Presentations
Student musical presentation
The Archie Stouffer Elementary School Grade 6 – 8 band performed two songs for trustees, senior team, parents/guardians, and other attendees. Each of the students learned to play their instrument this school year and did a fantastic job presenting their talents.
Director’s recognition award
Extraordinary contributions to Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) by staff members, students, school volunteers, or community members are recognized each Public Meeting of the Board by the director of education, Wes Hahn. The following individual was nominated for their outstanding commitment and dedication to TLDSB.
Itinerant teacher for blind and low vision, Tanya Bain, travels to different schools across the Board helping students who are blind or have vision loss. She not only works with these students, but with the whole class and school to build inclusion and understanding. From gym class to literacy, Bain makes the learning fun for all and increases awareness at the same time. She makes personal connections with students and shares her love of learning. She creates innovative ways for students to learn Braille, including using balls and muffin tins, or puffy stickers on a chart.
Bain introduced Goal Ball to Huntsville Public School (HPS) – a sport designed for athletes with visual impairments. She came after school on her own time and taped the rope court for players and supported the school’s student with a vision impairment to teach the game to a local hockey team. She then travelled with the team to the arena where the student was included in a hockey scrimmage. Bain provided a specially designed hockey puck for the blind that makes noise when it moves on the ice and all players who participated wore the opaque eyeshades.
“Bain promotes belonging, connection, and innovation. She creates physically and emotionally safe, healthy learning environments for all students. She addresses questions from curious
students, and uses a hands-on approach to learning. Furthermore, Bain empowers
her students to navigate their community, teaching them essential life skills, like using public
transportation and grocery shopping. She knows her students well and she helps them to
become self-advocates. Bain’s work has a profound and lasting impact on her students, their families, and the wider TLDSB community, making her a truly deserving recipient of this award,” said HPS principal, Trudi MacKinnon.
Director’s update
Director of education, Wes Hahn, provided an update to trustees on the findings from the Council of Directors of Education’s (CODE) white paper on teacher shortages. Working with the Ontario directors of education, colleges, and universities, CODE focused on research and data from various sources to develop the paper.
Hahn highlighted the provincial data across educators, as well as the statistics in TLDSB. He noted the factors that have contributed to the impact of staff shortages, and talked about the various ways TLDSB recruits new staff, along with solutions that CODE is sharing with the Ministry of Education to improve this issue in Ontario.
Reports
Attendance School Pilot Project
Associate superintendent of learning, Tanya Fraser, responsible for Mental Health Services and Safe Schools provided an interim update of the Attendance School Pilot Project that has been underway to actively promote and support regular and consistent attendance across the Board.
She noted the key strategies that have been implemented at the five pilot schools (Gravenhurst Public School, Haliburton Highlands Secondary School, J.D. Hodgson Elementary School, Parkview Public School, and Riverside Public School) which include:
- Establishment of attendance champion teams who meet regularly to evaluate data and progress
- Partnerships with re-engagement counsellors
- Improved accuracy with attendance absence coding
- Early identification of students with a history of poor attendance
- Student incentives and recognition for improved attendance
- Staff learning to deepen understanding of the root causes of absenteeism
Fraser also provided an overview of what has been learned as common trends, specifically what causes absenteeism, and the plan for next steps for all schools across the Board starting next school year.
2025-2026 system class update
Superintendent of learning, Nikki Train, responsible for Special Education highlighted two key changes to special education that will address system needs and learning for staff; one to the Speech and Language Service Model that became effective in April 2025, and a planned change to the System Class Model for the 2025-2026 school year.
Train shared with trustees that the Speech and Language Service Model was refined to improve delivery, address system needs, and include direct intervention and capacity building. Additionally, to address the needs of students with identified exceptionalities of Autism, and students with self-regulation difficulties, existing system classes have been refined and new ones added that will be effective in the 2025-2026 school year. These changes include:
- A name change for the Practical Academics & Life Skills Program (PA&LS) to Foundations for Independence Program. An additional program will be added to Gravenhurst High School (GHS) to accommodate students from the GHS area currently attending Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School.
- For the 2025-2026 school year, there will be Foundations for Independence Programs located at the following schools: Bracebridge Public School (BPS), Gravenhurst Public School, J.D. Hodgson Elementary School (JDH), Langton Public School (LPS), Parkview Public School (PPS), Pine Glen Public School (PGPS), Scott Young Public School, and all TLDSB secondary schools.
- A name change for the Academic, Independence and Mental Fitness Program (AIM) to Rebranding to Social Emotional Strategies, Opportunities, Achievement, Resilience (SOAR). The program will focus on Grades 2-6 in a two-year program and include increased communication with home schools and mid-year transitions. For the 2025-2026 school year, there will be SOAR Programs located at the following schools: BPS, JDH, Muskoka Beechgrove Public School, LPS, PPS, and PGPS.
- An additional program called Achievement, Social Skills, Personal Growth, Independence, Regulation, Engagement (ASPIRE) will be created. Six new ASPIRE classes will be created across the system to support students identified with Autism in Grades 1-6.
2025 Board meeting schedule
Board meetings are open to the public to attend at the host location in-person. For viewing, the meetings are live-streamed and the link is made available on the tldsb.ca website on the day of the meeting.
| Meeting | Date | Time | Location |
| Public Board Meeting | June 10, 2025 | 6 p.m. | Muskoka Education Centre (MEC) |
| Public Board Meeting | August 26, 2025 | 6 p.m. | Lindsay Education Centre (LEC) |
| Public Board Meeting | September 23, 2025 | 6 p.m. | Muskoka Education Centre (MEC) |
| Public Board Meeting | October 28, 2025 | 6 p.m. | Archie Stouffer Elementary School |
| Public Board Meeting | November 25, 2025 | 6 p.m. | Lindsay Education Centre (LEC) |
| Organizational Meeting of the Board | December 2, 2025 | 6 p.m. | Muskoka Education Centre (MEC) |
