School committee seeking applicants
With the announcement of a new Kanesatake Combined Schools Committee, the recently installed education director is making good on a promise to boost collaboration between the community and local schools.
The creation of the body was one of the goals Kanesatake Education Center (KEC) education director Watsenniiostha Nelson shared with The Pines Reporter ahead of this school year, but relationship-building was already top of mind when she was hired around the beginning of 2024.
The committee will give parents - but also extended family and even community members who are not related to a student - the chance to have a voice in how local schools contribute to the next generation’s development.
According to Amber Simon, a student life animator with KEC, the committee is open to all, with first priority to band members.
“Obviously there are some people who don’t have kids in school anymore or don’t have kids at all. They have their opinions, and they’re entitled to share any information or ideas that might be positive or helpful for our schools to move forward in a good direction,” said Simon.
“We’re a community. We work as one.”
The committee is still in its early stages, with the education centre trying to gauge the interest of community members. With the latest round of parent-teacher interviews taking place Thursday, KEC staff was primed to use the occasion to promote the opportunity to join the nine-person committee.
“The main purpose of the committee is to make sure the schools are integrating our culture and language into the activities and curriculums, trying to get parents involved,” said Simon.
“The parents need to have their opinions heard. It comes firsthand from them,” she added. “They know how their children are doing at school and anything they think we should be implementing into the schools. It’s a way for them to get their voice heard and to change things in a positive way.”
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Committee members will meet every month to go over a wide range of topics relating to education, even planning and making decisions. Those who are interested in joining can contact Watsenniiostha Nelson at [email protected] or reach out to student life animators Amber Simon or Kahsennine Nelson.
Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
