Leah Al-Shourbaji

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

Senior high school students attending schools belonging to the Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB) gathered at its head office in Dorval for a teen summit on equity, diversity, dignity and inclusion (EDDI) recently.

The event was attended by over 100 students and dozens of teachers who have taken on a leadership role in their respective schools in order to develop and promote EDDI. Several brainstorming activities took place to explore concepts related to EDDI for discussion. Following these activities, students shared their ideas highlighting important elements related to each topic.

Since June 2020, a Task Force was mandated to develop evidence-based recommendations that could be shared in all schools, centres and departments within the LBPSB network to address issues of systemic racism, inequity, and injustice. The task force launched its recommendations in 2021 and several EDDI committees were established to support the mission including a student committee that gathers information from students’ perspectives and shares their findings for consideration with the other contributing committees.

“Gone are the days where we pat children on the head and say ‘there there, let the grown ups handle this.’ We need to know what matters to them in order for their learning experience to be as authentic as possible. If it’s not meaningful to them, they don’t see the value in their experience at school. If we want students to feel valued at school and be motivated, we need to give place to their voices. That motivation ultimately leads to their success,” French Teacher at St-Thomas Isabelle Alarie told The Suburban.

The summit itself was planned and organized by a student committee led by two grade 10 students, Fiona Govers and Leah Al-Shourbaji from MacDonald High School, an institution that is widely recognized for its inception of EDDI and leadership on inclusivity.

“This day was designed to empower youth in embracing their leadership ideal. EDDI represents everything that is moving into the future. Its trying to get better and recognizing where we need to get better while also recognizing what we are doing right,” Al-Shourbaji said to The Suburban.

“This is not an easy conversation, but what it all boils down to is that we are all human and we don’t go against people made up of the same atoms as we are. Not all issues will be solved in a day, we know that. This is not just something that encompasses school — it impacts all aspects of our lives. Creating a community where students can speak their minds and feel heard contributes to a sense of safety, belonging and comfort in school and in their lives,” Govers told The Suburban.

“It is important to have events like this because it allows us to see what can be accomplished. It really inspires me to go back to school and create new events and awareness on certain subjects that are important to the student body,” Grade 11 student and co-student council president Elena Richardson explained to The Suburban.

LBPSB school commissioner and community leader Malik Shaheed attended the event, listening attentively to students in hopes of gaining insights on their perspectives within the educational framework. “The event allows kids to express their thoughts and how they feel and it allows the administration and the teachers understand the perspective of the students, what their goals are and wishes and help students make the goals, wishes and dreams come true,” Shaheed said to The Suburban. n