Dear York Catholic District School Board Staff, Students, Families and Community Partners,
As a Catholic learning community, the York Catholic District School Board made a strategic commitment in our current Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP) to advance equity and inclusion in our schools and workplaces. Our faith teaches us that God loves all people. This is why every York Catholic school has the phrase “We Are Diverse. We Are One in Christ” on their boulevard sign.
Fostering an belonging and welcoming environment will take many steps, and it will not happen overnight. However, many seemingly small steps will take us a long way over time.
Last school year, we showed our intention to be deliberate around inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) when York Catholic’s Senior Team was restructured to create a Superintendent of Inviting and Inclusive Schools. This role ensures that there is always someone focused on IDEA at the highest levels of York Catholic’s staff.
Today, York Catholic is taking another step on this journey by releasing the full report of our Employment Equity Audit, which you can read by clicking here or scrolling to the bottom of this post.
York Catholic proactively commissioned this report to receive an external professional’s perspective on creating a more equitable working environment.
The report was created by Turner Consulting Group, a respected firm in this space, based on feedback from 900 York Catholic staff through a survey, focus groups and one-on-one interviews. I am grateful to all those who shared their lived experiences to help make this report possible.
The report contains 83 recommendations focused on four priority areas:
- Diversify the workforce at all levels
- Create a more inclusive and welcoming work environment
- Create more equitable policies and procedures
- Strengthen the employment equity infrastructure
York Catholic’s Senior Team has read the report and has a plan to start implementing recommendations with input from the Board of Trustees. The Senior Team will provide regular updates through Board Meetings on the progress of this work.
As we do this work, a next step for our system will be to better understand our students’ lived experience. The results of York Catholic’s 2024 Student Census are currently being analyzed, and that data will help us determine a process to engage York Catholic students further.
The York Catholic District School School Board is committed to creating a welcoming learning and working environment. This work will not always be easy or quick. But if we work together, we can live our Catholic values and treat each other like we are one in Christ.
Yours in Catholic Education,
John De Faveri
Director of Education, Foundation Chair & Secretary of the Board