General Information
Vision Statement
The Keewatin Patricia District School Board puts students first by creating a culture of learning.
The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is a progressive and proud public school board that serves the communities of beautiful Northwestern Ontario. We have schools in the communities of Kenora, Sioux Narrows, Vermilion Bay, Ear Falls, Red Lake, Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Ignace, Pickle Lake, Savant Lake and Upsala as well as serving the educational needs of many neighbouring and far north First Nation communities.
Students in a KPDSB school always come first and programming options are continually expanding to meet the needs of a diverse student population. Many of the programs offered are the first of their kind in an Ontario school, a testament to the innovation of our staff and their dedication to our students.
4,746
75,000 sq km
8
17
6
1,097
5
13
30
Dryden Area
Ear Falls Area
Ignace Area
Sioux Lookout Area
Sioux Narrows Area
Savant Lake Area
Upsala Area
Senior Administration
Board of Trustees
Strategic Plan
Our 2019-2024 Strategic Plan is a document used to guide our work and to communicate with our stakeholders on our goals and the actions needed to achieve those goals. At the heart of our strategic plan is our vision statement:
The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board puts students first by creating a culture of learning.
The KPDSB has set priorities in four key areas:
- Student Achievement: Ensure the necessary resources are provided to all students to increase their individual achievement.
- Safe and Supportive Schools: Ensure all students and staff have safe learning and working environments where the academic and mental health needs of the child are met.
- Innovative Practice: Demonstrate effective “change-ready” leadership.
- Reconciliation: Ensure all schools and staff are actively engaged in responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.
While COVID-19 pandemic brought with it unprecedented challenges, our staff and students continued to make progress towards our goals as evidenced throughout the 2021 Director’s Annual Report.
Board Improvement & Equity Plan
Academic Success for All
In the KPDSB, we continue with our commitment to improving student achievement, well-being and pathway opportunities by using targeted, evidence-based strategies and holding the belief that all children can learn and achieve success. To do this, we effectively and efficiently allocate appropriate resources, including professional training to support these strategies, while keeping student safety and wellness at the forefront of our work.
The KPDSB Board Improvement and Equity Plan has five key areas for 2021 – 2022:
- Achievement
- Learning Recovery & Renewal
- Mental Health, Well-Being & Engagement
- Human Rights & Equity
- Pathways & Transitions
Goals within the Achievement and Learning Recovery and Renewal areas set out to ensure that all students, including those communities of students who – historically and currently – are underserved, will be given the tools to succeed academically and in life, focusing on the areas of literacy and numeracy.
Using a culturally responsive and relevant approach, high-impact instructional strategies and a relentless focus on effective assessment-for-learning strategies, this goal sets out to achieve the following:
- A variety of relevant and meaningful assessment data is used by students and educators in all classrooms to continuously monitor learning, inform instruction, and determine next steps.
- 65% of students will meet or exceed provincial standards on the Grade 3, 6 and 9 EQAO Math.
- 65% of students will meet or exceed provincial standards in math report card assessments.
In the areas of Mental Health, Well-Being and Engagement, all students will be supported to improve mental health, well-being and engagement which requires fostering a sense of belonging and a positive school environment by providing students with appropriate, timely and quality school-based mental health supports using a tiered approach to intervention.
By using evidence-based mental health strategies, monitoring student attendance and ensuring multiple opportunities to collect student voice, goals for this area of the Board Improvement & Equity Plan are:
- An increased number of students in Grades 4 – 12 will identify they feel their school is a safe and inclusive environment.
- An increased number of students will report they feel comfortable seeking support for their mental health.
- Grades 4 – 12 will participate in student voice and school climate surveys, conversations, and activities, including a survey co-developed with KPDSB and the Northwestern Health Unit.
- Until mental health and wellness strategies are embedded, teachers will spend 15 minutes a week using strategies from School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO) Action Kit.
- Teachers will use SMHO First 10 Days (and Beyond) and other SMHO resources and Restorative Practices to help create warm, welcoming and caring classrooms.
- Student attendance will improve across the system.
- Engagement of students, families and communities will increase across the system.
In the area of Human Rights and Equity, it is the hope that all students will have an equal opportunity to succeed, thrive, and reach their full potential. This requires addressing systemic discrimination and eliminating disparities in educational experiences for underserved students by the education system, revealed by the collection and analysis of demographic data.
Through the use of Restorative Practices, de-streaming the grade nine math credit and providing equity and bias training for all educators, this goal sets out to:
- See a reduction of suspensions and expulsions across Grades 4 – 8
- 100% of KPDSB administrators, teachers, educational assistants and early childhood educators will participate in professional development to support fair student discipline practices
Pathways and Transitions is the final area of the Board Improvement and Equity Plan. The focus of this area is to ensure all students will have the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to succeed in the future, as they transition from program to program, grade to grade, elementary to secondary and to their post-secondary pathway: apprenticeship, college, community living, university, workplace and all other transitions.
Through strategies such as providing opportunities available through specialized programs, ensuring early interventions are put in place for all K – 12 students, use of high-yield strategies and effective assessment for learning and engaging learning experiences, this area aims to see:
- 75% of all KPDSB students will graduate with an OSSD within five years of beginning Grade 9.
- Increase the number of students participating in job skills programs and experiential learning opportunities.
- All students in Grades 7 – 12 annually update their Individual Pathways Plan (IPP).
- Increase the number of STEM-related courses in Grades 11 & 12.
At the “root” of all the work we do, it is critical that we ensure:
- Positive and Safe Learning Environment
- Positive Relationships
- Culturally Responsive and Relevant Practices (CRRP)
- Strength-based approach
- Student Voice
- Personalization of Learning and Support
