Dec 29

Why curriculum needs to change!

This will likely be my last post for 2014 so, I might as well go out with the proverbial bang and talk about the need to update, modernize, enhance or simply “slash: the current curriculum. It has served us relatively well in a knowledge economy but knowledge is easily attained and we now live in an innovation economy. In this short video Tony Wagner states, “The world doesn’t care how much our students know. What the world cares about is what they can do with what they know.” The shift that rings loudly in my ears is from a curriculum steeped in content to one that focuses on competencies.

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel at the Curriculum Prototyping Symposium in Calgary. The panel brought together a wide array of stakeholders debating the “big why” of curriculum redesign and is well worth the viewing here. The process of prototyping in itself is revolutionary and provides great hope for the future of curriculum. I would strongly suggest checking out the many links available on the Inspired Curriculum website.

In preparation for the panel, two questions were provided to guide the conversation. I’ve included the two questions (#1 & #2) as well as other questions/statements I believe need to be answered or debated as we move forward on creating a nimble curriculum that supports an innovative economy.  

1. How does engaging with teachers, students and community members in prototyping lead to an improved curriculum?

  • For too long we’ve had a closed shop in education. That may have been fine when we, the educators, held all the knowledge. But knowledge is easily attained today by simply a flick of a switch. Education has become far too complex to do it alone and today we need both internal and external views to make curriculum more alive, more relevant and more flexible.

2. What are the new basics in education?

  • I think there is a fear out there that this new curriculum journey will not include foundational skills but let’s not use the terms “reading, writing and arithmetic.” The fact is that foundational skills will never cease to be critical- they are the building blocks. Literacy and numeracy will always be cornerstone to our education system but the basics must be expanded to include competencies. Basic skills are not enough anymore!
  • The 4 C’s- Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration and Communication are essential and what I would consider basic for education today. There was a time when all of these were learned naturally. playing hide and seek, make-believe and through engaging family sit down suppers. We left school, did our homework and then played with friends until dark. Today, that does not happen because our society is not the same. Parenting is different, we have a shrinking middle class and well put simply, our streets are certainly not as safe today as they once were. What was once taught at home now needs to be taught at school. Given that, we must adjust to ensure that these basics are part of the school system.

3. Why do we need to transform curriculum?

  • Approximately 1 in 4 students are still not completing high school in 3 years. Now while we should not hang our hats on this three-year rate, we need to accept that we have students who are not completing high school… ever. That is a societal issue and simply doing more of the same will not address it, instead it is a recipe for insanity.
  • How many times do we hear our own kids respond to the question, “What did you learn at school today?” with “Nothing.” That is problematic and in part we have a curriculum driven by knowledge acquisition rather than based on local context and student/teacher interest. The very best curriculum finds the sweet spot between passion (what I love to do) and ability (what I’m good at doing). It motivates students as Daniel Pink would suggest because it provides purpose, allows for mastery and invites autonomy.

4. Needs of the society

  • Our current curriculum is not nearly flexible enough to meet the changing labor market. We need to be able to change on almost a dime in order to support an innovative culture. Our current model of curriculum redesign is far too cumbersome and regimented!  There is a global market out there that our students are competing in and without a nimble curriculum, our students will continually lose out. We must be able to “pivot” when required!

5. What are the essential outcomes?

  • Our curriculum has far too many outcomes and often without any relevance to any local context. Teachers have been caught teaching all the outcomes rather than focusing on the “need to knows”. Sometimes this has been the result of the assessment/accountability practices currently in place, while others it has simply become a habit. The need to cover curriculum or surface learning as John Hattie would say, is not beneficial for our students. Deep learning takes time and you can’t gain that time if you are worried about simple course coverage.
  • “There are no curriculum police!” This has been a mantra of mine for the last number of years! Nobody will know if you skip over irrelevant outcomes that have little bearing on students’ future success. Every outcome is not equally important..it can’t be! While I’m not a great supporter of one’s own professional judgment, (collective is far superior) this is one time when good teachers simply know what is most important and must focus their instruction around just that! Parents don’t complain when their sons and daughters are engaged in learning, excited about learning and can articulate their learning! That won’t occur for all students if we continue force feeding them a mammoth of useless outcomes!

The journey that Alberta is on, has great potential to revolutionize our classrooms. The shift from content to competencies and static to flexible is what is required. But it will take all of us to speak from only one side of our mouth, forego victim mentality and “if only” thinking, demonstrate some maverick leadership and finally be courageous to impact learning and fully engage all our students! When you return to you classrooms in January, how are you going to change your teaching of the curriculum?

Dec 16

From the Desk of the Superintendent- Christmas Message 2014

The Christmas season is just around the corner. Friday, the 19th of December will mark the last day of work for many in the education system. Two glorious weeks of holidays are like a reward, a short reprieve from the lightning paced life we’ve experienced since the beginning of the school year. It may seem like a cliché but every year seems to pass by quicker than the last and every day seems to be more intense than the previous. Numerous factors contribute to this lifestyle, some controllable while others not, but ultimately, this is our life!

And so, as we breeze through this last week of school, we need to pause to ensure that we find and, most importantly, share the joy of Christmas. For me, joy is a stronger and more appropriate descriptor of Christmas than happiness. It reaches deeper! It is not as fleeting or superficial as happiness. While being happy is never a bad thing, being filled with joy is more long-lasting. Our secular society puts a premium on personal happiness and individual rights but it is our faith that shines the light on eternal joy and community well-being! This year, as in previous years, I’ve witnessed our schools sharing the joy of Christmas with our students and bringing joy to the most marginalized and underprivileged in our community. Joy brings more than just a smiling face, it brings a warmed heart and a sense of hope. The celebration of the birth of Christ, each and every year, brings hope to Christians around the world. While we are often targeted in the media as being archaic, the fact is that Catholic Education provides a strong foundation to our community.

Christmas is both a celebration and remembrance of  some “firsts.” This past year we’ve celebrated the birth of many children and grandchildren within our staff. I always look forward to when these babes come and visit the superintendent. This season will be a new beginning for first time parents and grandparents and the first Christmas to their bundles of joy! What an exciting time and a wonderful memory. But this Christmas, will also be the first without a loved one or colleague, for many of our families. I was reminded of this when I attended the funeral of long time Holy Spirit teacher, Ron Wagner. This will be a tough Christmas for Jeanne and her family and so my thoughts and prayers go out to them and to all others who lost a loved one this past year.

As you begin your holiday, I pray that you continually find the joy of Christmas in your lives and carry that same joy throughout the new year. It is through joy that we can bring hope to all and it is through hope that miracles can happen. Enjoy your Christmas vacation and may your homes be filled with love and laughter and may you always find the peace of Christ!

Merry Christmas and God Bless!

Dec 07

From the Desk of the Superintendent- Continuous Improvement Plan Reviews

This past week, over an intense 3-day period, members of senior administration and I visited all fourteen schools in the division to review continuous improvement plans (CIPs). This process occurs every 6-7 weeks and allows senior administration an in-depth view of the work occurring in the schools. It may sound a little intimidating (3-6 senior administrators descending on the school), but strong trust continues to be developed between school and system leaders that enables this process to be one of information gathering, data collecting and engaging conversations.

Three questions (or slight variations) are consistently asked to frame the conversation in order to review the plan.

  1.  What have you done since the last visit to achieve the goals your school has set?
  2. What are you going to do before the next visit to achieve the goals your school has set?
  3. What data or evidence are you collecting to make sure you are making progress on the goals you have set?

There are two important aspects of this process that need to be highlighted. The first, is that it is the schools who set their goals based on their own context. While they certainly fit within the board’s strategic priorities (which they helped develop), they own their goals. The requirement for outside accountability is minimized because internal assurance is raised. Schools take ownership of their own work. My role during these meetings, is certainly one of gaining a better understanding of what is happening in the school. But just as important, is the need to act as a critical friend who seeks to clarify, reaffirm, and/or redirect through listening and leading with questions. While I’m extremely proud of the work occurring in our schools, that does not mean that some of these conversations are tough, because brutal facts always have to be confronted.

The most difficult part for our administrators in these reviews, surrounds the collection of data and evidence. As a whole in education, we’ve not been overly successful in this collection especially in a quantitative form. We always have some great narratives and should never lose those pieces of evidence but we need to go deeper and search harder for other forms of data beyond the qualitative. It is not about reducing everything to a number, because numbers don’t measure everything but ensuring that we have more to go on than our own professional judgment and assumptions. We should always be looking for the evidence and searching for the research.  

Educators continue to be far more reflective on their practice today and constantly seeking evidence and examples assists in that process. Asking oneself, “What will it look like when my students get it right?” or “How will I know when they get it right?’ supports the reflective nature of teaching and learning. Collecting the evidence should not be feared but rather embraced.  And when collected, it must be communicated to our students, parents, and community. Our continuous improvement plan reviews are about trust and verification and they promote a strong assurance model for education.

 

Dec 06

The gift of giving

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 Roman Catholic Separate Regional Division No. 4 and was published on December 3, 2014.

Now that we’ve hit December, experienced some very cold weather and had to shovel the walks once or twice, it is easy to know that Christmas is right around the corner. Our schools host weekly Advent celebrations in preparation and staff and students are busy getting ready for concerts and other Christmas activities. It is hard not to imagine that everybody is not excited about the upcoming holiday. Yet, we know that for some students and families, this time of the year is not the joyous event that most of us have come to love.

A recent report stated that child poverty in Lethbridge was the highest among Alberta’s seven major cities. Almost 1 in 5 children in this area are living in poverty. And while fundraisers like Food for Thought and donations from generous businesses and organizations assist local schools in providing breakfast programs for students, these same programs are not available during the holidays. Children go hungry and Christmas, recognized as a wonderful celebration in the Christian world, is not so special without food on the table.

Throughout the year, but especially around this holiday season, schools are involved in collecting non-perishable food items, warm clothing, mitts, toques, socks, and other necessities that most of us take for granted. They donate to local charities and contribute to organizations like Free the Children by participating in the project, “We Scare Hunger.” One of our most successful endeavours to meet the needs of families in our community around Christmas time has been Santa’s Anonymous, organized by the staff and students of Catholic Central High School. This program continues to grow and support more families each and every year and is always looking for additional donations to address the increasing need.

Schools both within Holy Spirit and in neighboring divisions have understood the poverty issue for many years and have always provided the ability for students to learn about social justice and the gift of charity. Trips to volunteer at the local food bank or soup kitchen provide students with a better awareness of the plight of the disadvantaged and marginalized in our society. It is an excellent learning opportunity for students and one that develops empathy and understanding. Through this work in social justice, we are educating students to be more involved ethical citizens, ones committed to making our communities stronger.

As we approach this Christmas season, I would challenge all of us in the community to follow the lead of our schools. Engage in social justice, experience the joy of giving, commit to ending poverty in our area, and make Christmas a joyous event for all!

Nov 23

From the Desk of the Superintendent- November 23, 2014

Happy Sunday! I hope you’ve enjoyed your weekend and the feast of Christ the King. To help celebrate, here’s a great YouTube clip from the band Newsboys singing one of my favorite songs Blessed Be Your Name. Next week, we begin the season of Advent in preparation for the birth of the Christ child.

It is great to be back home after a rather grueling week away in Edmonton. The highlight of our Catholic superintendents meeting was the unanimous support for our Inclusive Communities Commitment document. This document will be our guide to ensure that all of our students, no matter their sexual orientation, will always be well supported in our schools. It will be shared with our trustees at our next meeting and then our Learning Leadership Team in December. Look forward to more information about this document and accompanying administrative procedure in the new year.

Part of the ACSTA annual general meeting is a faith formation component. This year we were treated to a couple of keynote addresses from Sister Miriam James. Her Twitter handle is @onegroovynun and I would concur with the name. She was outstanding to say the least with faith story that was filled with great emotion. I’m hopeful that she will be able to come to our school division in the future and speak with our students and staff. She is a wonderful faith role model with a powerful message.

The annual general meeting for ASBA, was as expected, a little more political. Education Minister Gordon Dirks spoke at the MLA breakfast.   Our trustees were able to connect with three of our local MLAs- Greg Weadick, Ian Donovan and Gary Bikman, who sat with us for breakfast. A couple of central themes articulated by trustees were the importance of passing the new Education Act and ensuring that our education system moves forward with the ideals of Inspiring Education. Our division has provided many strong examples of better preparing our students for their future and we cannot afford to be held back or worse, step backwards! In terms of motions passed, the most significant I believe, was the recommendation to adjust the weighting of the diploma examinations down from 50% to 30%. Our trustees were in full support of this motion. It is now up to Alberta Education to respond positively to this motion and support  the overwhelming feeling of many parents, students and teachers.

The November board meeting is always the longest of the year. The combined 3-Year Education Plan and Annual Education Results Report will be presented to the board for approval. . In addition, the updated budget and audited financial statements will be presented. Once these documents are approved, they will be submitted to Alberta Education to meet the November 30th deadline. You can find all of these documents within the board package. The board will also hear about the China Leadership Exchange, through a presentation from our participants: Brian Macauley, Lorelie Lenaour, Val Leahy and Kevin Kinahan. This was an exciting endeavour  for those involved and I’m certainly excited to hear about their trip. Another update to the board will be on our capital projects. We will be hosting an open house at St. Michael’s on December 9th to showcase the modernization design, the construction team for the new school should soon be announced and we are just finalizing dates for a value management scoping for St. Patrick School in Taber.

On December 1 & 2, the inaugural Curriculum Prototyping Symposium will be held in Calgary. As one of the 18 partners, we have been well involved in this process and are looking forward to the event. There are a number of our teachers who will be attending this two-day event. I have been invited to sit on the opening panel and provide comment on the big “why” of redesigning curriculum. I’ll be unable to attend the full two days because of other important events in the division: Council of School Council Chair/Board Meeting on December 1st and our yearly Advent Liturgy and Dinner hosted by our ATA Local on December 2nd. From December 3-5, SALT members will be back in schools reviewing the continuous improvement plans with school administration. I value this opportunity to be  meeting with our leaders as they share their school’s incredible work.

In closing, I want to highlight some great blog posts that I’ve picked up over the last month. I also want to encourage all of our staff utilizing Twitter to continue to showcase your work using the #hs4 hashtag.

Enjoy the remainder of November and welcome to December!!!

 

 

 

Nov 22

Leadership is more than pleasing people!

There is a plethora of research on what characteristics define the truly great leader. Integrity, honesty, vulnerability, vision are all descriptors of the outstanding leader. There is also a prevailing belief (in which I concur), that you cannot ascend to the highest level of leadership without being relational. Relationships matter! Gifted leaders, ones who are well-respected, trusted and liked, understand that relationships must also be authentic. Weak or passing fad leaders confuse authenticity with the art pleasing the people. Pleasing people is more often about self gain, about getting votes or being liked (although those might be great end results). Authentic relationships are formed by leaders who do the right thing, make tough decisions and have difficult conversations.

The challenges of effective leadership are immense. To paraphrase Chris Lowney from his book Heroic Leadership, it is not easy for the leader to set the course, get everyone onside with the direction and then manoeuvre in and around the barriers that exist to ascertain the preferred future. Getting people onside or better phrased as committed to the cause requires authentic relationships. The leader’s ability to build effective and authentic relationships with one’s employees,colleagues and the general community is simply non-negotiable.

I highlight the word “authentic” because too often relationships are viewed as one way, shallow and superficial. In other words the default becomes to please others. Employee groups or leaders sometimes revert to the position that if you truly cared about this relationship you would do “X”. This is simply not authentic. Effective and authentic relationships are mutually beneficial and based on respect. It is not centered on getting your own way and is not structured with the mentality of win/lose. It is also not without struggle, tough decisions and disappointment. Authentic relationships value the messiness of the interactions and understand the complexity of leadership life. 

It is crucial for leaders to recognize that it is impossible to please everyone. Any decision made will be have people lined up on both sides of the fence. It is a no win scenario and therefore should be avoided at all costs. However, authentic relationships allows leaders to make tough decisions without major fallout. Pleasing people is fleeting and superficial at best. It requires no strong and enduring commitment which is why these leaders typically don’t have a long and succesful shelf life and never create a legacy!

Leaders- be authentic in your relationships rather than simply desiring to please people. In the long run of your leadership career and your organization’s health, it is superior!

 

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 Island.  Today, we celebrate Catholic Education Sunday.  Each year we set aside this special day to celebrate the gift of publicly funded Catholic Education here in the province of Alberta. As there are only three Canadian provinces that still fully provide publicly funded Catholic Education: Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, we recognize that Catholic education is precious, and something that must be nurtured and supported by our communities.

The theme chosen by the Alberta Bishops for this year’s Catholic Education Sunday is, “Sharing the Good News about our Human Nature.” In their letter, the Alberta Bishops speak of the importance of the relationship that exists between home, school and parish and how that bond impacts the education of our children.  If one of the triad is not strong, our children suffer.

Our division’s faith theme for this year, “Walking Together,” highlights the importance of all partners – home, school, parish, and even the larger community – working together to proclaim our faith and assist in the spiritual, academic, social, emotional and physical development of our children.  Pope Francis, in his Installation Mass, said, “I want to ask you a favour…I want to ask you to walk together, and take care of one another.”

The words of Pope Francis are a call to action for all of us.  Our students; the future leaders in our churches, our schools, and our homes; require all of us to commit to taking care of them, serving as models of Christ’s love.  We are a faith community, a family of believers, called to walk together. We can ill afford to work in isolation, but must be willing, in the words of Pope Francis, “…to walk in front in order to guide the community, in the middle in order to encourage and support, and at the back so that no one lags too far behind, to keep them united.”

Walking together, taking care of one another, will only strengthen our resolve and ensure that our Catholic Education system remains vibrant and continues to be world class.  During this past year, Holy Spirit has been recognized as a high performing school division; one that other school divisions from across the nation are taking note of and wanting to learn more about.  This can only occur when we walk together.

And so, as we celebrate Catholic Education Sunday this weekend, I would ask that you pray for the division…our students and our staff… as we journey in faith, and pray for our families and parishes as they continue to walk with us in our ministry of Catholic Education. Have a wonderful Catholic Education Sunday and God Bless!

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 the ATA PD Committee for asking me to keynote our Division Wide PD Day last month. It was a great honour and I’ve been most humbled by the many positive comments received. It should provide a great sense of pride to everyone within our school division that Holy Spirit is well recognized as being high performing and embracing a culture of innovation. I applaud the work being done in our schools, as we continue to reflect on our practice, think outside the box, and better meet the needs of our students.

Interestingly, Bishop Henry spoke of “out of the box” thinking at Calgary Catholic’s Faith Day that I attended last week. His message spoke of being counter cultural in that we must love our enemies. When things do not go right in our world, as is often the case, our natural instinct is usually anger and yet, we are called to see the face of Christ in all we meet, not just those who love and support us. Our world teaches hatred and revenge, Jesus teaches love and forgiveness. It is certainly out of the box to live like Christ in this world and as a faith organization, we are called to be witness each and every day to that life. Bishop Henry as usual, provided a powerful message and it was further emphasized by Gary Strother, Chief Superintendent of Calgary Catholic. Doing things different to what the world expects and out of the box thinking are consistent calls in our faith lives.

The October board meeting provided information on the Accountability Pillar Results. This report, once again, demonstrated the confidence that our public have in areas like Educational Quality, Safe and Caring, Parental Involvement and School Improvement. Well done Holy Spirit Staff! The meeting also saw the Board take a bold stance, in an uncertain future, and voted not to administer Grade 6 Provincial Achievement Tests in 2015. Although this option, to choose PATs or SLAs was the original plan circulated with the announcement of the SLAs in May 2013, the Board has made a strong statement for current assessment practice. Well done Board of Trustees!

November is always a busy month for trustees and senior administration. The College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS) hosts the fall conference, which focuses on FNMI learning and features our own U of L Professor, Dr. Michelle Hogue as a keynote. Our 4-member team consisting of our Deputy Superintendent, Director of Learning and two school based principals will be travelling to China at the end of the week to present on our leadership practices that support our journey in Inspiring Education. On the November 8/9 weekend, we celebrate Catholic Education Sunday. With only three provinces in Canada that support publicly funded Catholic Education, this is an important celebration and one that should not be taken for granted. And finally, the trustees and I will be in Edmonton for the annual general meetings of both the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association (ACSTA) and the Alberta School Boards’ Association (ASBA). At the ASBA  Awards Gala and Dinner, Holy Spirit will be vying for the prestigious 2014 Premier’s Award for School Board Innovation and Excellence for our partnership work with Canadian Home Builders’ Association Lethbridge. Regardless of the outcome, this partnership has proven to be extremely valuable to our students.

Have a wonderful November!

 

 

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 of Student Services, Ken Sampson (@KenSampson1), so we had excellent representation from our senior team. Part of the conference involved tours while students (on Friday) were in class. Connect Charter School (former known as Calgary Science School) is well-known throughout western Canada as a leading example of innovation in education. With over 1000+ visitors every year, students don’t view these visits as distractions but rather part of their own learning process. They share what they are learning openly and their level of understanding of the learning process is simply amazing. When was the last time you engaged in a conversation with a 10-year-old student about Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset?

While visiting the school itself is a great professional learning experience, the conference, with a facilitated discussion format is powerful. Learning is framed not around experts presenting material but rather leaders (formal and informal) facilitating a conversation around a particular topic of mutual interest. Through self-selection, similar to an edcamp or open spaces model, participant’s autonomy is honoured. I was able to fully attend three sessions, lead one and “pop in” to a couple where I knew the presenters and just wanted to touch base.

Stakeholder Mapping for Design Thinking– Stephanie Nemcsok and Donna Kipta from TELUS Spark provided an opportunity to learn more about the “define” phase of design thinking. Last year, I had the good fortune of some introductory learning about design thinking at EF Tours Science and Innovation Summit in Berlin. But through this session and further connecting with fellow participant Jessie McLean, I learned more about how this approach can be well used in our schools. Check out his school’s work here.

The Essence of Innovation– This session was led by Phil Butterfield, a Sessional Instructor at University of Calgary and also the former vice principal of Connect Charter School. High level conversations on the differences between educational reform and innovation characterized this session. The visual provided by Phil assisted in a better understanding of the concept and path of innovation in school organizations.

Innovation

How do we make assessment meaningful for all the stakeholders involved?– Two teachers from Connect Charter School, Jody Pereverzoff and Margaret Leland led an important conversation on assessment. The importance of parents and the community at large gaining a better understanding of current assessment practices along with frequency and types of assessments dominated this discussion. A Google Doc was generated to continue the learning for participants and others.

The practice of professional development has greatly changed over the last number of years. Today, there is a premium on the belief that we all have expertise, able to contribute and ready to learn. Conferences organized in this format, like Twitter, have no hierarchy- everybody is a learner. Being around these learners this weekend reinforced my belief that we are on the cusp of something very special in education. There is tremendous momentum growing that will not reform education but rather revolutionize it. While nothing is ever perfect, it is an exciting time to be in education.

I was humbled to be surrounded by such committed learners, who constantly stretched my own thinking and caused me to reflect on my own practice! Well done organizers of Innovate West!

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 multitude of corporate partners who have close ties to education. Beyond my time, there is no financial burden to the division as ERDI covers all costs. While that is certainly appreciated in times of fiscal restraint, the real benefit is the high quality learning I’m involved in during the conference. It is a great opportunity to engage in professional dialogue with other Canadian superintendents from, often, much larger school divisions.

These conversations reinforce my strong belief in the importance of being a continuous learner, regardless of your position within a school division.  Eric Hoffer once wrote, “In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” There has never been a truer statement for the world of education. A constant learner is, more than ever, being recognized as a requirement for educators today.

Prior to my departure to the conference, our division hosted our annual Professional Development Day. Over the last number of years, these days have become more supportive of autonomous professional dialogues that enhance instructional practice. The focus is simply on learning and assumes (rightfully so) that our staff will engage in these opportunities.  While schools may look relatively similar to days gone by in structure, the learning environment has vastly changed to meet the needs of a very diverse population sitting in our classrooms. The learned teacher of yesterday must transform to an ongoing learner to succeed in an increasingly complex education system. Given that, it is imperative that school divisions offer and encourage participation in high quality learning opportunities within the typical school day, after hours, and through the use technology and social media.

Alberta continues to be a world leader in education because school divisions make learning for staff a priority. Even with the elimination of the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement funding envelope a number of years ago, school divisions across the province still commit significant dollars to support professional learning. Regardless of the position held in a school division, from superintendent to classroom teacher, learning must be seen as a non-negotiable activity. A strong Alberta requires an investment in our children and that will always be well supported through an investment in and commitment to learning for our educators.