May 6th, 2024

As we reflect on African World Heritage Day on Sunday, May 5, we want to take a moment to share the Waterloo Region District School Board’s (WRDSB):

  • Commitment to celebrating Black Brilliance year-round
  • Policies and resources to better support the achievement, well-being and joy of all Black students
  • Understanding that more work lies ahead to ensure that Black students are able to realize their full potential in WRDSB classrooms

The Path Ahead

The work supporting the academic achievement and well-being of Black WRDSB students is far from finished. We know that there is much still to be done to ensure all Black students are truly supported in achieving their full potential.

We are encouraged by the positive results we see, exemplified by students like Jomi Oyediran, a recent graduate of Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute (CHCI). Working towards a goal of becoming a lawyer, Jomi received the Capstone Scholarship from Howard University to support her ongoing studies.

Recognizing and fostering Black Brilliance is about much more than hosting events and celebrations. To truly recognize, cultivate and grow Black Brilliance and culture, we must ensure it is woven throughout the WRDSB. We strive to create a public education system that truly serves all students. This means dismantling anti-Black racism by addressing barriers at all levels in our system. We must ensure that students:

  • Feel welcome, included, supported
  • Have the resources they need to achieve academic success

The WRDSB’s focus on this work is embedded as part of the Strategic Plan and the 2023-24 Board Improvement and Equity Plan (BIEP). It was built using what we heard from those we serve: students, families and community members. This work is supported by:

Supporting Black Student Achievement and Well-being

Graduation Coach

In support of Black student achievement and well-being and as part of a Ministry Of Education initiative a Graduation Coach for Black students is available to support youth at Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute (CHCI). They are currently leading work that provides culturally-responsive mentorship and support to African, Caribbean and Black identifying students.

The Graduation Coach for Black students serves as an advisor and advocate on behalf of students with teachers and other staff. They also mentor students toward the achievement of their post-secondary pathway goals. Their goal is to help identify and address systemic barriers faced by students. They play a critical role in helping to:

  • Establish trusting relationships
  • Provide opportunities for leadership and growth
  • Ensure on-time graduation
  • Provide access to identity affirming spaces at school

System Navigators

System Navigators support African, Caribbean and Black identifying (ACBi) students and their families. They work to address issues in the school system related to:

  • Racism
  • Discrimination
  • Harassment

The System Navigators focus on the following areas:

  • Assist families and caregivers in navigating the school system by acting as an advocate and guide with regard to system processes and procedures
  • Act as a support and advisor to administrators and staff in building and developing their relationship/learning partnership with families in culturally affirming ways
  • Assess concerns and make recommendations to school staff on how to best support ACBi students
  • Seek community input regarding the needs of African, Caribbean, and Black-identifying (ACBi) students
  • Educate community members regarding WRDSB policies and procedures
  • Respond to the community’s requests to support ACBi students
  • Use school board policies as a guide to advocate on behalf of students
  • Educate school staff on ways to better engage with the communities they serve
  • Collaborate with various departments to provide learning opportunities and educational resources to school staff to enhance the learning experience for all students.

Celebrating Black Brilliance Year-Round

The WRDSB is committed to recognizing and celebrating Black Brilliance:

  • Every month
  • Every week
  • Every day

Black Brilliance Art Festival

On April 4, Waterloo Collegiate Institute (WCI) welcomed 150 African, Caribbean, and Black identifying secondary students from nine WRDSB schools for the Black Brilliance Art Festival. This was the fourth and final Black Brilliance event of the 2023-24 school year.

It was a day to focus on making connections and building community, with the aim of having students meet students from other WRDSB schools. The day started off with an icebreaker activity, followed by the art festival. The festival included:

  • Cultural presentations
  • Dancing
  • Music trivia
  • Singing
  • Spoken word poem reading

At the end of the day, the students shared a delicious lunch, and strengthened new bonds of friendship that stretched all across our school board.

Experiential Learning Opportunities

Also in April, Black and Muslim students from six WRDSB secondary schools experienced what it was like to be a chemistry student for a day. This was thanks to a partnership between our Indigenous, Equity, and Human Rights Department and the University of Waterloo Chemistry Department.

Students had the chance to:

  • Tour the science building
  • Attend a lecture
  • Get hands-on lab experience in the new sustainable chemistry lab

Led by Black and Muslim UW students and staff, the opportunity offered valuable insight into the program.

One student summed up their feelings about the day, saying “I wish everyday was a field trip to the university.”

Black Brilliance Student Conferences

Since 2018, Black students from across the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) have been coming together for an annual Black Brilliance Conference.

In the past these have taken place at the Education Centre. However, demand has outgrown available space. This year we hosted these events in partnership with local post-secondary institutions. It allowed students to:

  • Build connections with peers across the school board
  • See themselves reflected in spaces of higher learning in their own community

Secondary Conference

In December 2023, Black students in Grades 9 to 12 came together at the University of Waterloo for the Black Brilliance Secondary Conference. Students joined together to learn, laugh, sing, dance. They connected with peers from schools throughout the region. Speakers and attendees also had the chance to use their mother language skills as they interacted with each other.

The level of student engagement was incredible. It tells an important story about the need for events like this. It also celebrates the success of the efforts to better support Black WRDSB students. This year saw 230 secondary students in attendance, up from 150 the previous year.

“The fact that we’re strengthening our community and our connection with each other, that’s what’s inspiring about this experience,” said one student. “I hope we can do this more often.”

Elementary Conference

In February 2024, 246 Black Grade 6 to 8 students spent the morning at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) for the first ever Black Brilliance Elementary Conference. Students took part in sessions that focused on:

  • Exploring university studies in:
    • Music
    • Computer science
    • Business
  • Education pathways to various career goals
  • Student well-being as they approach young adulthood

“WRDSB Black Brilliance Conferences are an important part of supporting Black student achievement and well-being. The event offers students the opportunity to celebrate Black joy and Black identity and explore the opportunities that are available to them on their pathway after graduation,” said jeewan chanicka, Director of Education for the WRDSB. “It’s one part of our efforts to ensure that all students know that they have the opportunity to follow their dreams and reach their full potential on whatever their chosen post-secondary path may be.”

Read more about how we are recognizing Black Brilliance.

Black Brilliance 2024: Diaspora

The theme of the 2024 WRDSB Black Brilliance events is Diaspora. At each Black Brilliance Conference, students were greeted by large maps of the world. They are invited to place a pin on the map representing their roots. Students were eager to show their heritage and to find shared connections with students from schools around the region.

This theme was created in response to what we heard from students. Students challenged us to think beyond North American Black history. They inspired us to take a wider view that includes a more global sense of representation. The theme of diaspora allows us to recognize and celebrate that Black WRDSB students, staff, families and community members represent a diverse cross-section of:

  • Cultures
  • Ethnicities
  • Identities

We are recognizing Black Brilliance all across the diaspora in WRDSB throughout the school year, including:

  • Classrooms
  • Hallways
  • Assemblies
  • Curricula

A Black Brilliance DIASPORA Beat was built by:

  • Khalil Derman, a Glenview Park Secondary School (GPSS) graduate currently studying at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU)
  • Jessie Wilkins-Flaricee, also a student at WLU

Started in 2022, Black Brilliance Day is held on the third Friday of every February in the WRDSB (this year it was recognized on February 16). This is a day to centre and celebrate Black joy, diversity and identity.

This year, Black secondary students from schools across Cambridge assembled at Galt Collegiate Institute on Black Brilliance Day. The event provided a platform for students to connect and interact with Black Student Union members from Cambridge. It fostered a collaborative environment to brainstorm ways to support Black students’:

  • Academic achievement
  • Mental health
  • Well-being

In the WRDSB we have moved beyond words to action. We are working towards a school system where Black Brilliance can take root, and bloom to its fullest potential. We also know there is much more that remains to be done in order for this to be true for all the African, Caribbean and Black-identifying students and families we serve. By continuing the commitment to dismantling anti-Black racism we creating schools and classrooms where every student:

  • Is able to see themselves represented and celebrated
  • Has the support and opportunities they need for academic success and well-being