By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

YEAR IN REVIEW

Chinook’s Edge succeeds despite tough circumstances in 2019

Dec 28, 2019 | 1:21 PM

The superintendent of Chinoook’s Edge School Division will look upon 2019 fondly because in his estimation, they had success in spite of many difficult circumstances.

“We’re dealing with challenging fiscal times, but at Chinook’s Edge, we’re sticking to the plan,” says Kurt Sacher. The school board discovered last July it would be dealing with a $2.6 million operating deficit for the current school year. “We’ve got four key goals and we’re so proud of our staff for how they are moving forward. With that, we’re just feeling like we’ve had a great year.”

Their plan is built on the four pillars of literacy, academic excellence, career connections, and social and emotional wellbeing; and that goes for both students and staff.

In 2019 (and 2018), the division faced tough financial decisions particularly in the area of transportation, which Sacher says will continue in 2020. He adds that they’re facing challenges with student demographics the likes of which they’ve never seen, and it’s putting strain on individual schools.

“Student achievement data continues to be very positive over a long period of time, and that’s a tribute to how our staff work together, learn from each other, steal ideas, and then put them in front of students so that they are the beneficiaries of a really positive culture,” Sacher explains.

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“Our people are very well-positioned to do the best they can with all of our 11,000 students.”

As far as the fourth pillar of social and emotional wellbeing, Sacher says he tried to lead by example in 2019 following the passing of his son.

“We really want to demonstrate an authentic commitment to wellness in our students and staff, rather than something superficial,” he says. “I’ve dealt with some challenges, and an organization has to step up, but the people themselves have to take responsibility as well.”

In the school division’s regular highlights package, it’s noted that Sacher spent time in counseling, as well as an eight-week grieving group, and has taken an overall heightened approach to ensuring his own mental health is strong, which he hopes all students, staff and families will strive for as well.

“We are hoping to sustain the positive momentum,” he says. “We recently settled our agreement with our teachers’ association, which we believe is a tribute to the positive relationship we have with our teachers, and we see great things ahead in 2020.”