Ontario Student Trustees' Association

The Ontario Student Trustees’ Association (l'Association des Élèves conseillers et conseillères de l’Ontario) (OSTA-AECO) is an organization of all school board Student Trustees in Ontario. It is the largest student stakeholder group, and one of the largest overall stakeholders in the Ontario education system, representing approximately two million students. It is officially and functionally bilingual.

This organization has two divisions: the Executive Council and the Board Councils. The Executive Council is chosen through a series of elections at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and includes a President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and four Officers for the areas of Communication, Policy, Professional Development, and Operations. Also elected are Cabinets of the Board Councils, each of whom has a respective President and Vice President. The two Board Councils are the Public Board Council (PBC) and Catholic Board Council (CBC). Within the Executive Council, the voting power lies with the Senior Executive Council, which consists of five members: the President of OSTA-AECO, and the Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Public and Catholic Board Councils.

History

The earliest incarnation of the student trustee began in the early 1990s under the New Democratic government of former premier Bob Rae. The Royal Commission on Learning explored ways to revitalize the education system. In its report, "For the Love of Learning", the commission recommended a student member be on all district school boards to vote on behalf of students. This empowerment would be complemented by giving a greater role to students' councils in individual schools.

Although this report was the first official government document to propose enabling students to represent their interests, the first board to enact legislation allowing a non-voting student member was the former Kenora Board of Education in 1989.

In 1997, the Progressive Conservative government of former premier Mike Harris introduced "The Education Quality Improvement Act" as Bill 160. Although this act instigated one of the largest organized labour disputes in North American history, within the legislation was the creation of the position of "pupil representative". The act allowed individual school boards to draft their own policies to allow for flexibility within guidelines. In 1998, every school board had at least one pupil representative.

The association evolved into an official stakeholder at the Ministry of Education to consult on a variety of issues. The association argued for student rights and stability in education.

Membership

The General Assembly of OSTA-AECO meets twice a term, once at the Fall General Meeting and in the spring at the association's Annual General Meeting. Each school board is entitled to one vote in the association's affairs. At the AGM the General Assembly elects the next years executive council for the term starting August 1 of that year.

The board councils are divided by board type, which are: Public Board Council (PBC), and Catholic Board Council (CBC), each of which are chaired by a president, who sits as a voting member of the executive.

Over the years the structure of the Executive Council has changed to best benefit the needs of the Association. Currently, the executive consists of 14 members: 5 elected voting Presidents, 6 elected Officers, 2 appointed Officers and the Past President.

The elected, voting members of the executive council are: President, Public Board Council President, Catholic Board Council President, Public Board Council Vice-President, and Catholic Board Council Vice-President. The elected, non-voting members of the executive council are: Officer of Professional Development, Officer of Policy, Officer of Communications, Officer of Operations, Executive Secretary, and Executive Bilingual Secretary. The immediate past president, Chief Executive Office, and Chief Financial Officer also serve as a non-voting members.

Award of Distinction

Since 2007, OSTA-AECO has presented the Annual Award of Distinction for recognition of dedication to Ontario Public Education and the role of Student Trustee.

• 2007-2008 recipient Gerard Kennedy
• 2008-2009 recipient Jeff Sprang
• 2009-2010 recipient Taylor Gunn
• 2010-2011 recipient Annie Kidder

External links

• Organization's website