WEYBURN — A 10-person team of education experts was on hand in the Â鶹´«Ã½AV East Cornerstone Public School Division’s head office on Dec. 18 to do what is described as a “wall walk” with members of the board’s trustee team on the listening side during their monthly open business meeting.
The walk consists of information driven by data collected over the course of each school year that is used for comparison purposes as well as to drive continuous improvements in the delivery of educational materials and programs to students of all ages up to Grade 12.
The data in general and detailed form is posted on the extended west wall in the division’s main conference room and it bears all measures of information regarding progress and some occasional fail points, such as some minor regressions noted during the well documented COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and into 2021.
The one-hour distribution of information dealt with a plethora of educational materials, personnel and gathered information that assists administrators and educators in planning future projects and programs.
Grade transitions and training and expertise needs were discussed as were graduation rates, early years learning challenges and materials alongside reading levels, with Grade 3 levels being considered a key element for early learning readers, as an example.
Grade level cohorts, and attendance levels as they relate to classroom successes were pointed out by superintendents including Kevin Hengen (east zone), Cathy Hiltz (south) and Devon Dempsey (west) who also spoke about online results and data tracking and collection and the need to meld data to give clear pictures within various age and grade brackets.
Director of education Keith Keating led off the discussion by referring to how the data collection aids everyone, but mostly the students, parents and educational staff members.
Nathan Johnson, superintendent of human resources was one of the early presenters followed by Jacquie Gibbs, co-ordinator of early learning.
Cheryl Anderson, co-ordinator of student services, also spoke about attendance issues, data melding to give clear pictures, and student success rates at various stages of development. The information dove-tailed with the pointed information offered by Johnson and Gibbs.
Michael Graham, the system’s curriculum co-ordinator addressed such matters as overall improvements including self-identified First Nations cohorts and comparisons with provincial benchmarks and results.
The wall walk graphs and charts showed that for the most part, SECPSD students are currently exceeding provincial mediums and averages and have been for a period of several years.
“Getting the kids in school and getting them reading,” is a classical need, said Graham.
Tracey Kiliwnik, co-ordinator of learning supports, spoke in terms of meeting the challenges posed by students with anxiety or acceptance issues and how the division assists them in connecting with others and providing safe spaces in which to learn.
She and Dempsey spoke about responses to interventions to ensure students reach their potential.
Kiliwnik also addressed the need to ensure mental health is assured among students and staff by normalizing different situations and retaining relationship advocacy. Students and staff members alike, in other words, won’t get buried in technology.
Universal screening and data driven information provides for an informed school division, the presenters suggested.
Keeping attendance above the 90 per cent rate appears to be a key element in learning. That was another informational item these data provided.
Aaron Hiske, deputy director of education, responded to questions from the board members regarding the collection of data within the First Nations community of students and how that was disaggregated when needed.
With the queries answered, the presentation was wrapped up with thanks being issued by the board.