Boardroom Briefs April 23, 2025

During Private Session:

The private session minutes were approved from the Regular Board Meeting of March 26, 2025.

• Superintendent Gillam gave a Safe Schools update.
• Superintendent McWilliams gave a Labour update.
• Director Burra gave a Property and Legal update.

There was no other business conducted, or motions passed in Private Session.

MOVED By Trustee Godkin and seconded by Trustee Neill that the Private Session Report be received. Carried

Chair Hutcheon provided the following report:

"Good evening,

I would like to begin this report by recognizing the exceptional resilience demonstrated by our staff and students during these challenging times following the recent cyber incident. Their unwavering dedication and adaptability have been truly commendable, and I am confident that we will emerge stronger from this experience.

Looking ahead, we anticipate an exciting season for our school communities. Our staff and students are preparing for a variety of extracurricular activities designed to enrich our educational environments and foster a sense of community. From sports to arts and academic clubs, there is something for everyone to look forward to.

Yesterday, April 22 was Earth Day. Recognizing Earth Day is crucial in fostering a sense of responsibility and awareness among our students, helping them understand the impact of their actions on the environment. It was wonderful to see many students, staff, and school communities celebrating Earth Day across our district.

As graduation season approaches, the Board is enthusiastic about celebrating the achievements of our graduating students. Their dedication and hard work have led them to this significant milestone. We are keen to honour the accomplishments of our Specialist High Skills Major students, Limestone Student Achievers, and Staff Awards at the upcoming Board and Committee meetings in May and June.

We extend our sincere gratitude to students, families, and staff for their continued support and commitment to our school communities. Together, we will navigate these challenges and celebrate the successes that lie ahead.

That concludes my report."

Director Burra provided the following report:

"Good evening, Trustees and the viewing public. We apologize for the inconvenience of not being able to broadcast this evening live due to our current cyber incident, but we will make a recording of the meeting available in the coming days. I have a number of updates for this evening’s meeting.

We are still eagerly awaiting provincial budgetary information. The hope was that this information would be released shortly after MPPs returned to Queen’s Park. The longer the delay, the greater the challenge for us in meeting our needs in preparing for the 2025-26 school year. This information is vital for our planning purposes in preparing for the next school year. I know Superintendent of Corporate and Staff Services Young and Manager of Financial Services Carson, and their teams will do the best they can to unpack the funding and the local implications in Limestone, and allow us to continue planning once the information is made available. That being said, further delays do impede our staffing processes.

I have a few highlights of recent events to share with Trustees this evening. First, On April 16, the LDSB Entrepreneur Showcase was held at Mitchell Hall at Queen’s, featuring innovative student businesses and products, with opportunities for students to pitch their ideas to local community partners and receive valuable feedback.

The Ministry of Education's Entrepreneurship Education Pilot Projects aim to promote entrepreneurship education for Grades 7 to 12 students, fostering an entrepreneurial mindset and skills to run a business or social enterprise. Developed in partnership with local industry and community organizations, these projects support all students, including those with disabilities and special education needs, in today's changing economy. The objectives include encouraging innovative initiatives, fostering collaboration with industry partners, supporting student business plans, and promoting engagement in entrepreneurship, particularly in STEM and skilled trades. Limestone had 20 students participate in the pilot.

The Limestone District School Board and Queen's University hosted Neurovibes - A Night Exploring Neurodiversity on April 3, 2025, at Katarokwi Learning Centre. This free evening event, open to students, staff, and family members, provided guests with opportunities to learn more about neurodiversity, neurodiverse-affirming practices, and supports within our community. There were speakers from the LDSB and Queen's, a neurodivergent speaker panel, community partner displays, and more.

Next week at the United Way Workplace Volunteer Awards luncheon, Limestone will be given two awards: first an award honouring the 10-24 Leaders of the Way who contributed over $1,500 to the fundraising campaign, and a Sandstone Achievement Award acknowledging that Limestone contributed between $50,000 and $100,000 to the most recent campaign. The work of the United Way is of critical importance in supporting some of the most vulnerable members of the communities we serve, and I am proud of our collective efforts to support critical services for so many of the families that benefit from the work of the United Way.

I would also like to publicly acknowledge the tremendous work of the LDSB Integrated Technology Services staff. Given the impact of a recent cyber incident, the ITS staff have demonstrated service above and beyond normal work requirements. I would like to acknowledge the department’s work throughout this past long weekend, and every other day since the incident. I would also like to publicly acknowledge and thank those members of the senior team and school administrators that also supported work in schools on the weekend. Lots of work is currently underway and, as always, we commit to sharing updates related to the cyber incident as new information becomes available.

That being said, there is an impact on the system in having network systems offline for students, families, and staff. Lots of work is occurring behind the scenes to move us toward restoration, and providing work arounds to support schools in their regular day-to-day operations. We greatly appreciate people’s patience and support during this current challenge. And it is during adverse times like this that I have great appreciation for what makes Limestone so great: the cumulative and collective good will of members of the Limestone community to pull together, focus on what matters, and supporting each other along the way.

This evening there are four reports on the agenda: Interim Financial Reporting for the second quarter, a virtual school update, a Student Achievement Plan update, and a report updating Trustees on Artificial Intelligence in Limestone.

Thank you. That concludes my report, Chair Hutcheon."

Trustee McGregor provided an OPSBA report.

Student Trustee Kolosov provided the following report:

"Good evening Trustees and the viewing public.

I am excited to introduce to you the new incoming Rural and Urban Student Trustees for the 2025-2026 school year.

Mia Comeau is the incoming Rural Student Trustee. She is a Grade 11 student at Granite Ridge Education Centre. She values contributing positively to her school and district. She enjoys forming new connections and learning. She is driven to ensure academic courses will continue to be offered at rural schools, so that all students can succeed in whichever pathway they choose.

Siham Ismail is the incoming Urban Student Trustee. She is a Grade 10 student at Kingston Secondary School. She is a proud member of the school affinity club where she helps in the creation and implementation of events in the school geared towards creating a welcoming environment for racialized students, and students from other minority groups. With help from the connections to her community, Siham looks forward to addressing the needs of students at urban schools.

We look forward to working with our incoming Student Trustees to help them find a smooth transition into the role.

Our April Inter-Student Council (ISC) meeting took place on April 15, chaired by Student Trustee Kumar, and Student Trustee Kolosov.

To begin this meeting, we were privileged to be joined by Dr. Lee Airton, who is an associate professor of gender and sexuality studies in education at Queens University. Over the years, they have founded multiple initiatives like "They Is My Pronoun," and the "No Big Deal" campaign with a focus on enabling individuals and institutions to welcome gender and sexual diversity into everyday life. They are also the author of Gender Your Guide which you may have seen displayed during spring visits to schools.

Dr. Airton provided us with a wealth of information on how to support inclusive events during Pride Month within schools and the community, especially with the rise of discrimination and hate based violence against 2SLGBTQ+ communities.

We engaged in personal reflection, productive group discussion on our experiences and what strategies we can employ as student leaders to support all of our students year-round.

As an ISC, we are looking forward to planning a community celebration event in June for all LDSB students. We firmly believe that hate has no home here and look forward to celebrating the diverse community of students Limestone is home to.

Thank you."

The report updated Trustees on the Interim Financial Operating Expenditures for the period from September 1, 2024, to February 28, 2025 (Quarter 2).

The Interim Financial Report – Operating Expenditures for the period ending November 30, 2024, was presented to the Board on January 15, 2025. This report provided operating expenditures for the period from September 1, 2024, to November 30, 2024 (Quarter 1).

In the Board Meeting Agenda Package is the Interim Financial Report – Operating Expenditures for the period ended February 28, 2025 (Quarter 2), which is presented in a similar format to the 2024-2025 operating budget, indicating the amount spent by expenditure category and the associated percentage.

As at Quarter 2, $149.3M of the $312.7M operating budget or 48% has been spent. This is comparable to the 50% results from the same quarter last year.

It is important to note that expenditures are based upon items paid within the stated period. Certain expenditures may be non-cyclical in nature, which may lead to higher or lower expenditures within a given period (see Appendix 1 for more information). The Board is on target to end the 2024-2025 fiscal year with a balanced budget as projected.

The full report is in the Agenda Package.

The purpose of this report was to provide Trustees with an update on Elementary Virtual School in Limestone.

The Ministry of Education required school boards to offer virtual learning from March 2020 to June 2023. At the end of the 2022-2023 school year, the Ministry of Education announced that commencing 20232024, virtual school would be an option for Boards of Education to offer rather than a requirement. Boards were encouraged, but not required, to offer virtual school for students. While LDSB recognizes that choice is important for families based on personal circumstances, declining enrolment in virtual school was a potential barrier to school organization and content delivery.

In spring 2023, LDSB formalized an Elementary Virtual School partnership with Renfrew County District School Board (RCDSB) and Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB). At the end of the 2023/2024 school year, RCDSB opted to withdraw their participation in the virtual school partnership, but KPRDSB chose to remain.

The following table displays enrolment in elementary virtual school from the onset of the pandemic to the current school year:

Some students from Boards outside of the partnership have also registered because their school board does not offer virtual school. These registration requests are handled on an individual basis with communication between Directors of Education prior to enrolment. In these cases, students become Limestone DSB students. Of the current 56 LDSB students, 27 students currently live in the LDSB catchment area, and 29 students are currently living outside of the catchment area.

There are currently 95 students enrolled in Elementary Virtual School.

The full report is in the Agenda Package.

The purpose of this report was to update Trustees on the Student Achievement Plan and share connections to the LDSB Strategic Plan Goals.

As part of a July 2023 memorandum, the ministry regulated provincial priorities through a Student Achievement Plan Framework (O. Reg. 224/23). The framework sets out goals and performance indicators for school boards to monitor student achievement, develop action plans, and measure their progress in improving student outcomes. The LDSB Multi-Year Strategic Plan (2024-2028), aligns with Bill 98 Provincial priorities and reporting requirements.

In March 2025, the Ministry shared LDSB’s pre-populated Student Achievement Plan Public Reporting Template. School boards are required to publicly report on progress toward the provincial priorities with the completed Student Achievement Plan Public Reporting Template shared on board websites by April 30, 2025. It should be noted that these timelines were adjusted by one month due to the provincial election and delayed release of provincial information.

LDSB Senior Staff continue to support the implementation of the Strategic Plan and the Student Achievement Plan through focused work with school and system leaders. Our work continues to prioritize improved student achievement in core academic areas, with an emphasis on literacy and numeracy, preparation of students for future success, and student engagement and well-being. To support this, we are collaborating closely with the Program Team to build educator capacity through professional learning, instructional coaching, and the use of assessment data to inform instruction.

The full report is in the Agenda Package.

The purpose of this report was to provide Trustees with an updated regarding work related to artificial intelligence (AI) that has started in Limestone, and potential paths forward. Artificial intelligence has the potential to impact all five goals in the LDSB Multi-Year Strategic Plan.

Here is a roadmap of the work Limestone has implemented and worked towards throughout the winter and spring of 2025.

A range of support documents and resources have been developed to support staff and students engaging with AI tools to support teaching and learning. Foundational to this work are a LDSB’s Generative AI Guiding Principles: Ethical Use, Accessibility and Equity, Teaching and Learning, Enhancement and Improvement, and Protection and Privacy.

Given the fast evolution and change we are seeing in the world of AI, most school districts are maintaining flexibility to adapt to very fluid circumstances. Consequently, at this point we are utilizing Guiding Principles rather than developing a more formal administrative procedure. It is important to view the first and fifth Guiding Principles as bookends that anchor the critical work in the educational sector that are encompassed by the second, third, and fourth principles.

By implementing a range of strategies, educators can reduce the likelihood of students using AI in an academically dishonest manner.

• Clearly define assignment expectations (including learning goals and success criteria).
• Explicitly state the degree, if any, that AI can be used on a task and the required referencing standards.
• Educate students about the limitations of AI.
• Promote the value and need for independent thought and perspective.
• Educate students about academic dishonesty and referencing standards.
• Create tasks that limit the efficacy of potential AI use. For example, requiring personal connections with curriculum, using multiple sources of data (product, conversation, and observation), and emphasizing the importance of process.

A pilot project with 25-30 teachers (elementary and secondary) started in March 2025 for participants to try using one of five different “approved” AI tools: Quizizz, Magic SchoolAI, School AI, Microsoft Copilot, and Brisk Teaching. Each of these tools support teaching and learning. Later this spring, teachers participating in the pilot will bring back their learning from using these tools and support potential future work utilizing one or more of these tools in classrooms. Administrators, senior staff, and managers are piloting the use of Co-Pilot through Office 365 in an effort to streamline work and improve efficiency.

The full report is in the Agenda Package. For more information about AI in Limestone, please visit: Artificial Intelligence in Limestone.