After nearly a 35 year career in education, I retired as the Superintendent of Schools in January 2020. While in the role as superintendent, I sat on two national committees, ERDI and C21 and also was an adjunct professor for Gonzaga University. I now work as a leadership consultant supporting the work of school boards, system and school leaders.
Chris Smeaton
Author's posts
Mar 02
From the Desk of the Superintendent- March 2018
“You have three priorities in your life. Faith, family and then the job! Keep them in the right order as much as possible.” That statement is one that I share with all of our new teachers at the beginning of each school year and is one that all of us should hear more often. Wellness …
Feb 23
Style vs. Substance
Next week I’ll be part of an interview committee for a principal position in our division. Part of our process is the inclusion of multiple stakeholders who provide me with feedback on each potential candidate. Before we begin, I always provide the committee with a reminder to listen carefully to the answers and don’t get …
Feb 21
Ode to Support Staff
The following blog post was published in the Lethbridge Herald on February 21, 2018. It is difficult not to automatically think about teachers when we talk about schools or education. In past articles, I’ve written about the importance of our school leaders and, just recently, about the unseen life of teachers. But our school systems …
Feb 11
Psychological Safety
A couple of weeks ago, during a conversation with an executive coach I was re-introduced to the term “psychological safety.” I had not thought much about the term previous from a leader’s perspective but after the talk I realized the importance. As I further reflected, I realized how much psychological safety is connected to high …
Jan 31
From the Desk of the Superintendent- February 2018
Last Thursday, my dad underwent open heart surgery at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary. They cracked his chest open (I still shudder at that thought) and replaced two of his heart values. He was in ICU until late Saturday afternoon and then he walked on his own to the “step down” unit. On Tuesday, …
Jan 17
The unseen life of a teacher
Once a week, the Lethbridge Herald publishes a column written by a superintendent of one of five school jurisdictions in the Lethbridge area. This week’s column is authored by Chris Smeaton, Superintendent for Holy Spirit Catholic School Division and was published on January 17, 2018. CASS thanks the Lethbridge Herald for permission to post this …
Jan 16
Do you know your leaders’ future plans?
About this time every year, I hold my future plan meetings with all of our system and school leaders. It is a practice that I initiated about five years ago. There is no doubt that it is time-consuming with almost 40 administrators and meetings lasting between 30-60 minutes but it continues to provide great dividends. …
Jan 05
From the Desk of the Superintendent- January 2018
It is the last weekend before we welcome staff and students back into our schools on Monday morning. Unfortunately, for some of our staff and students, the Christmas holidays were not necessarily a joyous event. I point this out to remind all of us that we may greet students who exhibit some negative behaviours and …
Jan 03
Invest in leadership- grow them!
I’m back in the office today after a great break over Christmas and as is the norm to my morning routine, I pulled out the book, Leadership Promises for Every Day- A Daily Devotional by John C. Maxwell and read the January 3rd reflection. But since it was my birthday yesterday and I wasn’t in the office, …
Dec 17
Christmas Message 2017
Monday will mark the first day of the last week before Christmas holidays. Five more days and schools will close their doors for the annual Christmas vacation. There will be many excited children this coming week and probably a few staff as well. Unfortunately, there will also be some students whose behaviour will escalate because …