Ontario Student Trustees' Association

The Ontario Student Trustees’ Association (l'Association des Élèves conseillers et conseillères de l’Ontario) (OSTA-AECO) is an organization of Student Trustees in Ontario and a student stakeholder group in Ontario's education system.

This organization has two divisions: the Executive Council and the Board Councils. The Executive Council is chosen through a series of elections at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and includes a President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and four Officers for the areas of Communication, Policy, Professional Development, and Operations. Also elected are Cabinets of the Board Councils, each of whom has a respective President and Vice President. The two Board Councils are the Public Board Council (PBC) and Catholic Board Council (CBC). Within the Executive Council, the voting power lies with the Senior Executive Council, which consists of five members: the President of OSTA-AECO, and the Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Public and Catholic Board Councils.[1]

Student Trustee Position

A Student Trustee is a legislated student-held position, mandated by Ontario’s Ministry of Education for all local school boards in Ontario.[2] Elected by a process determined by each school district, a student holding this position serves as a representative for the students, and is responsible for conveying the student’s opinions at school board meetings. Given much of the same rights and responsibilities as the adult school trustees in terms of professional development activities, speaking rights during meetings, and access of restricted information,[3] they play an active role in the school boards’ decision making process, which impacts the education system. However, instead of representing the taxpayers -like the adult trustees- the student trustees synthesizes the student’s voice to bring a different perspective to the discussions.[4]

History

In the early 1990s, the Royal Commission of Learning, which was set up during the leadership of Ontario’s former premier Bob Rae, published a report titled "For the Love of Learning" which recommended "that all (school) boards have at least one student member, entitled to vote on all board matters, subject to the usual conflict-of-interest and legal requirements".[5] By the late 1990s, student representatives existed in most of the 70+ school boards in Ontario.[6]

Wanting to collaborate and work as a unified voice, the Ontario student Trustees’ Association – l'Association des élèves conseillers et conseillères de l'Ontario (OSTA-AECO) was formed in 2000 by a group of student trustees in Ontario. In order to promote the student’s voice on a provincial scale they have published a number of reports discussing the student’s opinions in education.[7] These include student survey reports, press releases, and position papers.[8][9]

Membership

The General Assembly of OSTA-AECO meets three times a term, at the Fall General Meeting, the Board Council Conferences, and the Annual General Meeting. Each school board is entitled to one vote in the association's affairs. At the AGM, the General Assembly elects the next year's executive council for the term starting 1 August of that year.

The board councils are divided by two board types: Public Board Council (PBC), and Catholic Board Council (CBC), each of which are chaired by a president, who sits as a voting member of the executive.

Over the years the structure of the Executive Council has changed to best benefit the needs of the Association. Currently, the executive consists of 14 members: 5 elected voting Presidents, 6 elected Officers, 2 appointed Officers and the Past President.

The elected, voting members of the executive council are: President, Public Board Council President, Catholic Board Council President, Public Board Council Vice-President, and Catholic Board Council Vice-President. The elected, non-voting members of the executive council are: Officer of Professional Development, Officer of Policy, Officer of Communications, Officer of Operations, Executive Secretary, and Executive Bilingual Secretary. The immediate past president, Chief Executive Office, and Chief Financial Officer also serve as a non-voting members.

References

  1. ↑ OSTA-AECO, "Ontario Student Trustees' Association," Online. Available: osta-aeco.org.
  2. ↑ N. O'Connor, "Student Trustees may attend Vancouver School Meetings," 28 May 2012. Online. Available: http://www.vancourier.com/news/Student+trustees+attend+Vancouver+school+meetings/6691656/story.html. Accessed 2012.
  3. ↑ Ministry of Education, "http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90e02_e.htm#BK71," 2012. Online. Accessed 5 November 2012.
  4. ↑ Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, "Student's Corner: Student Trustees," Online. Available: http://www.ocdsb.ca/stu/st/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed 11 November 2012.
  5. ↑ Royal Commission of Learning, "For the Love of Learning," Queen's Printer for Ontario, Toronto, 1994.
  6. ↑ Ontario Student Trustees' Association, "History," Online. Available: http://www.osta-aeco.org/history.php. Accessed 5 November 2012.
  7. ↑ People For Education, "Ontario Student Trustees’ Association — l’Association des élèves conseillères et conseillers de l’Ontario – (OSTA-AECO)," 2012. Online. Available: http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/profile/ontario-student-trustees-association-lassociation-des-eleves-conseilleres-et-conseillers-de-lontario-osta-aeco/. Accessed 5 November 2012.
  8. ↑ K. Hammer, "Sexual diversity belongs in classroom, cellphones don't: Student survey," The Globe and Mail, 2012.
  9. ↑ OSTA-AECO, "Press Releases & Declarations," OSTA-AECO, Online. Available: http://osta-aeco.org/media/press.php. Accessed 5 November 2012.

Further reading

External links