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SD5 board congratulates district parent on recent award
School District 5 (SD5) has always valued the contributions to public education by the District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) but Sept. 11 they had good reason to be proud of their district DPAC as well.
During her monthly DPAC report at Tuesday’s board meeting, Trustee Trina Ayling informed fellow trustees that DPAC chair, Debbie Therrien, had recently received the Bev Hosker Motivational Award. The award, presented last May to Therrien by the BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils (BCCPAC), recognizes exceptional leadership by a newly involved parent within a school or district.
Therrien (pictured at left in above image) joined DPAC in 2009 and stepped up as chair in October 2010. According to Ayling this was a critical time for the future of DPAC.
“DPAC membership was low and the chair at that time needed to step down. If Debbie hadn’t stepped up, there’s a good chance DPAC would have had to fold,” she said.
Since Therrien’s time as chair, every school in SD5 has become a BCCPAC member, entitling them to vote on important education issues at the provincial level.
“Debbie takes representing parents very seriously. In addition to attending our regular public meetings Debbie also attends all three of our monthly Committee meetings,” Ayling said, adding, Therrien is also involved in a number of the board’s ad hoc committees like Mount Baker’s Replacement/Neighbourhood of Learning and special education.
Therrien also took the initiative to host a forum for parents with former Minister of Education, George Abbott, last spring and was involved in last year’s board input forum on the government’s new BC Education Plan.
“Her inclusion at these meetings has resulted in board policies and initiatives which better reflect the ideals of parents in our district. In addition to parents, Debbie has the respect of –and strong relationships with—district staff and trustees,” Ayling related.
For more information on how your school’s Parent Advisory Council can become more involved with DPAC, visit their website at dpac.sd5.bc.ca/.
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