Codie Goodman has a keen interest in student success. She wants to ensure students in the Hastings Prince Edward District School Board have what they need to succeed, from lunch to clearer rules around AI.

Ms. Goodman is one of two candidates running for school board Trustee in the upcoming election. If elected, she would represent Southern PEC, or wards 1,2,5,8, and 9. 

She grew up at her family’s farm in East Lake. After finishing high school, she set out to acquire an Honours degree in Anthropology from Lakehead University. She then earned an MA in Cultural Studies from Queen’s. 

Mental health issues and problems outside of the classroom, such as food security, are priorities for Goodman, as they directly affect student performance. She says the material is often not the reason kids might not want to go to school.

“The number one thing students see as an issue in the County is mental health. Not knowing where to go or like they have enough safe adults in the community to help them navigate it. 

“Then it’s about not having a physical space in a rural community where they can go after school and ask for help,” she  says. 

“Community issues like housing and food insecurity definitely affect a student’s ability to be successful in school. 

“I’ve had instances where a parent will tell me they’re moving, or bouncing between houses, or they can’t get their child out of bed — but they also haven’t eaten since lunch the day before. 

“The school system separates school  from home from 8:30 to 2:30. I think they need to be more holistic. 

“Kids aren’t missing school because they hate school. They aren’t coming because home is complicated, or they need to work a full-time job.”

In addition to mental health and food security, Goodman hopes to address the use of AI in the classroom. 

“AI posters and graphics are so detrimental to our environment — never mind take the opportunity away from students who enjoy creating art or engaging in graphic design,” she said. 

Her career began in Museum studies. During stints with The Northumberland Fisheries Museum in Pictou, Nova Scotia, and as the curator of the Lake-at-the -Woods Museum in Kenora, Goodman worked closely with local school boards. After leaving Nova Scotia she got her first taste of substitute teaching in Kenora.

Ultimately, Goodman decided home is where the heart is. She made the move back to the County, and began working with students in Grades 7-12 at PECI as the Indigenous Student Success Coach. 

“Home was calling a little bit too loudly. The role at PECI came up and it seemed like a perfect fit.”

Goodman balanced creating programming for Indigenous students from a range of backgrounds, with leading in a way students felt they were in the drivers seat. 

“People don’t know the high volume of Indigenous students we have in the school, and the diversity of the students. We have Mohawk, Annishinaabe, Mi’kmaq, Metis, Cree, and Inuit students, just at PECI that I know of and am knowledgable on their culture and where they are from. I learned handling a leadership position in that space. Being a white adult responsible for an Indigenous Youth Space, understanding I need to have boundaries, expectations and guidelines, but also being very clear it is their space, not mine.” 

Currently, Ms. Goodman works as the  Youth Outreach and Education Coordinator for the Greater Than County Youth Collective. She also serves on the muncipality’s Mental Health and Substance Abuse Action Team. “Several young members of our community approached me and asked if I would take on this role.  When our kids ask me to help them, I do what I can to follow through.

“My main goal is to be a conduit and to make sure that our community’s priorities, issues and concerns are brought up in a meaningful way and are at the forefront of larger policy and decision making,” she says