Board Meeting Highlights - December 9, 2025
Good News
Schools Celebrate the Holiday Season with Concerts, Performances and More!
Communications Manager Chera Longston shared a selection of photos from schools hosting holiday concerts, participating in local parades, and showcasing a secondary school band visit to a local elementary school. Featured below are images of Director Shantz with North Easthope PS students during their holiday concert dress rehearsal, Mitchell District High School students on a float in the Mitchell parade, and the St. Marys DCVI band performing for South Perth Centennial PS students.
School Showcase
Communications Manager Chera Longston highlighted Stephen Central Public School, located outside of Dashwood (Trustee Robert Hunking), which serves approximately 130 students from Kindergarten to Grade 6. While it has no designated feeder school, students transition to South Huron District High School for grades 7 to 12. The building opened in 1966 and is led by Principal Tracy Grace under the supervision of Superintendent Kathy Boyd.
Highlights from Stephen Central PS include:
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Ensuring basic needs are met: Staff start each day to greet students as they arrive and ensure they have everything they need and are ready for learning. They have a robust nutrition program led by their strong team of Educational Assistants, the Tigers' Closet provides food and clothing to any student who may be in need, and Wonder Wednesdays provide bread to each student to bring home.
- Focus on learning: Teachers work on their pedagogy and assessment practices to ensure all students are supported. They also focus on parent/caregiver communication, ensure students have clear expectations and incorporate productive struggle in mathematics.
- Outdoor learning spaces: with 12 acres of land that includes nature trails and 2 learning nests, students have many opportunities to participate in outdoor education.
- Anti-bullying and Social Emotional Learning: Every Wednesday is Pink Shirt Day for staff to demonstrate solidarity in standing up against bullying. They also have four agreements that are repeated every morning during announcements to ensure every student is emotionally, physically and psychologically safe.
Senior Staff Updates
Before and After School Care Update
Director Graham Shantz and Superintendents Riley Culhane and Cheri Carter outlined the current process for the provision of before and after school care programs across AMDSB. Trustees and senior staff also had the opportunity to discuss the challenges that exist in offering before and after school care in Huron and Perth counties.
Release of EQAO Results
Superintendent Jane Morris and Research Manager Stephanie Pagan presented the recently released EQAO results. They highlighted that AMDSB results showed that all eight (8) of the EQAO indicators saw an increase over the previous school year. More details are on the board's website: EQAO Media Release. Director Shantz expressed sincere thanks to the staff working every day to ensure students are well supported in their learning and the administrators who lead this work in each school.
Future Board Meetings
Regular Board Meetings are held in person unless otherwise noted. Links to join the meetings online will be posted on the Board Meeting page the day before the meeting.
- Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 4:45 p.m. (Regular Board Meeting, followed by Committee of the Whole, Closed Session)
- Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 4:45 p.m. (Governance and Strategic Planning Committee)
- Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 4:45 p.m. (Regular Board Meeting, followed by Committee of the Whole, Closed Session)
Future Meetings/Events with Trustee Representation
- Supervised Alternative Learning (SAL) – Monday, December 15, 2025, at 8:30 a.m.
- Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) – Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. (online)