I'm Andrew Kohan, but most call me Koko. I live in WSD Ward 2, just off Corydon, with my partner, our young kids, and our giant golden retriever.

My advocacy started in Grade 1, going door-to-door asking neighbours to support public schooling. Those neighbours invested in my education, and I've never stopped benefiting from and fighting for public education.

Now an Earl Grey parent, I spend my days raising my kids and serving our community. Together with neighbours, we started the Earl Grey Bike Bus and we work with our neighbours on safe streets advocacy to make sure that it is safe for families like ours to walk, bike, scoot, and roll in our community.

I have also organized community responses like the No Space for Hate rally supporting 2SLGBTQ+ communities and fought for fully funded public libraries. Professionally, I have been a community organizer with labour unions and community groups to ensure worker and neighbour voices are at decision-making tables.

Our family loves playing in our school playgrounds, riding our bikes, and eating ice cream. Our youngest was almost born at BDI!

As a parent and community member, it matters to me that our schools are excellent, equitable, and resourced appropriately. My role as trustee would be to ensure that WSD uses our resources and influence to look out for each other.

Look Out for Kids

• Implement full day kindergarten in all WSD schools. One of the best ways to address inequality in school outcomes is to expand Kindergarten. 
• Improve and expand school breakfast and lunch programs: All schools need to have robust breakfast and lunch programs with accessible, nutritious, culturally appropriate foods without stigma. 
• Continue making schools welcoming, safe, and affirming communities for children, families, and staff. The diversity of our ward is an asset we want to celebrate. 
• Address inequality at the roots: We have to work to dismantle barriers to participation that are built into schooling systems through funding mechanisms, discipline patterns, and who gets hired and supported. 
• Disabled and neurodiverse students deserve proactive advocacy, accommodation, and resourcing to support full participation in the life of the school community
• Expand opportunities to engage with diverse communities' histories and cultures so that students feel represented and learn from others' experiences

Look Out for Families

• Use the spaces schools have to facilitate expanded childcare options for families. Let’s make it easier for families to access subsidized childcare spots in Ward 2.  
• Families should be able to play and get to school walking, rolling, riding bikes, and scooting safely. I’ll continue working with other levels of government to implement year round 24-7 school zones and traffic calming (like speed bumps and bumpouts) around our schools. 
• Eliminate school fees. Public schooling shouldn’t require families to pay additional fees out of pocket. There are more equitable ways to make sure schools have the resources they need.

Look Out for Teachers and Staff

• Make sure teachers and educational assistants have the support, resources, and class sizes they need to do the work.
• Support teachers in implementing the upcoming provincial antiracism policy and integrating Indigenous perspectives in a good way.

Look Out for Community

• From Parent Advisory Committees to bike buses to Elders in classrooms, invite community in more! 
• Embrace partnerships with community, particularly newcomer settlement and ethnocultural organizations, to expand facility use for extracurricular and summer programs
• Prioritize relationships so ongoing consultation for things like TRC Calls to Action and provincial antiracism policy are embedded in and accountable to community

WSD Ward 2 includes most of the catchments (but not all, so make sure you check!) for Churchill, Earl Grey, Fort Rouge, Gladstone, La Vérendrye, Lord Roberts, and Riverview.

Election day is October 28th!

Find where you can vote, including advance poll locations and dates.

Support for my campaign to be WSD Trustee for Ward 2 comes from grassroots neighbours in Winnipeg who believe in strong public schools!

If you would like to support my campaign as as a small local donor, please make a pledge

If you would like to help, you can volunteer, request a sign, or share what matters to your family

I want to hear about what you and your family need from our schools!

Send me an email at elect@andrewkohan.com or give me a call at (204) 816-8827