Presentations, Workshops and Trainings

In the 2023-2024 school year, the Human Rights Branch (HRB) developed and facilitated numerous workshops and trainings for the system including support for the:

  • Administrator Onboarding Program
  • Operations Management Series for Administrators
  • Human Rights for Retired Administrators
  • Leading for Change
  • Understanding the Human Rights Complaint Resolution Process for union groups
  • Understanding the Duty to Accommodate

Many of these opportunities provided opportunities for interdepartmental collaboration and co-facilitation of human rights focused learning. They were tailored to the contexts of different employee groups and departmental operations.

Participant Feedback

This year, the HRB moved to a unified feedback system for these sessions. We asked participants to respond to three key questions. Participants responded using a likert scale (1 – not at all to 5 – significantly). Participants were also asked if they had any additional feedback to share.

The feedback from presentation, workshop and training participants this year was:

To what extent did the session increase your knowledge/familiarity with the subject matter?

86% of respondents responded with a 4 or a 5; no respondents indicated 1 or 2. Indicating that the vast majority of participants felt that trainings, presentations or workshops increased their knowledge and familiarity with the subject matter. (n=97)

Score 1 2 3 4 5
Responses 0 0 13 (13%) 40 (41%) 44 (45%)

Was the session Relevant to the scope of your work at the WRDSB?

98% of respondents responded with a 4 or 5; no respondents indicated 1 or 2. Indicating that the HRB succeeded in delivering highly relevant trainings, presentations and workshops to WRDSB members. (n=74)

Score 1 2 3 4 5
Responses 0 0 2 (3%) 13 (18%) 59 (80%)

After today’s training, I feel more confident about integrating/implementing the information/skills I learned.

92% of respondents responded with a 4 or 5; 1% of respondents (1 person) indicated a 2 and no respondents indicated a 1. Indicating that the HRB’s trainings, workshops and presentations have contributed to building the confidence of staff to integrate human rights knowledge and principles into their work. (n=74)

Score 1 2 3 4 5
Responses 0 1 (1%) 5 (7%) 39 (53%) 29 (39%)

Senior Team, Trustees and Union Human Rights Training

In October and November 2023 the Human Rights Branch offered four days of intensive human rights culture building through training for Trustees, Union and Association representatives, and the Senior Team. It included leading legal experts and academics from the Province. Ministry of Education staff in attendance praised the training as being the first-of-its-kind in Ontario to bring together Trustees, senior staff, union, professional association leaders and senior management for focused learning about Human Rights.

Through anonymous feedback forms, participants were asked if each of the day’s sessions helped to expand their understanding of rights and responsibilities, 95% of respondents (61/64) said yes.

Inaugural Symposium: Dismantling Ableism in Education

The 2024 Building Community: Advancing Anti-Ableism in Education Symposium was hosted through joint partnership of the Human Rights Branch, the Special Education Department and community partners including the:

  • City of Waterloo
  • KidsAbility
  • Waterloo Region Family Network
  • Bridges to Belonging Waterloo Region
  • Camino

This inaugural event engaged educators, community members, families and caregivers, students, and local leaders. They shared conversations about ableism and how to dismantle it in education systems and throughout the community.

Key features at the Symposium included 14 workshop presentations and keynote speakers.

Symposium attendees were invited to share anonymous feedback regarding their experiences. Close to 90% of the respondents indicated that they had an enjoyable experience.

Student Engagement for Inaugural Student Human Rights Symposium

In December 2024, the Human Rights Branch will host the first ever Human Rights Student Symposium for Grade 7 and 8 students. Ten schools volunteered to shape the direction of the symposium through a student engagement process with Grade 7 and 8 students in the Spring of 2023. Their ideas, insights and enthusiasm for the symposium provided invaluable contributions to the visioning and planning of this event. We look forward to sharing more about the event following December 6, 2024.