Dec 11
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 …
Nov 30
The following blog post was published in the Lethbridge Herald on November 30, 2016. Alberta Education is undergoing the aggressive task of updating the curriculum currently being taught in our schools. While it may seem that curriculum changes are always occurring, the truth is that Alberta’s curriculum actually ranges in age from eight to thirty …
Nov 27
Last week, my good friend and colleague Michael Chechile, Director General for Lester B. Pearson School Board sent out a tweet that asked Michael Fullan to summarize his day/ presentation/ approach/ strategy/ deep learning/ in one word to make it happen. It really should come as no surprise that Fullan’s one word was TRUST. One word, …
Nov 12
This week our senior administration completed our school continuous improvement plan reviews with all of our school leaders. The process is fairly simple in that each school administration team comes into the board office and shares their plan with our senior education leaders. While I understand that it can a little intimidating for our newer leaders, it is meant …
Oct 23
The following article was published in the Lethbridge Herald on October 19, 2016. Last week I attended the Education Research Development and Innovation (ERDI) Conference in Banff. ERDI, on a semi-annual basis, brings together 50 Canadian superintendents to discuss educational trends with corporate partners from across North America. As part of the conference, a plenary …
Sep 24
Last year our Division took a giant leap forward when our own teachers developed common math assessments for grades 1-9. Through grade level meetings supported by our Director of Learning, teachers met and created these assessments. The assessments were given near the end of the school year. During the next couple of weeks, our grade level …
Aug 28
I’m sitting in my office this afternoon getting ready for the week ahead. Tomorrow we have all of our school leaders in and I always start with an opening presentation to our Learning Leadership Team. Later in the week, we will gather as a division and I will address our entire staff. Even though I’m well known in …
Aug 14
The next time you are in a conversation about something that isn’t quite right, ask yourself if you are blaming, complaining or trying to find a solution. While we would like to believe that we operate in the “glass half full” mentality, we may be surprised at how often we exude negativity. Finger pointing in …
Jun 01
The following article was submitted and published in the Lethbridge Herald on June 1, 2016. In 2013, the Lethbridge Herald began the practice of allowing local superintendents to provide a weekly message on a rotating basis. That initiative in itself should be recognized as extremely forward thinking. In the beginning, I think most of my …
May 23
A number of years ago I spoke about creating a legacy. While some may believe this to be egotistical, there is nothing further from the truth. In education, we should be trying to create a legacy each and every day. True legacies are not about self other than the goal to improve oneself in order to …