News Centre

​CBE CARES - Collaboration for Anti-Racism and Equity Support Advisory Council

We acknowledge racism exists in society and in the CBE. As a school system we know it impacts our students and families. Issues that must be addressed by our society must also be addressed in our schools. We continue to hear from students, staff and members of the public who demand that we do more to address racism and discrimination in our schools and workplaces. We take this call to action seriously. We are listening, we are learning, and we will work to do better.

The CBE has taken significant steps to promote equitable and inclusive learning and working environments, but we recognize more needs to be done. There is no room for racism or discrimination in any of our schools or workplaces.

We are pleased to announce that the CBE will establish an anti-racism and equity advisory council to hear directly from students, staff, parents/guardians, and the CBE community at large. The CBE Collaboration for Anti-Racism and Equity Support Advisory Council – or CBE CARES! – will meet starting this fall and will provide suggestions and advice on how to address racism in our schools and workplaces.

We have also introduced an equity factor to our resource allocation method to account for variability in student needs in schools across our system. This change will ensure that we better allocate resources to support student success where it will have the greatest impact.

In addition to the above actions, we will introduce the following during the upcoming school year:

• Provide supplementary teaching resources to support teachers with the teaching of anti-racism.
• Embed in the design of professional learning offered throughout the year, for all staff, discussions related to equity and anti-racism and how we address bias.
• Continue to respond appropriately to issues or complaints raised by students, staff and parents/guardians consistent with our parent concerns protocol.
• A bullying awareness and prevention training course for all CBE employees will launch this fall.

In the coming weeks and months, we will continue to listen with open hearts and open minds. We will review our current policies and practices and, if needed, develop new ones that specifically address racism and discrimination in our schools and workplaces. We will make time to engage in ongoing discussions and apply what we learn to change our behaviours. If we want all students to be successful and achieve to the best of their ability, then we must confront our own biases and challenge assumptions.

Again, there is no room for racism or discrimination in any of our schools or workplaces. As always, we are committed to working with our communities to foster inclusive work and learning environments where every student, staff member and family feels safe and knows that they will be treated fairly.