Blog Posts

Throughout the 2023/2024 school year, WA Fraser Middle School and Chief Dan George Middle have participated in a unique program called Agenda Gap. Agenda Gap is a research-driven program led by Dr. Emily Jenkins at UBC and funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Mental Health Promotion – Innovation Fund. It is a facilitated program co-created with youth collaborators to support young people engaging in policy decision-making to enhance conditions for positive mental health for themselves and their communities.

There are no guarantees in life, but wherever you want to go or can imagine going, education is probably the best way there. How does a child in Kindergarten one day become an architect? How does a grade nine student become an arthroscopic surgeon or an agriculturist? How does one become an electrician or a chef? You guessed it - education. This is why I often describe education as the bridge to anywhere.

At Eugene Reimer Middle School, we are embracing innovative teaching methodologies, and one such transformative approach is the implementation of "Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K-12: 14 Practices for Enhancing Learning" by Peter Liljedahl. This framework is reshaping our mathematical practices and redefining how our students approach problem-solving and mathematical reasoning.

With my last blog post as superintendent (I still have a few more to write in my retirement), I would like to close with gratitude and appreciation for the many people with whom I have travelled this thirty-six-year path. I mentioned in my last post that it was because of the inspiration and encouragement of teachers, and one in particular, why I chose to become an educator. The journey to finding and fulfilling my purpose, particularly in leadership, has been filled with meandering adventures and learning. What resonates most with me are the people who have been on the journey with me.

At Abbotsford Traditional School we have a strong commitment to student achievement. Academic goals of improving numeracy and reading comprehension are two of our focuses. Aligning staffing with school goals is a sure way of keeping our eye on success. At ATS we have a middle Math Department head and a middle English Language Arts department head who work regularly with their team to talk about curriculum, instruction, and assessment to do our best to ensure that our students learn to the best of their ability.

With all the recent retirement festivities I have had cause of late to reflect on my journey in the education system.  One of the frequent questions I have been asked is why I decide to become a teacher “all those years ago.”  I have had occasion over the years to mention it on World Teacher Day, but for me, the decision had everything to do with my school experiences, and a challenge extended to me by a very special human being.

In previous posts, I have shared my perspectives on the spectre of systemic racism in education, particularly in relation to Indigenous Peoples. I highlighted two interrelated constructs related to this issue: epistemic racism (the idea that there is only one form of true knowledge) and the related “racism of low expectations” highlighted in the 2016 Auditor General’s Report.

_{O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't.}

_{— William Shakespeare, The Tempest}

“When are we going to meet again?” Students at Chief Dan George Middle school are always eager to participate in our bi-monthly student councils. We have made it our mission to prioritize student voice by taking the time to listen and act on their thoughts and ideas.

Earlier this school year I made the commitment to report back on what I had learned as a consequence of my “shadow a student” experience.  Listening to students has been a key part of my practice over the last few years, and shadowing a student is the most recent iteration of this learning journey.