Esther Ekpe Needs Your Vote for Ward B
This is a feat she needs your help to achieve.
Esther is passionate about quality education. She has lived in Edmonton for ten years with her husband and children who are EPSB students. According to her website, her priorities include “advocating for equitable support and opportunities for all students”. This relevant given what we know about the drop out rates of black students in Alberta.
Her Priorities
She plans to advocate for STEM skills development. Her passion is to see all students equipped with the technology they need to achieve in science, technology, engineering and maths. One of her plans include advocating for more training and support for teachers as they seek to promote student mental wellbeing. We all saw the viral video of the Ugandan middle school boy that was severely beaten up by white boys. The Edmonton Police called it consensual play fight. This video angered and terribly upset the Black African community.
Esther’s candidacy is a breath of fresh air because it is time for us to get into the ‘battle’ and stop ‘cheering on from the sidelines’.
47% of Canadian parents have reported having a child that was bullied. In reality, this is nearly half of all the children at the EPSB. 47% is a bit too much.
Most of the parents who read this will know the rage of the injustice they feel when their children complain that they have been called “monkey”, “baboon” at school or their friends wont play with them. When these parents complain, we hear that nothing significant happens. It appears that most schools deny that low level bullying occurs. It is agreed that there is a lack of expertise by classroom teachers on how to even deal with this.
We can believe this as Alberta’s classrooms do not particularly reflect the diversity of the environment of the children. Esther will ‘advocate for anti-bullying initiatives that will promote safety and mental wellbeing among students’.
The EPSB Has Responsibilities
It’s up to the school board to ensure all children in the community receive a quality education. The School Board is responsible for 103,000 students who attend the 214 schools. If Esther is elected to the Board, here are some of the Board responsibilities.
- Communicating, informing and involving parents, staff, and the community-at-large in school board decisions and activities.
- Adopting an annual budget that achieves jurisdiction priorities.
- Setting goals and priorities for the jurisdiction that achieve provincial education standards, meet the needs of students and reflect the community’s wishes.
- Making and enforcing policies that set out standards and expectations regarding the actions of administration, teachers, and students.
- Lobbying the municipal and provincial governments on education issues of importance to the jurisdiction.
It is unclear if Esther will be the first black EPSB member if she wins. What we know is that, it is time we elect a black woman to a very white EPSB Board.
Donate to Esther Ekpe’s campaign
Find out more about Esther’s campaign here
