Halton District School Board Trustee Xin Yi Zhang

We have two shameful episodes to report on today.

First, parents should be aware that the Halton District School Board has finalized its professionalism policy, but not in the way you would have thought.  This policy, remember, was supposed to prevent outrageous sexualized attire on the part of teachers, such as Kayla Lemieux, who insisted on wearing giant prosthetic breast to teach.

Sadly, the board did not defer to parental wishes to create a policy with teeth, and among trustees, only Xin Yi Zhang spoke up for parents during board debate on its approval to ask why the document didn't reference stronger language on professionalism regulation from the Ontario College of Teachers. Trustees should have been given a stronger document by the board staff, but when they didn't, it was their obligation to block this draft and ask them to try again. Please write to these cowards and tell them you expect better from your elected trustees. Read about the regrettable incident by clicking here. Their contact information can be found at the end of this email.

We ask you to tell the Halton District trustees other than Xin Yi Zhang how disappointed you are with this decision. Please congratulate Trustee Zhang for his courageous stand. But don't write them just about this!

Please also mention to these trustees a second problem affecting Halton and Hamilton public school boards.

The second drama concerns another disturbing incident of racism in Halton District School Board (HDSB), Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) and McMaster university.

A concerned mother informed us that an immersive experience called “i-STEM”, offered to students within the HDSB, is now being offered specifically to *only* black students. The program partners with McMaster University and uses their campus to engage in STEM workshops.

Why are students of other races and skin colours not deemed worthy to participate in this immersive educational experience? Blatant and outright racism is being promoted by the Halton and Hamilton Wentworth public school boards.

The flyer about this program states that the criteria to participate are that the student has to “Be a black-identifying high school student, be in grades 10-12, be in the Halton or Hamilton Wentworth districts.”

We encourage you to contact your Halton and Hamilton-Wentworth public school trustees and protest this deplorable racism. Ask them why they think only black students should have these opportunities. Are not all of the students in their board worthy of educational experiences? 

Contact for Halton and Hamilton Wentworth District School Board Trustees

Halton District School Board contact info:

Amy Collard
[email protected]
905-691-2597 

Joanna Oliver
[email protected]
905-601- 0058

Naveed Ahmed
[email protected]
905-749-0605 

Donna Danielli
[email protected]
905-699-7433 

Jeanne Gray
[email protected]
905-691-2328

Robbie Brydon
[email protected]
905-691-1250 

Margo Shuttleworth
[email protected]
905-691-4508 

Xin Yi Zhang
[email protected]
905-749-0270 

Kelly Amos
[email protected]
905-339-2870

Carole Baxter
[email protected]
905-749-0193 

Tanya Rocha
[email protected]
905-691-4516 

Hamilton-Wentworth contact info:

Elizabeth Wong
[email protected]
289.775.0768

Sabreina Dahab
[email protected]
365.889.2969

Maria Felix Miller
[email protected]
289.775.0859

Ray Mulholland
[email protected]
365.366.8377

Todd White
[email protected]
289.237.1644

Kathy Archer
[email protected]
289.339.0587

Dawn Danko
[email protected]
289.775.0269

Becky Buck
[email protected]
905.515.2367

Amanda Fehrman
[email protected]
365.889.4415

Paul Tut
[email protected]
905.515.2473

Graeme Noble
[email protected]
365.889.3795