YCDSB’s 2023–2028 Multi-Year Strategic Plan organizes the board’s direction around Catholic Faith, Equity and Inclusion, Student Achievement, and Well-Being. Families can use those commitments to ask how a specific initiative connects with the board’s goals and what evidence shows progress.
Read the board’s published strategic plan and its announcement of the plan. The explanations and parent questions below are a reading aid, not replacement wording for the official document.
Catholic Faith: connect identity with experience
Ask how students encounter the religious purpose of Catholic education through learning, relationships, and community life. A useful question names an experience, such as access to religious education resources or opportunities for reflection and service.
For example: “How does this activity help students understand the faith purpose being discussed?” That question invites an explanation of learning rather than a list of symbols or events alone.
Equity and Inclusion: examine participation
Consider who can participate in a program and who may face a barrier. Communication, cost, accessibility, and the way input is gathered can affect participation even when an opportunity is formally available.
A parent might ask: “How did the planning process identify access barriers, and what changed as a result?” This focuses on a practical action. It also encourages the community to consider experiences beyond the families already active at meetings.
Student Achievement: ask about learning evidence
Achievement conversations are most useful when the learning goal is clear. Ask what students should know or be able to do, which evidence is being used, and how staff respond when progress differs across learners.
A participation count can show how many students joined an activity. It does not, on its own, show what they learned. Ask the report to explain that connection and the limits of its evidence.
Well-Being: clarify the conditions being improved
Well-being can connect with belonging, safe relationships, access to support, and a manageable learning environment. Ask which condition an initiative is intended to improve and how the school or board will learn about students’ experiences.
Avoid treating one survey score as a complete account of every student’s life. A useful report explains who responded, when the information was collected, and what follow-up is planned.
Use one question across all four commitments
For any proposal, try: “Which commitment does this action support, what will change for students, and how will progress be reviewed?” This links the plan with a concrete initiative without expecting every activity to advance every commitment equally.
A small parent reading sheet can record the commitment, proposed action, responsible contact, evidence source, and next update. It makes it easier to compare what was intended with what was later reported.
Keep the time period and current authority clear
The plan covers 2023–2028. Check for later updates before relying on a downloaded copy. YCDSB’s supervision notice also provides current context for who makes decisions.
The strategic plan is useful when it guides specific questions about student experience and evidence. Families can read it alongside school information and public reports to understand how broad commitments are translated into action.
Official source information checked October 1, 2026. This independent family guide is not an official YCDSB publication.