So you want to be a Student Trustee?

Student Trustees are important members of the WRDSB. They represent our 65,000 students at the Board table and various committees. Any current, full-time Grade 10, 11 or 12 WRDSB student who is returning next year is eligible to apply. The one-year term begins on August 1, 2025.

Student Trustees are committed to:

  • Upholding Human Rights and equity at all times
  • Advocating for all students, especially those who experience marginalization
  • Creating opportunities for ongoing conversations with fellow students across WRDSB, using a variety of tools to communicate with students
  • Working and collaborating with students, staff and Trustees

Are you someone who:

  • Is eager to make a difference
  • Is a team player and works well with others
  • Is able to navigate conflict or is willing to learn
  • Is reliable with strong time management and communication skills
  • Is a strong leader or aspired to build leadership skills
  • Is able to handle confidential and sensitive information
  • Is open to receiving feedback and learning
  • Is flexible
  • Is able to take initiative and work independently

If you answered ‘yes’ to most of these, the role of Student Trustee may be for you!

Student Trustee election information

The Student Trustee election cycle begins in December of each year. Applications to become a Student Trustee for the 2025-26 school year are now open and close on January 17, 2025, at 4:30 p.m.

Responsibilities of a Student Trustee

The responsibilities of the student trustees can be found in the Student Trustee Handbook and Policy 3006. Some highlights of these responsibilities include:

  • Commit five to 10 hours per week of work to this role.
  • Attend two to four evening meetings per month, which may end as late as 11 p.m.
  • Actively engage with students and gather feedback to represent them effectively at board meetings.
  • Plan and execute two to three in-person student roundtables centred on issues of importance to students.
  • Manage the WRDSB Student Instagram and the student-trustee@wrdsb.ca email and engage in two-way communication.
  • Work as a team with Trustees and WRDSB employees and utilize board-approved channels, including email and Google Calendar.

Requirements to be a Student Trustee
  • A student trustee must be enrolled full-time (taking at least 3.0 credits per semester or 6 credits in a non-semester program)
  • Must be a Grade 11 or 12 student in a WRDSB high school when starting the role. 
    • Please note: Grade 10, 11 and 12 students can apply, but Grade 10 students must be entering Grade 11 the year they take on the role.
  • Have secured parent/guardian permission if they are under 18 years of age
  • A student would also be eligible as an exceptional pupil in a special education program for whom the Board has reduced the length of the instructional program on each school day, under subsection 3 (3) of Regulation 298 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 (Operation of Schools – General) made under the Act, so long as the pupil would be a full-time pupil if the program had not been reduced. O. Reg. 42/11, s. 1.

Application checklist

All applicants must complete the following in order to apply to become a Student Trustee:

Application components
  • Completed Forms:
  • Candidate Biography (250 word limit) 
    • Your biography should include your name, school and grade, and any experience relevant to the role of student trustee.
  • Candidate Video and Script (3-minute limit)
    • Submit a video explaining why you are running to become a Student Trustee and what you want to work toward, should you be elected.
    • Your video must be completed in a single take, with no additional editing (i.e. text or animation)
    • You must also include a script of what is said in the video, to assist with the creation of subtitles for your video (As either a Google Doc or Word Document)

If you need assistance with your application, please contact student-trustees@wrdsb.ca

Student Trustee election process

The election process contains two steps:

  • Candidate Nomination
  • Campaign and Election

Candidate Nomination

  1. Interested students will submit an application as outlined under the Application Components.
  2. A candidate Review Panel will review applications for completeness and create a final list of candidates.
  3. The applicants with complete submissions will be notified on or before January 24, 2025, and will proceed to the campaign and election process.

Campaign and Election

  1. The campaign period will include the promotion of Student Trustee candidates at schools in their relevant ridings from February 3-17, 2025.
    • Student Trustee candidates will not be permitted to attend other school sites for the purposes of campaigning.
    • The video and biography submitted as part of their application will serve as their campaign materials. These will be hosted on the WRDSB website and promoted to secondary students during the campaign.
    • Students may use their social media channels to promote and campaign for the Student Trustee role
  2. The elections at each school will take place from February 18-21, 2025.
    • Voting will be concluded by ranked ballot, with each elector (student) indicating their top three choices in preferential order.
  3. The results of the Student Trustee Elections will be reported on March 7, 2025.

Student Trustee ridings

Secondary schools have been divided into two geographical ridings. Each will elect one Student Trustee candidate from their riding. 

The North Riding 

  • Bluevale Collegiate Institute
  • Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute
  • Elmira District Secondary School
  • Forest Heights Collegiate Institute
  • Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School
  • Laurel Heights Secondary School
  • Waterloo Collegiate Institute
  • Waterloo Oxford District Secondary School

The South Riding

  • Eastwood Collegiate Institute
  • Galt Collegiate Institute
  • Glenview Park Secondary School
  • Grand River Collegiate Institute
  • Huron Heights Secondary School
  • Jacob Hespeler Secondary School
  • Preston High School
  • Southwood Secondary School

More information can be found in the Student Trustee Handbook.

Please contact student-trustees@wrdsb.ca with any questions.

 

Submit a Student Trustee Candidate Application

Our Commitment To Equity

The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) is committed to equity in all student leadership roles. We are committed to fair and equitable practices that allow us to have student leaders who reflect the diversity of the community we serve, who will foster the success and well-being of our student body, and who demonstrate a commitment to equity and inclusion throughout the board.

We actively encourage applications from members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to equity, including, but not limited to:

  • First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, and all other Indigenous peoples;
  • members of groups that commonly experience discrimination due to race, ancestry, colour, religion and/or spiritual beliefs, or place of origin;
  • persons with visible and/or invisible (physical and/or mental) disabilities;
  • persons who identify as women;
    and persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.

If you require assistance with your application, please contact student-trustees@wrdsb.ca