Save Model Schools Collective Candidate Q&A

Could you share what experience you have championing equity in education or more broadly? 

From 2022 to 2024, I was Co-Chair of the School Council at Market Lane JSPS, which is a Model School.  My experiences in the Market Lane school community gave my education advocacy work a sharp focus on equity.  This focus empowered me to deliver results for the school community.  

Ontario’s public schools are grossly underfunded. In 2025, the TDSB reported an estimated $1,500 shortfall in per student provincial funding when adjusted for inflation. Our school communities should NOT have to depend on fundraising or corporate partnerships to fund essentials in schools.

In 2023, faced with a very tight School Council budget, I innovated a new model for organizing the Market Lane School Fun Fair, our biggest community-building event of the year.  Through this model, I connected with local non-profits and presented them with the opportunity to build relationships with local families at the event.  I built partnerships with organizations such as TPL, the Children’s Book Bank, and George Brown College.  Together, we developed a new community partnership model that allowed us to hold a joy-filled Fun Fair for a budget of approximately $500, and more importantly, at NO COST to the more than 200 students who attended.  Market Lane PS continues to use this community partnership model to organize their Fun Fair, and the event keeps growing in popularity every year.  

I share this example of my organizing work in a Model School community to inspire and mobilize parents, caregivers, and community leaders to develop their own equity-driven strategies to meet the challenge of the chronic underfunding of our public schools.  

If elected Ward 5 TDSB Trustee, I will:

• Fight for properly funded public education and for the resources Model Schools need

• Empower communities to develop effective, equity-focused strategies to give students the best possible school experience

• Advocate strongly for Model Schools and the Model Schools for Inner Cities Program

If elected, what is your plan to support model school communities? 

My approach would be to support Model School communities at three levels: in our schools, at the TDSB, and with the provincial government.  

At the school level, I would work directly with parents, caregivers, educators, and community organizations to identify the strengths and needs of each school. My experience at Market Lane JSPS taught me that communities often have resources, relationships, and ideas that can make a real difference when someone helps bring them together. I would use my skills as a relationship-builder and community organizer to help schools develop those connections.

At the Board level, I would work with my fellow Trustees to advocate for the reinstatement and strengthening of the Model Schools for Inner Cities Program. From my experiences as a Market Lane JSPS parent and School Council Co-Chair, I can personally attest to the need for the Model Schools program to not only continue, but be extended further to support more public school communities across the TDSB.

At the provincial level, I will inform Members of Provincial Parliament of the impact that cuts to the Model Schools Program will have on our communities.  Though the decision to reinstate the Model Schools Program rests with the TDSB, funding from the Ministry of Education accounts for approximately 90% of a school board’s budget.  The fight for properly funded public education and the fight for equity across Ontario’s school communities go hand in hand.    

Can we count on you to advocate for Model Schools?

YES. I will be a strong and consistent advocate for Model Schools and for the students, families, educators, and communities they serve.