1. 2013 Community Education Forum

2. LAEN History  Born from Partner’s in Motion in the TCDSB and Avanzando Unidos in the TDSB in the summer of 2012  Vision: A strengthened and united Latin American community in Toronto supported by a network of diverse educational initiatives  Mission: To support and advance educational initiatives through a diversity of community support groups, organizations and individuals

3. 2012/2013 Annual Report  3 LAEN Committees: Organizations/Individuals, Parents, Youth –Organization/Individuals Committee structured with elected Co-Chairs, Terms of Reference, and 2013/2014 Goals  Outreach to over 50 organizations across Toronto  Consistent and constructive communication with TDSB and TCDSB  Voting members of TDSB Equity Program Advisory Committee and TCDSB Spanish Speaking Advisory Committee

4. 2012/2013 Annual Report Cont.  LAEN Newsletter: –Distributed twice a month –Updated almost daily –LAEN Publicly Shared Google Drive –TDSB/TCDSB Updates –Job and Volunteer Opportunities –Grants/Scholarship Opportunities –Community Calendar of Events –Research/Documents concerning our community –LAEN Minutes –300+ subscribers and growing

5. 2012 LAEN Education Forum  Saturday October 27, 2012 from 10am to 3:15pm  North York Civic Centre, Yonge St. And Sheppard Ave.  Sponsored by: TDSB & TCDSB  Parent and Youth Workshops  Attendance, ~60-70 people –20 @ Youth Workshop (some volunteers) –20 @ Parent Workshop (inc. Community Agencies)  20+ Community Organizations setup information booths around perimeter  Conclusion: Need to focus efforts on Parents and Youth outreach

6. 2013 LAEN Education Forum  Saturday November 30, 2013 from 10am to 2:15pm  TCDSB St. Jude Catholic School, Weston Rd. and Sheppard Ave.  Sponsored by: TDSB, TCDSB, OSSTF, OECTA, BASICS Radio 105.5FM, Radio Voces Latinas 1610AM –Raffle Donations by: Hispanic Development Council, Centre for Spanish Speaking People, Krudar Muay Thai, Aluna Theatre, & Mi Tierra Restaurant  20+ Community Organizations setup information booths around perimeter

7. Agenda  10am to 11am - Registration and Information Booths  11am to 11:30am – Introduction –Youth Speaker  Ricardo Mezza –Parent Speaker  Sonia Mesa  11:30am to 12:30pm – Workshops –Parent, Youth, & Community/Educators Workshops  12:30pm to 1:30pm - Lunch (from El Rancho) –Dance Presentations from: Youth  EncontrArte and Seniors  Siempre Felices  1:30pm to 2:00pm - Conclusions

8. Attendance  ~100 people in attendance  Optional registration resulted in 69 people registered  Addition 18 people recorded their names at the workshop  TDSB Trustee Chair Chris Bolton & TCDSB Trustee Garry Tuanan  Community Educator Workshop  41 people  Youth Workshop  32 People  Parent Workshop  7 People

9. Demographics  Attendees: 45% from NW; 17% from SW; 17% from NE; 1% from SE; 1% from Vaughan  Contact Information: 72% Email; 60% Phone; 42% Postal Code  How did you hear about this event? 7% from TDSB/TCDSB; 40% from LAEN; 52 % from community –45% from community heard it from Teach2Learn

10. Demographics Cont. Parents  20% Self Identified Parents –29% have 2-3 children –26% under 4 years; 47% 4-8 years; 26% 10-16 years –42% TDSB Parents; 36% TCDSB Parents; 14% YRDSB Parents; 8% No Response Youth  26% Self Identified Youth –33% 8-17 years; 44% 18-21 years; 22% 22-26 years –55% TDSB Youth; 17% TCDSB Youth; 6% YRDSB Youth; 22% No Response

11. Workshops Three questions discussed:  1) What challenges does our community face in the public education system?  2) What can the Board do in helping us overcome this challenges?  3) What can we do to address these challenges?

12. Challenges Identified  Stereotypes/ Prejudice –Daily micro-aggressions in schools –Low academic expectations of students, vicious cycle  Lack of Support in Schools –Lack of information & support around scholarships, navigating school system, help available  Language & Identity

13. School Board Action  Staffing/ Training –Anti-oppressive training needed for teachers & staff –Teachers that reflect their students  Provide more resources/support –Space for youth groups, community space –Curriculum reform  Improve communication with parents & community

14. Collective Commitments  Parent engagement and communication –As a community, foster engagement and help to fill the gaps in communication  Community collaboration –Identify clear objectives as a comm. And work to concretely achieve these.  Working with youth and parents –Identifying role models in the community and creating networks that promote collaboration and use of community spaces.