Barb de Groot is running for a position on the school board.
I began teaching in the Cowichan Valley in 1978 as a teacher-on-call. In 1988, I started what was to be 17 years of teaching at Quamichan Middle School.
I retired from Quamichan in 2005 and was elected to the school board for the first time that fall. I was re-elected to my second term on the board during the next election. After a hiatus for personal reasons, I was thrilled to run again and to be elected to the board in 2014. It was an exciting and important time working with a board team with the responsibility of setting a direction for the district through development of a strategic plan, re-establishing relationships with community partners and continuing to work on my number one priority, to put the education of all students ahead of everything else. These are my goals for the future as well.
As a trustee I have served on many district committees. Currently, I am on the Early Learning Committee, Indigenous Education Committee, HR committee, Health and Wellness Committee and most recently became a member of the Audit Committee.
Our public school system is the one way for us to ensure that our children receive the best possible education, taught by some of the best-trained and most professional and caring people anywhere. It needs to be supported, not just with political rhetoric, not just with election promises, but with respect, with dialogue and with the understanding that everyone involved wants the best possible outcomes. So when I say “students first.” I mean just that.
In the community, I am a volunteer board member for two non-profit learning-centred organizations. I chair the Literacy Now Cowichan board and I am a member of Growing Together Child and Parent Society.