Boardroom Briefs is intended to provide highlights of presentations, reports and decisions made at the regular meeting of the Limestone District School Board of Trustees. The following are highlights of the February 19, 2025 Regular Board Meeting. Agendas can be found on the website under Board Meetings.
All meetings begin with a Land Acknowledgement:
"The Limestone District School Board is situated on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee. We acknowledge their enduring presence on this land, as well as the presence of Métis, Inuit, and other First Nations from across Turtle Island. We honour their cultures and celebrate their commitment to this land.”
Operational Plan: Literacy, a Focus on Writing Presentation
Further to Associate Superintendent Sartor's update to Trustees on the Literacy Operational Plan, the presentation focused on writing. Along with Associate Superintendent Sartor, Erika Chesnick, the board's Elementary Literary Consultant, and Jo Ferguson, Elementary Literacy and K-12 Empower Lead, highlighted some of the work underway across the district.
Sartor stated that data drives decision making and instruction in schools, and shared some data that compelled the program team to focus on writing. This involved EQAO data, report card data and qualitative or survey data.
Two important writing initiatives were launched this year to support professional learning.
Ms. Ferguson explained that The Writing Revolution (TWR) is an approach to teaching writing that begins at the sentence level and grows to compositions. TWR's evidence-based strategies ensure that all students at all levels can produce clear, coherent, unified, and structured writing. Armed with those strategies, students become better readers, communicators and most importantly, critical thinkers. This approach to teaching writing focuses on the Hochman Method, which builds from sentences to compositions and is embedded in curriculum across all content areas and grade levels.
The Writing Revolution Journey in LDSB
Between fall of 2023 and spring of 2025, over 200 Limestone educators have participated in TWR professional development, including:
- Every Learning Partner who works alongside educators in K-8 classrooms
- Every elementary MLL teacher
- Half of our secondary MLL teachers
- Some secondary de-streamed English teachers
At least one educator from nearly every site has participated, with the majority of sites having multiple educators across divisions.
Ms. Chesnick provided an overview of the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model, which combines instructional strategies with a means to self-regulate (Harris, 1982). The goal of SRSD is to teach the strategies that students need in order to write, while supporting them to be motivated. Its instructional framework is designed to improve students' writing skills by explicitly teaching them both writing strategies and self-regulation skills. SRSD has been widely studied and shown to be effective for all students, especially those who struggle with writing and students with learning disabilities.
What is thinkSRSD?
thinkSRSD is a brand and educational resource that applies the Self-Regulated Strategy Development model to help students improve their writing skills.
thinkSRSD translates research to practice, focusing on providing educators with tools, strategies and support to implement SRSD effectively in the classroom.
The thinkSRSD Journey in LDSB
- Fall 2024: 30 Grade 4-6 classroom teachers, 7 Learning Partners, and some central curriculum staff participated in a one-day training session with Dr. Leslie Laud (co-founder of thinkSRSD).
- The group will come together for two additional full-day sessions run by Elementary Literacy Consultant, E. Chesnick
- Winter 2025: Winston Churchill Public School is working with E. Chesnick to implement this approach whole-school (K-6)
- Ongoing: Learning Partners supporting educators across the system as they implement thinkSRSD into their classroom practice.
- Spring 2025: E. Chesnick will be sharing Limestone's thinkSRSD journey at the April 2025 International Dyslexia Association Conference: The Literacy & Learning Conference.
Teachers in the pilot who are really digging into the work are reporting positive growth and gains in their students. They report that student independence is increasing, their motivation to write is growing, and that the writing itself is showing improvement.
Next Steps:
Private Session Report
Vice-Chair Bob Godkin provided the Private Session Reports for January 15, 2025 and February 19, 2025.
At the conclusion of the Board Meeting of January 15, 2025, trustees adjourned into Private Session where Director Burra provided a personnel update. There was no other business conducted, or motions passed.
Regarding the Rise and Report from Private Session of February 19, 2025, Vice-Chair Godkin indicated that earlier in the evening during Private Session:
- The private session minutes were approved from the EPOC of February 5, 2025
- Superintendent Gilliam provided a safe schools update.
- Superintendent Young provided a legal update as well as a labour update.
- Director Burra gave a personnel update.
There was no other business conducted, or motions passed in Private Session on February 19, 2025.
Chair's Report
"Good evening and welcome everyone. We are very soon entering everyone’s favourite time – budget season. The Limestone District School Board will be seeking feedback on the development of next year’s school budget through our regular annual survey that will soon be shared with families, students, staff, and community partners. This feedback helps us to identify priorities for the use of LDSB’s finite financial resources. This information is invaluable in assisting Trustees throughout the budgeting process to ensure students’ needs are best served in 2025-2026; and for that I say ‘Thank you’ to everyone who is able to provide it. If anyone is not able to get to the survey, please feel free to contact your local trustee to articulate where you feel our budget priorities should be. Family and community feedback is our most important input to developing and approving the annual budget.
Coming up, the 2025 Limestone Skills Competition will be held at St. Lawrence College, Bayridge Secondary School and Napanee District Secondary School next Wednesday and Thursday. This is the 25th anniversary of this event, which has grown significantly the last few years by now offering students in Grades 4 to 12 an opportunity to challenge themselves and demonstrate their interest and talents in the skilled trades and robotics. I extend my best wishes to all participating students, and extend sincere appreciation to staff advisors, and industry coaches, for their support of students in their pursuit of excellence.
Two reminders for families: First; Limestone Families are invited to Kids and Screens: Healthy Habits - An Evening with Dr. Shimi Kang, at Queen’s University on March 4. Dr Kang is the author of The Tech Solution: Creating Healthy Habits for a Digital World and is providing a free, one-hour keynote to share how families can navigate healthy technology use with their children of all ages. We have provided a link on the Limestone website to reserve your seats for this evening event, which is being held, again, at Queen’s University on March 4.
Second; next Thursday, February 27 will mark the election of the 44th parliament in Ontario. Our provincial government decides how our provincial taxes and federal transfer payments are distributed, how much is provided for education and where we prioritize their large envelopes of spending, and what is taught in our schools. It is in our best interest, as citizens of KFL&A, of Ontario, of Canada and of this Earth, to know where candidates stand on education issues. Your vote is your voice; make it an informed one. Democracy is a wonderful institution which works best with an informed populace and an engaged voting population. You can find information about voting, where, how and accessibility options, on the Elections Ontario website.
With that, I would like to turn things to a less comfortable part of where we are in schools at the moment.
Even folks who aren’t paying attention; even on purpose, because I know lots of people, including me, who tune out the daily news as a matter of course; even those folks, have a sense of what’s going on in the world these days. We are in worrying times, and I don’t say that to incite anxiety or to be alarmist. I have two young boys – 11 & 13 – and they think it’s quite funny to Sieg Heil behind my back. Or to do so in a slightly subtle, half-hearted way with a sly look to make sure they have my attention. This, I find very concerning; in no small part due to the state of world affairs and our neighbours to the south. Make no mistake – it is never okay for my boys to do this. And I fully understand that children do things to get a reaction. I have four children; trust me, I understand this. My boys have their own phones and they have access to the internet if they have WiFi; which is everywhere, including our schools. This is the world we live in. I monitor as much as I can and I am separated from their father, so my monitoring is limited. I do see enough content, and enough news, to know that we are at a tipping point. We have leaders elected to national levels born after World War II. We have social media that is a breeding ground for extremist content. The realities and lessons of history run the risk of slipping out of our social and individual consciousness. I believe it is important to be vigilant and to not stay silent. Hate can be insidious; it can present as a saviour or as a joke, or just an alternative; and I would like, I think it is important, to remind us all that there is never room for it. It is not funny, it is not cute, and it is not welcome. We are a small governing body and in the grand scheme of things we may seem minor. And we are directly connected to our future. A future that I hope, and I pray, is one filled with love and kindness, not dominated by divisive hate and intolerance. I believe, and this is why I sit proudly in this chair, that here in this room and out there in our schools we strive for, and we promote, a culture of tolerance and kindness and love. Sometimes we might get it wrong and when we do we learn and we grow. When we know better, we do better.
"We stand for a system that is inclusive, that provides equity of opportunity, and that champions diversity as the keystone of human achievement."
I believe in that education system and it is why I believe in the public education system. Because here, we sit in these chairs, and we stand for a system that is inclusive, that provides equity of opportunity, and that champions diversity as the keystone of human achievement. We must not let hate win; and it starts with our children.
And that concludes my report."
Director's Report
"Good evening Trustees and members of the viewing public. It is hard to believe, but we are already a few weeks into the second half of the 2024-2025 school year. First term and first semester report cards have been sent home, secondary students are making course selections for next year, Choices at 9 programs have completed their processes, Choices at 7 programs will be making decisions soon, March Break is just around the corner, and planning is well underway for the 2025-2026 school year. Preparations for next year will continue to ramp up and we eagerly await the release of the budget for next school year that may well be delayed by the current provincial election.
I have a number of highlights and upcoming events that I would like to share this evening. Winter KASSA seasons have either ended or will be ending prior to March Break. Last week the volleyball championships were held at St. Lawrence College, and tomorrow evening St. Lawrence hosts the boys’ basketball finals. It should be noted that all of the finals had, or will have, only LDSB schools in the finals.
A second highlight occurred on February 5 just before our EPOC meeting when a Black History and Future Month opening ceremonies were held at LCVI. While I know senior staff and some trustees were only able to attend the first half of the event due to our EPOC meeting, there were several moving tributes to our former colleague and friend, Trustee Judi Brown.
A third highlight is that Limestone has three secondary schools competing this week in a regional Canadian Improv Games event being held at The Spire starting this evening.
In terms of upcoming events, I would like to highlight that LDSB, in partnership with LDSB PIC and KFL&A Public Health, are hosting an evening with Dr. Shimi Kang, author of “The Tech Solution: Creating Healthy Habits for a Digital World.” Given the emerging research, and provincial focus on healthy habits for children and youth interacting with screens and various media, this is a timely presentation that will be held at Humphrey Hall at Queen’s University on Tuesday, March 4 starting at 6:00 p.m.
A second upcoming event of note will be held on the evening of Wednesday, April 30 when we will host an evening for Limestone families focused on artificial intelligence. This evening will provide an overview of this relatively new technology, how it impacts people’s lives already, and its potential uses to support student learning in Limestone schools. Further details will be shared about this event in several weeks.
A third upcoming event is what we are hoping will be an outstanding Skills Competition at St. Lawrence College next week on February 26 and February 27, 2025. Almost 300 Limestone students, Grades 4-12, will be participating across 25 secondary events and seven elementary events. The Skills Competition is yet another example of community partnership that showcases critical skills events and the local community college.
One final highlight that I will draw Trustees’ attention to is our continued emphasis on collecting voice from the communities we serve. Tonight, Associate Superintendent Gollogly will share an overview of the school year calendar feedback and look for Trustee approval of the 2025-2026 calendar. In the next week or so, we will be providing an opportunity for input on the 2025-2026 budget and gauge interest from families in virtual school programming for next year. Additionally, in the spring, all Limestone staff will have the opportunity to provide feedback on LDSB Corporate Services (Communications, Facilities, Finance, Human Resources, and ITS) as we continue to look for improved delivery of services for staff.
"Limestone school communities and staff are critical partners, and our schools are representative of the communities we serve; we have a responsibility to be responsive to community voice and changing circumstances."
And on this final note, I would like to thank all Limestone staff who contributed to the 2024 United Way campaign. We just received the final tally and LDSB staff contributed almost $55,000 to the campaign which provides critical supports to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in KFL&A, including students and families we serve.
And that concludes my report."
OPBSA Report
Trustee McGregor provided an OPBSA report.
Student Trustees' Report
Student Trustee Kumar provided the following report:
"At our meeting on February 11, 2025, the Inter-Student Council (ISC) held elections for the Urban and Rural Student Trustee positions for the 2025-2026 term. Through an interview and voting process, student representatives from high schools across the board selected the candidates they thought best suited the role of a Student Trustee.
We are pleased to congratulate Siham Ishmail from Kingston Secondary School (KSS) who was elected as the incoming Urban Student Trustee, Mia Comeau, from Granite Ridge Education Centre who was acclaimed as the incoming Rural Student Trustee, and current Indigenous Student Trustee Rachel Kolosov from KSS who was acclaimed as the Indigenous Student Trustee for the 2025-2026 term.
As we move into the second half of our term as Student Trustees, we look forward to working with the incoming Student Trustees to help them transition into their roles.
This concludes our February ISC meeting report, thank you."
Reports for Action
2025-2026 School Year Calendar
Associate Superintendent Gollogly shared an overview of the 2025-2026 School Year Calendar consultation results along with a motion to approve next year’s calendar.
When the survey closed on February 3, 2025, a total of 4,500 responses were received. The breakdown of respondents included 71% families, 21% staff, and 8% students/other.
Calendar Option 3 was the most selected, chosen 45.7% of the time:
• 43.5% of families
• 53.6% of staff
• 47.2% of students/other
Option 1 received 27.66% support, while Option 2 was selected by 26.64% of respondents.
These results closely aligned with survey findings from both the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board and the Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic District School Board.
The following Motion was presented:
That the Trustees approve Calendar Option 3 for the 2025-2026 School Year Calendar.
The motion carried.
Reports for Information
Gould Lake Outdoor Education Centre Programming
Superintendent McWilliams and Program Teacher Nate Zahn provided Trustees with an overview of LDSB's Outdoor Education Programming for the 2024-2025 school year, including summer programming as well as demonstrating how Outdoor Education programming supports student well-being/sense of belonging, participation/engagement in class time, and time focused on learning. Mr. Zahn also discussed how they are improving responsiveness and services to families, staff and community partners.
Gould Lake Outdoor Centre has been committed to providing quality outdoor educational programming that is safe and fun, and provides participants with increased knowledge, understanding, respect and appreciation for themselves, their peers, and the environment since 1974.
Gould Lake Outdoor Centre is a year-round facility that provides children and youth opportunities to experience physical and mental challenges in a positive, safe and inclusive learning environment, facilitated by experienced, skilled, and knowledgeable leaders.
Gould Lake Outdoor Education Centre continues to support the Ontario Curriculum throughout the school year by offering LDSB students a variety of opportunities to engage with and learn through nature. A variety of summer programs continue to be offered through day camps, held at different locations across the district, for younger students. These include Nature Camps for students in Grades 1 to 4 and Outdoor Escape for students in Grades 5 to 7.
Increasingly advanced courses continue to be offered for more experienced students who are looking to build on previously learned knowledge and skills. These include Quest for Students in Grades 7 and 8, Girls Adventure Program for students identifying as female in Grades 7 and 8, Outreach programs for students between grades 9 and 11, Outdoor Skills for students in Grades 10 and 11 as well as the Wilderness Instructor Course for students in Grades 11 and 12. Additionally, Gould Lake staff collaborate with the Indigenous Education Team to support Indigenous ways of knowing and learning.
Currently, there are 530 students registered for upcoming summer programs.
Other stats:
- an average of 500 students participate in summer programming
- 7400 elementary students and 219 secondary students visited Gould Lake during the school year
- Gould Lake visited Clarendon Central P.S. & LCVI's School to Community classes
- Hosted 5 outdoor professional learning sessions in the Fall for educators to meet Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and to engage in learning focused on mathematics
- New all-terrain wheelchair provides access for students on trails and programs
The report was received for information purposes.
International Education
Bob Seitz, Executive Lead and VP of International Education provided Trustees with an overview of the board's International Education program. Marta, an international student from Germany, attending Bayridge Secondary School was also present to share her experiences.
Limestone District International Education Office (IEO) facilitates students from around the world to travel to Kingston to learn. In addition to the core beliefs of the LDSB, the IEO focuses on Care, Responsiveness and being Globally Connected. The International Education program supports increased diversity and enrolment in Limestone schools, and provides valuable learning experiences for many secondary students. Currently, the IEO is hosting students from over 15 different countries and five continents.
Over the last five years the IEO has expanded school offerings to include seven schools. The finances gained in the program have been used to grow ESL support to schools like Loyalist CVI, Kingston SS, Bayridge SS and the district English-as-a-Second-Language program. In addition, schools that host IEO students are supported financially in their school budgets.
Homestay families are currently the limiting factor for growth in the department. The IEO continues to promote the IEO in Kingston through social media, word-of-mouth connections, and school presentations. The IEO have also added shorter term programs (like one semester), to have potential homestay families consider the program before committing to hosting full-year students. Currently, there are programs for students staying one semester and up to and including multi-year to graduation. Staff will continue to add more homestay families to the hosting pool for September 2025.
The report was received for information purposes.
The meeting adjourned and Trustees moved into private session for a personnel item. Trustees will Rise and Report at the next, scheduled Regular Board Meeting in March 2025.