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Guelph Mercury Tribune Profile

Guelph Mercury Tribune published Friday, September 23, 2022

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

Steven Petric

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT OCCUPATION?

Manager of mail, shipping, and warehouse services

WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE?

Ward 3

HOW CAN PEOPLE GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU?

Email: votepetric@gmail.com

Twitter: @votepetric

Website: votepetric.ca

WHAT POSITION ARE YOU RUNNING FOR?

Trustee for Wellington Catholic District School Board

WHAT IS YOUR PREVIOUS POLITICAL EXPERIENCE?

Past candidate for Guelph city council, current chair of the Transit Action Alliance of Guelph (TAAG)

WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED TO RUN?

A historic public health crisis has impacted our children. My top priority is students’ mental, physical, and spiritual health and well-being. I’m also running to fight against education cuts, which I experienced as a student in the late 1990s. Nobody should have to struggle to learn without support and resources.

HOW WILL YOU EMBRACE AND CHAMPION DIVERSITY IN THIS ROLE?

There are clear challenges when it comes to diversity. From lack of male elementary teachers to racial diversity in our schools and senior leadership. I live the Catholic faith by treating with dignity everyone I’m in contact with. I’ll seek out and bring policy/budgetary change needed to make meaningful progress.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP THREE ISSUES?

1. Reducing systemic barriers and inequity with strong policy, programming, and process changes, while increasing opportunities for student success and well-being.

2. Fight for provincial funding that supports our students’ diverse needs.

3. Bring further accountability, transparency, and environmental sustainability to the board, and advocate for and safeguard Catholic education.

IF ELECTED, WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO ACCOMPLISH IN YOUR FIRST 100 DAYS?

Begin to forge a good working relationship with fellow trustees. Meet with and listen to major stakeholders to understand the challenges schools are facing, any inequities of student opportunity, and clear patterns of school, staff, and student need that requires a board-level policy, budgetary, or advocacy with the ministry solution.

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What does a Trustee do?

Facilitate

They ensure fair processes in resolving student, parent, and school issues. How? Working with senior staff and local education partners to bring together those needed to resolve an issue. Ongoing policy change through board motions where a gap or barrier to student achievement and well-being has been displayed to exist.

Governance

Continuing to strengthen the framework used for effective and transparent decision-making. How? Our Board Directors and trustee colleagues work together in seeking best practices from other jurisdictions and serving on the Policy and Corporate Services committee.

Policy Maker

Work to create policies that help to create a level playing field of learning and developmental opportunities, specifically spiritual, mental, and physical, for each student. Then monitor and evaluate the impact of these policies and make changes where necessary.

Advocate

They advocate for students, parents, and school communities. They also champion for Catholic education, its promotion and protection with our partners and the community at large. How? Meeting with parents and students, and our education partners, including the Mayor and Councillors, MPP and MP. 

Lobbyist

Meet with all levels of government, community partners, and local agencies, to ensure those who influence or control resources for our students and families hear the voice of our communities, understand the needs of our students, and take action.

Strategic Planner

The board of trustees has responsibility for developing Wellington Catholic’s strategic multi-year plan, and approving the annual budget, in support of the board’s mission and vision as an innovative Catholic education system which acts compassionately as a witness to our faith.

Taking pride in the WCDSB’s LGBTQ2S+ community

Taking pride in the WCDSB’s LGBTQ2S+ community

The Wellington Catholic community relies on trustees for representation and advocacy. During the last two years of severe challenges and loss for our students, staff, volunteers, and their families, members of the LGBTQ2S+ community received some much-needed support and advocacy from their representatives.

I believe that recognizing PRIDE month – as with all month-long celebrations of culture, communities, and peoples – and the flying of the PRIDE flag, are clear visible signs for the Board’s LGBTQ2S+ community that they are valued and their many contributions are to be celebrated.

“By flying the flag, we are not making a statement about our divergence from the teaching of the Catholic Church with regard to sexual morality.  Sexual morality is not the issue.  What is at issue is that LGBTQ+ youth are much more likely to do self-harm or take their life than their heterosexual counterparts.  Every instance of bullying and abuse towards a LGBTQ+ youth increases the likelihood for serious and/or tragic consequences that were certainly avoidable.” – Loretta Notten

Advocating for those most in need of a voice

The role of a trustee is one of representation and advocacy, especially for those most in need of a voice around the board table. We are meant to stand up and call out when we are failing in our mission – not defend that failure and attack those who point it out.

I have always, and will always, advocate for programming, policies, and budgets that reflect our Board mission and seek to make real, Catholic social justice principles of equity, solidarity, and the inherent dignity of every person. 

We are “supporting an inclusive learning environment rooted in the love of Christ”. This is what differentiates us as an education system and should drive the decisions we make to support our student’s success and well-being. 

Should I be elected Trustee on October 24th, I would seek to create different accessible means to both keep the community informed and hear from community members – parents, students, staff, constituents, and local education partners – on an ongoing basis. 

No one expects trustees to have all the answers – but, they do expect them to ask the hard questions of staff, to listen and respond to the needs of constituents, shine a light on inequity in need of action, and propose and advocate for change which enables the success and well being of every student.

Our Catholic schools are meant to be safe, caring spaces where students can thrive – mind, body, and spirit – and find meaning and value in their lives. Our mission and faith are clear. A mission that is ultimately made real –  or not – by the decisions of its leaders.

‘Inclusive’ means listening to students with special needs

‘Inclusive’ must include listening to students with special needs

Every child deserves and is entitled to receive appropriate educational services through the public education system. For some kids, however, standard educational approaches are not able to meet their unique needs. Fortunately, resources are available to assist these children and their families so they can achieve their full potential. Parents play a vital role in this process. By becoming familiar with the special education process, learning about the available services, and being aware of your child’s rights, you will be able to better advocate for your child’s needs and make informed decisions that benefit your child and your family as a whole.

While the impact of a public health crisis, and the associated two years of intermittent school closures and educational instability isn’t yet known, we do know that the virtual and hybrid classroom models are not effective learning environments for many students, especially those with various learning needs that may require specific and individualized accommodations. 

Two years of interrupted learning and the lack of needed tailored supports and therapies for students has caused widely felt upheaval for all students and their families. In Ontario, families of students receiving Special Education (SE) programs and services report their children are regressing, losing skills, and suffering mental health declines. The loss is not just to core curriculum learning, but to life and social skills and well-being. 

We know throughout Ontario that the actual number of students in need of additional support is growing and many are waiting to go through the Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) process – the process that decides whether a student falls within the scope of an Ontario Ministry of Education recognized exceptionality and requires special education programs and services.

With the (perpetual under)funding of Special Education regardless of government, we know we are not spending enough in SE to meet the academic and well-being needs of students. We KNOW we need more Educational Assistants, specialized program/service support professionals, and paraprofessionals. 

Clearly, school boards and trustees need to advocate for changes to the provincial funding model for Special Education. This is so that ACTUAL local student needs can be met and students are provided with the opportunities they need to succeed. Opportunities that haven’t existed for the last 3 years – and beyond – for many.

A large number of students in receipt of SE programs and services were just barely meeting the provincial standard before COVID. Add two school years of severe learning disruptions, students finding themselves without the consistent educational support they need, no data when it comes to their well-being, and decades of under-funding and we have a ‘perfect storm’ in place for students in receipt of SE.

A storm is a dangerous place for any student to find themselves, especially for often excluded students. We need to do more to truly make it an “inclusive learning environment”. Being present in a classroom doesn’t always mean being “included” – unless we work collectively to amplify the voices of those most in need of it.