Students across Surrey are participating more in clubs with an anti-racism emphasis that didn't exist three years ago, thanks to Surrey Schools' expanding efforts.
"We continue to be a leader in the province for racial equity and anti-racism," the school district's head of the racial equity department, JB Mahli, said at the regular June 11 board meeting in a presentation to trustees.
The department was created in 2022 after Surrey Schools conducted surveys and listening circles, later leading to a report sharing student, parent and staff experiences of racism in schools. Since then, the province has also announced a K to 12 Anti-Racism Action Plan to raise awareness about and create resources for dealing with racism and discrimination in order to make schools more inclusive to racialized people.
The B.C. plan, announced in 2023, also directs school districts to create initiatives in their communities for tackling anti-racism.
What that looks like in Surrey so far is more than 34 clubs across the district's high schools centred on anti-racism, racial equity and/or diversity, with surveys offered on the topics to students and staff and workshops to continue fostering education.
"Feeling safety and belonging are key indicators, and through stories and data and feedback from students and families and principals and vice-principals, we’re regularly hearing what’s happening on the ground and as a department walking alongside students and families to make sure they’re supported," Mahli said.
The department head added that students are reporting incidents of racism more than they were before, and surveys from 2021 and those conducted in 2025 show a 94 per cent increase in student participation in “clubs that did not exist three years ago."
From the student surveys, 86 per cent of respondents said they feel safe, heard and respected in schools.
Inside the classrooms, 218 new resources around diversity and inclusion have been added across the district in the past two years, Mahli shared, as well as new curriculum kits to 78 schools.
"If the reporting of incidents goes up, I don’t think that’s a bad sign. Sometimes it’s a sign that people are listening and they’re becoming more aware and they feel they are safe to report it," said trustee Laurie Larsen.
"So sometimes we have to look at, if there’s an increase in reporting, it’s because they’re educated to know when to speak up whereas maybe in the past they would let it slide, not report it to their teachers or their parents."
