Vibrant, neighbourhood schools are the foundation of healthy, sustainable, and affordable communities. And those schools need to provide a continuum of supports for families: childcare, after-school programs, recreational activities, and even programming for adults.

My vision for this city is to keep neighbourhood schools open and thriving through innovative partnerships like the one the Vancouver school board recently made with the renowned Green Thumb Theatre Company for the Carleton school site. That means that when enrolment dips in a school, we find ways to vitalize it with beneficial and compatible partnerships instead of closing its doors and boarding up its windows.

The schools in my vision have up-to-date resources and staffing levels that ensure that each child’s needs are met—regardless of the child’s personal circumstances. Schools would continue to be safe and welcoming, and models of collaboration, respect, and inclusion.

The schools would be safe and up to date, energy efficient, and designed to stimulate learning and creativity.

During the three exciting years I’ve served as chairperson and trustee of the Vancouver school board I’ve advocated strongly for this vision and I will continue to do so. I said “no” to closing down schools and successfully moved the seismic upgrade program forward and supported plans for several heritage restorations of our historic schools. In other cases we’re moving ahead with plans for beautiful new schools—at Kitchener, Sexsmith, and Douglas, for example. With dozens more seismically at-risk schools in Vancouver, it will take my continued commitment that began when I was a parent advocate working with Families for School Seismic Safety.

With continued provincial funding pressures it is critical that Vancouver have school trustees who will stand up for our public schools and advocate strongly for the funding required to keep our schools strong. We need to keep our school libraries open and have counsellors available for students who need them, when they need them. We need to provide better support for our students with special needs and our English as a second language students. We need to work with our aboriginal communities to improve education outcomes for our aboriginal students and get our aboriginal-focused school up and running to provide better opportunities for this growing population. We need to work together to address the devastating effects of poverty on the youngest residents of this city.

We also need to ensure that students right across the city have access to programs that enhance their learning opportunities—like of the new Mandarin Bilingual Program we opened this September at Norquay elementary or the Early Years International Baccalaureate Program at Southlands school.

It’s an incredibly exciting time to be involved in public education as we strive to increase student engagement and find the most effective ways to utilize technology in schools.

I’m asking for your support on November 19 to reelect me to the Vancouver school board so I continue to work to keep our neighbourhood schools strong and provide the very best opportunities for Vancouver’s children and their families.

Patti Bacchus is seeking reelection as a Vision Vancouver school trustee.