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Red Deer Public Schools launch community engagement process

Nov 14, 2018 | 6:50 PM

Red Deer Public Schools has launched a community engagement process aimed at determining how best to ensure student wellness, well-roundedness and success in learning, work and life.

With that in mind, input from parents, students and community stakeholders is being encouraged from November 14 – 30, so district officials can help shape the best possible education for students moving forward.

Board Chair Bev Manning says they’re looking for confirmation from the community that they’re doing the right thing or if there are things they’re not doing or could do better.

“Every year we undertake a process of community engagement to feed into our Education Plan,” explains Manning. “Our three-year Education Plan is based on what the community has told us they believe is valuable, important and critical to education in Red Deer. This year, this is what we chose to focus on.”

In fact, significant input from parents outlining the characteristics and attributes they would like their children to have upon graduation has already been submitted to the Board of Trustees.

During The Board’s regular meeting Wednesday, trustees each made note of what resonated most with them, with Cathy Peacocke pointing to a life-long love of learning, while Bill Stuebing highlighted empathy and resilience.

Trustee Dianne Macaulay says most parents feel ‘It’s about the heart’, forming positive relationships and strong connections, while Bill Christie says emotional wellness is huge, having children grow up to be happy, well-rounded citizens.

Trustee Nicole Buchanan adds students want to be respected with their needs and have a sense of belonging, while Laurette Woodward says many parents want every child to graduate and be community-minded people.

Manning says when parents send their children to school, they want them to learn more than just the curriculum but to also learn to be good people who can bounce back after some struggles.

“Kids who learn how to care about one another, who learn how to build a good community,” adds Manning. “Good teaching and good people in front of students, they exude values, they teach values in how they teach and how they manage their classrooms. I think we’ve got some fantastic teachers and administrators in our school district who work really hard with kids both throughout the curriculum while teaching but also through one on one conversations.”

Manning says character education programming through their health curriculum is another key aspect of trying to achieve their objectives through the community engagement process.

“Every interaction you have with a student is an opportunity to exude your values and treat them with respect,” she explains. “When we treat kids with respect, they recognize that, they feel that and in turn exemplify that and show that to others, so I think that’s part of how we do it but there’s many different ways to do it.”

Following the November 30 deadline to submit parent, student and stakeholder input, Manning says the information collected will come back to The Board and implemented into their Education Plan.

“When you talk to parents, you might get just a little bit different perspective than when you talk to teachers or business people,” says Manning. “I think there’s going to be a lot of similarities for sure but I also think we owe it to our community to hear from everybody. Parents just want the best for their kids and that’s what Red Deer Public wants as well, we want the best for our students.”