The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division hosted their first Regional School Community Council Gathering (SCC) gathering in November at the Spruce Home School gym.
The board of education reviewed the results of that gathering during their regular meeting on Monday. The Board has received a report from the evening and will use it to inform decision making and advocacy work in the future.
The meeting was held on Thursday, Nov. 23. All SCCs were invited. Seven different rural schools were represented. Representatives from urban schools were also invited, although none took the opportunity to come.
“(It was) just lots of really good conversation and intermixed amongst schools,” Finch said. “It wasn’t just one school sitting with only their folks from their community, but different communities were intermixed throughout the room and that created some great conversation.”
The evening began with a presentation from the SRPSD Inclusive Education Consultant team who presented to the group about inclusive education and what it looks like in classrooms.
The second half of the evening consisted of table discussions about rural education. SCC members and school admin joined trustees took part in small table discussions and shared the things that they love about their rural schools and the challenges they face in rural settings.
According to the division, highlights included the strong relationships and bonds that form in smaller rural settings, how invested communities are in their schools, and the early opportunities students have to participate in leadership and sporting events at school. The main challenge identified during the meeting was declining enrollment and all of the other challenges that come with having fewer students in the building such as decreased opportunity for programming and the need for staff to wear multiple hats.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
