Yvonne Sissons is a mom and a nurse and has a passion for safe, strong education, which is why she is running for trustee in the Medicine Hat Public School Division.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
Yvonne Sissons hopes her interest in the success of schools will earn her a spot on the Medicine Hat Public School Board in the upcoming municipal election.
Sissons and her family moved to Medicine Hat almost 10 years ago, as it is her husband’s hometown. They have three children, in Grades 4, 2 and kindergarten. Previous to moving here, Sissons was a registered nurse at Alberta Children’s Hospital where she specialized in pediatrics and renal dialysis. She also worked as head nurse at a long-term care facility in Guelph, Ont.
She has spent the past six years in positions of governance at her children’s preschool, Au Chapeau at Connaught. The first five years she served as vice president; she spent the final year as president.
Sissons explained that her platform has three areas of focus.
“The first is ensuring a safe and healthy school environment, where students and teachers will flourish,” said Sissons.
“Second is ensuring the voices of teachers are heard and that their needs are met in order to create optimum learning environments. Third is to create high calibre second-language learning environments, where curriculum requirements are not only met, but surpassed.”
Sissons has a personal interest in the success of public schools and the implementation of high calibre curriculum for all students.
“I believe that a parental voice from the board of trustees is vital for a diverse representation of viewpoints and ideas. I feel that I’m in a position to be approachable, accessible and present to hear the suggestions and concerns of teachers and fellow parents. I am also a proponent of special programming, such as quality second-language learning.”
Sissons says the first thing she would do is a close scrutiny of budget allocations. She hopes to see PUF funding reinstated and have more Educational Assistants brought into classrooms again.
“Despite the many challenges that the school boards will face in the upcoming years, I believe having a strong local public school board that’s committed to engaging the families, teachers and administration will lead to successful outcomes for our community.”
