SD69 Board of Education
NOVEMBER 12, 2025
Highlights provided by DPAC:
Student Voices
- Brave 2SLGBTQ+ students from BSS shared their experiences with discrimination, mental health challenges, and the importance of safer, more educated school communities.
- Trustees and DPAC reaffirmed that every student deserves to feel seen, valued, and free to be themselves.
Inclusive Education & Learning Supports
- The district is deepening its work on belonging and Indigenous-informed practices — including “Regulate, Relate, Reason,”
- Universal Design for Learning, and more intentional Individual Education Plan (IEP planning).
- Five new Learning Support Teachers have been added this year.
District Updates
- Zero Waste grants now open
- Island-wide literacy leaders gathering hosted by SD69
- Trades programs running at both high schools
- K–12 tech teams learning about AI
- Kindergarten screening begins January
- Belonging Working Group partnering with Children’s Hospital
- Integrated Child and Youth program lead role has been reinstated
Racial Equity & Inclusive Classrooms
Ongoing work includes curriculum review, policy updates, cultural learning, and creating safer spaces for student voices.
Resources for Families
ERASE: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/erase
FocusED: https://focusedresources.ca/
SD69 Board of Education
Key Highlights
from SD69 DPAC
Youth Mental Health
- Only 56% of youth rate their mental health positively.
- 1 in 4 needed support, but only 8% were able to access services.
- 23% considered suicide, and 16% reported self-harm.
Cost of Living & Basic Needs
- 44% of renters face housing unaffordability.
- Local child and youth poverty rates are higher than the BC average.
- 7% of youth skipped meals due to lack of money.
Childcare & Early Years
- Oceanside currently has only one $10aDay childcare centre.
- Families continue to face long waitlists, limited spaces, and staffing shortages.
- 28% of kindergarten children show developmental vulnerabilities.
Substance Use & Stress
- Youth substance use is higher than the BC average.
- 32% used substances because they felt sad, stressed, or overwhelmed.
Belonging & Community
- Many youth feel supported at home but less connected to their wider community.
- Non-binary youth experience the poorest outcomes across almost all areas.
What Families Need
- Better access to youth mental health services.
- More affordable, accessible childcare options.
- Clear, centralized information on local supports.
- Inclusive programs that meet diverse needs, identities, and abilities.
You can read the NOW Network's recommendations for addressing key challenges identified in the report here
Gillian Wilson, Assistant Superintendent, and Sheila Morrison, District Principal of Early Learning & Childcare, walk through the 2025/26 Qualicum School District Food Program.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9jtutPPcEQ
In the 2025 update of their Community Transportation Plan, the Town of Qualicum Beach has identified a combination of traffic calming features on Village Way at Kwalikum Secondary School to improve safety for students and others crossing the road, better organize parking for pick-ups and drop-offs, and discourage speeding on Village Way.
Given the availability of funding and potential grants, the project was separated into two phases rather than undertaking all improvements at once:
• Phase 1: A new flashing RRFB crossing and median islands
• Phase 2: A new sidewalk on the north side of Village Way, parallel parking, streetlights and trees.