IN THE LANGLEY SCHOOL TRUSTEE RACE: Stacey Wakelin

Stacey Wakelin

RUNNING AS AN INDEPENDENT

Retail management, age 46

Willoughby resident who’s lived in Langley 17 years

Stacey is a Willoughby resident and helps operate her family’s business in the Township of Langley.

A parent of two, both kids will have graduated from the district, as of 2023.

A passionate volunteer, Stacey has served on the boards of Langley Pos-Abilities and Triple A Senior Housing, while also organizing community building events, such as community dinners and arts classes with newcomers.

My ability to effectively communicate, even under difficult circumstances, is a skill that will translate to my role as a board member.

The years of experience I have as an advocate and organizer will serve me well in my role as trustee.

Identifying an issue, consulting stakeholders, and working with collaborators to work toward a solution, are all skills I have refined.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/VOTESTACEYWAKELIN

Twitter: @StaceyWakelin

Website: www.staceywakelin.com

Phone: 778-808-8954

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Have you held office in past? If so, please specify: No.

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CLICK TO CHECK OUT OUR FULL ELECTION GUIDE ONLINE

Questions:

(These answers are presented as the candidates submitted them)

1. Do you agree with how SOGI material and other sex education is currently taught in the classroom, including LGBTQ2S content and sexual consent?

2. Are class sizes too big?

Yes. All too often there are too many students in one class, with a lack of needed supports. Depending on the school, lack of classroom space can contribute or a lack of staff. Many issues facing public education often come down to a lack of funding.

3. Should all students with diverse abilities or special needs be taught in regular classrooms?

Should all students with diverse abilities or special needs be taught in regular classrooms? Yes. This question is almost impossible to answer with a yes or no answer. In a perfect world, there would be support for every student, so they can be included in classrooms with their peers. Our ultimate goal should be to create a learning environment where all learners can thrive. For some students that may be in a “regular” classroom or in an alternative setting. Without the necessary support for all students we are leaving too many students behind.

4. Is the provincial government providing enough funding for public schools?

No. We will never have the public education system that students deserve when all too often we are seeing austerity or prevalence based funding models.

5. Should the district set a deadline to switch to an all-electric bus and vehicle fleet?

Yes. This needs to happen and until this time, we must do regular efficiency audits to ensure routes are mapped out efficiently and meeting the needs of students. We should not have students that are having to walk unsafe routes or long distances due to lack of bus service.

6. Should there be more emphasis on STEM courses in schools?

Yes. I would actually support an emphasis on STEAM (an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics)

7. Should the district consider offering distance education for some students on a regular basis, based on what was learned during the pandemic?

Yes. This is a district that is committed to students and there will be students that will require distance education options. The pandemic highlighted the need for classes to be accessible, it is not an impossibility if accessibility is a true priority.

8. Should the district have a strategy to reduce the use of portables?

Yes. This is an issue due to the fact our schools are not built correctly the first time.

“Area standards” is a provincial policy that determines the budget and how schools are to be built.

Often this policy results in less space per student, when compared with other provinces with a similar policy.

We can do better than this, and be more forward thinking.

9. Should there be more emphasis on Indigenous-based history and culture courses?

Yes. I believe in the importance of Truth and Reconciliation and our students will benefit from learning from historical wrongdoing, in an effort to end the systemic issues still facing this community.

10. Should new elementary schools be built larger, to accommodate more students and deal with continuing rapid enrolment growth?

Yes. I would repeat the same answer written for question #8. If we keep repeating costly mistakes that impact the overall budget available to the district, we are failing students.

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EDITOR’S NOTE:

How the questions were presented to each candidate

Langley Advance Times readers have repeatedly told us how much they value this important, straight-forward reference guide that helps orient them with the range of choices on the ballots – both at the council and school board levels.

Towards that end, we have attempted to make this package available (along with the following instructions) to each of the candidates in a timely fashion ahead of the Oct. 15 election.

Please read carefully before you start to fill this out.

To help voters in Langley make their choices on election day, the Langley Advance Times is asking local candidates 10 issue-based questions.

You must provide a ‘yes,’ a ‘no,’ or a ‘don’t know’ (Y, N, D) response to EACH of these questions.

Each question MUST be answered with yes (Y), no (N), or Don’t Know (D). This will be published in a grid in the Oct. 6 edition. Any questions not answered will be LEFT BLANK.

Candidates may also expand on ANY OR ALL of these questions (to a maximum of 200 words each). Please note any responses longer than that will be cut off at the 201-word mark.

Due to space limitations, we can only guarantee to run one of these answers in the Langley Advance Times print edition ahead of the election. You must CLEARLY indicate which expanded answer you want to see published in print. If you do not specify, we will choose. Any and all expanded answers provided will be published online at www.langleyadvancetimes.com.

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