Student Equity Collective

Racism and hate have no place in our school communities. But we know many of you deal with it every day. That is why we launched the Student Equity Collective, we are looking to you, our students, and want to hear your voices on how we can make positive change in the TDSB and beyond.

Twenty-four amazing students from across the TDSB have been chosen to lead positive change to address racism, hate and discrimination at the Board. Guiding the collective on their equity journey is the Director of Education, Colleen Russell-Rawlins, who is supported by the following TDSB staff:

Karen Murray, System Superintendent, Equity, Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression & Early Years;
Jason Kandankery, Centrally Assigned Principal, System Leadership and Equity;
Rukiya Mohammed, Coordinator, Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement; Equity, Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression.

The Student Equity Collective plan is under review to better align with the updated TDSB Multi-Year Strategic Plan. The Student Equity Collective will be going through a recruitment in fall 2024. We look forward to resuming work with the new collective and previous mentor members.

Watch the video from the Director and Student Trustees.

Accessible Version

The Student Equity Leadership Collective was developed in order to make positive changes within the TDSB. These students aim to collaborate with their peers to address and tackle racism, hate and discrimination within their school environments. The Student Equity Collective gathers monthly to participate in workshops and collaborative leadership planning, each focusing on the varying equity issues impacting the lives of students.

Since it’s first meeting in April 2022, students have engaged with:

The Resource - This Book is AntiRacist by Tiffany Jewel
Collaborative working sessions with Ontario’s first Poet Laureate
Retreat in August: Focusing on Strengthening Community & Preparing for our work in 2022-23.
In September 2022: Attended the opening celebration of Shadows of Racism, Voices Unheard project, a collaboration with Alpha Education, Toronto District School Board and Toronto Catholic District School Board. The art exhibition brought into a public forum, community voices which are often silent or overshadowed, and helped the members of the Student Equity Collective explore messages of hope and optimism found within the juxtaposition of bias, discrimination, and racism with identity, belonging and diversity.
Monthly meetings with community based artists to develop educational resources for use with students across the TDSB.

The Student Equity Collective has been tasked with documenting their experiences and recommendations for addressing issues of race, racism and hate within the education system. Students have been divided into four groups working with local artists to refine their messaging through creative art expressions. Students are linking their ideas and recommendations to various TDSB policies. The groups are as follows:

Expressed through Spoken Word, Human Rights
Expressed through Podcasting, Equity Policy
Expressed through Videography, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP)
Expressed through Visual Arts,Caring and Safe Schools Policy

Examples of Our Work

The Student Equity Collective Discuss Year-End Celebration of Learning Live With CP24

The Student Equity Collective Celebration of Learning 2023

On Tuesday, June 27, 2023 members of the Student Equity Collective, along with their families and TDSB staff held a year-end Celebration of Learning hosted at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).

The celebration was the Collective’s opportunity to showcase the documentation of their experiences and their recommendations for addressing issues of race, racism and hate within the education system.

Below are snippets of the event’s performances by students and special guests.