We cast the net as far and as wide as we could to invite you. We asked you - students, staff, families, and community members - to share your thoughts with us and help shape the future of the DSBN - and share you did.
We heard your voices, opinions, and feedback loud and clear. You spent valuable time to tell us what we did well and where we needed to improve. You shared your DSBN stories, and the stories of your families, friends, and neighbours. You shared what you genuinely believe is most important for the DSBN to do to best serve students and all stakeholders for the next five years.
engagement with our strategic planning process was unequivocally impressive; it is the largest contribution we’ve ever seen for a strategic plan. Over 29,000 people across our beautiful Niagara Region participated, collectively contributing 25,000 ideas about what the DSBN’s future needs for it to be a place that helps students learn, grow, thrive, and become their best selves.
We listened, and what we heard is that you are passionate about not just what students will become, but who they are today, and who they want to be in the future. You want us to create learning environments where we all feel empowered to build meaningful, trusting relationships, that encourage students and educators to be co-creators of their learning.
You told us that our strategic plan needed to acknowledge that our world has changed more in the last few years than it has in the decade before it. We heard that while you value being seen as individuals — your lived experiences, your knowledge, your culture, and your history must be considered as important parts of who you are. Students expressed to us that it makes all the difference when schools create spaces for them to be honest versions of themselves, and for everyone to celebrate and accept their uniqueness.
Your feedback was vital in helping us assess if the DSBN Vision and Mission still reflected who we are as a school board, and still described where you wanted us to go in the future. It didn’t take us long to see that our mission, and our vision, “Achieving Success Together”, no longer spoke to you, nor did it capture the needs of our current environment.
So, for the first time in 17 years, we are introducing our new Vision Statement. It intertwines your voices with our purpose, while expressing our inspiration and vision to guide us for the next five years.
Within a culture of care, inclusion, and innovation, the District School Board of Niagara’s purpose is to inspire lifelong learning and foster relationships through meaningful connections with individuals, communities, and the environment. Our vision of Learning and Growing Together inspires us to continue creating equitable educational experiences and opportunities where everyone’s uniqueness is valued and celebrated.
You are a caring community who invested your time, talent, and energy to come together, share your voices, and make this new strategic plan possible.
2023-2028 multi-year strategic plan is our new path. It is how we will achieve our vision forward. We got here because of you. We are truly looking forward to co-creating this future with you.
Warren Hoshizaki
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND SECRETARY
Sue Barnett
CHAIR, DSBN BOARD OF TRUSTEES
These new Strategic Priorities will guide the next five years at the DSBN. But they do so much more. Each priority provides the actions we will take to reach our vision, and describe what we uphold as our values and core culture.
