WEYBURN – Megan Schick is one of three candidates running in the board trustee byelection for the City of Weyburn, for the Southeast Cornerstone School Division.
“As far back as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. The teaching and learning relationship is a beautiful dynamic of everyday life. Education starts when you take your first breath and the learning journey doesn’t end until you breath your last breath,” said Schick.
“I am passionate about education in all its forms: virtual, experiential, at home and in schools. I would love the opportunity to support and advocate for quality education for all children and youth in southeast Saskatchewan.”
Schick has called Weyburn home for the past six years. She is raising two young daughters with her husband Mason. She was born and raised in Estevan and pursued her post-secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan.
Megan graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a Bachelor of Education. Schick worked in the Saskatoon Public School system for the first two years of her teaching career, before having children.
She is now part of the Weyburn Homeschool Community and teaches her daughters from home. As an active member of the Weyburn Homeschool Community Megan plans large group activities such as writing workshops, physical education classes, and STEM workshops.
As a home-school teacher, she was asked why she wants to run for the Cornerstone trustee position.
“Education takes on many forms, and the SECPSD oversees all those forms. As a home-educator I still pay my education taxes and I report directly to the division. I am able to access a variety of services within the division to support and diversify my children’s education,” Schick answered.
“I have family and friends who teach within the division and I feel I have an ear to the ground to listen to parents, students and teachers about what is and is not working within the education system. I do not homeschool because I de-value the in-classroom experience. I have nothing but respect and admiration for teachers in our division and the families who choose the in-classroom experience. I also acknowledge and support the educational choices of those online or at home as valid options for education.”
The homeschool population is consistently growing and is an important umbrella of public education. She wants to bring her working knowledge of both the public school classroom and home education realms to the board.
“With home education on the rise in Saskatchewan, I would like to begin building a bridge between South East Saskatchewan Home-Based Educators and our School Division. I’d like to work on improving communication, building mutual respect and an understanding of how we can work together. The school board often hears reports of student progress in the classroom, and if elected I would advocate for an annual update from Saskatchewan-Home Based Education (SHBE) to be included in that process,” she said.
She also has concerns about the teacher-student ratios in the classroom, and bussing. “As class sizes increase and staff decreases, the quality of the education for each student is at stake. Budgetary constraints are often the cause of these strains on the teacher student ratios. This is an area of concern currently as budgets have been adjusted again this year with significant decrease in staff,” she said.
On the topic of bussing, she said, “I want to advocate for working parents who may need busing to after school care. Currently parents are having to leave work to pick up and drop off their children to after school programs. I would advocate for a better solution for parents where they can access the busing system already in place.”
Schick has volunteered in the Weyburn community in a variety of capacities. She served three years as treasurer for the local Ducks Unlimited chapter and is in her second season as a volunteer coach for Weyburn Hurricanes water polo team.
Megan is also active in the Free Methodist Church and volunteers with WFMC’s Children's Ministry, and is a member of the Weyburn Wildlife Federation.
Beyond her teaching and volunteer roles, Schick enjoys being active outside with her family and her fur babies–two English Springer Spaniels. She can be found out and about in every season, canoeing, biking, rollerblading, fishing, hunting, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
