My commitment to everyone in the LRSD community

 To the students I have met in person, in stories, and in the sharing of experiences, successes and achievement, who have afforded me profound, impressive and necessary perspective;

 To the parents, guardians and caregivers who have challenged me and taught me;

 To my community, who believed in me enough to allow me to serve you; 

 To the staff and school leaders who have always been welcoming and engaging, who have a depth of commitment to student engagement and success that shines brightly even on the darkest days, who model caring and kindness, and who demonstrate an unwavering belief in the power of community;

 To our senior leadership, who carry the weight of the world on their shoulders on a regular basis, who have demonstrable integrity, grit, and tenacity, and whose bold and creative thinking inspires me every day;

And, To our Superintendent, who meets challenges head on with intent and confidence, while demonstrating compassionate, moral, and visionary leadership, and a strength of purpose that is reassuring and inspiring;

Here is what I want you to know:

My role as a democratically elected trustee and member of the Louis Riel School Board continues and I commit to fulfilling my obligations and remaining accountable until the last second-  whether the decision to be a school trustee is mine or that of someone else.   

This is a journey we take together.

How I really feel....part 1

 

I wasn’t surprised to hear news today of a pending announcement by Manitoba Education Minister Cliff Cullen.  We’ve been waiting for the release of the recommendations of the K-12 review and I was not alone to think that on this sunny March Friday we might finally be able to relax the collective breath we’ve been holding and hear what the future would hold for public education in Manitoba.

Nope. 

Instead we heard an announcement. Of an announcement. To be held the afternoon of Monday March 15.

Afterward, social media exploded with comments, critique, and criticism of a few short minutes that exemplified the complete and utter lack of understanding and empathy of what public education in Manitoba has been like over the last year, never mind the last decade.

To hear that the recommendations were going to put students first made me gag.  What in the blazes do staff, teachers, school leaders, senior administration and school boards do if not consider students first and foremost in every conversation had and decision made? 

Every. Single. Day.

In a follow up interview on CJOB, available here, Manitoba School Boards Association President Alan Campbell referenced a lack of caring and understanding in Minister Cullen’s comments. I agree completely.   Alan then went on to liken today’s announcement of an announcement on Monday to be tantamount to pouring gasoline on the anxiety and stress being felt by students, families, parents, school division communities and the education system as a whole. I agree with this analogy as well.

I’ll save anything more for Monday when I anticipate I’ll be commenting on the removal of locally elected voice, centralized decision making, and the waste of taxpayer dollars in doing both.  Or d) all of the above.

Or, I may be scratching my head, yet again, trying to understand how a government so focused on student outcomes continues to demonstrate an inability to comprehend and then address the impact of poverty on student success.

Or maybe I’ll just tell you how I really feel.