Limestone District School Board has started the process of finding a permanent name for École Kingston East Elementary School.
At Wednesday night’s board meeting, the process of finding a name for the school formerly named after Canada’s controversial first Prime Minister was among a number of Indigenous related issues on the agenda.
LDSB says the Renaming Committee will meet for the first time next week, and will include representation from students, families, staff and community members with an emphasis on Indigenous voices being involved in the process.
This committee will oversee consultation with the school community following similar processes to previous renamings, and bringing a focus to why the former name was harmful.
As part of the process, LDSB’s Indigenous Education Team will support education for students in early November, the month which has been marked as Indigenous Education Month within the board’s schools.
LDSB added that families and community members will be provided with an education component to help understand the renaming process.
The school board has made efforts to bring more Indigenous education into the fold, including expanding their network of Indigenous knowledge holders visiting schools, purchasing books promoting Indigenous education in all classrooms grade four to grade six, and marking National Truth and Reconciliation Day with a number of different events at schools in the Limestone District.
In the board meeting, LDSB also shared that they have remained on target to meet 11/14 equity inclusion actions set to be adopted by the end of last summer.
However, when it comes specifically to Indigenous Education, the meeting’s agenda shows that a number of actions identified still need work.
The board will meet again on November 24.
