groups of students. Student achievement data linked to student demographic data is used to make informed decisions about resource allocation and program priorities. Schools and Board departments identify and discuss priority goals and targets for their improvement plans that reflect equity, diversity and inclusive principles. |
| Identify opportunities to enhance diversity in hiring and promotion, and apply human rights and equity principles. | Develop, implement, and maintain employment and promotion policies, practices and procedures that result in and sustain a workforce that at all levels reflects, understands, and responds to our diverse student population. Collaborate with hiring teams to establish a focus on diversity in hiring processes to ensure practives that are fair and reflective of our Catholic values and equity, diversity and inclusivity commitments.Collaborate with Human Resource staff to review and implement strategies to encourage a diverse candidate field including:
Define key data quality metrics to measure the effectiveness of employment practices at supporting equitable hiring, mentoring, retention, promotion, placement, and succession planning. |
Focus Area 2: School and Classroom Practices
The Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations (OCSGE) provide a distinctive framework to education. At its core, the OCSGE establishes a relationship between learning and believing, that is, as a Catholic school board we ensure learning environments focus not only on knowledge and skills, but also on values and actions to develop students to be reflective and who demonstrate cooperative and democratic behaviour – responsible citizens.
Furthermore, as stewards of Catholic education, we believe in the sacredness of human life. Recognizing that systemic racism is unjust and impacts the daily lives of students and families of Indigenous, Black and other historically marginalized groups, we continue to redress these system biases and inequities. PVNC Catholic continues to strengthen its culture of collaboration, trust and respect to demonstrate our commitment to celebrating diversity, dignity, success, and worth of all individuals, and our recognition of all voices.
| Priority 2: Changing Practice 2025-2026 | |
| Goals | Specific Actions |
| Continue to promote inclusive curriculum that supports all students to reach their full potential in the context of high expectations. | Develop practical strategies and resources to create affirming, inclusive classrooms, and schools. Provide professional learning on culturally responsive prevention and early intervention protocols, resources and supports to assist with effective implementation of culturally responsive social emotional learning at school. |
| Expand the use of inclusive and anti-discriminatory assessment and evaluation practices to measure student performance and achievement. | Improved adaptability of assessment and evaluation tools, procedures and opportunities that are inclusive and anti-discriminatory to measure student performance and achievement. Intentional meetings for entry to school, and for transition from elementary to secondary school, to ensure all students are supported in achieving their maximum potential and discussing pathways to work, college, apprenticeship, or university. Placement decisions resulting from assessment procedures, which include student and parent input, are flexible to meet student needs. |
| Continue to strengthen the Board’s commitment to PPM 145, that is, fostering environments that promote positive student behaviour. | Conduct a school safety audit of the classroom, school and work environments for supporting positive student and staff behaviour. Centre mental health within schools and classrooms that affirms students’ identities and sense of belonging, including for groups and social identities that have historically been marginalized. Increased collaboration with community organizations (Pride Flag, New Canadian Centre), department staff (Indigenous-SpecED) and PVNC Catholic’s Affinity groups to: (a) Share cultural ways of knowing, being and doing (CRRP), and (b) Identify and develop focused programs and strategies to address the underachievement and/or areas in need of greater support for marginalized students. |
| Continue to work with students and families to identify appropriate and reasonable accommodations. | Professional learning is provided for all staff on the protocols and processes for requesting and determining appropriate accommodations. Create opportunities where parents are invited to provide feedback on school/classroom support systems, and gaps or access to services. |
Focus Area 3: Organization and Accountability Structure
At PVNC Catholic, inclusive and responsive systems of accountability have a vital part to play in ensuring that long-term strategies engage leaders and staff. This ensures learning and working climates, culture and curriculum that honours diversity, inclusion and protects the life and dignity of the human person, regardless of age, ancestry, colour, race, citizenship, ethnic origin, place of origin, creed, disability, gender identity, gender expression and other code protected grounds.
| Priority Area 2: Changing Practice 2025-2026 | |
| Goals | Specific Actions |
| Remove negative bias and other systemic inefficiencies to ensure confidence in the receipt and management of allegations of racism, exclusion, hate motivated speech or acts, and other violations of code protected grounds. | Develop confidential, secure, and easy mechanisms/tools to raise compliance concerns, and to ask and answer compliance-related matters. Human Rights and Equity referrals are monitored for type and frequency, and to inform corrective measures, system remedies and outcomes. PVNCCDSB Human Rights Reporting Form |
| Address inconsistent and ineffective application of safe schools’ policies and procedures and related guidelines or codes of conduct. | Develop clear documentation for reporting and resolving inconsistencies. Documentation shall include standard procedures for addressing identified issues. Develop a consistent approach for collecting, analyzing, and reporting expulsion and exclusion data in the context of student demographic data to identify and address systemic disparities. Establish processes to support educators and relevant staff in considering individual circumstances and different options to determine the most responsive approach to each situation and help students learn from their choices when inappropriate student behaviour occurs. |
| Act with cultural competence and responsiveness in interactions, data-driven decision-making, and practice. | PVNC Catholic will learn and practice language and behaviours that are responsive to differences across lines of race, ethnicity, language, class, religion, ability, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and other aspects of identity. Evaluate the intended and unintended consequences of decisions on code protected and equity seeking groups. Actively seek and make use of diverse perspectives in decision-making by partnering with families, staff, and communities to ensure fair treatment and equitable access to academic, social and emotional opportunities. Utilize data that has been disaggregated by minoritized populations to understand the specific needs of the PVNC community. Model strategies designed to support adults and students to engage in context specific, culturally responsive learning about difference. |