Tanya Coghill, a mentor and support for school parent councils across the city, is running for trustee in the upcoming election. Passionate about what goes on in our schools, and deeply committed to student success, she has volunteered for 20 years in the Abbotsford School District. Selected as the 2023 recipient of the Abbotsford Board of Education’s annual Community Matters Award, and featured as a Hero in Education in the Abbotsford News for her significant contribution to our schools, Tanya has been serving Abbotsford students and their families since 2007.

Born and raised in Abbotsford, married for 30 years and counting, and mother of two, Coghill has been involved in the community for decades in leadership roles with: local sports organizations, children’s ministries at Central Heights Church, Parent Advisory Councils (PACs), the District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC), developing a presentation that advocates for gender equity and highlights the experience of the girls in our educational system, and, most recently, supporting, teaching, and modeling leadership for a wide portfolio of parent groups at schools in our district. Coghill ran in the by-election for the empty school board seat a year ago, coming in second to Arshveer Kaler.

Coghill has experience working with a wide array of district departments through her role in helping to open Abbotsford’s newest school, Irene Kelleher Totí:ltawtxw. Tanya volunteered there full-time during the school’s first year, helping build the parent team and working closely with the facilities, human resources, purchasing, Indigenous, marketing, and admin departments. She was so involved that she was asked by the Superintendent (at the time), to present the school, its name history, and unique layout, to a delegation of administrators visiting from our partner school in Colombia, South America.

Coghill recently wrapped up a 35 year career in customer service management with a Canadian company, to devote more time to the school district. There she was recognized as the national manager of the year, due to her profit increases, cost reductions, low staff turnover and innovations in community engagement. She went on to be a mentor manager, building service programs, leading admin teams across the country, and presenting workshops focused on profitability and high performance, all of which she credits for helping her connect with people of all backgrounds and lived experiences. Her reputation is widespread throughout the district and beyond, as she has supported schools, mentored PACs, shared techniques and implemented strategies across elementary, middle and secondary campuses, and she enjoys getting to know the people she supports.

Tanya has been asked numerous times to join slates of candidates, but her goal is to use her unique perspective to lean into what she sees as important:

• The success and well-being of all students,
• Funding for support staff, resources, and earlier diagnoses of learning needs, and
• Building the culture of the district.

Coghill encourages parents to be partners in their children’s education and when it comes to the kids, she wants “Every student who enters our buildings to feel welcomed, successful, safe, and accepted for who they are.”

Given her extensive volunteering, and depth of knowledge about the school system, Coghill recognizes the complexity of the ever changing educational landscape: “I’ve been very involved in sharing the board’s strategic plans and the district budget, and know full well the financial obstacles at both individual school and district levels.

” Coghill notes the need for additional funding. “I know it’s easy to say that more money will solve the issues we are facing, but given that the bulk of our budget goes to staffing costs, and we do need more people in the classrooms to support our kids, securing additional funding will be a necessary step that districts across the province will need to address.”

Tanya has been around for the district adjustments over the past 20 years, and loves to be a part of positively impacting the team.

“A happy staff means happy students,” Coghill notes, “And I get excited about steps being taken to create an environment that will attract and retain quality leadership and employees. I would love to be a part of building that culture in collaboration with the district’s management, students, parents and staff – because we are stronger together.”

You can connect with Tanya through her email coghilltanya@gmail.com, or on her webpage tanyacoghill.ca .