It’s one thing to be data driven; it’s a whole other ball game to tailor a system to students’ needs. But that’s exactly what the folks at Parkland School Division have done. With the help of its board, this division is revolutionizing the way Alberta looks 21st century learning. Parkland School Division serves more than 58,000 residents in an area that spans about 4,000 square kilometers. The division is home to about 9,600 students, and it has 21 schools along with a number of alternate sites.
It’s a dynamic system and has been recognized for its innovative programming and high levels of student and parent satisfaction. But, of course, the division’s accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible without hard work and the dedication of its board of trustees and its senior executive.
Tim Monds, superintendent, began his time at PSD in October 2010, and Deputy Superintendent Kelly Wilkins has been in her role for about 10 months. Together, Monds, Wilkins, and others are leading change throughout the division, but they’re careful to acknowledge the strong history of success PSD already has. Additionally, they’re committed to teamwork, and both will say that at this division, two heads are better than one.
“My approach as superintendent centers on teamwork,” said Monds. “No one person can do it alone, and our greatest strength at PSD is working together in a collaborative manner. The past few months, the school board and senior administration came together as a team to talk about transformation, and that’s made us stronger. We met with the community as well, and we’re looking to the future of education at PSD.”
Transformation is on the forefront of everyone’s minds, not only at PSD, but also throughout Alberta. Three goals were created that address education throughout the province, and Monds said the second goal echoes PSD’s culture and the direction it’s headed in. The goal centers on transforming education.
“We’re focusing on transformation, and we’re constantly looking at what’s best for our kids,” said Monds. “One of the transformation initiatives is our High School Flexibility Enhancement Project. We needed to define what education looks like for kids at PSD, and that included what classrooms should look like, what teachers should be teaching, and what the community’s role should be.”
Monds created a future planning team that consists of senior district and school administrators to start the process. The team traveled to conferences and met with educational leaders to determine what was best for PSD students and how to effectively transform the division’s approach to classroom learning. Monds explained it was important for the board to create a new path for the division, but at the same time, he didn’t want to lose sight of the great things PSD accomplished in the past. “We didn’t want to throw out the baby with the bathwater,” he said.
Reporting on success
Monds said that today, the district is doing many things to transform its approach to education. Its initiatives range from electronic portfolios for students to a blog started by Monds, which focuses on professional learning among senior leaders. But some would argue the division’s most notable development is a new report card – an initiative that represents nearly a decade of work in student assessment.
“Ten years ago, we took a hard look at our policy around student evaluation and reporting,” said Wilkins. “We made significant changes regarding student expectations and teacher practices. That focus later shifted toward ensuring assessment was improving student learning, and that students were involved in developing rubrics, for example. Three years ago, the board approved an initiative that allowed our schools to dig deep into reporting and ensure it was meaningful and comprehensive.”
After conducting research, the division embarked on an all-inclusive reporting pilot project. Wilkins explained a number of initiatives have taken place in the division since then, including sharing with parents, teachers and other administrators the results of the division’s reporting and how it would be incorporated into the classroom.
“When you talk about transformation and the 21st century learner, it requires you to take a close look at the developmental needs of students,” said Wilkins. “We took a look at what was appropriate at every grade level, and since then, we’ve seen an increase in integrated curriculum and have given more of a voice and a choice to students. We also saw an increase in critical thinking and inquiry-based learning, and it was then that teachers expressed how hard it was to condense their reporting down to just three times a year.”
Moving forward
This year, a group of teachers from across the division came together, and using the information they gathered the past 10 years, they created a divisional report card that does away with sorting and ranking students. Instead of being assigned a letter grade or a percentage, the card documents information reported from grade level outcomes aligned with Alberta’s educational system. PSD is seeing its focus shift toward deeper, richer reporting centered on what students can do.
“Even though it’s a very public and prominent example of the work we’ve been doing, the report card is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Wilkins, adding that the district is not done yet. “There’s still a lot of focus on how we are measuring learning and how we’re creating common, performance-based assessments. And when we talk about reporting student progress to parents, the report card is just one small piece of a more comprehensive plan.”
Monds said even though there is still work to be done, he’s proud of what he and his team accomplished. Monds also attributes the success of the division to its board.
“There’s a great deal of excitement about the report card and moving forward,” he said. “When I look back to what’s happened in recent months, our board had a specific direction it wanted PSD to move in. Our board is progressive, and it looks to the future of our students. Together, we’ve accomplished a lot, and although we’re still heavily focused on research, coming together as a team will be the largest part of what’s to come.”
