As the communities we serve as a Board grows more diverse, we welcome and value the experiences and perspectives of each person and the richness this diversity brings. As part of our commitment to continued progress towards equity and inclusion for everyone in our system, and in accordance with the Ministry of Education’s Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan and Anti-Racism Act, 2017, Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) is undertaking a second voluntary Student Census on February 26 to collect identity-based demographic information. The data collected from students and parents/guardians will provide the school system with valuable information that will help to improve strategic planning, programming, and services with a focus on student achievement and engagement. Once fully compiled, this data will be shared with our families to help our communities better understand our population.
Your input will help to:
For students in Kindergarten to Grade 6, one census is to be completed by parents/guardians online. Parents/guardians will receive a secure link to the census form via SchoolMessenger. Paper copies are available upon request from your school office.
Students in Grades 7 through 12 will have the opportunity to complete the census in class. Students will receive a secure link by email.
If an individual did not receive a secure link to the census, please check your spam/junk folder. If you are still unable to find it, complete the TLDSB Student Census Link Request Form and a link will be sent to you.
The Student Census is confidential and voluntary, but not anonymous. Individual responses and all personal student and family information will remain strictly confidential. Census questions are grade-level appropriate, consistent with The Ontario Curriculum, Health and Physical Education (2019).
As this is a voluntary census, parents/guardians can choose not to complete the survey for students in Grades Kindergarten through 6. For students in Grades 7 through 12, parents/guardians had the opportunity to opt their child out of participation during class. However, it’s important to note that a higher completion rate will give the Board a more accurate representation to help with school improvement and program planning. The deadline to opt-out Grade 7 to 12 students is Friday, February 16.
The following groups have participated in consultation regarding the Student Census:
Similar to the previous survey, once responses are collected, processed, and analyzed, TLDSB will share reporting that will help inform Board and school decision-making for programs and instruction that focus on eliminating barriers to student success and enriching students’ learning by providing appropriate supports.
We are looking forward to learning more about how we can better serve our communities and thank you for continuing to help us be better together.
If you have further questions or would like additional information, please contact the TLDSB Equity Task Force at [email protected].
PDF samples of the Student Census are available below, for information only.
Note – if you require either of the above documents in an accessible format, contact Communications Services at [email protected].
Personal information collected in this census is under the authority of the Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, sections 169.1(1) and 170(1), the Anti-Racism Act 2017, section 6 and in accordance with section 28(2) of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Personal information collected will be used by TLDSB for educational and research purposes, to support TLDSB schools and provide effective educational programs and services, and to eliminate systemic racism and advance racial equity. Questions or concerns about the collection, use or disclosure of personal information should be directed to your school principal, or the Board Privacy Officer at [email protected].
The Student Census is confidential and voluntary, but not anonymous. Individual responses, and all personal student and family information will remain strictly confidential, protected under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Personal information collected in the TLDSB student census is under the authority of the Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, sections 169.1, 170 (1) and 171 (1), the Anti-Racism Act 2017, and in accordance with Section 29 (2) of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
TLDSB has entered into agreement with Qualtrics and their partner, Red Pepper Software, to create the online version of the TLDSB Student Census. Raw data collected from survey respondents is housed securely within Qualtrics’ Canadian cloud service until the survey is closed and all information from paper copies is entered. This information is accessible only to TLDSB’s Research and Data Analyst and Executive Assistant to the Superintendent of Learning responsible for Equity and Inclusion.
The encrypted data will then be securely downloaded by the Executive Assistant to the Superintendent of Learning responsible for Equity and Inclusion to the TLDSB data warehouse in accordance with the Board’s BD-2121 Privacy, Information Management and Access to Information Procedure, where it will be accessible only by TLDSB’s Research and Data Analyst and Database and Reporting Solutions Manager. All data will be deleted from Qualtrics’ servers at this time.
TLDSB’s Research and Data Analyst will work with our consulting firm, Turner Consulting Group, to clean the datasets and conduct analysis and reporting. These datasets will contain no personal identifying information.
Working collaboratively with the TLDSB Equity Task Force and Turner Consulting Group, community advisory groups will be engaged to further analyze the resulting datasets to help identify gaps and trends in the information. Again, these datasets will contain no personal identifying information.
As the communities we serve as a Board grow more diverse, we welcome and value the experiences and perspectives of each person and the richness this diversity brings. As part of our commitment to continued progress towards equity and inclusion for everyone in our system, and in accordance with the Ministry of Education’s Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan and Anti-Racism Act, 2017, Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) undertook a voluntary Student Census in February 2022.
The online student census collected identity-based data about race, ethnicity, religion, gender, *sexual orientation, ability, and socio-economic status in a short, voluntary, confidential, but not anonymous, questionnaire.
The results of the 2022 TLDSB Student Census are available in the 2022 Student Census Report.
If you require this information in an accessible format, contact Communications Services at [email protected].
The data shared in this report summarizes the results from the student census survey and includes data on TLDSB students from kindergarten to Grade 12. In total, demographic information was collected on 4,680 of the 17,494 students, representing a 27 percent response rate.
The information in this census report, in alignment with our Strategic Plan, will help inform Board and school decision-making for programs and instruction that focus on eliminating barriers to student success and enriching student learning by providing appropriate support.
The following groups participated in consultation regarding the Student Census:
As we look more closely at the data, we will expand our community involvement opportunities.
The Student Census is a voluntary, confidential survey for all students in the TLDSB that will collect identity-based data to help our communities understand the and better support equity and inclusion. The data collected from students and parents/guardians will provide the school system, families, and the community with valuable information that can help to improve programming and services for the benefit of all students.
School boards across Ontario are required by Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan and Anti-Racism Act, 2017 to gather and report identity-based data. The gathering of this data also aligns with the Board’s strategic planning and commitment to fostering an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and celebrated.
Collection of identity-based data is supported by Canada’s Human Rights Legislative Framework, which includes the Canadian Human Rights Act, The Ontario Human Rights Code, and section 15(2) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Ontario Human Rights Commission allows and encourages the collection and analysis of identity-based data for the purposes of identifying and removing systemic barriers, preventing discrimination, and promoting equity and inclusivity.
The Student Census will ask multiple choice identity-based questions on race, ethnicity, religion/spirituality, *gender identity, *sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status, and citizenship.
*Questions regarding gender identity and sexual orientation are grade-level appropriate, consistent with The Ontario Curriculum, Health and Physical Education (2019). Kindergarten to Grade 6 students will not be asked about sexual orientation.
Please refer to the “See the survey” section for more information.
The student census is confidential and voluntary, but not anonymous. Individual responses, and all personal student and family information will remain strictly confidential, protected under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Personal information collected in the TLDSB student census is under the authority of the Education Act, R.S.O. 1990, sections 169.1, 170 (1) and 171 (1), the Anti-Racism Act 2017, and in accordance with Section 29 (2) of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Please refer to the “Privacy and Security” section for more information.
No. The census itself is confidential but not anonymous. The resulting reports will summarize the data collected. No individual student or family will be identified in the final reports.
Please refer to the “Privacy and Security” section for more information.
The student census is voluntary. Parents/guardians can choose not to complete the survey for students in grades Kindergarten through 6. Parents/guardians may choose to opt their grades 7 through 12 children out of participation during class by completing the TLDSB Student Census – Grade 7-12 Opt-out Google Form. However, it’s important to note that a higher completion rate will give the Board a more accurate representation to help with school improvement and program planning.
The student census is voluntary. Those who participate will have the opportunity to skip questions they would prefer not to answer. However, it’s important to note that a higher completion rate will give the Board a more accurate representation to help with school improvement and program planning.
For students in Kindergarten to Grade 6, the census is to be completed by parents/guardians online or on paper (upon request). Grade 7 to 12 students will have the opportunity to complete the census in class, with parent/guardian consent.
The online census has been created to meet Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) standards.
The survey will be available in the following languages:
Paper copies will be available upon request through your school office.
The encrypted data will be collected securely through Qualtrics in accordance with applicable privacy legislation and best practices. Once the survey period is closed, the data will be transferred to the TLDSB data warehouse in accordance with the Board’s BD-2121 Privacy, Information Management and Access to Information Procedure.
Please refer to the Privacy and Security section for more information.
Once responses are collected and the primary data is cleaned by TLDSB’s Research and Data Analyst, the Research and Data Analyst will work with our consulting firm, Turner Consulting Group, using datasets drawn from the primary data to conduct initial analysis and reporting. These datasets will contain no personal identifying information.
Please refer to the “Privacy and Security” section for more information.
The data collected from students and parents/guardians will provide the school system, families, and the community with valuable information that can help to improve programming and services for the benefit of all students, with a focus on student achievement and engagement. The Board will share reporting that will help inform Board and school decision-making for programs and instruction that focus on eliminating barriers to student success and enriching students’ learning by providing appropriate supports. Census reports will be shared publicly, along with information on how this data has helped to guide TLDSB’s programming, strategic planning, policies, practices, resources, and supports.
Refers to a person that experiences no sexual attraction to others. (Source: Government of Canada: LGBTQ2 terminology – Glossary and common acronyms)
Refers to a person who is physically/sexually and emotionally attracted to both males and females. (Source: Government of Canada: LGBTQ2 terminology – Glossary and common acronyms)
Refers to a person whose gender identity aligns with what is typically associated with their sex assigned. (OPS Bilingual Glossary on Gender Identity) The prefix “cis” comes from the Latin meaning “on the same side as.”
Refers to the legal citizenship status of a person. Canadian citizenship can be acquired by birth or naturalization. This means that someone born in Canada or outside of Canada with at least one parent born in Canada or naturalized before the birth of the child, then that child is considered to be a Canadian citizen. Landed immigrants who have met certain criteria are eligible for Canadian citizenship by naturalization. (Source: Obtaining Canadian citizenship)
Refers to a person’s ethnic or cultural origins. Ethnic groups have a common identity, heritage, ancestry, or historical past, often with identifiable cultural, linguistic, and/or religious characteristics. (Source: Data Standards for the Identification and Monitoring of Systemic Racism)
Refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender diverse people. It influences how people perceive themselves and each other, how they act and interact, and the distribution of power and resources in society. (Source: Canadian Institutes of Health Research: What is gender? What is sex?)
Refers to the various ways in which people choose to express their gender identity. For example: clothes, voice, hair, make-up, etc. A person’s gender expression may not align with societal expectations of gender. It is therefore not a reliable indicator of a person’s gender identity. (Source: Government of Canada: LGBTQ2 terminology – Glossary and common acronyms)
Refers to a person whose gender identity or expression changes or shifts along the gender spectrum. (OPS Bilingual Glossary on Gender Identity)
Means not being in line with the cultural associations made in a given society about a person’s sex assigned at birth. (OPS Bilingual Glossary on Gender Identity)
Refers to an implicit cultural or social framework where it is believed that heterosexuality is the norm for all people. (Source: House of Commons: The Health of LGBTQIA2 Communities (June 2019))
Gender identity is not confined to a binary (girl/woman, boy/man) nor is it static; it exists along a continuum and can change over time. There is considerable diversity in how individuals and groups understand, experience and express gender through the roles they take on, the expectations placed on them, relations with others and the complex ways that gender is institutionalized in society. (Source: Canadian Institutes of Health Research: What is gender? What is sex?)
Refers to a person born with variations on reproductive systems on sex characteristics such as chromosomes, or hormones that are not easily characterized as male or female. (Source: OPS Bilingual Glossary on Gender Identity)
Refers to a person born with variations on reproductive systems on sex characteristics such as chromosomes, or hormones that are not easily characterized as male or female. (Source: OPS Bilingual Glossary on Gender Identity)
Refers to a female who is attracted physically, sexually, and/or emotionally to other females. (Source: GLAAD Media Reference Guide – Lesbian / Gay / Bisexual Glossary of Terms)
Mental health refers to a person’s ability to cope with the stresses of everyday life, work productively, and contribute positively to society, all while recognizing their own abilities. (Source: CMHA: Mental Health)
Refers to a person whose gender identity doesn’t align with the binary concept of gender such as man/boy or woman/girl. (Source: OPS Bilingual Glossary on Gender Identity)
Refers to a person who is attracted physically/sexually and emotionally to others, without being limited by sex or gender identity. (Source: Government of Canada: LGBTQ2 terminology – Glossary and common acronyms)
Refers to a person whose sexual orientation or gender identity does not fit into the heteronormative social model. (Source: OPS Bilingual Glossary on Gender Identity)
Refers to a person who is uncertain about their own gender identity or sexual orientation. (Source: OPS Bilingual Glossary on Gender Identity)
Refers to the classification of people into socially constructed categories based principally on physical traits (phenotypes) such as skin colour. Racial categories can vary over time and location and can overlap with ethnic, cultural, or religious groupings. (Source: Data Standards for the Identification and Monitoring of Systemic Racism)
Religion is any religious denomination, group, sect, or other religiously defined community or system of belief and/or spiritual faith practices. (Source Data Standards for the Identification and Monitoring of Systemic Racism)
Refers to a set of biological attributes in humans and animals. It is primarily associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy. Sex is usually categorized as female or male but there is variation in the biological attributes that comprise sex and how those attributes are expressed. (Source: Canadian Institutes of Health Research: What is gender? What is sex?)
This is the scientifically accurate term for an individual’s enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction to other people. This includes, but is not limited to, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual (straight) orientations. (Source: GLAAD Media Reference Guide – Lesbian / Gay / Bisexual Glossary of Terms)
Refers to ideas, concepts, or perceptions that exist only because people in a group or society accept that they do. (Source:What Is a Social Construct? Common Examples Explained)
This is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation. Therefore, transgender people may identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc. (Source: OPS Bilingual Glossary on Gender Identity) The prefix “trans” comes from the Latin meaning “on the other side of.”
Refers to a person who identifies as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit, and is used by some Indigenous people to describe their sexual, gender, and/or spiritual identity. As an umbrella term it may encompass same-sex attraction and a wide variety of gender variance, including people who might be described in Western culture as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, gender queer, cross-dressers or who have multiple gender identities. (Source: Researching for LGBTQ Health)
If you have further questions or would like additional information, please contact the TLDSB Equity Task Force by email at [email protected].
You can also follow us on Twitter at @TLDSBEquity.
If you require this information in an accessible format, contact Communications Services at [email protected].
300 County Road 36, Lindsay, ON K9V 4R4
1271 Cedar Lane, Bracebridge, Ontario P1L 1N4
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Lindsay Education Centre
300 County Road 36, Lindsay, Ontario K9V 4R4
Muskoka Education Centre
1271 Cedar Lane, Bracebridge, Ontario P1L 1N4
Phone: 1-888-526-5552
Email: [email protected]
