North Vancouver School District
the natural place to learn©
Sep 19
Professional learning and collaboration are essential

By Mark Pearmain, Superintendent, North Vancouver School District


The North Vancouver School District team is phenomenal. The effort, dedication and care placed into supporting student success is inspiring. Throughout the entire organization, staff members are constantly striving to improve their practice to better meet student needs. From teachers, to education assistants, office support, administrators, custodial staff, and maintenance professionals – everyone is constantly learning and growing, with the purpose of ensuring students reach their full potential.

 

Within any profession, it is essential that employees are constantly learning and developing their practice. This is true now, more than ever before. The rapid rate in which technology is transforming our lives requires organizations to constantly adapt, and employees to constantly learn. This is also true within the education sector.

 

In addition to the need to learn and adjust as the world rapidly changes, education research continues to grow. Better understandings of how students learn are being revealed, along with increased awareness of what learning environments need to encompass. As a school district, we place strategic efforts into supporting change that will spur student success. Staff professional development is the foundation of these efforts.

 

Professional development days and collaboration days are essential to this continued growth. Employees need the time to focus on areas where they want to learn and grow in their professional practice and they need to be able to connect with colleagues to share best practice and learn from one-another. There is deep employee learning that takes place on professional development days and collaboration days. This learning is then applied directly to supports for students.  For example, on the October 4, 2019, district-wide profession development day, the North Vancouver School District will focus on Indigenous ways of learning and continuing our journey of truth and reconciliation. It is imperative that staff understand our collective shared history as a nation so that they can effectively teach knowledge and understanding into the classroom. We are excited to welcome Dr. Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair to our school district for this day.

 

Throughout the school year, on our blog and via our social media channels, we will share about some of the employee learning that takes place on professional development days and collaboration days. The work truly is world-class.

Here are a few photos from professional learning that took place last school year:

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