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Board statement on anti-racism and inclusion

Thu, 4 Jun, 2020

News item: Board statement on anti-racism

The current protests in the U.S. and here in Canada have brought to the forefront the deep harm done by racism and discrimination, including here at home in Edmonton. We know that anti-Black racism and in fact all racism is an issue we must address through action as well as words. 

As a public school division, we are committed to being a place where every student and staff person feels they belong. Our commitment compels us to do the work of promoting anti-racism and inclusion. 

In collaboration with community members and students, our Board’s policy committee has been working over the last year to update our multiculturalism education policy. Our goal: to bring our commitment to anti-racist education and practice into a formal board policy. 

We acknowledge that racism and discrimination exists in our division and for that we are sorry.  We also acknowledge that we have work to do. As a publicly elected board of Trustees we are committed to learning, and that means we must also be open to learning too. We are not perfect. We must continue to listen, learn and collaborate, so that our schools are welcoming, caring, respectful and safe places for every one of our students, staff and families.