Name: Linda Matties
Party Affiliation: none
Education: Bachelor of Education from UBC
Master of Divinity from Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno
Diploma in Information Technology from UFV
Occupation:
Worked for School District 34 primarily as a teacher librarian from 1974 to 2005.
Worked at Trinity Western University as a faculty assistant for 3 years
Worked as a certification administrator for the British Columbia Association for Regenerative Agriculture (organic farming) for one year
Worked as a lunch supervisor in Abbotsford schools for 3 years
Occasional office temp
Mostly retired
Previous political experience: none
Residency: I spent nearly 9 childhood years in the Barrowtown area and attended school there for 3 years. Then my family moved into the Chilliwack municipality. I have lived in Abbotsford since 1985.
Community Involvement:
I volunteer at The Reach
I attend and am a member of Emmanuel Mennonite Church where I lead a Bible study group and other assorted activities. I have served on the church council.
I also am a board member for provincial and national level church activities.
Family:
My mother is 91.
I have 2 sisters and 1 brother.
I have 3 nieces and 1 nephew
I have 3 great nephews and 1 great niece
Cousins who live on three continents, and a dwindling number of aunts and uncles
Email:
lhmatties@gmail.com
Social Media: Facebook
What do you feel are two key education-related issues Abbotsford voters should be considering when choosing trustee representatives in this civic election?
I have a hard time narrowing it down to two. This is the shortest list I can come up with.
To open the minds of our children and youth for the journey of life.
Why, and what would you do to address these issues:
This plaque was given to me a number of years ago. It expresses what I feel education in our schools should be all about. I have spent enough years working in education to understand the system well. As someone who loves learning I want others to share that love. My experience in the education system is such that I have learned to discern between education policies that work well and those that don’t work well. Sometimes the less acceptable policies can be made to work with creative application. There have been complaints about lack of funding and other resources for many decades now. It is unacceptable that teachers are spending large sums of personal money buying the resources they need for teaching. There needs to be some creative thinking around how existing funds are allocated as well as how new funds might be found.