VICTORIA – Empowering students and educators to identify and take action against racism and discrimination in British Columbia schools is the aim of a new provincial K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan launched on this week on Jan. 23, 2023.
“We know that Indigenous, Black and people of colour may face inequity within the education system,” said Rachna Singh, Minister of Education and Child Care. “This action plan is a critical step forward for students, educators, staff and families as we all work to create school communities that feel welcoming and supportive for people of all backgrounds.”
The action plan will create change in B.C. schools by raising awareness and creating resources to improve the school experience for racialized students, staff and families so that everyone feels a strong sense of belonging.
To facilitate this work, the Ministry of Education and Child Care will provide new training opportunities for all school staff to help them better understand their role in fostering anti-racist school environments. The action plan will also empower students and staff to identify biases and address acts of racism or discrimination with new incident-response guidelines.
The action plan will support school districts in their commitment to anti-racism initiatives in their school communities. Partnerships and sharing resources are key elements for school districts to learn from and support each other.
In Kamloops-Thompson School District (SD73), for example, more than 100 students of diverse backgrounds are working with district staff to share their experiences and ideas to help develop a district-wide anti-racism plan.
The K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan includes six priority areas of action: Community Voice, Removing Barriers, Raising Awareness, Collaborative Change, Capacity Building, and School Support.
“The launch of the K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan is a promising step toward providing a meaningful redress of how education can be a dynamic force for the teaching and learning of equity. To unlearn racism is to address our society’s complicity of systemic racism and discrimination that have impacted Black, Indigenous and diverse racialized communities both historically and up to the present day. This is a lifelong and inter-generational journey that requires a courageous curriculum based on foundational understandings of how education can and will act against racism. Most importantly, this plan is one important piece of being accountable to the students and families who have shared their experiences of racism and discrimination while hoping for a better future,” said Sonia K. Aujla-Bhullar, World Sikh Organization.
Surrey School District (SD36) is another school district working on anti-racism initiatives. In spring 2021, SD36 held listening circles across the district for school communities to gather and share their experiences with racism. This helped to identify gaps between the district’s values to be inclusive and the lived school experiences of the community will help guide the district as it works to address racial inequality in its schools.
“As a school district, we are committed to learning, growth and continuous improvement,” said Laurie Larsen, chair, Surrey Board of Education. “Our district has clear policies on creating safe and caring environments for our staff and students. But we also recognize that there is more work needed. Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing a five-year plan that outlines how our district will begin to strategically address racial equity to ensure that every student in our district receives a high-quality, culturally sustaining and socially just education.”
This action plan was developed through discussions over three years with students, rightsholders and Indigenous partners, education partners, educators and staff, as well as community organizations.
All school districts and independent schools are required to have codes of conduct and policies to address racism and discrimination. In addition, students and families now have access to more anti-racism resources on the Erase website.