Bruce Grey Catholic District School Board trustee – Ward 34 & 36 candidate: Jean Hedley

BIOGRAPHY

I am honoured to be putting my name forward to represent my community of Brockton as a Catholic School Board Trustee. Let me tell you a little about myself. I am a mother of one adult son. I attend mass here in Walkerton at Sacred Heart, and sometimes in other parishes in the area. I’ve been a member of the Catholic Women’s League member for 50 years. Prior to COVID-19, I enjoyed volunteering at Brucelea Haven. I currently enjoy volunteering at Second Hand Rose in Walkerton. I am retired, and with this extra time, I would like to serve our community as a dedicated trustee of the board. Prior to my retirement, I was employed locally for 43 years in a manufacturing plant, doing production and quality assurance, so I have many skills which will serve the board well.

MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE

I hear from many parents and voters in our community, who are concerned with the education system and how our future leaders are turning out.  They say our system has become too distracted with activist and political issues, and our students are falling through the cracks. I want our children, our future generations, to have the skills they need to succeed, to get good jobs, to create new businesses, and to continue building strong healthy families, which make Brockton the beautiful community that it is.

I support a ‘get back to basics’ education, where our students can learn skills and thrive as active members of our community. We need to focus more on reading and writing, math and science, and less on ‘politically correct’ issues and other distractions in the schools. Kids already have a tough time growing up in what seems like an ever-changing world. I want them to be able to go to class, free of politics, free of ideology, so they can learn and thrive. Knowing the 72 genders is not going to help a student become a carpenter. Likewise, teaching children that 2+2=5 (like some activists do) will not help build proper bridges and infrastructure in our communities.

I also hear from many parents who feel left out of their children’s lives at school. If elected, I will work to improve communication and transparency for parents.  I will also bring forward a motion to have all votes recorded, and not just the contentious ones.

Also, I think the bussing issues and concerns need to be ironed out so that both parents and students are being served. Children must be able to get to school and home, safely and efficiently, with as little disruption to the family life as possible.

Finally, I would like to maintain, and even enhance as much as possible, the Catholic nature of our schools.  Even many of our non-Catholic parents choose to send their children to our schools for this reason.

I want to serve this community, of which I’m proud to be a member. I hope I can count on your vote so that I can be your voice and help usher the next generation to greater heights!