Director for Halton public schools says more must be done to combat racism in the system

The Halton District School Board (HDSB) needs to do more to combat racism, says its director of education.

The Halton District School Board (HDSB) needs to do more to combat racism, says its director of education.

In an online statement, Stuart Miller acknowledged problems within the system saying that not only more has to be done to fix the problems, it has to be done faster.

The director was responding to a recent Instagram post from a Black student upset with an issue involving marks. The post received a lot of reaction.

Miller said although the specific incident had been resolved, the much larger issues that were raised still need to be addressed.

“It is clear from the comments and sentiments expressed by her and the other Black students and racialized students of the HDSB that there is much more work for us to do to end anti-Black racism and anti-Indigenous racism,” he wrote. “These students and former students have expressed views and experiences which, as director I am saddened to hear.”

He added the experiences faced by racialized students is both real and palpable.

Stuart wrote the HDSB’s Equity and Inclusive Education department is working hard to address systemic racism and the board will take the experiences of these students seriously and will be held accountable for necessary change.

“We will listen to parent and student feedback of their experiences and will work to eliminate the experiences of systemic racism for our Black and Indigenous students,’ he said in the statement.