Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district's new superintendent has returned to her old district hoping to continue its progress.
Robyn Gray, former SD68 assistant superintendent, left Nanaimo-Ladysmith for Cowichan Valley School District in 2019, but returned to this past fall to take on the top administrator position. She said over recent years, the district has worked with stakeholders on "excellent new programs" to support learners.
In addition, the district was rebounding from a period of declining enrolment in 2019 and for the most part, numbers have been on the rise.
"I know we're up to over 15,500 learners in our organization, and I think that facilities always get a little bit tight, a little bit squeezed with regard to the number of classrooms that we have, but of course, we've had a number of excellent expansions, and so that certainly has helped us," said Gray.
Overall, 90 per cent of Nanaimo-Ladysmith students graduated in 2023-24, including grad rates of 86 per cent of Indigenous students and 77 per cent of students in care. Gray also said the school district's efforts helped lead to a 78 per cent completion rate for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
"Certainly amazing work of our directors of inclusive education, along with staff who are in the schools, who have those experiences, that skill set, to work closely with students who are neurodivergent, who have those diverse abilities," she said. "I think that … they've learned so much around different research and also of making application of such."
Gray was with the district when the Syeyutsus truth and reconciliation framework policy was introduced in 2019 and it has evolved since then. The board has worked closely with the area's First Nations and their elders, she said.
"With regard to that, the improvement and increase around language and culture … I think we're up to 30 per cent of our learners now know Hul'q'umi'num' language and culture that probably, when I left, it was more like 10 per cent of Indigenous students," said Gray.
Former trustee Charlene McKay resigned last May, citing inappropriate behaviour and comments, but the new superintendent said board members are now on the same page. The strategic directions committee passing an amended trustee code of conduct and conflict resolution policy, now out for public consultation.
"I think that the board's doing an amazing job, and we're going to work very closely together as we move forward around the strategic plan and the vision for the future," she said.
In terms of priorities, Gray said she wants to help the board work on that strategic plan "with goals focused on student success on student and staff wellness as well as truth and reconciliation."
A new Nanaimo District Secondary School is on the district's wish list, something the superintendent is cognizant of. She hasn't spoken to the B.C. Ministry of Education as of yet, but plans to do so.
"I always think that there's hopes and visions of a new NDSS, and so I think that that's something that the board, as well as myself, will be certainly looking at," she said.
