School District No. 35

The Regular Meeting of the Langley Board of Education was held in-person and streamed online.

To view the agenda, visit the Board Meeting webpage here.

Indigenous Anti-Racism Vision and Strategy and Anti-Racism Vision and Strategy

Director of Student Support Services Michael Morgan provided the Board with an update on the District’s Indigenous Anti-Racism Vision and Strategy and Anti-Racism Vision and Strategy. He began his presentation by acknowledging how proud he was to be part of this work and that he was privileged to be trusted with this important work. He provided some background information on the concepts of the two visions and strategies and how they got started. He said District staff worked and consulted with ya:y̓əstəl̕ (the former Aboriginal Advisory Council and now referred to as the Indigenous Education Council) and a recommendation was made by the four Nations to have two separate visions and strategies. This resulted in the development of the Indigenous Anti-Racism Vision and Strategy which is continuing at the table with ya:y̓əstəl̕. 

He then provided an update on the District’s Anti-Racism Vision and Strategy. He explained how the work is centered around guiding documents which include the province’s K-12 Anti-Racism Action Plan and the District’s Strategic Plan.

He shared the vision and asked the Board to take a moment to read and reflect on the words. An excerpt of vision states “The District’s commitment to anti-racism is grounded in its commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation and based on the belief that belonging is both a universal right and an antidote to othering...”

He elaborated on key words in the vision and shared the definitions and meanings of belonging and othering with the Board. As he said, othering is “a sociological concept that refers to the process of marginalizing individuals or groups by defining them as different or inferior to the dominant social group.” 

He further explained belonging is “a powerful vision for creating a world where a person is seen, valued, and empowered.”

He shared that the District is one of the first district’s that committed to Orange Shirt Day and Truth and Reconciliation. He reiterated what was once said by Indigenous educator Kevin Lamoureux that belonging is “when a kid can walk into a school and can (exhale).” He talked about how this was at the centre of the District’s Ensouling our Schools model in schools. 

He explained how the development of the strategy was created in part with support from anti-racism consultants and collaboration with secondary students. The focus on “student voice” was instrumental in capturing the stories of secondary students who have had racist experiences as well as brought forward suggestions on solutions. 

Based on the feedback from students, the consultations helped propose solutions which included the following:

Anti-Racist Curriculum, Instruction, and Resources – for example, ensuring diversity and inclusion education starting in elementary school.

Enhanced Cultural celebrations – for example, enhancing the execution of District wide racial, cultural and ethnic. 

Responding to Racist Acts – for example, establishing clear goals, proactive processes, and transparent communications. 

Hiring Diverse staff – for example, considering diversity when it comes to recruiting and retaining staff.

Morgan outlined next steps/actions for 2025-2026 which include:

Communicating the vision to students, rights holders, partner groups and the Langley Community.

Reassembling students to provide guidance and direction on each of the four priorities. 

Responding to Racist Acts.

He elaborated on the action of responding to racist acts and what has been completed so far in the District. Recently, the Ministry released the Racism Response Guidelines 2025. Schools (administrators) have been educated on these guidelines, and they are being implemented. He provided an overview of the steps of responding to acts of racism. He explained how it included the consideration of and understanding of the individual that was “the harmed” and “the harmer.”

Lastly, he outlined how the District is working with community partners such as the Langley Community Services Society’s Roots of Resiliency, which is an outlet supporting students and families who have experienced or witnessed racism.

Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the update on the Indigenous Anti-Racism Vision and Strategy and Anti-Racism Vision and Strategy towards making that vision a reality as identified by student voice for information, as presented.

The Board approved the report as presented. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

Naming of Smith Middle and Secondary Schools

Superintendent Mal Gill provided an overview of the process of the naming of schools (Policy 19) which is needed as part of the opening of the expected Smith middle and Smith secondary schools. He went over considerations including geographical names and names of individuals who have made outstanding contributions. The process of naming a new school will begin as soon as possible. Communication will be shared with the community in a variety of ways. He shared the timeline for the process. Suggestions from the public will need to be submitted by November 24, 2025. Thereafter, the Board will announce the name at the December Board meeting. Instructions on how to submit a name can be found on the District website here.

Recommendation: That the Board of Education requests the Superintendent commence the process for naming the future Smith middle and secondary schools as per Policy 19: Naming of Schools.

The Board approves the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

Secretary-Treasurer’s Reports

Funding and Enrolment Update

Secretary-Treasurer Brian Iseli provided an overview of the funding and enrolment update. He said that the data is subject to change as there may be duplicates of student counts between two districts. He shared a slide that had a list of all the enrolment projections according to category of students. 

He stated the District is seeing an increase in the regular category of students, noting that the number of students is up slightly to 375 FTE. He said there is a slight decrease of 75 students in the alternate category of students. Students in the Continuing Ed, Online Learning, Adult Ed, Home Schooling and Course Challenges categories is up by 22 FTE. Iseli summarized that the District’s head count is 26,428 students in September 2025, which is 675 students more this year compared to last year’s total head count.

The Board approves the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the Funding and Enrolment Update for information, as presented.

Policy Committee

Notice of Motion: Policy 7: Board Operations

Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the Funding and Enrolment Update for information, as presented.

The Board approves the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

Board Advocacy/Influence Plan

Recommendation: That the Board of Education approves the Annual Advocacy/Influence Plan, as presented. 

The Board approves the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.