The purpose of the Everyone Belongs at Thames Valley Staff Survey is to collect quality, relevant, anonymous staff demographic data to enable and mobilize evidence-based decision-making in TVDSB. This work is informed by the Ministry of Education's Equity Action Plan. We want to gain a better understanding of who our staff are so that we can better support them.
What are our goals?
- Understand and support the diversity of our employees
- Eliminate barriers for staff
- Support recruitment, promotional practices, and retention
- Guide professional development, training, and succession planning
- Inform system policies, procedures, and programs
- Strive for a workforce that reflects our student population
Contact Information
Questions can be sent by email or contact Andrea Marlowe, TVDSB Diversity and Equity Coordinator, at 519-452-2000 ext. 20515.
Frequently Asked Questions
| What is the purpose of the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey? |
| The purpose of the survey is to collect quality, relevant, anonymous staff demographic data to enable and mobilize evidence-based decision-making in TVDSB. This work is informed by the Ministry of Education’s Equity Action Plan. We want to gain a better understanding of who our staff are so that we can better support them. Specifically, the goals of the staff survey are to understand and support the diversity of our staff, eliminate barriers for staff, support recruitment, promotional practices, and retention, guide professional development, training, and succession planning, inform system policies, procedures, and programs, and strive for a workforce that reflects our student population. |
| How is the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey connected to student success? |
| One of the five objectives of the TVDSB Operational Plan (2018-2019) is to “Create equitable and inclusive learning and work environments for students and staff to achieve success”. The plan provides key actions in order to accomplish this objective, with one of the actions focussing on a system-wide staff survey. The data we collect will inform policies, programs, and practices that support more inclusive working and learning environments for staff and students. |
| How will staff benefit from participating in the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey? |
| By completing the survey, staff will be informing and contributing to important decisions in TVDSB and helping to make it a better place to work for all staff. |
| Have other school boards collected identity-based data from their staff? |
| Several other Ontario school boards have already engaged in this work or are currently collecting identity-based data from their staff (e.g., Durham District School Board, Peel District School Board, Toronto District School Board, Waterloo Region District School Board, York Region District School Board). |
| What types of questions will be included in the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey? |
| The survey will include identity-based questions as recommended by Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan. Specific areas of focus will include (but will not be limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, immigration status, language, racial identity, religion, and sexual orientation. |
| Who developed the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey? |
| The survey was developed by the Everyone Belongs Core Team and Steering Committee. The Core Team and Steering Committee are comprised of the TVDSB Diversity and Equity Coordinator, as well as TVDSB staff from Research and Assessment Services, Human Resources, Communications, Culture For Learning, and Special Education. Several resources were accessed and referenced in the development of the questions, including, the Data Standards for the Identification and Monitoring of Systemic Racism, the Ontario Human Rights Code, Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan, Ontario’s 3-Year Anti-Racism Strategic Plan, the 2016 Canadian Census, and staff surveys conducted by other school boards in Ontario. All employee associations and federations are being asked to review and approve the survey questions. In addition, members of certain stakeholder groups and individuals, such as the Culture For Learning Advisory Committee, Faith-Based Leaders Group, Indigenous Education working group, and Language and Literacy teams, were consulted on specific questions related to their work. All TVDSB staff are also being provided with the opportunity to provide feedback on the survey questions (see “How can feedback be provided on the survey questions before the survey is sent out to staff?”). |
| How can feedback be provided on the survey questions before the survey is sent out to staff? |
| The draft survey is available to review by clicking on the “Preview” button above. We are requesting feedback on the draft survey questions up until May 22, 2019. Please note that the survey questions are not confidential, and you are welcome to share with anyone who you feel would be interested in reviewing the questions. If you would like to provide feedback before May 22, 2019, please contact us by email (EveryoneBelongs@tvdsb.ca) or contact Andrea Marlowe, TVDSB Diversity and Equity Coordinator, at 519-452-2000 ext. 20515. A drop box will also be available to collect feedback in the Education Centre lobby from May 13-22, 2019. |
| Is the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey mandatory? |
| No. The survey is completely voluntary. However, we encourage all staff to complete it to ensure the results most closely represent our staff and provide the system with useful information for planning purposes. With a high completion rate, the TVDSB can use the information to ensure that our existing programs and policies, as well as programs and policies that we are looking to implement, meet the current needs of our staff. |
| Does the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey comply with the law? |
| The information you provide is collected under the legal authority of the Education Act (sections 170, 190, 264, 265) in compliance with Sections 14 and 32 of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act [MFIPPA] and is consistent with the Ontario Human Rights Code. The Ontario Human Rights Code permits proactive initiatives to enhance inclusion in the workplace. The Everyone Belongs Staff Survey is one such initiative, as the results will indicate where, and what inclusion initiatives are appropriate. The information will be collected for educational, research, and program and policy development purposes only. The information will be used, disclosed, and retained in accordance with MFIPPA. |
| How will the privacy of staff be protected? |
| The survey is completely anonymous and confidential. Anonymity is one of the requirements of collecting self-identification data in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Ontario Human Rights Commission and privacy legislation. Staff will not be asked to provide their first or last name, employee number, date of birth, school name, or IP address. If staff log into a TVDSB computer or other TVDSB device to complete the survey, their login information will not be linked to their survey responses. Staff also have the option to complete the survey on their own personal device. Responses will be stored on encrypted third party servers and kept confidential. Direct access to the data will be restricted to Research and Assessment Services. Reports and communication materials will not include any data or information that could potentially identify an individual staff member. |
| Who will be invited to complete the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey? |
| All TVDSB staff from all roles and locations will be invited to complete the survey. |
| When will staff be invited to complete the survey? |
| Staff may complete the survey any time between May 30th and June 28th, 2019 and will be given time to complete the survey during their regular work hours. |
| How will staff access the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey? |
| To complete the survey, staff will visit the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey webpage and click on the “Survey” button. Please note that staff will not have to login to the employee portal or enter any other identifying information in order to access the survey. The survey can be accessed online and can be completed on any type of device (e.g., desktop computer, tablet, mobile phone). We encourage all staff to complete the survey online if possible. Online completion allows for more efficient reporting so that the results will be available to the system sooner. It is also more cost effective. However, for staff who are unable to complete the survey online, the survey can be downloaded and printed from the webpage. Please follow the return instructions above if you choose to complete a paper copy. |
| How long does it take to complete the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey? |
| The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. All staff will be given time to complete the survey during their regular work hours. |
| Do staff need to answer every question on the survey? |
| No. Staff are welcome to leave any question blank for any reason. If a staff member chooses to skip a question, the data will still be included for all other questions for which they have provided responses. |
| Do staff have the option to save their responses and resume the online survey at a later time? |
| No. The online survey cannot be saved for an individual respondent as names will not be collected, IP addresses will not be tracked, and the survey may be accessed by different respondents on the same device. The survey should be completed at one time. However, the full survey is available on the website to view and download prior to completing the survey, if a staff member would like to consider the questions ahead of time. |
| How will the results of the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey be shared? |
| The overall results will be compiled into a summary report and shared with all TVDSB staff. The final summary report will also be made publicly available. The preliminary report will be available to staff in the Fall of 2019. Results will be presented in such a way that no individual staff member could be identified. |
| How will the information collected as part of the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey be used by the TVDSB? |
| The TVDSB is committed to building and supporting a workforce that reflects, understands and responds to our diverse population. Results from this survey will provide us with important demographic data to better understand and support our staff and to inform the ongoing work of the system. |
| Who will ensure follow-up actions after the Everyone Belongs Staff Survey results have been shared? |
| As with all major Board activities, staff will identify appropriate follow-up actions once the data have been analyzed and the results have been shared. |
| What if staff have questions about the survey and/or the process? |
| We welcome any thoughts and/or questions that you may have at any time. Please contact us by email (EveryoneBelongs@tvdsb.ca) or contact Andrea Marlowe, TVDSB Diversity and Equity Coordinator, at 519-452-2000 ext. 20515. |
Contact Us