Candidate for School Board Trustee

John Vassal

Toronto District School Board Ward 6

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Issue answers

Trustees, the Board, and the Province

What's the most important thing you'd act on as a school board trustee, and what experience or strengths would help you make it happen?

This is my fifth time running for Trustee in this my home riding. I have lived here my entire life, attended North Prep, Oriole Park, Forest Hill Jr High and Forest Hill C.I. I will fight for extra funding from the province and help students achieves their goals. I believe in personal responsible and will not pass the buck. I will always make myself available and listen to all of your concerns. Let’s win this together.

Bullying in Schools

Bullying and discrimination are concerns raised in many school communities. What role do you believe a School Board Trustee should play in addressing these issues, and what actions would you support?

School is supposed to be a safe space and to learn. Any type of bullying or discrimination cannot be tolerated in any of our schools. A Trustee should take an active role in fighting for victims rights and helping to make our schools a better place.

Class Sizes and Staffing

Some school communities have raised concerns about teacher and educational-assistant (EA) staffing levels and class sizes. What role would you take as a School Board Trustee in addressing these concerns, and what would your priorities be?

A Trustee should take an active role in fighting for extra funding from the province. Our children are our future and should be treated as such. Growing class sizes will only lead to less retention of knowledge and an overall failure by the system. I am a strong believer in educational-assistants, I have found back when I was younger I learned more from classes with a teacher’s assistant and I believe current generations should be given the same benefit.

Special Programs and Program Access

School boards make decisions about the range and distribution of specialized programs, including special education, language programs, and arts programming. What would you prioritize as a School Board Trustee in how these programs are offered and accessed?

All of these programs are necessary. I was in special education (both learning centre and learning disability) myself and may not have graduated high school with out it. Thanks to great staff and others who fought for special education I was not just able to just graduation from high school but also college on the dean’s list. Thank you.

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