Ontario Student Trustees' Association

The Ontario Student Trustees’ Association (l’Association des Élèves conseillers et conseillères de l’Ontario) (OSTA-AECO) is an organization of all school board Student Trustees in Ontario. It is the largest student stakeholder group, and one of the largest overall stakeholders in the Ontario education system, representing approximately two million students. It is officially and functionally bilingual.

With the ultima te goal of advancing the student vision, each school board's Student Trustee is elected by their peers to bring the student voice to district school board tables. Through a non-binding vote, Student Trustees in Ontario present the student perspective to improve the quality of education in schools across the province.

This organization has two divisions: the Executive Council and the Board Councils. The Executive Council is chosen through a series of elections at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and includes a President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and four Officers for the areas of Communication, Policy, Professional Development, and Operations. Also elected are Cabinets of the Board Councils, each of whom has a respective President and Vice President. The two Board Councils are the Public Board Council (PBC) and Catholic Board Council (CBC). Within the Executive Council, the voting power lies with the Senior Executive Council, which consists of five members: the President of OSTA-AECO, and the Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Public and Catholic Board Councils.

OSTA-AECO has taken formal positions through reports, advocating for a binding vote for student trustees, increased bilingual education and a variety of issues related to social justice, fair labour requirements for Catholic school uniforms, and, more recently, inequities in education through extracurricular fees and youth civic engagement. OSTA-AECO's Policy Committee formalizes the student vision through position papers and research reports while our Communications Committee works to articulate and promote the student vision. Whether it is at school boards across the province or at the province level, the Ontario Student Trustees' Association and all of its members continue to play an integral role in crafting the future of public education in Ontario.

The association provides professional development to its members and represents the policy interests of Ontario's student population. OSTA-AECO seeks to "promote the unity without conformity of all affiliated student trustees" to advance the student vision. The association's slogan is "A student vision. A united voice."

History

Founding

The position of student trustee is an exciting, and recent, addition to Ontario's education community. The earliest incarnation of the student trustee began in the early 1990s under the New Democratic government of former premier Bob Rae. The Royal Commission on Learning explored ways to revitalize the education system. In its report, "For the Love of Learning", the commission recommended a student member be on all district school boards to vote on behalf of students. This empowerment would be complemented by giving a greater role to students' councils in individual schools.

Although this report was the first official government document to propose enabling students to represent their interests, the first board to enact legislation allowing a non-voting student member was the former Kenora Board of Education in 1989.

In 1997, the Progressive Conservative government of former premier Mike Harris introduced "The Education Quality Improvement Act" as Bill 160. Although this act instigated one of the largest organized labour disputes in North American history, within the legislation was the creation of the position of "pupil representative". The act allowed individual school boards to draft their own policies to allow for flexibility within guidelines. In 1998, every school board had at least one pupil representative.

Under the vision of a dedicated group, student trustees from the English-Public, English-Catholic, French-Public and French-Catholic boards agreed to work together to stand up for students. Contrary to the deteriorating relations throughout the education community at the time, this association boldly and progressively was a syndicate that was cooperative, bridging the gaps of language and religion, while also recognizing the benefits of representing a united student voice. The inaugural meeting of the Ontario Student Trustees' Association – l'Association des élèves conseillers et conseillères de l'Ontario occurred in Toronto in 2000.

Throughout the next terms, the association evolved into an official stakeholder at the Ministry of Education to consult on a variety of issues. The association argued for student rights and stability in education.

Membership

General Assembly

The General Assembly of OSTA-AECO meets twice a term, once at the Fall General Meeting and in the spring at the association's Annual General Meeting. Each school board is entitled to one vote in the association's affairs. At the AGM the General Assembly elects the next years executive council for the term starting August 1 of that year.

Board Councils

The board councils are divided by board type, which are: Public Board Council (PBC), and Catholic Board Council (CBC), each of which are chaired by a president, who sits as a voting member of the executive.

Executive Council

Over the years the structure of the Executive Council has changed to best benefit the needs of the Association. Currently, the executive consists of 14 members: 5 elected voting Presidents, 6 elected Officers, 2 appointed Officers and the Past President.

The elected, voting members, that compose the executive council are:

• President
• Public Board Council President
• Catholic Board Council President
• Public Board Council Vice-President
• Catholic Board Council Vice-President
  

The elected, non-voting members, that compose the executive council are:

• Officer of Professional Development
• Officer of Policy
• Officer of Communications
• Officer of Operations
• Executive Secretary
• Executive Bilingual Secretary
  

The appointed advisory, non-voting member:

• Past President

The appointed supervisory, non-voting members are:

• Chief Executive Officer
• Chief Financial Officer

The Director of Alumni Affairs was removed at the 2008 Annual General Meeting and its duties shared among other positions.

President

• 2000-2001 Karl Bauldauf from DSBN
• 2001-2002 Peter Wightman from YCDSB
• 2002 William Wong from TDSB
• 2002-2003 Melissa Ann Retty
• 2003-2004 Matt Reid
• 2004-2005 Danylo Korbabicz from TCDSB
• 2005 James Arsenault from ALCDSB
• 2005-2006 Nathan Lachowsky from BHNCDSB
• 2006-2007 Ihor Korbabicz from TCDSB
• 2007-2008 Andrew Pawluch from RDSB
• 2008-2009 Cody Welton from TLDSB
• 2009-2010 Gorick Ng from TDSB
• 2010-2011 Maria Bun from YRDSB
• 2011-2012 Jenny Williams from TDSB

Alumni Network

Missions and Goals

The mission of the Alumni Board of Directors is "to create and facilitate opportunities for former members to keep in contact and to celebrate their place in OSTA-AECO's history".

The current Alumni Network Board of Directors has laid the groundwork for a continued advisory and supportive role for Alumni within the organization. At its initial meeting in April 2009, the following goals to work towards throughout our term were set forth:

Maximize fundraising potential through grants, donations and other sources, to ensure the alumni network can independently achieve its other goals.

Foster a capacity for educational advocacy, including establishing partnerships with other educational stakeholders, at the provincial level, as well as in national and international affairs.

Cultivate an environment that encourages and provides opportunities for networking and professional development while at the same time providing to members targeted and comprehensive benefits.

Sustain an advisory relationship with both the OSTA-AECO Executive Council and student trustees and promote the Alumni Network as a formal and informal resource. Encourage and support OSTA-AECO in fulfilling its mandate.

Create formal resources to support the work of both the current Executive Council and current Student Trustees.

Communicate strategically and regularly to past student trustees to support the Alumni Network's other goals and objectives. All communications will encourage and facilitate the participation of past student trustees in all Alumni events and undertakings.

Maintain a complete database of all past student trustees.

In addition to the goals and mission, a Policy Manual has been developed to include governance policies, including roles and responsibilities, finances, and decision making within the Board.

Alumni Projects

Mentorship Program

At OSTA-AECO's Fall General Meeting 2009, the Alumni Network Board of Directors and the Executive Council jointly launched a mentorship program. This program was initiated after consultation with last year's student trustees. It aims to provide current student trustees with the benefits of a the contacts and resources a past student trustee holds.

A positive reception of this new program has been received thus far, and it is hoped that it will become a standing program to support student trustees across the province. The program is expected to expand in the near future to include more alumni members to mentor current student trustees.

Contact List

The current Alumni Network Board of Directors is working to maintain and update a contact list of all past members of OSTA-AECO. In an effort to ensure the most accurate contact list possible, the Alumni Network Board of Directors have contacted all 72 District School Boards directly to obtain the names of student trustees who have served on their Board. We are constantly working to ensure the most up-to-date information for all Alumni members of the Network, and invite you to help us by updating your contact information as needed by emailing alumni@osta-aeco.org.

Award of Distinction

Since 2007, OSTA-AECO has presented the Annual Award of Distinction for recognition of dedication to Ontario Public Education and the role of Student Trustee.

• 2007-2008 recipient Gerard Kennedy
• 2008-2009 recipient Jeff Sprang
• 2009-2010 recipient Taylor Gunn
• 2010-2011 recipient Annie Kidder

External links

• OSTA-AECO Website