Tyrrel Crawford
Father. Millwright. Musician.
Why am I running for Trustee?
Last year, my wife and I abruptly found out that the GEDSB was ending the French Immersion Kindergarten program. We spent months combing and compiling hundreds of pages of research and addressing all the listed rationales, organizing fellow parents, creating a petition, contacting board members and trustees, all in hopes of making our case against its removal based on academic outcomes.
It took us almost four months before we were finally permitted a Delegation.
After my wife presented to the board of trustees, only one asked any questions, another wasn’t permitted, and only those two voted yes to re-evaluating the decision to remove the program. Months of research were ignored, the parents supporting us felt pushed aside, and it all added to the frustration of a difficult and lengthy process that should have been incredibly simple.
I’m running for trustee to be a voice for parents who don’t feel heard and my goals are simple:
1. Push for more transparency and accountability within the board. As parents and taxpayers, we have a right to know, and be involved with, what’s going on within our school board – from how decisions are made, to the specifics of where money is spent. If you have a reasonable request it shouldn’t take four months of phone calls and emails to get 10min in front of the board, and if you want a deeper breakdown on budgets beyond the surface level it should be readily available for the public to see.
2. Help shape policies and budgets that put all students on equal footing. Board policies should strive to meet the full needs of the students within it’s communities. That means not only making sure students have the required learning resources, but that appropriate support staff are available as well. That way, nobody falls behind and teachers can focus on teaching.
3. Make sure decisions follow evidence-based research and that all groups involved within those decisions have their chance to be heard. If the school board wants to make changes to its policies, and those changes impact any particular group, those changes should be: A) Founded on, and supported by, well documented and evidence based research. B) Communicated and discussed collaboratively, clearly, and in person, with the affected group.
Not sure how, when, or where to vote?
No Ai was used in the making of this site. The struggle was real and I hope everything works.