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
Nov 09
From the Desk of the Superintendent- Catholic Education Sunday 2014
The following message was read at all masses in the parishes within Holy Spirit Catholic School Division during the weekend of November 8th and 9th to celebrate Catholic Education Sunday in Alberta. Holy Spirit is a regional division that serves students in Coaldale, Lethbridge, Picture Butte, Pincher Creek, Taber, and our newest community of Bow …
Nov 02
From the Desk of the Superintendent- November 2014
Only in southern Alberta can you have golf type weather on one day and a snowfall warning on the next day. From the look of the forecast, we should see a fair amount of melting over the week, but I think winter has arrived! I want to begin this monthly message with sincere gratitude to …
Oct 26
Innovate West
This past weekend, I attended the Innovate West Conference hosted by Connect Charter School in Calgary. It is a conference I’ve wanted to attend in the past because of the positive reviews it has received from previous participants from our division and elsewhere. Attending with me was my Deputy Superintendent, Brian Macauley (@macauleyb) and Director …
Oct 22
Learning must be continuous
The following post was published in the Lethbridge Herald on October 22, 2014. On Sunday, I returned from a conference sponsored by Educational Research Development and Innovation (ERDI). This organization invites approximately 50 superintendents from across the country, twice a year, to meet and discuss education trends and topics from a national perspective with a …
Oct 13
Music to my ears!
Last week, we held our annual division wide professional development day. Over the past number of years, we’ve morphed this day to be far more engaging for our staff through self-selection, the utilization of expertise within our division and a focus on professional dialogue around learning. We’ve also been able to incorporate an edcamp or …
Oct 02
From the Desk of the Superintendent- October 2014
It is hard to imagine that the month of September has already blown by! It seems like only yesterday, that we gathered here at St. Basil’s Catholic Education Centre, for our opening mass and our journey of walking together. I would venture that part of the reason time seems to fly is due to the …
Oct 01
A Time For Everything
Earlier today, I attended a Tree Planting Ceremony and participated in an Asthma Walk in memory of Kennady Clarke. Kennady was a grade 5 student from St. Joseph School who passed away late this summer. It was a beautiful and heartfelt ceremony and served to celebrate her life. As part of the ceremony, the verse A …
Sep 19
Moving forward not stepping back!
Earlier today, I completed my first round of continuous improvement plan reviews. These reviews, lasting about an hour each, were scheduled with the administrative teams of each of our 14 schools. In these first meetings, the focus was to engage in a dialogue about their upcoming year. Over the three-day period, many of my senior administration team were …
Sep 15
Covering the curriculum
There is no doubt that most school curriculum is jam packed with far too many outcomes. It is eye opening to read just what has been placed on the school curriculum plate over the years. Author Jamie Volmer expresses it well in his article, “The Ever Increasing Burden on America’s Public Schools.” While every addition has merit, we’ve long …
Sep 07
Can you imagine?
Earlier this year, I took my 75-year-old father on a golf weekend. At the same time, my daughter, was halfway around the world volunteering and teaching English as a Second Language in Bali. The connection…FaceTime! While sitting in the hotel room and deservingly resting after playing 36 holes of golf, my father and I conversed with my …