Halton District School Board to host virtual information session on upcoming Student Census

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Published December 3, 2020 at 3:20 pm

The Halton District School Board (HDSB) will be hosting a virtual Student Census Information Session about the upcoming Student Census.

The information session will take place online on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 7:00 p.m. and will provide an opportunity for HDSB families to learn about the Student Census.

The Student Census, which will be conducted beginning in January 2021, will confidentially gather data about students’ identities including their first language, ethnic and racial background, religion, gender identity and for older students, sexual orientation.

In the Census, students will also share their perceptions of school climate, sense of belonging and experiences with bullying. 

Prior to and during the information session, families will have the opportunity to submit questions.

Additionally, a full recording of the information session will be available with closed captioning and translated versions of the presentation, following the event.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) will also be made available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish and Urdu; resources that will be posted online.

“The HDSB is committed to providing a supportive, inclusive and respectful learning environment for students,” said Rob Eatough, Superintendent of Education. 

“In order to do this, we must truly understand the needs of all students and families.”

All school boards in Ontario are required by the Anti-Racism Act, 2017 and Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan to gather and report identity-based data by 2023.

The data from the Student Census will help the HDSB and its schools to fully understand the needs of all students and families to support student success and well-being, identify and eliminate discriminatory practices, systemic barriers and bias in order to ensure equitable opportunities and outcomes and allocate resources to support students and programs where the need is greatest.

For more information, click here.

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