Hillcrest Elementary School teacher Edie Duncan has been named the 2026 recipient of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association Outstanding Service Award for the Western Region. The honour celebrates work that boosts inclusion, equity, sustainability, and student well-being in public schools. Each year OPSBA picks one recipient from each of its five Ontario regions.
Bluewater District School Board leaders presented the award May 15, 2026 during Hillcrest’s Family Friday, a regular gathering of students, families, and staff. Director of Education AJ Keene and Board Chair Jane Thomson made the presentation in front of a crowd that took in Indigenous drumming, singing, and speeches from Kindergarten pupils.
Duncan has built land-based projects into daily learning at the Owen Sound school. Students tap maple syrup, run Green Bin composting, and hear Ojibway language and cultural teachings woven into classroom routines. The award citation points to her years of work connecting kids to the environment and Indigenous ways of knowing.
Chair Thomson knows Duncan’s impact firsthand. Her own daughter was a student in Duncan’s Grade 2 class more than two decades ago, when a field trip to an apple orchard in Neyaashiinigmiing turned into a lesson in Indigenous knowledge. “That was 21 years ago, and Ms. Duncan continues to do the same today,” Thomson said.
Duncan’s award puts a local Owen Sound educator on a provincial stage, alongside recipients from three other regions. For parents and colleagues at Hillcrest, it puts a spotlight on how everyday teaching can make reconciliation and sustainability real for kids.
