Queen Mary presentation highlights teamwork to Sask Rivers board

The Sask Rivers Education Centre/ Daily Herald File Photo

Saskatchewan Rivers School Board trustees got a good look at what one school is doing to return attendance and enrolment rates to their pre-COVID levels during Monday’s board meeting.

The subject was one of several brought up by a delegation from Queen Mary Public School, led by principal Kari Korczak. The group made a presentation to the board on building collective teacher efficacy, increasing enrolment, and increasing student achievement.

“One of the key things is that they do that really strong work on collective teacher efficacy because collectively as a group they can do far more. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” director of education Robert Bratvold said.

Collective efficacy occurs when teachers and leaders believe that it is their fundamental task to evaluate the effect of their practice on students’ progress and achievement.

The school uses this as a strategy to increase student achievement at Queen Mary.

They do this through meeting as a teacher group and having the staff buy into the concept.

“And visiting each other’s classrooms and supporting each other that way. They do really amazing good work,” Bratvold added.

They also work with the division’s literacy and early learning models to engage students.

Korczak also tied this work to the division’s FNMI graduation rates, and the work their school is doing with Following Their Voices.

During the presentation, Korczak discussed how labour and engagement by staff with families helped get the student population to what it was before schools were closed due to COVID-19.

“They did lots of work during the two and a bit years of COVID of trying and stay connected and reassure and support families,” Bratvold said.

The school has bounced back from small enrolment through their work.

“I think they do have room for more students in their school,” Bratvold said. “We always do, but certainly compared to the numbers they had attending during COVID to where they are now, it is just an astronomical difference.”

After the presentation, board chair Barry Hollick thanked the group for their enthusiasm at the end of a long day.

Michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca

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