More than 26 per cent of Calgary Catholic School District students said they were treated unfairly at school because of their ethnicity or race, a new report published Wednesday suggests.
According to the most recent Student Wellbeing Accountability Report, students were asked in a survey last school year if they could think of an occasion when they were treated unfairly because of their race or ethnicity at school.
Around 73.9 per cent of those surveyed said they were not treated unfairly, while 26.1 per cent said they were. This is a 7.8 percentage point increase in students who felt they were unfairly treated compared with the 2022-2023 school year.
Seventy-seven per cent of students surveyed said they were not treated unfairly outside of school in their communities, while 23 per cent said they were. This is a more than four per cent increase in students who felt they were unfairly treated compared with the 2022-2023 school year.
In the report, CCSD administration said this could be attributed to “increased racial awareness” and “continued social and mental health challenges.”
“This increase may be based on education and awareness, which equals increased reporting but also potentially increased use of racial slurs when students become aware of the power of their words,” said John McDonald, deputy chief superintendent for the CCSD, at a board meeting on Wednesday.
“So as students learn about how words hurt, sometimes they continue to do those words, and then we deal with them as we need to in an educational way.”
No questions about students’ race, ethnicity, cultural background in survey
The report did not say which ethnic groups reported the most discrimination, but administration wrote that additional adjustments will be made to the survey to include demographic questions about the students’ race, ethnicity or cultural background in the 2024-2025 school year.
Trustee Myra D’Souza said the district needs this information. She added that unless the district asks racialized students if they were treated unfairly, the results from the survey will not be accurate.
“It’s like asking the entire school community ‘do you think that LGBTQ people are going to difficult times’ and everyone says no because they’re not walking in their shoes,” she said at Wednesday’s meeting.
“Unless you ask that particular group how they’re feeling, you’re not getting the proper results.”
Chief Superintendent Bryan Szumlas said the district is looking at revising some student voice questions, particularly ones that deal with racial justice.
“When it comes to any of the racial justice type questions, there was a meeting that happened here most recently, where we are looking at revising some of the student voice questions. Next year, when we come back with information, there’ll be different questions that are asked,” he said at Wednesday’s board of trustees meeting.
Teachers, staff already go through racial justice training
According to the Student Wellbeing Report, CCSD staff and teachers are required to attend annual professional growth sessions as part of the district’s racial justice initiatives. This includes modules on culturally responsive communities, understanding cultural responsiveness and biases, and how to be culturally responsive educators.
Social and racial justice training, as well as EDI (equity, diversity and inclusion) training, are also part of the CCSD’s faith leadership mandates to ensure appropriate and meaningful social justice initiatives are taught in schools, according to the latest Faith Leadership Accountability Report.
The district also said it is building awareness on addressing racial slurs in schools, and staff are provided professional growth opportunities that are led by the Indigenous Education team, area directors, supervisors and the Early Intervention Team.
Administration also wrote that the district is trying to foster meaningful relationships with Elders from marginalized communities.
The district also has a Racial Justice Team. Two full-time equivalent (FTE) racial justice and EDI consultants and two FTE family and community engagement are currently employed by the CCSD. There is also one FTE Ukrainian Support Worker.
One representative from the Racial Justice Team is assigned to each school at a minimum, the report said. The St. John Centre for Arts and Culture, St. Leo Centre and St. Paul Centre each have one representative. There is also one representative for the central office.
