Chris Grouchy – Public Board Council President

Kawartha-Pine Ridge District School Board

Chris Grouchy has a strong belief that all students deserve a rightful voice in their education system.

Chris carried this belief by being actively involved in the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. He participated on the Student Leadership Group and wanted to further change in public education by running for Student Trustee. Thus Chris was elected to serve as Student Trustee for the 2010-2011 school year. While in Grade 10, during his campaign, Chris became the youngest Student Trustee in the history of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board; however, the age barrier did not prevent him from creating change. During his first year as Student Trustee he founded a committee dedicated to gathering the collective opinions of younger students. The Elementary Advisory Committee was established to create more leadership opportunities for Grade 7 and 8 students, while also engaging these younger students by discussing various issues facing the public education system. Chris also founded a student-advocacy magazine entitled “Leading to the Future”, with a purpose in mind to publicize the concerns and opinions of student leaders across the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. The magazine focused on many important issues to students; anti-bullying, music in education, and technology in the classroom to name a few.

Chris’s participation did not stop in his own school Board. He is also a member of the Minister’s Student Advisory Council (MSAC) and, thus, consults regularly with the Ministry of Education on policy matters and discusses student engagement with other Ministry staff. Currently, Chris has been working with the Ministry to create guidelines for student councils across Ontario.

Recently, Chris was re-elected to serve the 37, 000 students from the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School for the 2011-2012 school year. Upon his re-election, Chris will be representing 2.4 million Ontario public students to the Ministry of Education and to other Stakeholder groups as Public Board Council President. Leading the Public Board Council, Chris plans to tackle major issues facing the Public education system. United with a team of Ontario’s most passionate student leaders, the Student Trustees, Chris will focus his term on equity and inclusive education, creating and spreading awareness on opportunities for students, connecting all Student Trustees to OSTA-AECO, and improving student engagement across Ontario.

When Chris is not working with Ontario students, he enjoys listening to and making music. Following his passion for music, Chris plays lead-guitar for a community-based band called Vinyl Skies. Chris and his band mates are currently working on writing and recording songs while also performing at community events and school activities.

By leading the passionate Public Board Council, Grouchy is confident that they will leave their mark in public education. He urges all students to find their passion and he is motivating others to create positive change by taking action.