As Vice Principal, I develop strong relationships with staff, students and parents, by being highly visible and easily accessible. These relationships enable me to impact the school's learning environment in several meaningful ways. Understanding staff strengths and interests helps me improve the instructional program by encouraging and supporting teachers to try new practices consistent with their interests and our school goals. For example, two of our French immersion teachers expressed an interest in working together to transform their practice, embrace 21st-century learning competencies, and incorporate a makerspace, flexible seating and digital technologies in their classrooms. In a supportive role, I helped them with the trepidation they were feeling about the direction in which they were heading. Our discussions focused on what they tried to achieve with the students and how they would measure success. To support and encourage their ongoing learning and to help define our goals, I invited Dr. Hagerman, a professor at the University of Ottawa, to share her expertise. Her research in Digital Literacies would help guide our next steps. Our ongoing collaboration gives us a deeper understanding of how working to develop 21st-century competencies helps us to reach our curriculum goals. In reflecting on the process so far, we have seen increased on-task behaviour and engagement in all areas of student learning, particularly among students who had previously struggled to succeed at school. Students’ use of their second language has increased as they are eager to discuss challenges with their partners. Their teachers report that their French vocabulary has improved faster than expected. Parents say their children are motivated to learn and excited to attend school. An unexpected result has been a decline in student behaviour problems, as measured by the number of office referrals for behaviour on the yard and staff reports of increased compliance in the classroom. Encouraged by these positive results, we provided opportunities for other staff to become involved by offering mini-workshops, sharing articles and lesson ideas at our school conference, and through purposeful discussion. This has led to several other teachers collaborating, exploring and implementing the technologies and strategies in their classrooms.
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