By Norm Park
[email protected]
The newly appointed director of education for the South East Cornerstone Public School Division, has no interest in rocking boats or stirring waters. She prefers the calm seas of an easy transition as she becomes more familiarized with the process of assuming overall leadership duties.
Lynn Little said there will be a few expected changes to the division's supports system, a process that started last school year under then director Marc Casavant. That system saw the trustees give a green light to the hiring of a deputy director, a job that was then given to Little, just before Casavant announced his departure to accept a leadership role in another school division.
Kelly Hilkewich has now been hired as deputy director. He will report directly to Little. The division will also deploy three superintendents with Michael Merriman being chosen as the superintendent for the southern area that includes Estevan and other schools to the east of the Energy City. Merriman has already established a field office in the Estevan Comprehensive School. The other superintendents appointed were Shelly Sargeant for the eastern region and Rhae-Ann Holoien, who will be superintendent of education.
"We have met as a team, done some strategic planning and reviews and ensured one another that we're on the same page and being supportive and knows who takes on what role," said Little. "For us the job is to support teachers who will do the job of providing the best for students."
On the teacher front, Little said the division was ready to go with more than 550 educators signed and assigned. "I think we had only one bus driver position to fill as of this week," she said.
Literacy consultants have been increased from one to three, replacing a couple of curriculum consultancy positions due to the increased need for early literacy training in most sectors around the southeast.
"We are predicting stability in enrollment numbers this year," said Little, referring to the overall student registration numbers that should level out at around 8,200, the same as they did last year when a slight increase of about 60 students was recorded. "We'll have a much better picture by the first week in September, of course," she said.
There are no major issues with any of the 38 school facilities other than the fact that in some instances, the division is dealing with aging structures that will require replacement sooner, rather than later. In terms of priorities for major renovation or replacement, the division's response to the Ministry of Education's request for setting school replacement priorities, listed the Weyburn Junior High School (to be reconfigured for elementary school use once the major renovations and additions are completed at the Weyburn Comprehensive School), Carlyle and then Souris School, also in Weyburn.
Little said she doesn't feel intimidated or uncomfortable with the promotion since she's been at the board's table for the past five years, either as superintendent of education or as the incoming deputy director. She said she is familiar with the personalities around the table and also the senior administrators as well as many of the teachers already having served as teacher and principal in the division for 17 years.
"I have a pretty firm idea of board direction," she said.
Little said she would like to see some predictability built into the school year calendars since the current system requires administrations to make changes year-to-year depending on the starting dates which now can't be set before Labour Day. Some years this will allow them to build in a February break, while other years won't, she said.
"It would be nice to know some of these things a bit in advance so families can make plans," said Little.
