The Lakeland Catholic School District (LCSD) will look at ways to improve the district during a three-day trip to Edmonton.
Members of the LCSD board of trustees and senior administration will be in the city for two workshops from Jan. 15 to 17, 2018.
First, trustees will gain valuable information on how to be efficient in their position at the Winter Learning Academy, before turning their attention to a meeting with Minister of Education David Eggen on Jan. 17.
“There are some items in our three-year plan that we would like to discuss in terms of expanding,” detailed LCSD communications officer Amanda Wildman.
Currently, the district has a new school in Lac La Biche, and a new Kindergarten to Grade 12 facility for Holy Family Catholic School prioritized in 2018. A new high school in Cold Lake is the lone project set out for 2019, with the hopes of upgrading Notré Dame Elementary School and St. Dominic in 2020.
Trustees will discuss viable options for all possibilities with Eggen, while gauging where an expansion to the division's central office should work into the capital plan. In addition to the expansion, LCSD will go over their latest provincial testing results.
They'll have plenty to go over after scoring ‘excellent' or ‘good' in 12 out of 15 categories, including education quality and Provincial Achievement Testing. LCSD also intends to extend thanks to Eggen for his position on the long-term viability of Catholic education.
“We wanted to make mention and thank him for the speech he provided at the Alberta Catholic School Trustees Association (ACSTA) AGM (Nov. 16 to 18) regarding his continuing support for Catholic education. We'll also be sharing accountability pillar results because we're just so proud of the district,” said Wildman.
Before meeting with Eggen, LCSD will spend time in two separate workshops as part of the Winter Learning Academy. Trustee competency will be at the forefront of the convention, highlighted by a presentation from author Jim Brown.
The convention is held twice every year, and has helped trustees excel in their roles in the past. With a few new faces around the table, the board decided they would attend as a whole. Part two to the 2018 learning academy will take place from Aug. 25 to 27.
“This is something trustees have found beneficial in the past. Jim Brown will be the keynote speaker; he's the author of ‘The Imperfect Trustee'. The convention will be about discovering the seven disciplines of excellence in governance. There will also be workshops on communication and community engagement. There are quite a few good speakers attending,” explained LCSD superintendent Joe Arudda.
