Teachers in the Living Sky School Division received some complimentary exposure with the board of the division recently when a supervision status report was presented.
The three superintendents told board members their observations of and meetings with teachers are showing both new and tenured teachers are moving forward in the shift towards outcome based assessment of student learning.
Superintendent of School Operations, Curriculum and Instruction Brian Quinn, along with Cathy Herrick and Jim Shevchuk, superintendents of curriculum and instruction, reported teacher growth moving toward inquiry-based instruction.
Herrick said teachers are letting kids talk more in class, asking more questions that make them think and moving away from the former "sage on the stage" model. In their observations, said Herrick, they are seeing more student engagement.
The superintendents are also impressed with the new teachers that are in place, some of whom are temporary, meaning they have been hired mid-term and may be hired for next year as well.
Shevchuk said, "We've had some exciting hires."
He was pleased teachers from other cities have made Living Sky School Division a destination, and Herrick noted most of the teachers who have come here from Ontario are planning to stay - not just in the west, but in the Living Sky School Division in particular.
According to teachers who have been hired from Ontario, said Herrick, there are few jobs to go back to, and re-entering the Ontario system means starting on a substitute teacher list - almost like being penalized for having left the province.
Director of Education Randy Fox said teachers who have been hired from Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario are both new and experienced teachers.
