Name: Peter Jaffe, Wards 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

Occupation: Psychologist & Professor, Faculty of Education

Family Information: Married with 4 sons (3 still in TVDSB schools,

1graduated)

Community Work: Working with children & families involved in the

court system in family and criminal proceedings

Personal experience dealing with the school board: 30 years

experience as a trustee in NE London and 25 years as a parent &
consumer of TVDSB

What education issue is on your radar, and why? Enhance quality

of education for all students and address the needs of students with
special needs related to learning, family stress, poverty and mental
health issues. Why? Need to keep our students prepared for a
changing world & increasing recognition of economic stress on child
and family well-being

What do you hope to change about the education system?

Improve sensitivity and response to student & parents concerns

Why do you want to be a school board trustee? An honour and

privilege to serve the community and make a difference with local
schools
_______________________________________________________
Name: Darlene Snyders

Occupation: Mother/Wife/Security Guard

Family Information: Married 8 years with two children 15 and 13 years of

age

Community Work: Past President of Knollwood Park Home and School

Association and F. D. Roosevelt Association, President of Thames Valley
Council of Home and School Associations, Member of the Board of
Directors for Ontario Federation of Home and School Association, Member
of the Thames Valley Parent Involvement Committee,Former volunteer and
team leader with Victim Services of Middlesex County

Personal Work with the school board: I have worked closely with the
school board on many activities. We have worked together on several parent
learning forums. This gave me the opportunity to educate parents on many
different topics, provide educational references and tools for parents. As
president of the Thames Valley Council of Home and School Associations
we have been approached for our opinion as a parent organization on several
issues over the ten years I have been involved. The Thames Valley Council
of Home and School Associations held the Ontario Federation of Home and
School Associations annual conference last year and the Director of
Education showed his support by hosting a Director’s reception. That was a
first for the Ontario Federation of Home and School Associations annual
conference. I might add we hosted 120 members from across Ontario.
What education issue is on your radar, and why? I would like to see after
school detentions abolished. It is a huge safety issue for both the student
and the teacher. It is very unsafe for the student to not leave school and
walk home or wait at a bus stop with a group of other students. When a
student chooses to stay after school for a sporting event or extracurricular
activity, at least the parents are aware of it and either pick up their child or
has an idea as to when to expect their child home. If they are kept after
school there is no phone call made home, so the parent worries. As for the
teacher it could leave the teacher open for accusations that they could spend
many years trying to prove as false.

What do you hope to change about the education system? I don’t know if
it is a change as much as supporting the initiative of making the school
board more accessible to parents. I will make myself available to parents. I
want to make parents feel comfortable with approaching me on issues they
have. I want parents to feel comfortable approaching their principals,
superintendants, and trustees. We are all stakeholders in our children’s
education and unless we can all work together to make this system work, it
is the students who pay the price.

Why do you want to be a school board trustee? Being a trustee has been a
long dream of mine. I originally started as a Mother with an issue. After
researching the proper avenues and steps to take to help bring my issue
forward I realized that parents are a very important part of the education
system. I feel I have done what I can for my children’s school and now want
to offer what I have to help more children in many schools. I can empathize
with parent’s issues and want to help in any way possible. I may not be able
to take too much action but sometimes just providing a person to listen or
even a resource for them to turn to is what I am all about. I volunteered with
Victim Services for many years and have learned there are quite a lot of
resources out there, you just need to know where to look and I fortunately
have been given the opportunity to learn about these resources. A child’s
education is their stepping stone and tools so that they can become
contributing members of society. Let’s make it a positive experience.
_____________________________________________________________________

Name: Sal Syed

Occupation: IT industry

Family Information: Wife, and three children, one in high school and
two in the university level (all were raised through the public school
system- Orchard Park PS, and Lucas Secondary).

Community Work: I have been involved with the community at

various levels for over 25 years. Over the years, I have been
involvement with the Board of Directors of LINC, actively participated
with coaching regulatory bodies at Southwest Optimist, long-standing
member of various city hall Environmental and city development
committees.

Personal experience dealing with the school board:

Active collaborator with school councils, and leading education
authorities over the years (including Don Blair and Bill Tucker, current
superintendents and Director of Education- Thames Valley).

What education issue is on your radar, and why?

Accountability of front-line teachers, school staff and others as well as
the increasing disparity between secondary schools when it comes to
university and college preparedness. Research conducted by my team
over the years indicates that some schools in our city, such as Central
High School, have achieved provincial benchmarks (recently ranked
number # 1 in the province in academics) whereas a handful of
graduates from Clark Secondary or Montcalm are barely able to
proceed to the university level. Such disparity must END: change is
needed at various levels.

What do you hope to change about the education system?

In order to cultivate change, the causes behind the disparity in our city
schools must be identified first. Perhaps it is related to economic
indicators, in which case greater involvement of the city council as well
as the provincial government would be required to address job
shortages and other employment matters. A holistic approach is
needed at the trustee level, something that has not been initiated for
far too long now.

Why do you want to be a school board trustee?

To secure London's future: London deserves to be recognized as a
provincial and national powerhouse for producing leaders. I intend to
initiate that process.
_____________________________________________________________________
Name: Peggy Sattler

Occupation: Researcher and Policy Analyst specializing in issues of post-

secondary education
Family Information: Married with two children

Community Work: Trustee 2000-2010, Board Chair 2006-2008

Personal experience dealing with the school board:

My two children are in secondary school, in Grade 9 at Banting and Grade
12 at Lucas.

What education issue is on your radar, and why? Students learn best
when they feel safe, welcome and respected. I am committed to ensuring
that our schools are engaging and welcoming places for students of
diverse backgrounds, and for all members of our community. We must do
more to address the educational needs of students who face barriers to
academic success, including Aboriginal students, students from low
income families, newcomers, and students with special education needs.
With student well-being now a legislated mandate of school boards, we
must look for ways to collaborate more closely with local municipalities to
support the well-being of children and their families.

What do you hope to change about the education system?

I'd like to see more equitable access to quality programs, resources and
supports across the district, and stronger coordination between school
boards and municipalities on community planning and integrated services
for children. Improving communication and responsiveness to parents and
communities remains a key priority.
Why do you want to be a school board trustee?
I have been privileged to serve as school board trustee since 2000. In
2008, I was appointed by the Minister of Education to the provincial
Governance Review Committee, established to review school board
governance across Ontario's four systems of education. The next four
years will be critical as school boards adjust to the new legislation setting
out roles and responsibilities of trustees and directors of education. With
my background, experience, and commitment, I believe I can make an
important contribution at both the local and provincial level.