< PreviousT he 2020-21 academic year is going to be memorable in ways we could never have imagined. Education partners at all levels have been challenged to respond to the many changes that have taken place within the K-12 education system in Alberta, all while dealing with the uncertain- ties of a pandemic. The collaborative governance and ad- ministrative model of our schools has as- sisted us in responding to the many changes and challenges the Centre for Academic and Personal Excellence (CAPE) has faced over the years. The events of the previous school year reaffirmed the effectiveness of this model. Our Board’s student-centred focus and the belief in principles of inclusiveness, fairness, diversity, respect, and excellence are foundational to their culture of collaborative decision-making and problem-solving. The engagement of parents, students, staff, and other key stakeholders on board matters and plans contribute not only to shared gover- nance, but also to shared responsibility as they adhere to our charter’s vision, mission, and beliefs. This time has confirmed our de- dication to what we do, while adapting how we do this work. COVID-19 thrust the world into a new reality early 2020. It pushed us towards in- school, at-home, and blended learning op- tions as we supported each of our students and their families. In spite of the fact that we have had one-on-one computing for Grades 4 to 9 students, and staff has utilized technology as a teaching tool for many years, quickly adapt- ing to online options during the pandemic has been a huge learning curve for everyone. Online learning increased teacher stress and significantly stretched administra- tion capacity to support teachers and also build staff capacity in the use of a variety of online tools. Different platforms for meet- ing, teaching, and collecting proved difficult for parents and students between the months of March and June. As a result, we have de- cided to use Zoom for online meetings and Google Classroom for assignment tracking and collection. This called for the download- ing of the Google suite on all school devices, and extra time alloted to educate teachers on how to use these tools, so they could assist students and parents. As we pushed through the days and months, we realized that the mental health of our staff, our parents, our students, and our community had to be our priority. We called on our community resources to assist and the response was overwhelming. We learned, we shared, we commiserated, we laughed, we inspired, we cried, we brainstormed, and we questioned. We will continue along this path as we are stronger together. Change as By Teresa Di Ninno, CAPE Public Charter School Opportunity 10 Fall 2020 • The CASS Connectionteachers. Capitalizing on the strengths, in- terests, and experience of our staff, we have restructured a literacy team, introduced a numeracy team, and are working on a First Nations Awareness team. These teams will guide the work within the programs and support those teachers who deliver them. Cohorting also prevents individual student choice in cross-grade projects and thus the school developed an- other way to achieve student (and parental) voice. Community involvement remains a strong part of our program. It will come into the classroom much more often, while trips into our community will decrease signifi- cantly. The principal works with staff to en- sure that our integrated program is delivered effectively and efficiently and does not suf- fer from the negative effects of COVID-19, distancing, and cohorting. Data, teacher observations, and parent/student input will inform our decisions as we move forward. Change is inevitable. It can scare us into inaction or it can present us with opportu- nities to reflect, re-envision, and re-think. CAPE chooses to do the latter in an effort to improve our system and its structures with the ultimate goal to positively impact student learning. n Teresa Di Ninno, CEGEP, B.A., B.Ed., M.A., began her teaching carrier in Alberta in 1980. She is the founder, past principal, and current superintendent of CAPE Public Charter School in Medicine Hat, Alberta. and family supports, but also to just see each other, bad hair days and all. We met with students in large groups, small groups, and individually. In response to a student’s need for social connections, one of our staff members facilitated virtual recesses. What a simple, brilliant idea! The superintendent sent birthday cards to each student and staff member celebrating a birthday and to each individual needing a bit of a boost. We took notes on what worked, could work, and did not work, and adopted uni- form practices across all grades and all sub- jects to facilitate learning. Feedback and sup- port from parents and students, our Board of Directors, our site administrators, our School Council, and our staff were absolute- ly essential in this process. Facility challenges forced even more transformations. The Board functioned as always by addressing the failure of our me- chanical system. The response of the many people working on replacing that system was awe-inspiring as we worked together to bring back our students in a safe, face-to-face en- vironment. The rapid supportive response from the ministry and the Minister also needs to be acknowledged. Cohorting is forcing a change to how we deliver our literacy and numeracy programs, as well as our integration projects. It prevents homogenous cross-grade grouping, thereby increasing teacher workload to offer mixed levels within a time block. We are testing literacy/numeracy instruction by specialist During this unprecedented time, Al- berta released two significant educational documents: the Ministerial Order on Student Learning and the Assurance Model . These documents link, guide, and support educa- tors as we strive to build relationships, en- gage with education partners, and create and sustain a culture of continuous improve- ment and collective responsibility leading to “success for every child in school.” They present us with an opportunity for reflection and introspection, for review of policies and procedures, and for refining budget alloca- tions and everyday practices with the goal of improving our system and its structures to positively impact student learning through the provision of a more effective and effi- cient personalized integrated program. A review of CAPE’s charter found align- ment with these documents. For example, our personalized program promotes and supports success for every child and our community partnerships parallel the community engage- ment described within the Order. Whether it was the necessity of the pandemic or the governing documents, our stakeholders have all experienced in real time “the development of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that support ethical world citizenry, life-long learn- ing, and the pursuit of personal excellence within a community of learners.” These lived principles guided us during the school closure. We discovered Zoom. Our principal organized staff meetings to brainstorm individual student programs The College of Alberta School Superintendents 11I n March of 2020, face-to-face learn- ing for Kindergarten to Grade 12 stu- dents came to a rapid halt in Alberta as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe. In-person classes were suspended and schools stayed open with skeleton office staffs until the end of the 2019-20 school year. The Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD), like all other jurisdictions in the prov- ince, was faced with the huge challenge of con- tinuing student learning for 58,000 students in 116 schools. Within days, administrators, staff, parents, and students transitioned to a world of online learning. The pace of educational innovation was faster than the speed of light. These changes required parent engagement and feeedback. The CASS publication The Alberta Frame- work for School System Success 1 outlines the positive impact of parent and community engagement. They highlight that leaders should make a genuine commitment to create dialogue and undstanding (p. 106). In the CCSD, we engaged and informed our parents through four key methods. First, we informed our parents by creating weekly newsletters that outlined important information about COVID-19 and emergency online learning. These one page, succinct letters were e-mailed and texted to families directly from the office of the Chief Superintendent and were followed up by letters from school principals. This multi-layered approach to communication was meaningful in keeping all parties informed, ensured no one was missed, and allowed families to hear directly from the Chief given the magnitude of the situation and the resulting changes to education. Second, we made use of our district inter- net site (www.cssd.ab.ca) to be a transparent, single source of truth for critical informa- tion and updates. It became a key location for parents and community stakeholders to refer to when they needed to find the most up-to-date, pertinent information. Through the spring, the COVID-19 pandemic situ- ation was rapidly changing and required that we be adaptive and responsive as well. Our internet site allowed us to publish cur- rent documents with updated protocols, processes, and information as our situation changed day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute. The site currently houses an extensive set of resources for parents and community members including: • Dedicated information about COVID-19; • Internal plans/processes; • FAQs; • The Resumption Handbook; • Archive of all parents’ letters; • Information about online learning; and • Information about community resources. Third, we engaged both traditional and social media to share important updates. When dealing with the traditional media, we always prioritized our top key messages to ensure information was simple and direct. For example, when it came time to planning high school graduation ceremonies, we conveyed these key points: 1. Student and staff safety was our number one priority; 2. Graduation would be different as hundreds of people could not gather; and 3. We had an opportunity to create a once in a lifetime memory for our students. In the end, and with feedback from staff and high schools, we created drive through cer- emonies that were customized for each school. We also made use of traditional media as a way to acknowledge and show our appre- ciation for the efforts of our parents and staff by publishing a full-page colour ad in the Calgary Sun daily newspaper with thank you messages from the Chief Superintendent and the Chair of the Board of the Trustees. By Bryan Szumlas and Tania Van Brunt, Calgary Catholic School District Engagement and Communication is a Key to Change 12 Fall 2020 • The CASS Connectionpractices on a regular basis helps our district communicate more effectively and responsibly, not only during a pandemic, but also during regular school years. Communication is key! How did you com- municate and engage your community in a time of change? n Bryan Szumlas, Ed.D., M.Ed., B.Ed. is the Chief Superintendent of the Calgary Roman Catholic School District. Tania Van Brunt is the Director, Communications for the Calgary Catholic School District. • Many families are not able to do as much academics. Have understanding and focus on what is important for the child and family. • Be mindful that schooling, especially when students are under stress, can add to the anxiety. Many of us are worried about surviv- ing. This is one of those times where less is more and simply surviving is good enough. The thoughtexchange tool also allowed us to communicate by creating and sharing word clouds like the one shown on this page. Con- nected thoughts appear in the same colour. This was another way to visualize the vari- ous thoughts and engage our stakeholders. While the challenge of engaging and commu- nicating with key stakeholders during a pan- demic situation is always evolving, maintaining open and transparent lines of communication is critical. Implementing best communication Social media was also an important way for us to get out timely, succinct informa- tion to our key stakeholder groups. Our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts were valuable tools to provide critical updates for our students, parents, and communi- ties; and to redirect them to our website for more information. These accounts gave us the opportunity to highlight positive stories within our schools that were emerging with learning from home. We monitored social media for trends in conversation so we could better address common questions and con- cerns throughout the pandemic. Lastly, we engaged parents by utilizing a website called, thoughtexchange to help us get timely feedback. We would release a question every few weeks and let our parents and staff reply. One question we asked was, “what are the most important things we should con- sider to support student success during the pandemic?” Over 700 people volunteered to participate and shared 980 thoughts. The particants also had opportunities to review each others’ ideas and rate thoughts on a five-star scale. Here are a few of the thoughts that parents shared: • Mental health. This is a very stressful time. We need to support mental health and ensure our children are okay. • We need to be conscientious of the time parents have to work from home, while helping children with online learning as well. When giving assignments and work- load, please consider this. References 1. Brandon, et al. (2013). The Alberta Framework for Student Success. Edmonton, AB: College of Alberta School Superintendents. The College of Alberta School Superintendents 13I n a news release on June 11, 2020, Edu- cation Minister LaGrange said, “Giving school leaders more tools in their tool box to support our students benefits all of society, and I’m proud to be able to do so as Minister of Education. Our collective efforts to stop bullying and harassment online, in our homes, in our workplaces and in our schools must be a priority. We all have a role to play, and we must do all we can to support and protect our children.” As an educator for more than 20 years, I have become increasingly aware when my students are not ready to learn. I started asking myself, what is going on in their head? When students arrive at school quiet or grumpy, my initial thoughts are whether they ate breakfast, got enough sleep, or had a rough morning emotionally. As a parent of two children, when behaviours arise that are new or rare, I often wonder what is really going on. During COVID-19, my six-year old daugh- ter increasingly sought my attention even though we were home together all day, everyday. It was frustrating at times when I was trying to work or cook, and I had to remind myself that she may not be able to express her feelings in words, and may be responding to the anxiety around her. I have learned to pay attention and notice the differences in children that are under my care. It is my duty and my privilege. Since the onset of COVID-19, frontline agencies, such as Kids Help Phone, have seen a significant increase in children and youth accessing their services. In 2020, Kids Help Phone has recorded a 28 per cent increase in conversations about physical abuse, 42 per cent increase about anxiety or stress, and a 48 per cent increase about isolation. In part, as a response to these new realities, on June 11, 2020 Minister LaGrange announced, “The Respect in School training program is being expanded to day care and day camp workers. The training offered through Respect Group has been provided to school leaders—includ- ing teachers, educational assistants, custodi- ans, and bus drivers—across Alberta and is designed to give individuals who work with children the tools to identify and address bul- lying, abuse, harassment, and discrimination” (June 11, 2020 news release). By Kathy Theberge, Respect in School Environment Alberta’s Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange providing an update from Edmonton on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Chris Schwarz, Government of Alberta. Creating a Psychologically Safe in Schools 14 Fall 2020 • The CASS ConnectionAlberta. The online training takes 90 min- utes to complete, and will run on any modern web browser using a PC, Mac, Android, or iOS device. The online training is available at no cost to all adults working with students in all public, separate, Franco- phone, and Charter Schools.n Kathy Theberge is the Project Manager for Respect in School. She was previously an elemen- tary teacher with the Toronto District School Board for 20 years. She can be reached at ktheberge@respectgroupinc.com or 416-995-1730. to the top in terms of an evidence-based program, that was going to meet our needs in the area of bullying, harassment, discrimi- nation, and we are very excited to be able to include that as part of our plan.” Implemen- tation is ongoing and embedded in half-day training in November of each year. Certifi- cation is also part of the onboarding process, and employees have 90 days to complete the training. To view the entire webinar, visit the link https://youtu.be/hG-bncCEUd8. Over 6,000 school leaders have already been certified in Respect in School across The Respect in School program, created by Respect Group, provides all adults in contact with students the tools to recognize, prevent, and respond to bullying, abuse, harassment, and discrimination (BAHD) through interactive online training. Wheth- er the maltreatment is happening at home or in school, this program provides all school leaders with the tools and confi- dence to “step up and step in.” Co-founded by former NHL player and internationally known child advocate Sheldon Kennedy, Respect Group has certified over 1.4 million Canadians since 2004. The online training programs focus on the prevention of BAHD in schools, sports, and the workplace. In June 2020, co-founder of the Respect Group Wayne McNeil, former trustee and Assistant Superintendent Allen Davidson, and Associate Superintendent Chad Erick- son, hosted a webinar through the CASS online learning. Davidson and Erickson shared their experiences of implementing the Respect in School program in their respective divisions. Foothills and Red Deer implemented the program prior to the min- istry’s commitment to make the program free of charge to all school divisions in the province. Foothills School Division was the first to implement the Respect in School program. They implemented Respect in Sport and Respect in the Workplace programs, in addi- tion to Respect in School, as part of mandatory training for all staff, including the employee onboarding process. Recertification is required for all employees every five years. Time is provided on System Learning Days, or as part of their assigned time. While presenting to his colleagues during the June webinar, Davidson stated that, “This is the training that establishes what the expectation is for respectful environ- ments at work, in the school, and elsewhere.” Red Deer School Division implemented Respect in School as part of an initiative titled, “Valuing Mental Health.” During his presentation, Erickson explained that as the Awareness and Prevention strand was being developed in the mental health plan, they were “Identifying potential training opportunities that could support the educa- tion and training of our staff. It was at that time that Respect in School quickly bubbled The College of Alberta School Superintendents 15O n March 15, 2020, Alberta schools and daycares closed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Teaching, learning, and meeting moved online. This rapid shift into a kind of “emer- gency” distance education system created an initial collective sense of loss —students and teachers missed each other, parents missed teachers and support staff, and division and school leaders missed collaborating face- to-face. As everyone scrambled to access technologies, to reconfigure bedrooms into classrooms, and to carve out spaces for home offices, it was a dizzying time of recompos- ing our lives. Educators provincially began sharing stories of new possibilities for becoming closer personally and collectively within their school divisions. Such stories were shared during College of Alberta School Superintendent (CASS) meetings. As co-authors, we chose to theorize these stories by using our own as illustrative examples to understand what it may mean to leverage virtual meetings as social spaces for becoming closer as edu- cators in the future. Conceptualizing “becoming closer” Over the first three months of living emer- gency distance education, we reflected on sto- ries within our own jurisdictions that afforded school and division leaders new possibilities to become closer temporally (more often), social- ly (more people), emotionally (more vested), intellectually (more focused), and spiritually (more connected). To conceptualize how such “closeness” evolved, Vygotsky’s (1971) notion of semiotic mediation was instructive. Semiotic mediation is the capacity of human beings to produce tools as symbols to mediate relationships and to escape enslave- ment to an environment. Vygotsky’s thesis is that human beings can move from lower to higher level cognitive functions when they modify their environments using tools (physi- cal objects) and symbols (words, images).1 Hence, human beings construct objects into symbols to overcome their environments.2 Becoming “closer” through virtual meetings Virtual meetings became cultural tools that brought school and division leaders closer within both of our school divisions during the pandemic. This could have done the opposite and halted professional learning and collaboration. Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools During the pandemic, like many jurisdic- tions, division leaders gathered with school leaders two to three times per week. Feedback was that they appreciated these regular, short, focused meetings, and they felt that these meet- ings created a closeness amongst us as leaders. Part of the closeness was temporal—they met more often for shorter time frames (a half day versus a full day). The meetings started by sharing what was most pressing (e.g., how to support students who needed computers), and each had a clear, short agenda in which people were intellectually focused and emo- tionally invested . One principal explained, “We had to meet or we wouldn’t have known what was happen- ing because so much was going on all at once.” A consultant added, “It wasn’t just that we needed to get on the same page, but we needed to know that we were on the same page to feel at peace.” Being on the same page created a collective “peace” or an emotional closeness (comfort in meeting). The superintendent illuminated that, “everyone joined right away and it was rare that someone was missing” ( social closeness —more Emergency Distance Education Brings School and Division Leaders Closer By Dr. Rhonda Nixon, Greater St. Albert Catholic School Division; and Dr. Scott Morrison, Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools 16 Fall 2020 • The CASS ConnectionSuperintendent of Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools. Dr. Scott Morrison is the Chief Super- intendent for Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools. served as a repository of information, while also facilitating collaboration between division leaders. This collaboration helped to confront the complexity of both pandemic learning and re-entry planning. Thus, we assert that dealing with the most complex issues together as an organization has also brought CASS members closer together and has provided system leaders provincially with a new way to conceptualize meeting spaces in the future. n Dr. Rhonda Nixon has been an educa- tor for 29 years. She is currently the Deputy attended all at the same time). Every meet- ing began with a casual conversation, jokes, greetings, in an atmosphere of play (i.e., people changing backgrounds, sharing personally). This prelude of play enabled us to decompress and to prepare to start, which was symbolized by digital silencing (all mics off) and then, importantly, prayer (spiritual connectedness). Christ the Redeemer (CTR) Catholic Schools. Vygostsky’s (1971) notion of modifying environments using cultural tools—both real tools and symbolic tools—was also germain in CTR Catholic during the pandemic. Both Zoom and Google Docs were valuable tools promoting the social co-construction of meaning among administrators. The ease of Zoom meetings created the opportunity to meet frequently during the pandemic, creat- ing just-in-time collaborative opportunities that were productive, short, and devoid of windshield time. With Zoom, we con- tinued central office meetings, increased administrative meetings, and conducted focus groups with subject area specialists to work on both pandemic programming and reentry plans. The team quickly mastered the features of Zoom to not only replicate, but also improve meetings. Google Docs also proved to be a valuable tool. Pandemic learning and reentry plans were collaboratively developed by senior administrators day and night, and site-based administrators could observe their develop- ment in real time. In doing so, site-based administrators could observe the messy pro- cess of senior administration drafting and redrafting plans, allowing site-based admin- istrators to not only understand the plans, but also to appropriate the thinking of those developing the plans. The use of Zoom and Google Docs as cultural tools helped CTR to socially co-construct both our pandemic learning plan and our reentry plan. Conclusion The stories of how the virtual meetings were re-framed as social spaces for closer, collabora- tive relationships in Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools and Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools reflect what was (and still is) happen- ing in virtual meetings provincially. CASS References 1. Vygotsky, L. (1971). The psychology of ar t. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 2. Holland, D., Lachicotte, W., Jr., Skinner, D., & Cain, C. (1998). Identity and agency in cultural worlds . Harvard University Press. The College of Alberta School Superintendents 17T he past months have challenged edu- cators and leaders in many ways. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandem- ic, a responsive approach to the changing con- ditions for planning and delivering program- ming and supports for students has been neces- sary for all levels of educational organizations to address. At a time when inconsistency and confusion were emerging for staff, students, and families, Bigstone Cree Nation Education Authority (BCNEA) ramped up structures and processes to ensure a unified understanding of the authority’s priorities and to create learning opportunities for students in alignment with the vision of the organization. Collaboration was, and remains, a key factor for success dur- ing these uncertain times. Structures and planning As BCNEA considered purposeful plan- ning of the flow of communication and the introduction of processes to staff, certain fac- tors shifted while others remained consistent. The purpose and content of the layered team meetings varied, as did the action items car- ried forward and the responsibilities of each team member. Through an ongoing strategic partnership with the educational organization Jigsaw Learning, the BCNEA leadership team worked to establish a comprehensive plan, with members of Jigsaw Learning partnering to work alongside teachers, leaders, and other staff engaging throughout the organization to design and implement the plan as well as facilitate and coach teams throughout the pro- cess. Team meetings provided purpose, clarity, and action throughout the organization with multiple layers and opportunities for meetings both horizontally and vertically. The established value of ensuring strong relationships, empathy, and consid- eration of emotional well-being was fur- ther reinforced with staff participating in a mental health and wellness series during weekly staff meetings focused on adults learning together and having opportuni- ties to share their collective strategies. The purposeful layering of meetings provided for the contribution of diverse perspec- tives of staff, focusing on student success in a remote community with inconsistent access to technology within a municipal district on lockdown. With a clear understanding of their context, leadership of the education author- ity was able to determine a plan that would provide equitable access to learning. The plan resulted in weekly student learning cal- endars or learning choice boards for Grade levels K4 to 9, with a focus on land-based learning and essential outcomes that were developed in a way that recognized the stress of the pandemic on families. By Lana Nogue and Kathleen Robertson, Jigsaw Learning Processes and Structures to Support Challenging Times Table One: Overview of the layered team meetings Oski Pasikoniwew Kamik (Bigstone Community School). Photo courtesy of Tom Lademann, Bigstone Education. MEETING Name of the meeting structure PURPOSE What is the purpose of this meeting? ATTENDANCE What roles are involved? Facilitator is bolded FREQUENCY How often is this meeting? DURATION How long is this meeting? System Leadership Team Strategic planning to support principals at the school level Senior leadership Assistant superintendent Weekly2 hours System Leadership Team Communication regarding strategic plan, each department’s role in supporting the plan, feedback regarding the plan All central office staff Assistant superintendent Weekly1-2 hours Department Teams Communication regarding roles and responsibilities of team members, developing a work plan, timelines Department leader and team members Weekly1-2 hours Principal Meetings Communication of strategic plan, coaching and support, opportunity to develop consistent messaging, processes and procedures among schools Principal and Assistant Principals Weekly1 hour School Based Leadership Meetings Communicate strategic plan, develop a work plan, roles and responsibilities of team members, opportunity to develop consistent messaging, processes and procedures among schools Principal , assistant principal, coaches, school based department heads Weekly1 - 2 hours Collaborative team meetings Communicate expectations for student learning plan, support student learning, develop work plan Member from each school based team, EAs, teachers, one administrator Weekly1 hour Grade team meetings Develop learning plansTeachersWeekly1 hour Classroom team meetings Communicate regarding student learning, develop work plans. Communication plan with families Teacher and EAsWeekly1 hour 18 Fall 2020 • The CASS ConnectionCOVID-19 TEAM MEETING OVERVIEW TimeMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday 8:00 am8:00 – 11:00 am Division/Principal Team Meetings 8:00 – 9:00 am Principal/Division connection 8:00 – 9:30 am Leadership Team Meetings 9:00 am9:30 – 10:30 am Principal/Division Connection 9:00 – 11:00 Student Services Team Meeting 9:00 – 10:00 am K4-K5 Team Meeting 9:30 – 10:30 am Student Services – Jordan’s Principle EA Meeting 10:00 am10:30 – 11:30 am Grade 1 Team Meeting 10:00 – 11:00 am Elementary Staff Team Meeting – focus on connections 11:00 am11:00 – 12:00 am Grade 5 Team Meeting 11:00 – 11:30 Elementary EAs – PD Meeting 12:00 pm 1:00 pm1:00 – 2:00 pm Elementary Staff Meeting – Content focus 1:00 – 2:00 pm Grade 4 Team Meeting 1:00 – 2:00 pm Grade 6 Team Meeting 1:00 – 2:00 pm Grade 2 Team Meeting 1:00 – 2:00 pm JH Team Meeting 1:00 – 2:00 pm Counselling Team Meeting 1:00 – 2:30 pm Jr High Whole Staff Team meeting – focus on connections 1:00 – 2:30 pm Student Services Strategic Planning Meeting 1:00 – 1:30 Jr High EAs – PD meeting 2:00 pm2:00 – 3:00 pm Jr High Staff Meeting – Content Focus 2:30 – 3:30 pm Grade 3 Team meeting 3:00 pm3:00 – 4:00 pm Cree Language & Culture Team Meeting principal or assistant principal, options teachers, and a member of the Cree Language and Cul- ture team to harness the power of the collective and mould ideas for students learning at home. These meetings were facilitated by the Jigsaw Learning team, focusing first on the remaining essential outcomes identified by teachers in lan- guage arts and math for K to 6 and core subject outcomes from Grade 7 to 9. • Jigsaw Learning team members, as needed. Each of the managers and principals then brought relevant information to their respec- tive teams in further meetings to provide and clarify information, gather more feedback, and to determine action items as appropriate. As another layer, collaborative grade team meetings invited grade level teachers, educa- tional assistants, a representative from Stu- dent Services, a counselling team member, the Table one on page 18 provides an over- view of the layered team meetings. The planning template used to plan the team meetings is available online for organizations to access through the following bit.ly link: bit.ly/JLteammeetingoverview. Purpose and schedule Following the development of a compre- hensive strategic plan by district leadership to guide the education authority through the pandemic, a weekly school-wide meeting schedule was designed to actualize the plan and provide a responsive feedback mechanism to celebrate successes and address challenges. As the first layer of the meeting structure, the system leadership meeting provided the frame- work to develop a plan for schools to support student learning at home. Key members from this team then met with department managers and school administrators twice weekly to seek input and to carry forward initiatives within their own teams. This second layer of team membership included: • Key district leadership; • Manager of Student Services; • Elementary (K to 5) principal; • Junior High (6 to 9) principal; • Manager of Cree Language and Culture; • Technology consultant; and Table Two: The COVID-19 team meeting overview Continued on page 20 The College of Alberta School Superintendents 19Next >