Associate Director Alison Gaymes San Vicente (WRDSB) on Equity, Destreaming, and Systemic Change

In this episode of the LearnIt Podcast: Behind the Chalkboard, host Dhiraj Hariramani sits down with Alison Gaymes San Vicente, Associate Director at Waterloo Region DSB. As a key advocate for educational equity and destreaming, Alison shares her journey from a classroom teacher to a system leader and her unwavering commitment to building a truly equitable education system.

In this conversation, Alison shares:

The courage to challenge the status quo: Why it's an educator's duty to push back when the system doesn't align with your core beliefs.

The most important lesson learned from students: How her experience in the Jane and Finch community transformed her perspective, emphasizing "relationships before pedagogy."The core of destreaming: Unpacking why streaming students in Grade 9 fundamentally limits their future pathways and life chances.

The 'invisible wall' between public and private schools: A personal story that reveals systemic differences in expectations through the absence of "applied level" courses in the private system.

The true role of education: Shifting from seeing education as "the great equalizer" to understanding it as one part of a larger, systemic solution to social inequity.

A leader's ultimate goal: Why she doesn't seek to be remembered, but hopes the work she champions becomes so normalized that "advocates" are no longer needed.

This episode is for every educator, administrator, policymaker, and parent committed to building a more equitable future for the next generation. It will ignite your passion for educational justice and inspire you to be part of the change.