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 10
Adverse Childhood Experiences
The following blog post was printed in the Lethbridge Herald on March 8, 2017 Last week, as part of our ongoing professional learning, school and system leaders watched the documentary, “Paper Tigers.” It is a story about an alternative high school in the state of Washington and its turnaround due to a focus and understanding …
Mar 01
From the Desk of the Superintendent- March 2017
I want to begin my March message by sharing the incredible experience of attending the installation mass of Bishop McGrattan on Monday evening in Calgary. This was the first installation mass that I’ve attended and it was an extremely powerful event. Watching the procession of our deacons and many of our diocesan priests followed by 31 Bishops …
Feb 24
Learning for all staff
Yesterday morning, I addressed our support staff as they began their day of learning. It is an annual event that coincides with Teachers’ Convention and invites ALL of our support staff to come together for an opportunity to learn. You see, learning or being a learner is not owned by only the teaching profession. Learning or being …
Feb 12
Open to learning
Sometimes it is in the simplest of conversations or actions that we learn the most. But that learning can only take place if we are truly open to it. Our opportunity to learn should be constant and not encumbered by our own decision of whether the situation we are in, or person we are talking …
Feb 06
From the Desk of the Superintendent- February 2017
Earlier today we finished our second round of Continuous Improvement Plan reviews. Based on feedback from our school leaders, we structured the reviews where three schools came together to share their successes and challenges around our three priorities. The sharing was incredible but it was the honesty of our leaders on their challenges that made me most …
Jan 25
Connecting the Dots
The following blog was published in the Lethbridge Herald on January 25, 2017. I recently came across a visual from Marzano Research that illustrated the differences between the old factory model of schooling and the new paradigm we are striving for in education in Alberta. The old mentality had us simply collecting dots, placing high …
Jan 06
From the Desk of the Superintendent- January 2017
Wow…January 2017! I’m having a hard time realizing that it is already the month of January (almost mid school year) and we are now in 2017. We are 17 years into the 21st century. Do you remember where you were and what you were doing in the year 2000? I was in Taber at the …
Jan 04
Teaching Grit
As an individual who grew up in a highly athletic environment, grit and/or mental toughness were almost natural byproducts. You played and worked hard, you didn’t quit and you earned what you deserved. I can’t ever recall just showing up and automatically winning a prize! But I also recognize that the attributes of grit and mental …
Dec 22
From the Desk of the Superintendent- Christmas Message
It is hard to imagine that we are about to start Christmas vacation. Although, given the excitement of our students and probably some staff (me included), this last week has seemed to drag on! But it is here! The first four months of the school year have flown by and when we meet again in …
Dec 11
Keep it simple!
I grew up with a friend who was absolutely brilliant and he had a vocabulary to match. You almost needed a dictionary to understand the words he used on a fairly regular basis. When I did understand his vocabulary (which was usually rare), I would often tease him by rephrasing his statement in common and …