Over 12,000 York Region school board staff receive anti-Black racism training

The training was created to increase staff understanding

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 28, 2019
Dina Al-Shibeeb

York Region District School Board said Friday that more than 12,000 school staff in its schools have participated in mandatory equity training focused on anti-Black racism.

The staff in about 213 schools received the training the Oct. 21 professional development day.

The news comes after the family of a Black teenager sued the YRDSB in May, claiming the board failed to probe and stop months-long harassment and racist acts perpetrated by white students in a Newmarket school.

The family of the teen was seeking $1 million in damages and reimbursement for the costs of the legal action following verbal and physical attacks since last year.

Meanwhile, the training was created to increase staff understanding of anti-Black racism and its impact on the well-being and achievement of students.

Staff also learned best practices to address incidents of anti-Black racism and prevent recurrences. In addition, they were exposed to historical and systemic knowledge gaps as they relate to anti-Black racism as well as trends, contexts and patterns of this type of discrimination.

Most importantly, they learned measures to enhance equity and prevent discrimination and harassment.

“Our board is committed to championing equity and inclusivity with a specific focus on addressing anti-Black racism and other forms of hate,” said Louise Sirisko, director of education. “We continue to work to ensure that our schools and workplaces are safe and welcoming for all our students, families and staff members.”

YRDSB is the third largest school district in Ontario with over 127,000 students in 180 elementary schools and 33 secondary schools.