< Previous10 ED ❚ Fall 2023 InspirBritish Columbia School Superintendents Association 11 T he landscape of K-12 education is always evolving and because of this, strong and effective leadership will always matter. The British Columbia School Superintendents Association’s (BCSSA) position as the collective and unified public voice of educational leadership in the province is one of great influence in terms of impacting provincial policy development and decision making. Over the last three years as the Board Treasurer and Secretary, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of this role, the power of the diverse and unique voices within the Association, and how the interplay of regional representation positively impacts the Board’s discourse and positioning. As your CEO, I am excited about continuing and amplifying the great work of the Association. The theory of action that guides me is threefold and is grounded in a culture of inquiry that is curious, transparent, and active. First, student learning and adult learning are symmetrical. That is, there is a parallelism between the work that we do as system leaders and the work in which we expect our students to engage. Second, leadership accelerates emergence. While transformative pedagogical shifts should be led and owned by practitioners, they need leaders to forge shared purpose, create resources, and offer guidance and facilitation for this new work. And third, inequity is structural. An understanding of the structural dimension of inequities and a vision for more equitable, inclusive, and diverse learning must be the undercurrent for all our design and improvement efforts. One of our Association’s foci is the creation of a new four-year strategic plan. As we embark on this collective journey, I appreciate the importance of implementing a plan that continues to create multiple opportunities for an everchanging membership to grow professionally. However, what I am also drawn to is the ideal of facilitating a process that creates and holds space for divergent thought, space which allows all our members to ask questions, develop plans (self, team, system), and space that helps us link strategic inquiry with better life chances for the students we serve. My hope is that through this process, we can nurture an Association-wide culture of curiosity that supports both behavioural change and cultural change through the co-construction of strategic priorities, actions, and outcomes. Curiosity will always flourish within a well-defined inquiry. I believe that strategic planning is an inquiry-based learning process, a collective exercise that ensures differentiation, personalization, individual ownership, and an understanding of self within the context of our Association. I also believe that to “take life” a strategic plan needs whole family adoption. What I mean is that each of us should be able to share our strategic vision statement clearly and succinctly; you should be able to see how it guides the leadership stances in your own districts. Just as your own district strategic plans inform your respective operational plans which are manifested in your school plans, I hope to model a strategic process that increases horizontal alignment between our committees, coalesces our key performance indicators, and builds consensus on organizational strategic themes that inform future budget decisions. In amplifying this system alignment, in connecting the dots without placing anything more on your already full plates, my goal (borrowing Jeff Kluger’s term) is to engage in the process of simplexity: making the complex simple in terms of understanding and coherence. As your CEO, A Message from the BCSSA CEO Just as your own district strategic plans inform your respective operational plans which are manifested in your school plans, I hope to model a strategic process that increases horizontal alignment between our committees, coalesces our key performance indicators, and builds consensus on organizational strategic themes that inform future budget decisions. Gino Bondi CEO British Columbia School Superintendents Association continued on page 1212 ED ❚ Fall 2023 Inspir I will try to do this by continuously measuring the work I do relative to the key actions in our strategic plan. And, as all inquiries are based on solid open-ended questions, I will keep five in mind as I engage in this work with all of you: • How do we create system coherence to drive the Association forward? • How do we ensure a high level of system alignment (both vertical and horizontal)? • How might we best design, develop and successfully implement our key objectives? • What could be the indicators of progress that demonstrate movement towards our strategic goals? • How can we ensure long term sustainability of our efforts? As we embark on our strategic planning journey, I am inspired by our belief that a culture of curiosity and inquiry is lived both through the daily practices of individual persons and through the systems that support shared and collaborative systemic inquiry. And in building these systems, the most curious of open-ended questions, one with a symmetrical link to our desire of bettering the life chances of our students, brings all our strategic aspirations into focus: “How should a person’s life change for the better when they encounter and engage with the BCSSA?” Gino Bondi CEO British Columbia School Superintendents Association continued from page 11 Curiosity will always flourish within a well-defined inquiry. I believe that strategic planning is an inquiry- based learning process, a collective exercise that ensures differentiation, personalization, individual ownership, and an understanding of self within the context of our Association. Learn more about BCSSA at https://bcssa.org.Build Your Professional Learning Community Become a member – join today! Learn more at https://bcssa.org The key work of the BC School Superintendents Association is to enable our members to be visionary leaders of public education by supporting their individual professional learning and by representing their collective wisdom and interests. To support them in fulfilling their leadership roles, we create professional learning events to address emerging issues, the changing needs of school district administrators and the development and effective use of advanced educational and administrative approaches and technologies. These events not only help our members enhance their leadership skills, but also present opportunities for them to network with colleagues throughout the province who share similar job responsibilities and interests. Programs of interest: In response to our members’ requests, we are now extending (on a trial basis) our Learning Partners Program – Mentorship. In the past, we have limited our program to newly appointed members and superintendents, but in the past few years there has been a growing request for the Learning Partners Program to be available to other members who may have been with the Association for some time and/or members who have recently changed positions either within or outside of their current district. If you are interested in participating in this program, we would ask that you contact our Membership Consultant, Shannon Derinzy, at shannon.derinzy@gmail.com. This is open to any new BCSSA member who is in their first or second year of BCSSA membership in any position. We hold three sessions attached to our Summer, Fall, and Spring events where new members meet, work with mentors, participate in workshops, hear guest speakers, and form a professional learning community that connects people across districts for years to come. These sessions are free of charge to any new member, but registration is required. This is a one-year program that meets a few times a year to support superintendents, who – while they may not be new to BCSSA, they are new to the role. Individual mentoring is also offered to this group for those who wish to participate.14 ED ❚ Fall 2023 Inspir hildren enter school filled with curiosity and wonder, anxious to learn about the world they have inherited and are a part of, yet somehow, and all too often, that curiosity fades and students become disenchanted with school. How might we create systems that imbue curiosity as a “lived daily practice and mindset?” How might we lean on the core competencies of creative and critical thinking that naturally promote a sense of curiosity, questioning, and wonder? How might we revitalize and re-enliven curiosity in children and adults? As system leaders, fostering a culture of curiosity is central to creating equitable and inclusive schools that honour and celebrate diversity. “Our schools are fractals of the larger forces in society’s design – forces that relentlessly shape how they work and how adults and kids alike behave in them.” 1 Fostering a culture of curiosity means having the courage to honestly and thoughtfully examine the structures, practices, policies, mindsets, and metrics that uphold a system we know does not meet the needs of all students. Our system was “invented to manage human nature and designed to serve the interests of society – as interpreted and directed by people in positions of power (namely, White people, mostly male, here in the West) with deep self-interest in retaining and expanding that power...” 1 Being curious about how the dominant narrative of society is reflected in our school system allows us to delve honestly into hard truths about the system we are leading. It also allows us to create more space to welcome a diversity of voices, particularly voices that may be marginalized. “To learn is to change how you think.” – Michael Merzenich Fostering a Culture of Curiosity By Jill Jensen, Superintendent, SD92 (Nisga’a) Inquiry is curiosity in action and is a lived daily practice and mindset. The ongoing development of collaborative processes that focus on designing engaging learning environments and participating in reflective practice are at the heart of our work. Inquiry is about demonstrating honesty in reflection and unearthing truth about what we know.British Columbia School Superintendents Association 15 Our school system generally does not encourage us to be curious about our values, beliefs, and actions, querying why we do what we do, and recognizing the ways the dominant knowledge and culture determine how our schools operate. We have been conditioned (colonized) to believe that the ways things are is the way they ought to be. We are so busy with daily operational tasks that we have little time for practices that develop a mindset of curiosity. We have all inherited “a completely self-reinforcing, relentlessly self-repeating closed system.” 1 We continue to review the same evidence, hear the same voices, follow the same patterns and processes, and organize learning in the same ways we have done for over 150 years. Our district, in working with Compassionate Systems Awareness, 2 has embedded several systems thinking tools into our practice. We have learned to slow down and to use the tools to engage in inquiry, to be curious about why we do what we do, and to better understand the roots of our actions. The more we explore our mindsets, the more we recognize how much there is to “unlearn.” Marie Battiste, author and educator working as a professor at the University of Saskatchewan in the Department of Educational Foundations, identifies, “it is about every educator making a commitment to both learn and unlearn – to unlearn the racism and superiority so evident in our society and to learn new ways of knowing, valuing others, accepting diversity, and making equity and inclusion foundational for all learners.” 3 Unlearning patterns of behaviour that we have all been conditioned to accept requires a willingness to be open, honest, and truthful. Our staff has found that systems thinking tools let us frame our inquiry in ways that are non-threatening and where there is no shame or blame – only curiosity about the forces, practices, policies, language, and mindsets that permeate our thinking and our actions. The tools that have been most consistently used by our staff include the systems thinking iceberg, 4 the ladder of inference, 5 and the ladder of connectedness. 6 These tools, along with greater attention to social generative fields, ty continued on page 17 The Asulkan Ridge. Enjoying the wonders of our natural world fosters a sense of curiosity and allows us to recognize how intimately we are interconnected with all of nature. All photos courtesy of Jill Jensen, Nadine Hale, and Rosetta Doolan. Elementary students demonstrating sustained curiosity and a sense of wonder about the world (science curricular competency) as they explore the beach in Gingolx at low tide. What they discovered led to further questioning, wondering, and inquiry. Crossing the suspension bridge in Gitwinksihlkw. For many years, children crossed the bridge and walked to the highway to catch the school bus. Fostering and sustaining curiosity involves learning the truth about history, questioning what is, understanding our local context, listening, and making efforts to imagine the world from perspectives other than our own. ADVERTORIAL At Station One Architects, we’re celebrating some exciting school projects across the province that will expand learning opportunities this school year and long into the future. Below, we’ve highlighted a few of the innovative features that make these school buildings unique. Coast Salish Elementary: Into the Mountainside Coast Salish Elementary opened its doors this September on a Coquitlam mountainside. With a 25m grade change across the site, we took advantage of the challenging space by incorporating play areas with slides and other structures into the slopes. We also added solar photovoltaics to the large south-facing gym roof that should generate enough energy to power all of the lights in the school. Quesnel Junior: LEED Gold Meets 21 st Century Design Inspired by Quesnel’s location at the confluence of the Quesnel and Fraser Rivers, the flowing design aesthetic incorporates innovation to achieve its LEED Gold status. The entire south- facing wall of the gym is equipped with solar panels to help power the school. 21 st -century design elements enhance learning opportunities throughout the building. Overhead garage doors and operable walls between learning studios improve flow and maximize cross-curricular connections. Quesnel Junior School is celebrating its grand opening this fall. Gudangaay Tlaats’gaa Naay Secondary: Canada’s First Tsunami Tower Featuring renovations, a seismic upgrade and Canada’s first tsunami tower, this Haida Gwaii project is loaded with innovation. Gudangaay Tlaats’gaa Naay School will amalgamate two existing schools in the remote community of Masset. Because of the potential for earthquake and tsunami activity in the region, and rescue resources being some distance away, the upgraded school will include a stand-alone tsunami tower – a vital innovation for improving staff and student safety. Gitwinksihlkw Elementary Gymnasium: Welcoming Community This Nisga’a school in Northwestern B.C.’s Nass Valley has a new, accessible gym that also creates space for the wider community. Various groups can access the gym, which includes an entrance lobby and change rooms, outside of school hours for community activities and events. École Élementaire James Whiteside Elementary Seismic Upgrade: Safe & Accessible This Richmond school was built in the 1950s and required significant renovations including seismic upgrades and other building improvements to make the school safe and accessible. New features include gender neutral and accessible washrooms. We are helping to build B.C.’s future in education, sustainably. Discover more about our projects at soarchitects.com. Celebrating Innovation at B.C.’s Newest Schools & AdditionsBritish Columbia School Superintendents Association 17 SPECIALTY SECTION: SCHOOL DESTINATIONS have created space for us to examine, reflect on, and shift personal and collective practice. Taking time to develop our contemplative practice and setting time at the start of each gathering to check in has strengthened relationships, created self-awareness, and opened space for the honest dialogue needed to transform how we do things. “Developing shared meanings involves revealing thinking and this can be difficult because we often struggle to surface long held assumptions that have become buried in our subconscious. 7 The systems thinking tools and practices allow our staff to develop shared meanings, to become curious about the evidence available to us, to encourage and elevate the voices we seldom hear, to begin to question the narratives we treasure and the assumptions we make, and to become more reflective about the language we use, where it came from and how it influences our thinking. Systems thinking tools support fostering a culture of curiosity and inquiry as we seek to transform life opportunities for all learners, and willingly dive into the complexity of our system, regularly questioning why we do what we do and the ways we do it. “Without a robust culture of curiosity, imagination is rendered impotent, and all we’re doing is surviving the day, administering transactions, on autopilot, surrendering our agency, and perpetuating an ineffective status quo. We become managers of the end state of a problem- solution continuum. Our roles become reduced to administrators of predetermined solutions rather than interrogators of the unknown. Consuming the choices that others have made for us, relinquishing our right to be the author of our own story. We assert agency over our future only when we challenge what is known.” 8 continued from page 15 continued on page 18 As we embrace curiosity and challenge what we have long accepted, our district team has noticed increased personal awareness and well-being, as well as a greater sense of belonging and connection to each other. During our 2023 BCSSA Summer Leadership Gathering, we considered the conditions for deep learning with education thought-leader and author, Will Richardson. We compared those conditions to some of the practices we cannot seem to let go of, such as sorting children by age, scheduling “learning” into timed, subject/discipline- specific blocks, using bells, etc. We persist in upholding these practices even when we know they may inhibit deep learning. Why? What mental models do we need to shift to change practice? Will did a great job 18 ED ❚ Fall 2023 Inspir SPECIALTY SECTION: SCHOOL DESTINATIONS of sparking our curiosity and getting us to reflect. “When we engage in reflective practice, we are intentionally working to understand thinking, behaviours, and events from a variety of perspectives. We have opportunities to reformulate our thinking, clarify, explore, and evaluate our thoughts, governing values, and actions; and possibly reframe thoughts, feelings and actions; as well as test and reconceptualize our assumptions.” 9 Systems thinking allows our staff to be more intentional about our reflective practice. Another way our district fosters curiosity is by encouraging place-based outdoor learning experiences for our learners (adult and children). When we are on the land, we can observe and experience, connect with, and know ourselves, each other, and the world in new and novel ways. We begin to understand that learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place. 10 We have found that when we move outside of the four walls of the classroom and put the First Peoples Principles of Learning at the centre, as the lens through which we understand what it means to learn and grow as respectful citizens, we are able to challenge closed, self-reinforcing systems. The use of systems thinking tools, contemplative practices, and living the First Peoples Principles of Learning, have allowed our district to begin to foster a culture of curiosity and inquiry. There is still much we need to learn and many practices we need to cultivate. However, I believe that if we engage in our personal and collective learning with an open mind and heart, with deep curiosity, we will be able to demonstrate honest reflection and a willingness to accept the truths we unearth. A culture of curiosity may be key in making our classrooms, schools, and districts equitable and inclusive, and in honouring and celebrating student agency, voice, and diversity. Jill Jensen is a mother, grandmother, and teacher. She is currently Superintendent of Schools for Nisga’a School District No. 92 and is endlessly curious. continued from page 17 Systems thinking tools support fostering a culture of curiosity and inquiry as we seek to transform life opportunities for all learners, and willingly dive into the complexity of our system, regularly questioning why we do what we do and the ways we do it.British Columbia School Superintendents Association 19 SPECIALTY SECTION: SCHOOL DESTINATIONS References: 1. Calkins, A. May 23, 2023. www.nextgenlearning.org/articles/why- transforming-public-education-is-so-damn-hard 2. https://systemsawareness.org/about/#the-center 3. Battiste, M.(p.18). www.edcan.ca/wp-content/uploads/EdCan-2010- v50-n1-Battiste.pdf 4. https://thesystemsthinker.com/connecting-systems-thinking-and- action 5. https://thesystemsthinker.com/the-ladder-of-inference 6. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kmcme4TXIY 7. Timperley, H. (2011). Realizing the power of professional learning. Berkshire, England: Open University Press. (p.5). 8. Goldenberg, S. (2022). Radical curiosity: questioning commonly held beliefs to imagine flourishing futures. New York, NY: Crown. (p.4). 9. Drago-Severson, E. (2009). Leading adult learning: supporting adult development in our schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. 10. First Peoples Principles of Learning. www.fnesc.ca/first-peoples- principles-of-learning Nature walks encourage all manner of questions and foster a sense of curiosity about our world. These pre-schoolers are exploring the shapes, colours, sizes, and patterns we discover in nature as they develop their literacy, numeracy, mental well-being, identity, and communication skills.Next >