Every Student Deserves to Feel Safe at School
School should be a place where children can learn, grow, build friendships and discover their potential. Every student deserves to walk through the school doors feeling safe, supported and ready to learn. Every parent deserves to feel confident that their child is being cared for while at school. And every educator and education worker deserves a safe environment in which to do their job.
As a mother of four children who attended public schools in Newmarket, I know how much trust families place in our education system. Parents send their children to school each day expecting them to receive an education in an environment where their safety and well-being matter.
Yet families and education workers have raised concerns about violence, bullying, classroom disruptions and the challenges of ensuring that students receive appropriate support. These concerns deserve to be heard and taken seriously.
School safety is about more than responding when something goes wrong. It is also about preventing problems before they escalate.
We need to consider whether schools have the resources, staffing, training and support necessary to respond to challenging situations. Educators should not be expected to manage increasingly complex situations without the appropriate assistance. Students who are struggling with emotional, behavioural or mental health challenges also deserve support before those challenges become a crisis.
Safety must include physical and emotional well-being. A student who is repeatedly bullied, threatened, excluded or afraid to attend school may find it difficult to concentrate, participate and succeed academically.
As a candidate for Public School Board Trustee in Newmarket, I believe these concerns require thoughtful discussion, collaboration and accountability. A trustee does not make every individual school decision, but trustees have an important role in asking questions, reviewing policies and resources, listening to families and advocating for improvements through the board’s decision-making process.
I want to listen to students, parents, teachers, educational assistants, DECEs and other education workers about what they are experiencing and what support they believe is needed.
We must also recognize that students have different needs. Supporting a student who is struggling and protecting the safety of everyone in the classroom should not be treated as competing goals. With appropriate resources, early intervention and coordinated support, we can work toward better outcomes for everyone.
Newmarket families deserve to know that school safety is a priority, that concerns will be addressed and that lessons will be learned when something goes wrong.
Our children deserve to learn without fear. Our educators deserve to work safely. And our community deserves a school system that puts student safety and well-being first.
That is a commitment worth working toward together.
Darlene Morrison
Candidate for Public School Board Trustee, Newmarket