Student and Family Support Office

The DDSB knows that strong schools are built on strong partnerships with families.  When questions are answered, concerns are addressed, and families feel heard, students are better supported to learn, grow, and succeed.  The DDSB’s Student and Family Support Office (SFSO) launched in September. The SFSO provides families with a dedicated point of contact for questions or concerns related to their child’s education, particularly when a matter has not been resolved at the school level or requires support from another area of the Board.  

The office complements existing school-based relationships, while helping families connect with the right supports and resources across the system 

The SFSO helps streamline communication, coordinates responses with appropriate staff, and ensures inquiries are acknowledged and addressed in a timely and consistent way.

A Shared Commitment to Inclusive Learning

The Durham District School Board was proud to host its first-ever Special Education Parent/Caregiver Symposium, an inspiring and engaging evening dedicated to informing, connecting, and empowering families. Hundreds of parents and caregivers explored Special Education programming, support services, placement options, and pathways for secondary planning. 

More than just an information session, the symposium created a welcoming space for meaningful conversations, questions, and shared understanding, helping families feel confident and supported as they navigate their child’s unique educational journey. The evening also showcased innovative technology tools designed to enhance communication and break down language barriers, ensuring every family can fully engage in their child’s learning experience. 

A highlight of the event was the opportunity for families to connect directly with the wide range of professionals who support students across the DDSB. From Child Psychologists and Speech and Language Pathologists to Multi-Language Facilitators and other specialized staff, families gained a deeper understanding of the many supports available beyond the traditional classroom. 

This event reflects a growing commitment across the DDSB: that the future of education is inclusive, collaborative, and responsive to each and every student’s needs. By opening our doors and inviting families into these conversations, we are reinforcing a shared goal, that every child feels supported, understood, and set up for success.

Land, Learning, and Community Connection 

The Durham District School Board’s Indigenous Education and Outdoor Education teams continue to deepen their partnership, expanding land‑based learning opportunities that honour Indigenous knowledge systems, relationships to place, and community connection. This shared work reflects a commitment to learning from the land and with community, ensuring that students, staff, and families experience teachings that strengthen identity, belonging, and stewardship. 

Staff learning was enriched through time spent on the land with members of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (MSIFN), including Kayleigh Godcharle and Lonny Coons, at the MSIFN sugar bush. Through the full cycle of traditional maple syrup production — from tapping the trees to bottling the final product — educators engaged in teachings rooted in seasonal rhythms, reciprocity, and responsibility to the land. These experiences deepened understanding of how land‑based learning can meaningfully connect curriculum to culture and support student well‑being. 

This work extended to families through a two‑day Hide Camp at the Durham Forest Outdoor Education Centre, offered in partnership with MSIFN and Bawaajigewin. Approximately 70 participants joined staff and community partners in traditional hide preparation led by Caleb Musgrave (Hiawatha First Nation) and Kayleigh Godcharle (MSIFN). MSIFN Councillor Jeff Forbes offered support throughout the gathering. In the tipi, Grandmother Kim Wheatley (Shawanaga First Nation) shared stories, teachings, and song, while families also created moccasins with Jessie Charles (MSIFN) and participated in cultural crafts that fostered intergenerational learning and connection. 

DDSB students are further engaged in land‑based learning through system‑wide orienteering and the Watershed Festival, building teamwork, leadership, and environmental responsibility.

Tell Us!: Creating Safe Spaces to Share 

The Positive School Climates (PSC) Department was proud to introduce Tell Us! in June. This initiative is a powerful rebrand and relaunch of its commitment to student safety, well-being, and belonging across all school communities, replacing the Report Bullying Now! platform. 

Tell Us! is rooted in a simple but critical understanding: not all students feel comfortable reporting concerns, especially when it involves peers. This initiative creates a safe, accessible, and supportive pathway for students to share concerns anonymously, ensuring their experiences are received without fear of judgment or repercussions. By connecting students with trusted educators and school staff, Tell Us! ensures that issues are addressed with care, discretion, and respect for everyone’s dignity.  

As part of the Board’s broader anti-bullying efforts, this campaign reinforces a culture where every student feels valued, respected, and protected. It empowers students to take an active role in maintaining safe and inclusive learning environments while fostering trust between students and staff. 

Aligned with the DDSB’s Multi-Year Strategic Plan, Tell Us! advances key priorities around well-being, equity, and safe schools. It reflects the Board’s ongoing commitment to creating spaces where all students can thrive, academically, socially, and emotionally. 

Through Tell Us!, we are not only encouraging students to speak up but also ensuring they are truly heard.

Attendance Support Program 

Aligned with Provincial Policy Memorandum (PPM) 171, in 2026, the DDSB introduced an Attendance Support Program (ASP) for employees. The ASP is a non-disciplinary approach in supporting employees to achieve regular and sustainable attendance at work. Grounded in collaboration, respect and a shared commitment to employee well-being, the ASP recognizes that absences may arise from a range of circumstances. As such, the program focuses on understanding and addressing underlying factors, connecting employees with appropriate supports, and fostering respectful and solutions-oriented conversations at every stage. 

Fourth Annual Inclusive Skills Competition Showcases Talent, Inclusion, and Province-Wide Inspiration  

For the fourth year in a row, students of all abilities stepped into the spotlight for the Inclusive Skills Competition, and this year was bigger, brighter, and more inspiring than ever.  

Hosted at Uxbridge Secondary School, students in the Practical Learning Program (PLP) from across the Durham District School Board came together to demonstrate their culinary talents, teamwork, and determination. What unfolded was more than a competition; it was a celebration of inclusion, confidence, and community.  

In the weeks leading up to the event, students were thoughtfully paired with Uxbridge SS culinary arts students. Together, they practiced kitchen safety, measurement skills, food preparation techniques, and plating, building not only their culinary abilities but meaningful relationships along the way.  

On the competition day, families filled the gallery, cheering proudly as students presented their creations with beaming smiles. From perfectly baked treats to beautifully decorated dishes, the results reflected dedication, growth, and teamwork.  

Every participant was recognized with a Durham Skills Challenge medal and a certificate of excellence, a symbol of achievement and belonging.  

This year’s event reached beyond the walls of the school. Students were featured live on CP24 and heard on radio stations throughout the day, sharing their stories and showcasing what inclusive education looks like in action. Their confidence and joy resonated across the region, amplifying a powerful message: inclusion matters.

Innovative Learning and SSP Students Team Up to Create App

Students in our School Support Program (SSP) are leading the way to innovate! 

Sherwood Public School, SSP students in grades 5-8 wanted to find a way to improve the experience of the ‘Brew Crew’, an in-school hot beverage ordering experience that delivers hot beverages to staff each Friday.  

Now in its third year, the Brew Crew has been run by students for staff using paper slips for orders. With the help of educators and central staff from the Innovative Learning department, students explored how AI could make ordering easier and more accurate. Together, they used the design process to create an app that has successfully streamlined the process and met the goal of being more efficient and drastically improving speed and accuracy for both students and staff.  

Students can now use the app to take orders for an assortment of coffees and teas made and filled by Brew Crew students, and students have been using the data for learning in math and other subjects.  

Experiential Learning

Strengthening Mathematics: Instruction within the School Achievement Plan

This year, DDSB continued to advance its Mathematics Achievement Plan to create greater alignment in mathematics teaching, learning and improvement across schools. The plan focuses on three priorities: strong curriculum-aligned instruction, deepening mathematics content knowledge for teaching, and knowing, monitoring, and responding to every mathematics learner.

Professional learning across the system brings together school leaders, mathematics staff, and educators to strengthen effective mathematics instruction and use evidence of student learning to guide next steps. Through the School Leader Community of Practice, principals and vice-principals are also strengthening instructional leadership and connecting this learning to their School Achievement Plans.

A significant milestone in 2026 was the launch of DDSB’s new digital School Achievement Plan (SAP), strengthening how schools plan for, monitor, and respond to student achievement and well-being. The digital platform creates greater alignment between the Multi-Year Strategic Plan, Board Student Achievement Plan and individual school priorities, while providing school teams with a more streamlined and collaborative approach to setting measurable goals, implementing new strategies and monitoring progress.

Shared key performance indicators (KPIs) provide a clearer picture of progress across key areas including student growth and achievement in literacy and mathematics, credit accumulation and graduation-related measures, student attendance and self-regulation, and families’ understanding of student progress and pathway opportunities. Together, these indicators support ongoing reflection, responsive decision-making and a stronger system-wide focus on improving outcomes for students.