Year in ReviewYear in ReviewGetting to ExcellenceIt is important that we take time to celebrate

all that we have accomplished as we come to the end of another year.

Although there have been many distractions from our main focus (students first), there have also been countless accomplishments that have assisted us in moving along the path to excellence for the students in our care.

What are the big rocks?We have grouped our accomplishments into

several areas, some more directly linked to student learning than others.

It is important to note however that each and every one of our accomplishments in some way contributes to student learning be it overtly or behind the scenes building positive culture.

Areas of FocusBoard WorkLeadership CapacityEducational Programs21st Century LearningBudgetClosing SchoolsPublic RelationsFacilitiesHuman ResourcesCommunity

Board WorkSet goals that are the direct result of this Board’s

areas of passion, focus and priorities

Redoing Policy and Procedures to clearly define roles and responsibilities of the Board and the CEO

Created systems to determine what belongs in closed meetings (personnel, property and litigation) and moved all other discussions to public board meetings

Closed 2 schools

Board Work cont’d...Hired new Superintendent of SchoolsHired a new Secretary TreasurerHired a new executive assistant to STBegan the evaluation of the superintendent

of schoolsPolicies codified and the creation of a

framework for the development and review of current policies with relevancy and currency in mind.

Leadership CapacityCreated a Superintendent’s Vision so that all

staff understood who the superintendent was and what the superintendent stood for

Created a system for Leadership Excellence through intensive staff development at pro d and superintendent’s meetings

Leadership Capacity cont’d..Got into every school to build relationships

and instil confidence in the field.Reduced and Restructured Senior TeamRestructured and revamped the role of

Communications Officer and developed a strategic plan for long term Communication and Public Relations goal

(renaming this position – Manager of Communications and Community Relations) (Aug 2010)

Leadership Capacity cont’d..

Developed a Leadership Vision with Administrators

Created a framework and a focus for all administrator professional development (aligned this with all presentations made by superintendent at monthly meetings) focus for 2009/10 was Leadership Excellence and focus for 2010/11 is 21st century learning

Leadership Capacity cont'd.Provided in-service to all vice-principals in

management competenciesMonthly meetings with all partner groups to

assist with relationship/trust building. (2X per month with MRTA as they represent the largest employee group)

Created a superintendent’s blog to honor and recognize the amazing things happening around the district

Leadership Capacity cont'd...Worked with a student focus group to try to

determine how we might improve our education system to better meet the needs of the learner

Created the framework and rationale for a move towards Growth Plans for all in our district. Presented with the MRTA to admin and pro d reps from every school. Implementation plans still to be developed

Leadership Capacity cont'd...Restructured administrator meetings to

principal only and vice-principal only in order to reduce costs as well as focus on specific skills

Restructured Superintendent’s meetings to be 80%Pro D and 20% Information Items

Leadership Capacity cont’d...Formed and participated in the Fraser

Leadership Network which allowed some administrators to work with others from 3 surrounding districts. This was also developed to use money more effectively when bringing in facilitators to assist in Leadership Growth.

Leadership Capacity cont’d...Developed a two year Teacher Leadership

Series to be facilitated by District Staff and the MRTA. Have 35 teachers already signed up for the program which will begin in the fall of 2010

Re-aligned yearly assessments of Principal/Vice-Principal Leadership Capacity Focus

Educational ProgramsHad a complete enrolment audit on all 6

Secondary schools and presented an appeal focusing on “changes in education and fairness of process”.(recouped $35,000)

Prepared for and planned implementation of Full Day Kindergarten over the next 2 years in our district

Educational Programs cont’d…Reviewed catchment areas and adjusted a

few in order to manage enrolment across the district and set the stage for several more years of declining enrolment impact adjustments

Began 3 additional strong start centres at HP, HH and FV. Continued to develop strategies and structures to include strong start programs as part of the school culture and to increase contact between Strong Start facilitators and teachers.

Educational Programs cont’d…Hosted 32 Ready Set Learn events for young

children and their families.Have almost completed the Learning

Disabilities review and developed recommendations for action for the 2010/11 school year.

Reviewed and simplified SSS paperwork, and changing to multiple languages

Educational Programs cont’d…Built capacity in positive behaviour support

for students through working with specific schools on school wide training, providing behaviour support training, and general behaviour workshops

Children in Care project ( developed a tracking and intervention system for every student in care in our district)

21st Century LearningCreated a rubric for measuring 21st century

skills monitoring and practiced using it with the laptop program teachers

Revamped summer school in order to refocus the purpose and vision of summer school education

21st Century Learning cont’d...Completed a Secondary Schools Inquiry

project that allowed all secondary schools to share what they learned as they begin to think about a 21st century change in education

Hired new IT Manager that is moving the district forward on the IT front

21st Century Learning cont’d...Moved all district users to Outlook Express

off of Lotus (saved money and improved communication and allowed people access from anywhere)

Planned and upgraded secondary school wireless to allow students to have a robust network for educational use.

21st Century Learning cont’d...Implemented a digital document

management system that uses our current photocopy assets to digitize current SD42 paper records.

Created a SharePoint District Learning Centre to replace the Matrix and provide SD42 staff with an online training environment.

21st Century Learning cont’d...Created the anticipatory set for a focus on

21st century skills and engaging our learners for next year

BudgetCreate the setting of realistic budgets and

eliminate the misuse of “roll-overs”Develop a balanced budget with our partner

groupsDesigned more simplified budget systems and

established projections and plans for the future

Budget cont’d...Revamped the budget process to be more

efficient and user friendly Designed a more simplified budget system

with projections/forecastsMy Budget file set up (work in progress)On-line payroll initiative completed

Closing SchoolsClosed two Elementary Schools Developed transitions teams to ensure that

the schools that were closed had a team approach to “next steps”

Transitioned all students from closed schools successfully (through the transition team) into their new schools for 2010

Closing Schools cont’d…Created Riverside Center in an attempt to

bring together service programs that link together in order to improve efficiencies and provide seamless opportunities for people in our community to gain access to education outside of our regular K-12 system

Public RelationsLaunched a District magazine designed to

honor and celebrate Public EducationBecame a Lighthouse district for managing

Bill 33 issuesContinued to improve the District Website in

terms of additions, look, feel and ease of use

FacilitiesDid a complete facilities review in order to

make a plan for the future use of our buildings

Working on reducing the use of portables (31 portables to be sold)

Garibaldi New School/RenoReview of all User Group Contracts for

consistency and good fit with larger picture.Catchment Review

Human ResourcesRevamp Health and Safety to include more

pro-active “wellness” opportunities plus brought H&S into the HR department

H1N1 strategic plan for management and communication

Greybrook Academy (took 40 students into our system (smoothly) post Sept 30th

Human Resources cont’d...New Principal and VP contractsRoll out of Employee recognition program

(Hire to Retire) and training of all supervisors in Employee recognition strategies

Embarked upon the Exempt Contract review to ensure we are at Market Value for all Exempt staff

Human Resources cont’d...Removed 3% gratuity from Exempt

contracts(new to district) to allow for a more consistent review of Labor Market analysis.

Conducted a full 15 district complete compensation review on all exempt staff

Human Resources cont’d...Increased and enhanced training

opportunities for SEA’s including the first SD42 instructional support staff conference which was attended by over 300 sea’s, CCW’s and Aboriginal support workers.

Applied for an received a grant for SEA in-service and implemented training opportunities

CommunityWorked in both communities to ensure the

Olympic Torch run was a great success.Worked with both communities to plan both

in and out of school activities for the Olympics

Community cont’d…Completed the planning portion of the

Community Hive at Eric Langton including the signing of the memo of understanding with 13 community partner groups. Officially opened the Hive on December 7th, 2010.

Community cont’d…Reviewed and revised the Master Agreement

on Cooperation for the Joint Use of Public Facilities and Coordination of Services between the District of Maple Ridge, the District of Pitt Meadows and School District 42.

Created a Joint Use Agreement for the Pitt Meadows Artificial Turf Field

The year in ReviewAlthough this is not a complete list of things

that were accomplished this year, it clearly shows that we have great people working towards providing the best services for the kids in our district.

We have reason to be proud!