PD days on Eid, Diwali will accommodate students who celebrate the holidays: WRDSB

Two PD days for public schools in Waterloo region will fall on religious holidays like Eid and Diwali this year to accommodate students who observe those days. 

"We know that in a system that is experiencing increasing diversity, we are trying to best centre our students and meet their needs," said Crissa Hill, superintendent of student achievement and well-being with the Waterloo Region District School Board.

Hill said staff worked with the board's calendar committee to see what they could do to recognize students who observe different holidays and celebrations in response to a growing number of diverse students attending schools with the board.

For example, Diwali falls on Nov. 12 this year and Hill said the PD that month will be on Monday, Nov.13 for students who observer the day.

"We know that a lot of those celebrations go into the evening so we thought that could be another way to be responsive to our communities in having student not have to get up the following morning to make it on time for school and we could continue with our professional learning in a way that didn't disrupt student learning," Hill said.

The same approach was taken for Eid, which falls on Wednesday, April 10. Hill said almost 13 per cent of students in junior kindergarten to Grade 3, and more than 15 per cent of students in Grade 4 to Grade 12 said they identified as Muslim.

"Our partners in our calendar committee ... stepped up and said, we do have this day of professional learning where the union partner get to dictate local priorities what they would like to be working on and what if we put that day on Eid to minimize disruption to student learning?'" she said.

Having PD days fall on religious holidays or celebrations, like Eid, will be up to the the board's calendar committee to decide every year, but "it's definitely a question we'll put on the table," Hill said.

Meanwhile, the Waterloo Catholic District School Board said in a statement to CBC News that none of its PD days fall on religious holidays observed by other faiths. 

"But we will continue to acknowledge holidays observed by other faiths to accommodate all students and continuously strive for inclusivity," the Catholic board said.

This year, school boards in Ontario will also be required to make details of their professional development days public. 

Hill said in the past, the board has had open communication with parents and caregivers about PD days and this requirement will give parents more information about those days.

"There's a few more details, but for us it doesn't represent that much of a departure from practice and we're happy to be able to communicate with our families," Hill said.

The Catholic board said it will update its website two weeks before professional development days to keep families informed.