Researching your candidates? Choose what how much information you want to read.
Just the Basics
I'm running for school board trustee because I know I can make a difference and I have the knowledge, skills, experience, education, and expertise to make it happen.
I'm a parent, special advocate (pro bono), educator from TVDSB, innovator in education, successful community leader, and team player.
I've already been actively involved with TVDSB for more than 22 years as an employee, a volunteer advocate for families, and TVDSB board advisor. It's time to put my extensive experience and strong community voice to work for you now as a trustee in TVDSB.
Some of the work I have committed over the past several years:
- pro bono advocate for 100s of families in Ontario to help them navigate the public education system
- President of the Association for Bright Children London Chapter
- TVDSB's Special Education Advisory Committee member (speaking up for decisions affecting all children)
- TVDSB handbook committee to revise guidelines
- TVDSB audit committee for 2021-2022
- TVDSB special education programming review
- founder and leader of a volunteer and not-for-profit educational program for kids "falling through the cracks"
- provincial executive of an Ontario children's charity
- 18 years as a TVDSB teacher in schools with diverse populations and community needs.
- business person with experience in planning, accounting, budgeting, auditing
I am the mother of 3 wonderful sons who I am raising with my husband of 19 years, Joe. We have one dog now who celebrated his 18th birthday during the third week of July. We are happy to call Ward 9 our home.
Joe and I both came from difficult circumstances (me from economic instability, his family forced to flee their home country and start over in Canada). We have both been successful in our adult lives and are committed to supporting those who are in need. This is why I became a teacher and Joe became a doctor. We have made it a priority to support others through service work whenever possible. That's why you'll notice long-term volunteer commitments that fill my list of present and previous experiences. I choose to give my time whenever I can, while I can.
I believe that being a school board trustee is necessary and meaningful work. I hope that you will support me in my goal of continued service to the community by voting for me in the municipal election on Monday, October 24. I'd love to talk with you and answer any questions you might have. Please reach out through the Contact page of this website or call/text me at 519-868-8538.
Beth Mai
TVDSB Trustee Candidate
Wards 7, 8, 9, 10, 13
Want more?
Below you'll find some of what I will bring to the table as your TVDSB trustee. There's too much to list but this should give you an idea.
Experience in Education
I'm a certified educator in Ontario with 22 years of experience, 18 of which were as an employee in TVDSB. I'm also a longtime advocate for public education and the academic success and well-being of students in our schools. I have supported many families in TVDSB and across Ontario (unpaid) to help them navigate the system. I've been very active on a critical board committee in TVDSB since my appointment in February 2019 and been influential in several positive key decisions made at the board level. I've also spent time actively researching and implementing education policy in Ontario in innovative ways. I know the realities of our system and believe we can do better, together. You can read more about my work at the board, my advocacy in Ontario, and more on my blog. I want you to know what I bring to the table.
Leadership
I'm honoured to have served the community in many leadership roles, including as the president of a local chapter of a children's charity, as the founder and leader of an innovative education project for children in the community, as Education Liason for a provincial charity, and as a member of the executive team for an active and successful youth soccer league here in our community. These are the official roles associated with my leadership, but I also lead by example in my community through volunteer involvement, continuous work to make a difference, and acting with integrity. Effective leadership requires that you are chosen and continue to be chosen to serve. I've been repeatedly chosen to serve in all roles.
Communication
As a school board trustee, communication skills are essential. It's necessary to have open, transparent, and ongoing communication with the TVDSB community, staff, the broader community, and fellow elected officials. Being approachable and open to listening really matters. My campaign itself speaks to my ability to communicate (my website and social media presence, my many online events to engage, the way I have been available for calls, texts, and emails, and my responsiveness to the community). However, my ability to communicate is evident beyond this and has been visible in TVDSB at board meetings where I engage and present, in significant letters and documents I prepare and share with the community in mind, and with the way that I engage intentionally in civil conversation and responsive listening to promote an environment where consensue can be build and progress can be made. Even so, there are times when I have found myself needing to stand up for public education and students in TVDSB, even when I have been standing alone. I can do this respectfully with a strong voice for the community and have demonstrated this time and again.
Integrity
Those who know me can speak to my integrity. I do the right thing, even when it's hard. I value honesty, transparency, and accountability. Here is one recent example I can share to illustrate my integrity: This spring, I uncovered major issues with the special education plan in TVDSB and brought my concerns to the committee on which I sit. I had a document with more than 100 pages highlighted and stickied on a virtual call but due to insufficient time for the committee as a whole to dicuss issues and with some members expressing strong confidence in the plan, the committee recommended the board approve the plan. I then worked during almost all of my waking hours for the next week to prepare a solid report trustees could view and hopefully direct staff to make changes to the inaccurate and missing information before posting it for the community. I also prepared a full presentation to the board to inform them of concerns. As a member of the community, I could only inform others, not use a vote to require staff to add the missing information and correct inaccuracies in July before seeking approval from the board and posting an improved document later. Let me tell you that it was difficult to be standing alone in that work with the association I volunteer with, especially after others had approved it, but I'm so glad that I did. My conscience is clear and, for the first time in corporate memory, many trustees voted to not approve the special education plan, signalling to staff that they agreed it was not ready for the public. That they read my report, asked questions, and voted accordingly was an encouraging sign that change (and improvement) is possible. This is just one (detailed and recent) example of me acting with integrity. You can count on me to speak up when something's wrong, even when it's hard. Even if I'm standing alone.
Commitment
When I commit to something, I really commit! You only need to look at my employment record and volunteer experience (below) to see this. You can also see that my commitment is to education, initiatives that benefit children, and to helping others - and my commitments result in increased positive impacts for the community!
Governance
Broadly, governance refers to the ability to assign decision-making responsibilities, setting the strategic direction of an organization, developing policies to support system work, limiting risk, monitoring progress toward goals and making necessary adjustments based on results, and maintaining oversight. Through my work in various areas, I already have a significant amount of experience with manty aspects of governance, including policy and procedure development, strategic planning, and monitoring progress toward goals through intentional and meaningful goal setting and collection of information. However, since putting my name forward to serve as your TVDSB, I have been focussing even more on this aspect (yes, it is possible to learn even more, despite my experience!) to ensure you have the leadership you deserve.
Strategic Thinking
Essentially, this is the ability to see the big picture. This requires the ability to understand complex data, see the relationship between policies, procedures, and big decisions and predict their impact on the community (something I have an excellent track record with!), and make good decisions based on this. Some call this good judgement.
Ability to Work for the Benefit of
the Entire Community
When we elect strong leaders, they usually have extensive experience and expertise in a particular area. I'm no exception. I am an expert in special education and twice-exceptionality and provide advice, guidance, and training to parents, teachers, and organizations locally and in the wider community. My expertise has allowed for important work to be done, but my interests and abilities extend beyond special education and my public input to the board over the years speaks to that range of interests and ability to contribute meaningfully on a number of issues that matter to the community. I am absolutely capable of seeing the big picture and prioritizing the needs of our community. For anyone concerned about bias, it may be helpful to know how special education is funded in Ontario and that boards are allocated funds specifically for special education. I AM interested in the "how" of allocation to make sure resources are wisely used in ways that have positive impacts on students, but with my support of all exceptionalities in the community and on the expert committee of TVDSB where I sit, there's no danger of me prioritizing one group over another. My track record speaks loudly on that.
Teamwork
I frequently say, "We are better together." and I mean it. A board is composed of individuals and no one person can attain the vision of improved student achievement and well-being alone. We need to be able to listen to one another, understand, empathize, reflect, and communicate our own ideas in a way that promotes positive discourse. I'm very experienced in this area, having worked with others toward a common goal and seeking consensus through my work with various organizations, committees, and executives.
Time and Resources to Serve
I put my name forward to be elected at this time because I am able to release myself from other commitments and focus on serving the community. This means I will not take another job, enroll in more areas of study, take on large projects, etc while serving you this term. This is difficult for many to assure, since trustees receive a small honorarium for their work and really need to invest a significant amount of time in order to fulfill the responsibilities of the role, in my opinion. While we both grew up in difficult circumstances, my husband and I are fortunate to now have the resources to serve the community and make commitments like this. We are happy to be able to serve the community and contribute to it being a better place for us all.
Proven Track Record
I sit on different committees and have been a part of several organizations - but I don't ONLY sit. I contribute meaningfully in every instance. When I commit to a role in the community, I take it seriously and make sure I am knowledgeable, prepared, and action-oriented. I have made meaningful and positive impacts in all roles - including in TVDSB.
EXPERIENCE ACTUELLE
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8 ans en tant que président, ABC Ontario - London
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8 ans en tant que parent mentor pour les familles ayant des besoins éducatifs spéciaux dans le sud-ouest de l'Ontario
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8 ans en tant qu'administrateur et modérateur pour les groupes de parents d'enfants ayant des besoins éducatifs spéciaux et ceux en environnements d'apprentissage alternatifs
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6 ans en tant que fondateur et directeur de Stanton Academy, projet communautaire bénévole et à but non lucratif pour les enfants de notre communauté
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4 ans en tant qu'animateur des groupes de soutien pour des parents en partenariat avec SENG
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4 ans en tant que parent bénévole avec Original Kids Theatre Company
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3 ans en tant que membre du Comité consultatif pour l'enfance en difficulté (CCED) de TVDSB
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Sous-comité pour réviser le manuel de CCED du TVDSB, 2021-2022
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Groupe de travail sur la révision du plan d'éducation pour les élèves en difficulté de TVDSB, 2022
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Membre du groupe de travail sur l'examen du programme pour les enfants doués et surdoués de TVDSB, 2022
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Comité du contrôle pour des Plans d'enseignement individualisés (PEI) de TVDSB, 2022
EXPERIENCE PRECEDENTE
Bénévole :
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6 ans avec FIRST Robotics en tant que mentor bénévole et entraîneur de 24 équipes
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4 ans comme bénévole préparant des dîners communautaires
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4 ans entraîneur de soccer pour les jeunes
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3 ans en tant qu'organisateur de soccer pour les jeunes
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2 ans en tant que registraire et gestionnaire de site Web pour le soccer des jeunes
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2 ans d'animation d'un programme d'art pour les personnes âgées
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1 an sur le sous-comité d'examen du programme sur la douance et surdouance de TVDSB CCED
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3 ans à assister aux réunions du TVDSB CCED (Comité consultatif pour l'enfance en difficulté) en tant qu'invité avant d'être nommé au comité
Emploi:
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Éducateur au Thames Valley District School Board, travaillant avec des élèves du primaire de la maternelle à la 8e année (2000-2018)
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Établi des relations avec les enfants et les familles pour favoriser le bien-être des élèves
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Bénévole active dans la communauté scolaire, offrant aux enfants des espaces pour se connecter grâce à un engagement parascolaire
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Rôles de collaboration et de leadership au niveau de l'école (des comités et de postes de direction)
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Collaboration et travail d'équipe au niveau de l'école et du système (des comités et des groupes de travail)
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Leadership pédagogique des enseignants et des candidats à l'enseignement
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Mentor de candidats enseignants, nommé à plusieurs reprises pour le titre d'enseignant associé de l'année
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Rédiger des programmes d'études et des documents d'orientation pour le conseil TVDSB
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Leadership par le développement professionnel des enseignants au niveau provincial