School District No. 35

The Regular Meeting of the Langley Board of Education was held in-person and streamed online.

To view the agenda, visit the Board Meeting webpage here.

Superintendent’s Reports

Communications Plan

Jo Abshire, Communications Director shared the District’s Communications Plan 2023-2026 Year 3 Update with the Board. She acknowledged and thanked the work of her communications staff as well as other staff across district that work in consultation and collaboration with the communications department. She provided some background information on the Communications Plan update, noting that it is created in alignment with the District’s four-year Strategic Plan and as such is updated annually. 

She shared the pillars, or themes, of the Communications Plan, which include the following: Celebrate our Story, Enhance our Brand, Promote Health, Safety and Wellness in our Schools, Strengthen our Relationships, Building our Capacity, Promoting Truth and Reconciliation, and Promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

She shared a broad overview of some communications goals that can be improved including: enhancing communications with internal and external audiences, building capacity of internal and external audiences, celebrating the work of educational and operational staff and the positive impact they have on the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning (FESL). She went through each of the pillars, outlining achievements and actions in progress. Some of the highlights last year included social media posts related to the District’s Retirement and Service Awards, social media posts demonstrating the District’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation such as the Odyssey Professional Development Conference for staff, and social media posts demonstrating the District’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion such as the National AccessAbility Week campaign featuring student voice.

Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the update on the Communications Plan 2023-2026 for information, as presented.

The report was approved as presented. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

Universal Design for Learning

Kim Anderson, Director of Learning Support Services, started the presentation by acknowledging how the District’s work around Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a collaboration of four departments: the Aboriginal Program, Instructional Services, Learning Support Services and Student Support Services. She outlined how the intention of Universal Design for Learning and the learning target (goal) is to understand and implement a plan that ensures all students reach their full potential and create a positive legacy for the future. She described UDL as a journey that the District has been on for more than two years – with learning, planning, designing, and implementation. She notes the updated Framework for Enhancing Student Learning (FESL) is aligned with UDL, the District’s assessment strategies, and Langley’s Teaching and Learning Framework. She shared how the goal for the system (schools)  is to enhance learner agency and student access by demonstrating evidence of multiple means of engagement, representation, action & expression in classrooms. 

To demonstrate an example of the learner agency, she invited the board and attendees to take part in an “inclusive opener” by discussing with a partner a few questions related to travel. The scenario provided and questions to be discussed allowed for open and fluid conversation; participants were free to discuss and choose what they wanted to talk about. She explained how an inclusive opener provides conversation and access points for students and enables choice and increased engagement.

Michael Morgan, Director of Student Support Services, continued the presentation and noted how UDL is not about erasing differences to make “one size fits all” lessons and assessments. He quoted educator Katie Novak and said “it’s about recognizing barriers, naming them, highlighting them, celebrating them, and designing for them.” He went on further to explain that educators need to nurture the gifts of students (making reference to the concept of Every Child Matters) and with UDL we need to make the assumption that all students are able to perform at high levels. He said by giving agency to the learner, we should meet outcomes. 

He outlined how the core ideas of UDL include: 1) Variability is the rule, not the exception, 2) All students can work toward the same firm goals with flexible means and adequate support, 3) All students can build learner agency when barriers are removed. 

 Kendra Simonetto, Director of Instruction, explained to the Board the ‘how’ in relation to achieving the goal of getting all K-12 schools to implement UDL. She outlined the development of a choice board for schools to support and model the implementation of UDL in three areas: Learning Targets and Goals, Student Choice and Choice Boards, Accessibility. 

To further demonstrate the concept of learner agency, she presented the Board and attendees with a choice board, and asked them to choose one of three learning activities. One learning activity involved listening, watching, and reading. The idea behind the activity is to show how each activity is unique and can appeal to different styles of learning. Simonetto reiterated how the use of choice helps increase student engagement. 

To roll out the implementation, she noted the District used existing structures including monthly Superintendent’s meetings. In those meetings, school administrators would also bring a teacher or designated staff to learn with them with the intention of taking the information back to their schools to share their learning with colleagues. She said that the schools are starting to see positive outcomes of UDL implementation in schools. She ended the presentation by sharing the timeline of the District’s journey in UDL.

Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the report on Universal Design for Learning for information, as presented.

The report was approved as presented. The video will begin above the agenda item.

Annual Board Development Plan

Superintendent Mal Gill provided an update on the Annual Board Development Plan. He gave a broad overview of Board Policy 2: Areas of Responsibility. He listed the nine items of responsibilities that trustees undertake, from accountability to the Provincial Government, Strategic Planning, Policy, and Board Development, among other examples. He said part of this work includes knowing the distinction between governance and operations. He elaborated on what Board Development entails for trustees, as he summarized, it is the work and learning for trustees to be better and more effective in their roles. The Board has been working with the BC School Trustees Association on various aspects of development via learning modules. He explained the next step in this process is to continue work with Education Consultant and Facilitator Suzanne Hoffman and update the current trustee handbook. 

Recommendation: That the Board of Education receives the update on the Annual Board Development Plan for information, as presented.

The report was approved as presented. The video will begin above the agenda item.

Policy Committee

Notice of Motion: Policy 9: Board Representatives

Recommendation: That the Board of Education serves Notice of Motion to the District’s education community and its education partner groups that it intends to adopt the revisions to Policy 9: Board Representatives at the January 27, 2026 Regular Board Meeting.

The Board approved the above motion. The video above will begin on this agenda item.

New Business